 Tsiartas signing an autograph for a fan | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Vasilios Tsiartas | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1972-11-12)12 November 1972 (age 53) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Alexandreia, Greece | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Attacking midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| AE Alexandris | |||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1989–1992 | Naoussa | 92 | (23) | ||||||||||||||
| 1992–1996 | AEK Athens | 97 | (37) | ||||||||||||||
| 1996–2000 | Sevilla | 139 | (44) | ||||||||||||||
| 2000–2004 | AEK Athens | 98 | (43) | ||||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | 1. FC Köln | 4 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | Ethnikos Piraeus | 3 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 448 | (149) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1987 | Greece U17 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1989–1990 | Greece U19 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1991–1994 | Greece U21 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1994–2005 | Greece | 70 | (12) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | AEK Athens (technical director) | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Vasilios Tsiartas (Greek:Βασίλειος Τσιάρτας; born 12 November 1972) is a Greek former professionalfootballer who played as anattacking midfielder. He is considered by many to be the greatest modern“10” in Greek history.
He was an integral part ofGreece'sEuro 2004squad, during which in the penultimate match of the tournament he provided the assist for the onlysilver goal ever scored in an international football match, en route toGreece's ultimate victory.
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 classic "number 10" player."El Mago", as was his nickname, was naturally left-footed but was just as dangerous with his right foot. A great football mind, a literally world-class vertical pass, amazing set-up and amazing long-range shots. His racing flaw was his lack of speed, which, however, was overshadowed by his great technical skills. Also characteristic of the incredible potential of his left foot is the fact that in addition to the many goals he scored withfree kicks, long and short shots andpenalties, sometimes in his career he scored with directcorner kicks. Thus, Tsiartas was the main set piece taker for thenational and his club team. He was an important member of Greece, claiming two assists inPortugal towards Greece's ultimate victory atUEFA Euro 2004. In his entire career he did not receive a single red card. Although he played as a passer, Tsiartas was capable of scoring many goals due to his deadly footage and scoring abilities being one ofAEK Athens' top scorers. He is considered one of the best club players in the history ofAEK F.C. and inSuper League Greece.
Tsiartas began his career at the academy at AE Alexandris and later the team ofNaoussa, which also produced players such asVasilios Lakis andDimitris Markos. His performance for Naousa, gained the interest of the big teams, mainlyAEK Athens andPanathinaikos.
On 30 November 1992, he was transferred to AEK for a fee of 100,000,000drachmas.[1][2] He showed samples of his rare class with a characteristic debut on 12 December 1992, in which he scored two goals in a 7–0 victory againstKorinthos inNea Filadelfeia.[3] However, in his first 18 months within the club were a period of adjustment and thus he was between substitutes and starters. At the end of the season AEK won theleague,[4] which was followed by another one at the end of the following season,[5] with Tsiartas gaining an ever-increasing role within the team. On 20 April 1994 he had one of the worst moments of his career missing his penalty, in the penalty shoot-out, in theCup Final against Panathinaikos, in one of the best Greek cup finals of all time, which AEK lost by 4–2.[6] In 1994 he played in the first ever group stage of theChampions League,[7] where he made several very good appearances in domestic competitions. In 1996 he emerged as the league's top scorer making the best season of his career with 26 goals in 33 league matches, achieving and many impressive goals, while he also scored many assists for his teammates,[8] while he also scored 7 goals in theCup, which AEK won in the end with a record score of 7–1, with Tsiartas scoring a hat-trick.[9] He was voted the best Greek football player of the league alongsideVassilis Karapialis andGiorgos Donis by his colleagues in the league.[10]
This and his huge attacking presence lead to a move toSevilla for a fee of 500,000,000 drachmas (€1.5 million).[11] There, he played a vital role in their promotion toLa Liga. He was known in Seville as "El Mago" ("The Magician") for his lethal free kick accuracy and shot power.[12]
