Vassilios Tsiartas

Vassilios Tsiartas (Greek: Βασίλης Τσιάρτας) (born on 12 November 1972 in Alexandreia, Greece) is a retired Greek international football player who played as an attacking midfielder. Although he was famed for his lackadaisical playing style, his ability was never in question and he was in many ways the epitome of a player who wears the number 10 shirt. Tsiartas was predominantly left footed but was just as dangerous with his right. He was a phenomenal free kick specialist and also took all penalties for the National Team of Greece and his club sides. He was an important part of the Greek National Side claiming two assists in Portugal towards Greece's ultimate victory Euro 2004 (they began the tournament as 100-1 outsiders). In his entire career he did not receive a single red card.

Club career

He began his career at the academy at AE Alexandris and later the team of F.A.S. Naoussa FC which also produced such players as Yiotis Tsalouchidis and Dimitris Markos. The left footed attacking midfielder soon made a name for himself and his subsequent move to AEK Athens FC resulted in him scoring the most goals in the 1996 season in the Alpha Ethniki (A League). This and his huge attacking presence lead to a move to Sevilla FC where he was an influential captain and vital in team gaining promotion to the Primera Division. He was known in Sevilla as 'El Mago' due to his lethal ability with any free kicks combined with a powerful shot in or outside the box. He returned to AEK Athens FC in 2000 and after another successful 4 year spell at AEK he ended his career at FC Köln. Tsiartas officially returned to active competition by signing with Ethnikos Piraeus in Greece. On 14 February 2007 Vasilis Tsiartas announced his retirement from professional football[1]

International career

Having played U-16 and U-21 he debuted for the Greek National Team on 27 April 1994 in a game against Saudi Arabia. He managed to score 12 goals (5 of which were penalties) in his 70 caps with the National Team including an important penalty against Northern Ireland in 2003 which led to Greece's qualification for Euro 2004. During the Euro 2004 he was used mainly as a substitute by the team's coach Otto Rehhagel, but managed to claim two vital assists, one against Spain [2] and the other against the Czech Republic [3] on the way to Greece's victory in the tournament.

Statistics

International

National team Season Apps Goals
 Greece 1994 6 0
1995 10 2
1996 6 1
1997 2 0
1998 2 0
1999 3 2
2000 7 0
2001 1 1
2002 8 1
2003 9 3
2004 14 2
2005 2 0
Total 70 12

Last updated: 2010-3-03
Source: Vassilios Tsiartas at National-Football-Teams.com

Vasilis Tsiartas: International goals
Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 1995-05-17 Žalgiris Stadium, Vilnius, Lithuania  Lithuania 1–1 2–1 Friendly
2 1995-11-15 Theodoros Vardinogiannis Stadium, Heraklion, Greece  Faroe Islands 5–0 5–0 1996 UEQ
3 1996-01-24 Chalcis, Greece  Israel 2–0 2–1 Friendly
4 1999-10-06 Athens Olympic Sports Complex, Athens, Greece  Albania 1–0 2–0 2000 UEQ
5 1999-10-09 Stadion Ljudski vrt, Maribor, Slovenia  Slovenia 0–1 0–3 2000 UEQ
6 2001-11-10 Nikos Goumas Stadium, Athens, Greece  Estonia 3–0 4–2 Friendly
7 2002-03-27 Kostas Davourlis Stadium, Patras, Greece  Belgium 1–2 3–2 Friendly
8 2003-03-26 UPC-Arena, Graz, Austria  Austria 0–1 2–2 Friendly
9 2003-04-30 Žilina, Slovakia  Slovakia 0–1 2–2 Friendly
10 2003-10-11 Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium, Athens, Greece  Northern Ireland 1–0 1–0 2004 UEQ
11 2004-03-31 Pankritio Stadium, Heraklion, Greece  Switzerland 1–0 1–0 Friendly
12 2004-10-09 Olimpiysky National Sports Complex, Kiev, Ukraine  Ukraine 1–1 1–1 2006 WCQ

Honours

AEK Athens

Alpha Ethniki: 2

1993, 1994

Greek Cup: 2

1996, 2002

Greece

UEFA European Championship: 1

2004

Individual

Greek Super League top scorer: 1

1996

Greek Footballer of the year: 1

1996


Trivia

He featured on the cover of the Greek edition of FIFA 2000.


Articles

Tsartas, el 'sabio griego' del equipo de Rehhagel
Uefa.com: Tsiartas signs off with pride


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