Theofanis Gekas

Theofanis Gekas

Gekas training for Bayer 04 Leverkusen in 2007
Personal information
Full name Theofanis Gekas
Date of birth (1980-05-23) 23 May 1980
Place of birth Larissa, Greece[1]
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current team
 Sion
Number 33
Youth career
1997–1998 Toxotis Larissa
1998 AEL
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998–2001 AEL 61 (16)
2001–2005 Kallithea 100 (44)
2005–2007 Panathinaikos 41 (23)
2006–2007 → VfL Bochum (loan) 32 (20)
2007–2010 Bayer Leverkusen 50 (13)
2009 → Portsmouth (loan) 1 (0)
2010 → Hertha BSC (loan) 17 (6)
2010–2012 Eintracht Frankfurt 48 (23)
2012 Samsunspor 11 (8)
2012–2013 Levante 4 (0)
2013 Akhisar Belediyespor 15 (12)
2013–2014 Konyaspor 24 (13)
2014–2015 Akhisar Belediyespor 24 (12)
2015 Eskişehirspor 10 (5)
2016– Sion 30 (13)
National team‡
2005–2014 Greece 78 (24)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:01, 27 November 2016 (UTC).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 25 November 2014

Theofanis "Fanis" Gekas (Greek: Θεοφάνης "Φάνης" Γκέκας; born 23 May 1980) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a striker for Swiss club Sion.

He has been the top goalscorer of Superleague Greece and the Bundesliga in previous seasons. Most of his career has been spent in those two countries and Turkey, but he has also played top-flight football in England and Spain.

At international level, Gekas represented Greece at two European Championships and as many World Cups, earning 78 caps between 2005 and 2014. He was the top goalscorer of the European section of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification with 10 goals. With 24 goals for his national football team, he is Greece's third highest all-time goalscorer.

Career

AEL

Gekas started his professional career in the summer of 1998 at his hometown-based club AEL (then of the Greek Second Division).

Kallithea

In the summer of 2001, and after three years at Larissa, he moved to Kallithea. In his first season with the club, Kallithea was promoted to the Greek top division. Gekas scored 14 goals in 26 league matches and became top goalscorer of the 2001–02 league. Also, Gekas in 87 second division matches with Larissa and Kallithe scored 30 goals.

Panathinaikos

After scoring 46 goals in 80 matches for Kallithea at second and first Greek divisions and Greek Cup, Gekas and the club agreed to a transfer to Panathinaikos during the 2005 winter break. At his new club, Gekas became top goal scorer of the Greek league in 2005 with 18 goals. He was called to the national squad, making his playing debut in the 2–0 World Cup qualifying rounds victory against Albania in March 2005. As a member of the national team, Gekas also participated in the Confederations Cup 2005. With Panathinaikos, Gekas scored 23 goals in 41 appearances. In the season 2005–06, Gekas made his debut in the UEFA Champions League and came second in the Greek top goalscorers list for the competition.

VfL Bochum

The 2. Bundesliga club VfL Bochum showed an interest in Gekas already by the spring of 2006, but Panathinaikos wanted €2 million for its forward. In the summer of 2006, Panathinaikos signed Greek top scorer Dimitris Salpingidis from PAOK Salonica and, as part of the deal, Gekas was supposed to agree to a transfer to PAOK. Gekas refused and Panathinakos loaned Gekas out to VfL Bochum, which had just achieved promotion to the top division, for €300,000, with the German club having the option to buy out the rights for Gekas at the end of the season, if they were to remain in the top division, for another €700,000.

During the 2006–07 season, VfL Bochum was fighting against relegation, but within a short period Gekas became one of the stars of the team and popular among fans. His goals were celebrated with sirtakis from the stadium's loudspeakers. Coach Marcel Koller described him in November 2006 as their "life insurance", since Bochum not only avoided relegation but secured their place in the Bundesliga quite a few matchdays before the last. Gekas went on to finish the season as Bundesliga's top scorer, with a tally of 20 goals.