Tsiartas returned to AEK Athens on 6 July 2000 for a then-record fee of 1,400,000,000 drachmas (€3.5 million)[13] on another successful four-year spell at AEK.[14] He was now the "maestro" of the build-up of the game, wearing his favorite "10" on the back, while he scored very often. He scored a total of 43 goals for the championship during his second spell in the team, he created a lot of goals for his teammates, while he was also an awesome duo withDemis Nikolaidis. On 27 April 2002 he won yet another Cup with AEK beatingOlympiacos by 2–1 at theOlympic Stadium.[15] He made a memorable appearance in theChampions League match inNea Filadelfeia againstReal Madrid in a 3–3 draw, when he scored an amazing goal with a foul and assisted two more goals, one byChristos Maladenis with a corner and one by Demis Nikolaidis also with an excellent foul.[16] In total, Tsiartas had 196 appearances in AEK in the Greek championship and 80 goals, many of which are particularly impressive and today he is in the top 10 of the all time scorers of AEK for the championship. He also had 24 participations with 12 goals in the cup and 49 games with 10 goals in European games becoming 3rd scorer in the history of the team until today in European games, behind Demis Nikolaidis andMimis Papaioannou.[17]
In the summer of 2004 Tsiartas left AEK and 30 November he signed for1. FC Köln,[18] where he won the2. Bundesliga in 2005.[19] However, he wasn't able to help his club due to an injury and as a result his contract was terminated on 23 June 2005.[20] Afterwards he initially ended his career, but he returned to action on 5 October 2006, by signing atEthnikos Piraeus.[21] On 14 February 2007 he eventually announced his retirement from professional football.[22]
Having played at under-16 and under-21 level, Tsiartas made his debut formen's team on 27 April 1994 in a game againstSaudi Arabia. He managed to score 12 goals in his 70 caps with Greece including the decisive penalty againstNorthern Ireland which sent Greece toEuro 2004 in a match that he also captained. He also tallied three other crucial assists in thepreliminary phase, ultimately leading all Greek players in total goal involvements as they unexpectedly finished atop their qualification group. During theEuro 2004 finals, the now veteran Tsiartas was primarily deployed as Greece’s mainsuper-sub byOtto Rehhagel. He made four total appearances throughout the tournament, and despite never starting still managed to claim two vital assists, the most from any Greek player. The first came in the group stages againstSpain as Tsiartas was substituted on during the second half and within minutes had set upAngelos Charisteas for the 1-1 equalizer with a clever ball behind the Spanish defense, essentially securing Greece its first ever knockout stage berth. His second assist of the tournament—and most iconic moment of his international career—occurred in the dying minutes of the semi-final match against theCzech Republic, where a late sub Tsiartas came on in extra time and executed the corner kick headed in byTraianos Dellas, resulting in the first and only eversilver goal at a major tournament, directly sending the Greek side to thegrand final.
After his playing days were over, Tsiartas became a player agent. On 22 May 2012 he became the technical director of AEK Athens, but he was fired on 26 October due to disagreements with the management.[23][24]
Tsiartas was the first Greek player to be featured on the cover ofFIFA, appearing solo on the box art of the debut Greek edition ofFIFA 2000.[25]
| National team | Year | 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 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 May 1995 | Žalgiris Stadium,Vilnius, Lithuania |  Lithuania | 1–1 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 2 | 15 November 1995 | Theodoros Vardinogiannis Stadium,Heraklion, Greece |  Faroe Islands | 5–0 | 5–0 | UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying |
| 3 | 24 January 1996 | Municipal Stadium of Chalkida,Chalcis, Greece |  Israel | 2–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 4 | 6 October 1999 | Athens Olympic Sports Complex,Athens, Greece |  Albania | 1–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying |
| 5 | 9 October 1999 | Ljudski vrt,Maribor, Slovenia |  Slovenia | 1–0 | 3–0 | UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying |
| 6 | 10 November 2001 | Nikos Goumas Stadium, Athens, Greece |  Estonia | 3–0 | 4–2 | Friendly |
| 7 | 27 March 2002 | Kostas Davourlis Stadium,Patras, Greece |  Belgium | 1–2 | 3–2 | Friendly |
| 8 | 26 March 2003 | UPC-Arena,Graz, Austria |  Austria | 1–0 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 9 | 30 April 2003 | Štadión pod Dubňom,Žilina, Slovakia |  Slovakia | 1–0 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 10 | 11 October 2003 | Leoforos Alexandras Stadium, Athens, Greece |  Northern Ireland | 1–0 | 1–0 | UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying |
| 11 | 31 March 2004 | Pankritio Stadium, Heraklion, Greece |  Switzerland | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 12 | 9 October 2004 | Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex,Kyiv, Ukraine |  Ukraine | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Naoussa
AEK Athens
Köln
Greece
{{cite web}}:|last= has generic name (help)
Greece squads | |||||||||||||
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