Kostas Katsouranis

Kostas Katsouranis (Κώστας Κατσουράνης; born 21 June 1979) is a Greek former professional footballer.

Katsouranis was not even 17 years old when he debuted in 1996 for the Patras-based club Panachaiki.

In his first season, Panachaiki reached the Greek Cup semi-finals, tying an all-time best result in the competition.

In the following season, Katsouranis made three appearances in the Intertoto Cup, scoring one goal as Panachaiki finished fourth out of five in their group.

He spent six seasons in Patras and by the third, he was a regular.

Katsouranis qualified with the Greece national football team for international play between 2002 and 2015.

In the summer of 2002, when his contract with Panachaiki expired, Katsouranis opened negotiations with Panathinaikos.

Fernando Santos however, Panathinaikos' coach at the time, decided to sign Portuguese Carlos Chaínho, a player he knew when at Porto, which meant Katsouranis' transfer would not be finalized.

Katsouranis was then approached by Olympiacos.

The talks with the vice-president of the club, Giorgos Louvaris, seemed final, but Louvaris asked Katsouranis to wait until the president, Sokratis Kokkalis, returned from a business trip to the United States for the final negotiations.

However, former AEK Athens president Chrysostomos Psomiadis took advantage of the situation and convinced the promising midfielder to sign a three-year contract with AEK Athens.

Coming off the bench and making an impressive debut for the club, Katsouranis immediately became an integral part of the club.

His continuing progress in the top-level rapidly made him one of the team's best players with great performances, both domestically and internationally.

He was used mainly as a central midfielder but also can be used in the wings.

In his first season, alongside his teammate in the national team, Thodoris Zagorakis he formed an amazing "duo" in the midfield of AEK.

In fact, he had an excellent performance in the UEFA Champions League group stage matches of that season and also scored a historic goal against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.

He also scored the winning goal against Olympiacos in Rizoupoli Stadium at the stoppage time.

They won the Euro 2004, and played in the Euro 2008, 2010 World Cup, Euro 2012 and 2014 World Cup tournaments.

With 116 appearances, he is a member of a close club of players who had more than 100 caps in the history of the Greece national team.

In the summer of 2004, Katsouranis remained at AEK, despite several offers, having agreed a new three-year contract, while most of his teammates from the previous campaign had acted on their frustration and left.

In the fevered atmosphere that saw AEK's gates quadruple as fans flocked to support the club under new president and former player, Demis Nikolaidis, Katsouranis adopted a special place in supporters' hearts.

That season would prove to be one of Katsouranis' greatest seasons with the club, as he scored 10 times in 28 appearances despite playing in the midfield, leading the club for the title race, while he was voted as the best Greek footballer of the championship.

AEK managed to finish third despite the big cut in the team's budget.

Werder Bremen expressed strong interest for the Greek international, but both Katsouranis and Nikolaidis decided to reject the offer.

Despite radical changes to the squad in the first season under Nikolaidis, players, fans and club staff came together to create an electrified atmosphere at every AEK game.

Led by captain Katsouranis, the team responded with great performances, only missing the championship on the final day of the campaign.

Everyone connected with the club was united for one purpose: the team, said Katsouranis.

First we had to make the club financially healthy, and then to make sure everything was well organised.

A versatile midfielder, who won the Super League Greek Footballer of the Year Award in 2005 and 2013, as well as the Cosme Damião Award for Footballer of the Year in 2008.

In the 2005–06 season, Katsouranis led the club to a second-place finish in the league, which brought them to the UEFA Champions League.

At the end of the season, Santos was sacked and Katsouranis wanted to play to a bigger club and further his career abroad.

He was signed by Benfica for a fee of €2.3 million plus the proceeds of friendly match in Athens between the two clubs.

Katsouranis signed a four-year contract with Portuguese club Benfica on 22 June 2006, joining his former manager Fernando Santos and his teammate with Greece, Giorgos Karagounis.

When he arrived in June, he said "Even if Fernando Santos or Karagounis were not here, I still would have joined. Benfica to me is one of Europe's top clubs and they proved that in the UEFA Champions League. I am here to achieve that same objective and joining Benfica can also help my international career."

In his first Clássico against Porto, he followed on to score for Benfica with a header following a corner kick, the second goal he has scored for Benfica in the league in just a few matches.

Katsouranis quickly became a key player for Benfica, scoring some important goals and also captaining the team on a few occasions.

He proved to be one of the most important imports into the 2006–07 Portuguese Liga, playing in 29 league matches and scoring six goals.

Despite interest from Valencia, Werder Bremen, Tottenham, and Juventus, Benfica refused to sell the player, despite Juventus willing to trade Tiago for the Greek international.

Benfica were reluctant to sell and, on 14 September 2007, Katsouranis agreed to a contract extension with Benfica for another two years.

During his last season there, he was given a chance to captain the side, which was a huge honour.