Bayer Leverkusen

At the end of April 2007, VfL Bochum agreed to transfer Gekas to Bayer 04 Leverkusen for the following season. The transfer deal was as follows: Bayer 04 Leverkusen would pay €700,000 at the end of the season to Panathinaikos, and, if Bochum were to be relegated, they would get €1.5 million from Leverkusen. If Bochum were to remain in the Bundesliga's First Division, they would get €4 million from Leverkusen.

Gekas' first game for Bayer Leverkusen was a friendly which Bayer won 15–1 with Gekas scoring seven of those 15. However, despite being the top scorer for Bayer Leverkusen in the 2007–08 season, Gekas was consistently dropped from the squad by coach Michael Skibbe, making mostly substitute appearances. Following an injury to teammate Dmitri Bulykin, Gekas was placed back into the starting XI and scored three goals in three games, including two + against Hamburg in a game which earned Leverkusen a quarter-final spot in the UEFA Cup in March 2008.

Portsmouth

On 2 February 2009, Gekas was loaned by Leverkusen to Portsmouth for the remainder of the 2008–09 season.[3]

Gekas was brought in by manager Tony Adams with a view to a permanent deal. However, soon after the move, Adams was sacked and replaced by caretaker Paul Hart. Gekas was not given any games and went on to state his desire to leave the club, with Zenit St. Petersburg reportedly being interested in him.[4]

On 11 April 2009, he came on as a substitute for one minute, replacing Jermaine Pennant in a 2–2 draw with West Bromwich Albion at Fratton Park[5] in his only Portsmouth match. His loan period was terminated by Portsmouth on 21 May 2009 two weeks earlier than initially expected and he returned to Bayer Leverkusen.

Bayer Leverkusen

Gekas, while playing for his national team, became the top scorer in the European section of the qualification for 2010 World Cup. But in Leverkusen, he was competing with Stefan Kießling, Eren Derdiyok and Patrick Helmes for a place in the starting formation, and he failed to establish himself. He left the club after half a year.

Hertha

On 17 December 2009, Bayer Leverkusen signed a half-year loan of Gekas with Hertha BSC. In his first game for Hertha, Gekas scored in the team's 0–3 away win against Hannover 96 on 16 January 2010. Despite that promising start, Hertha continued to struggle at the bottom of the Bundesliga table. Gekas' most notable performance came on 21 March 2010, when he scored a hat-trick in the 1–5 away victory over German champions VfL Wolfsburg. Hertha eventually did not avoid relegation. Gekas ended up scoring 6 goals in 17 appearances for the club.

Eintracht Frankfurt

On 19 May 2010, Gekas signed a two-year contract with Eintracht Frankfurt.[6] He scored 16 goals in 34 appearances but this did not prevent Eintracht from being relegated to the German second division.

Gekas left Eintracht under a cloud, after having not picked up the language during his almost six years in Germany. "I wonder how it is possible for somebody to be living in Germany for five years but not be willing to learn the language" said Eintracht legend Egon Loy. When Gekas was told about the criticism, he responded: "I am being paid to score goals, not to speak."[7]

Later career

On 7 January 2012, Gekas signed a six-month contract with Super Lig side Samsunspor.[8] He scored his first goals against Orduspor,[9] and scored a hat-trick two weeks later, in a game against Fenerbahçe.[10]

In August 2012, Gekas moved to the Spanish La Liga, signing a two-year contract with Levante UD.[11] He left the club on 27 November of the same year.[12]

On 25 January 2013, Gekas signed a one and a half-year contract with Turkish Süper Lig side Akhisar Belediyespor, then struggling to avoid relegation. He scored a goal on his debut on 1 February 2013 against Kayserispor.[13] Gekas went on to score 12 goals overall in the 15 games he played during the rest of the 2012–13 season. Akhisar avoided relegation.

