Vassilios Tsiartas

Vasilios Tsiartas

Tsiartas signing an autograph for a Greek fan.
Personal information
Full name Vasilios Tsiartas
Date of birth (1972-11-12) 12 November 1972
Place of birth Alexandreia, Greece
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position Attacking midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1987–1988 Alexandreia F.C 15 (1)
1989–1992 Naoussa 92 (23)
1992–1996 AEK Athens 98 (37)
1996–2000 Sevilla 139 (43)
2000–2004 AEK Athens 98 (43)
2004–2005 1. FC Köln 4 (1)
2006–2007 Ethnikos Piraeus 3 (1)
Total 449 (149)
National team
1996–1999 Greece U21 2 (0)
1994–2005 Greece 70 (12)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Vassilios Tsiartas (Greek: Βασίλης Τσιάρτας) (born on 12 November 1972) 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 (nickname-EL MAGO) 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. Although being a classic "number-10-player", Tsiartas was capable of scoring many goals due to his deadly footage and scoring abilities being one of AEK Athens top scorers. He is considered one of the best Greek players in history and one of the best free-kick takers of all time.

Club career

Born in Alexandreia, Greece, 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 Vassilis Lakis 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 for a fee of 1.5m €. There, 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 managed to achieve 65 apps for Primera Division scoring 18 goals, although he was the passer of the team.[1] He returned to AEK Athens FC in 2000 for 3.5m € and after another successful 4 year spell at AEK he ended his career at 1. 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.[2]

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 and the other against the Czech Republic on the way to Greece's victory in the tournament.

AEK technical director

He was the technical director at AEK FC for three months in the summer of 2012.[3][4]

Statistics

International

National team Season Apps Goals
 Greece 1994 06 00
1995 10 02
1996 06 01
1997 02 00
1998 02 00
1999 03 02
2000 07 00
2001 01 01
2002 08 01
2003 09 03
2004 14 02
2005 02 00
Total 70 12

Last updated: 2010-3-03
Source: national-football-teams.com 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 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

Club

Naoussa
AEK Athens
Köln

Country

Individual

Trivia

References

  1. ↑ http://www.bdfutbol.com/es/j/j2572.html
  2. ↑ "Το αντίο του El Mago" (in Greek). Contra.gr. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  3. ↑ http://www.inews.gr/11/aek-neos-technikos-diefthyntis-o-tsiartas.htm
  4. ↑ http://www.ethnos.gr/ethnosport/article.asp?catid=8720&subid=2&pubid=129161190
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