On 5 September 2013, Gekas signed a one-year contract with Süper Lig club Torku Konyaspor, wearing the number 22 shirt.[14]

On 26 July 2014, Gekas completed a return to his former club Akhisar Belediyespor, signing a two-year contract.[15] On 3 April 2015, despite the fact that Gekas had no injury problems and was the top scorer of the club, he was left out of the squad in a surprise move by manager Roberto Carlos.[16][17]

On 7 July 2015, Gekas signed a one-year contract with Süper Lig club Eskişehirspor.[18] On 20 November 2015, Gekas left Eskişehirspor after his contract was cancelled by mutual consent.[19]

On 1 February 2016, Gekas agreed to join Sion until the summer 2017 and to continue his career in Switzerland, after three years in Turkey.[20] Six days later, in a Swiss Super League away win game against FC Zürich he made his debut with the club as a late substitute. On 17 February, he made his debut in the UEFA Europa League as a late substitute in a game against Sporting Braga for the round of 32.[21] On 24 February 2016, Gekas' performance against Sporting Braga wasn't enough for Sion to qualify for the last 16 of UEFA Europa League. The Greek striker scores two amazing goals against the Portuguese team but his team didn't make it to the next round after 2–2 tie.[22] On 27 February 2016, he scored a brace in a 3–2 home win against FC Luzern.[23] On 23 April 2016, he scored a hat-trick in Sion's victory against FC Lugano, being the second scorer of the club in just 12 games.[24] On 25 May 2016, he scored a brace in a 2-2 away draw against FC Luzern arrived at 10 goals in his first season in Swiss Super League. [25] On 27 August 2016, he opened the score in a 3-1 home win against FC Vaduz. It was his first goal for the 2016-17 season.[26] On 29 October 2016, he netted two goals in his return in the first XI helping his club to reach a triumphic 5-1 home win against FC Lugano. [27]

International career

Gekas playing with the Greek national team against Germany at Euro 2012.

Gekas helped his country's team to reach UEFA Euro 2008 and also became the top scorer among the 2010 World Cup Qualifiers from UEFA nations with 10 goals. At the 2010 World Cup he helped the team to reach the team's first victory at a World Cup. Gekas is also fifth in the top scorer rankings of the Greek national team. On 9 September 2010, Gekas officially announced his decision to retire from the national team of Greece, due to "special circumstances inside the team", as he mentioned. This was the third player retirement after the departure of coach Otto Rehhagel, following Sotiris Kyrgiakos and Ioannis Amanatidis.[28]

One year later, Gekas stated that it was a mistake for him to retire from the national team, thus making himself once again available to be selected by manager Fernando Santos.[29]

He was part of the Greek squad at UEFA Euro 2012, where he played in every match and scored one goal in a 2–1 loss against the Czech Republic in the group stage, as his country reached the quarter-finals of the tournament.

At the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Gekas started the team's first match against Colombia, which ended in a 3–0 loss. Gekas came on a substitute in the subsequent games against Japan (a 0–0 draw) and Ivory Coast (a 2–1 victory), putting Greece through to the knockout stage of the World Cup for the first time. In Greece's round of 16 match against Costa Rica, Gekas came on as a substitute in the 69th minute and assisted Sokratis Papastathopoulos' 91st-minute equaliser with a shot that was parried into the defender's path by Keylor Navas. The match was decided by a penalty shootout, with Gekas the only player to miss in a 5–3 Costa Rican victory.[30]

Gekas told SDNA that a return to the Greek national team is not among his options: "The door of the Greece National Team is closed. I would like to thank all the people there whom I worked with the last decade and I hope that the current players can lead the team back to the former glories."[31]

Career statistics

Club

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Greece League Greek Cup League Cup Europe Total
1998–99AELBeta Ethniki8110——91
1999–200024521——266
2000–01291010——3010
2001–02Kallithea261410——2715
2002–03Alpha Ethniki29821——319
2003–04291310——3013
2004–0516921——1810
2004–05Panathinaikos13810—20168
2005–06281510—403315
Germany League DFB-Pokal DFB Ligapokal Europe Total
2006–07VfL BochumBundesliga322032——3522
2007–08Bayer Leverkusen291110—1024013
2008–0915231——183
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
2008–09PortsmouthPremier League1000000010
Germany League DFB-Pokal DFB Ligapokal Europe Total
2009–10Bayer LeverkusenBundesliga8021——101
2009–10Hertha BSC17611—20207
2010–11Eintracht Frankfurt341632——3718
2011–122. Bundesliga14712——159
Turkey League Türkiye Kupası League Cup Europe Total
2011–12SamsunsporSüper Lig11810——128
Spain League Copa del Rey Copa de la Liga Europe Total
2012–13LevanteLa Liga4000—5191
Turkey League Türkiye Kupası League Cup Europe Total
2012–13Akhisar BelediyesporSüper Lig151200——1512
2013–14Konyaspor241310——2513
2014–15Akhisar Belediyespor241231——2713
2015–16Eskişehirspor10500——105
Switzerland Super League Swiss Cup League Cup Europe Total
2015–16FC SionSwiss Super League181010—222112
2016–1712300—00123
Country Greece 20283123006022086
Germany 149621490012217573
England 1000000010
Turkey 84505100008951
Spain 4000005191
Switzerland 30131000223315
Total 470208321300255527226

International

Greece national team
YearAppsGoals
200560
200650
2007116
2008136
2009108
201070
201131
2012112
201331
201490
Total7824

International goals

Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 2 June 2007 Heraklion, Greece  Hungary 2–0 Win UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier
2. 22 August 2007 Thessaloniki, Greece  Spain 2–3 Loss Friendly Match
3. 13 October 2007 Athens, Greece  Bosnia and Herzegovina 3–2 Win UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier
4. 17 November 2007 Athens, Greece  Malta 5–0 Win UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier
5. 17 November 2007 Athens, Greece  Malta 5–0 Win UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier
6. 17 November 2007 Athens, Greece  Malta 5–0 Win UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier
7. 20 August 2008 Bratislava, Slovakia  Slovakia 0–2 Win Friendly Match
8. 20 August 2008 Bratislava, Slovakia  Slovakia 0–2 Win Friendly Match
9. 6 September 2008 Luxembourg, Luxembourg  Luxembourg 0–3 Win 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
10. 10 September 2008 Riga, Latvia  Latvia 0–2 Win 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
11. 10 September 2008 Riga, Latvia  Latvia 0–2 Win 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
12. 19 November 2008 Piraeus, Greece  Italy 1–1 Draw Friendly Match
13. 11 February 2009 Piraeus, Greece  Denmark 1–1 Draw Friendly Match
14. 28 March 2009 Ramat Gan, Israel  Israel 1–1 Draw 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
15. 9 September 2009 Chişinău, Moldova  Moldova 1–1 Draw 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
16. 10 October 2009 Athens, Greece  Latvia 5–2 Win 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
17. 10 October 2009 Athens, Greece  Latvia 5–2 Win 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
18. 10 October 2009 Athens, Greece  Latvia 5–2 Win 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
19. 10 October 2009 Athens, Greece  Latvia 5–2 Win 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
20. 14 October 2009 Athens, Greece  Luxembourg 2–1 Win 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
21. 7 October 2011 Piraeus, Greece  Croatia 2–0 Win UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier
22. 12 June 2012 Wrocław, Poland  Czech Republic 1–2 Loss UEFA Euro 2012
23. 7 September 2012 Riga, Latvia  Latvia 1–2 Win 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier
24. 22 March 2013 Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina  Bosnia and Herzegovina 3–1 Loss 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier

Honours

Personal life

Shortly after the 2008 European Championships, his wife Vasso gave birth to twins Nikolaos and Mikaela-Lamprini.[32]

References

  1. ↑ "Theofanis Gekas" (in Dutch). VI. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
  2. ↑ "Gekas Theofanis". fc-sion-live.ch (in French). Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "Pompey sign striker Gekas on loan". BBC Sport. 2 February 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
  4. ↑ "Greek striker Gekas 'unhappy' at Portsmouth". ESPN Soccernet. 7 April 2009. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
  5. ↑ Chowdhury, Saj (11 April 2009). "Portsmouth 2–2 West Brom". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  6. ↑ "Στην Αϊντραχτ Φρανκφούρτης για 2 χρόνια ο Φάνης Γκέκας (vid)" [Gekas to Eintracht] (in Greek). contra.gr. 19 May 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  7. ↑ Drakoularakos, Stavros (30 May 2012). "Euro 2012: Greece profile – Theofanis Gekas". Guardian. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
  8. ↑ Georgakopoulos, George (7 January 2012). "Gekas moves to Turkey's Samsunspor". ekathimerini.com. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  9. ↑ Stamatopoulos, Vangelis (21 January 2012). Τα πρώτα γκολ του Γκέκα [Gekas scores two goals on his debut] (in Greek). Sport24.gr. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  10. ↑ "Derbi öncesi, Sirtaki bozgunu!" [Before the derby, "Sirtaki" defeat!] (in Turkish). Ajansspor.com. 2 February 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  11. ↑ Efe (14 August 2012). "Gekas, un relevo para Koné" (in Spanish). Valencia: El Mundo.es. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  12. ↑ "Gekas se desvincula del Levante UD" (in Spanish). levanteud.com. 27 November 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
  13. ↑ "Akhisar Belediyespor vs. Kayserispor 1 – 2". Soccerway. 1 February 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  14. ↑ "Theofanis Gekas ile bir yıllık sözleşme imzaladık" [Theofanis Gekas signed a one-year contract] (in Turkish). Torku Konyaspor. 5 September 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  15. ↑ Επιστροφή Γκέκα στην Ακχισάρ (in Greek). sport24.gr. 26 July 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  16. ↑ Roberto Carlos'un Gekas kararı... (in Turkish). tbgazete.com. 3 April 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  17. ↑ Akhisar Belediyespor'da Gekas kadro dışı bırakıldı (in Turkish). hurriyet.com.tr. 3 April 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  18. ↑ Συμφώνησε με Εσκίσεχιρσπορ ο Γκέκας (in Greek). www.sport24.gr. 7 July 2015.
  19. ↑ "Kamuoyu Açıklaması" (in Turkish). Eskişehirspor. 20 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  20. ↑ "Gekas agrees terms with FC Sion". www.sdna.gr. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  21. ↑ "Advantage Braga after clinical display in Sion". www.uefa.com. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  22. ↑ "Gekas scores two goals against Braga". www.sdna.gr. 24 February 2016.
  23. ↑ "3:1! Sion gagne! Le doublé de Gekas en video". www.bluewin.ch. 27 February 2016.
  24. ↑ "FC Sion – FC Lugano 3–1". www.youtube.com. 23 April 2016.
  25. ↑ "Ασταμάτητος στην Ελβετία ο Γκέκας, γκολ και ο Δώνης". www.sport24.gr. 25 May 2016.
  26. ↑ "FC Sion - FC Vaduz 3:1" (in German). www.nzz.ch. 28 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  27. ↑ "Finale: Sion-Lugano 5-1" (in Italian). www.fclugano.com. 29 October 2016.
  28. ↑ "Gekas becomes third player to quit Greece team in a month". Reuters. 9 September 2010. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
  29. ↑ Δήλωση Φάνη Γκέκα (in Greek). www.epo.gr. 23 September 2011. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  30. ↑ "Costa Rica 1–1 Greece". BBC. 29 June 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  31. ↑ "Gekas announces his retirement from Greece". SDNA. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  32. ↑ "Gekas Profile Bayer Leverkusen". Bayer Leverkusen. Retrieved 26 December 2008.
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