Thanasis Karagounis

Thanasis Karagounis
Personal information
Date of birth (1991-09-25) 25 September 1991
Place of birth Lamia, Greece
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 12 in)
Playing position Winger
Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
PEC Zwolle
Number 33
Youth career
Akadimia Lamia
Androutsos Gravia
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2009 Fokikos 30 (4)
2009–2014 Atromitos 85 (8)
2014– PEC Zwolle 20 (1)
National team
2010–2011 Greece U-19 7 (0)
2011–2013 Greece U-21 9 (2)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 26 November 2016.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 November 2011

Thanasis Karagounis (Greek: Θανάσης Καραγκούνης; born 25 September 1991) is a Greek footballer who plays for PEC Zwolle in the Dutch Eredivisie.[1]

Club career

He started his professional career in 2008 with Fokikos, making 30 appearances in the Football League 2 and scoring 4 goals.[2]

On summer 2009 he joined the newly promoted Beta Ethniki champions[3] Atromitos,.[2]

He was part of the Atromitos team who were runners-up of the 2010–11 Greek Cup, after losing 0–3 to AEK Athens.[4] Thanasis only made 2 appearances in Atromitos' way to the final, one as a starter against Anagennisi Giannitsa for the fourth phase[5] and one as a substitute against Diagoras for the second leg of the quarter finals.[6] He scored his first goal with the club on May 3, 2014 in an away loss 2-1 against Twente.

In January 2014, he signed a 2,5 years' contract with PEC Zwolle for a transfer fee of €300.000. He made his debut with the club in January, 18th as a substitute in a 1-2 home loss against Vitesse Arnhem. Karagounis injured on his lip during the Dutch cup match between PEC Zwolle and NEC Nijmegen at IJsseldelta stadium on March 26, 2014 in Zwolle.[7] On November 25, 2014 Karagounis injured again in his knee losing the rest of the 2014/15 season.[8]

In July 2015, after a very difficult year for the defender marred by injury (185 days to be exact), according to voetbal international, Karagounis' return as the PEC Zwolle midfielder was postponed when there was a setback during his rehabilitation from a cruciate ligament injury. It remains a question whether there is a need for another operation.[9]

On 22 April 2016, PEC Zwolle renew Karagounis contract for two seasons, till the summer of 2018, despite his severe injury that kept him out of action for the whole season. There is also an option included in his contract for one more season. Karagounis has took only nineteen official matches for PEC Zwolle, however, he was plagued by injuries, and he barely played for the Blue Fingers. The Technical Director Gerard Nijkamp spoke about the extended contract: "Thanasis worked hard over the past year and a half to get back fully recover from his serious knee injury. Currently, however, he trains regularly again with the group, and his recovery is going well. We have confidence in his abilities and felt nothing for him to leave on a free transfer from Zwolle leave. Hopefully we can enjoy him again in the 2016-17 season frequent his actions." But also Karagounis himself is happy to stay longer at the club: "The management, staff, coaches and fans from the first day that I expressed confidence in me in Zwolle. Even after I got to make two occasions with injuries. The city of Zwolle now feels like my home and I continue to work hard to make people proud. With the help of God, I hope to stay fit and healthy in the coming years. I want to prove that I am important for the club."[10]

After a very difficult year for the defender marred by injury (447 days to be exact), Karagounis returned to action in a 4-1 away win game against DVS '33 Ermelo for the 2016–17 KNVB Cup. [11] On 2 October 2016, he made his reapperance in the championship as a late substitute in a 2-1 home win against ADO Den Haag.

International career

Thanasis Karagounis made 7 appearances for Greece under-19 in the past.[1] He is currently a member of the under-21 team,[12] making 9 appearances for them so far.[1]

Club statistics

Club performance League Cup Super Cup Europe Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
2008–09FokikosFootball League 2304100000314
2009–10AtromitosSuperleague Greece111000000111
2010–11AtromitosSuperleague Greece130200000150
2011–12AtromitosSuperleague Greece211420000253
2012–13AtromitosSuperleague Greece285100010305
2013–14AtromitosSuperleague Greece121110021153
2013–14PEC ZwolleEredivisie121200000141
2014–15PEC ZwolleEredivisie3011100051
2015–16PEC ZwolleEredivisie0000000000
2016–17PEC ZwolleEredivisie5020000070
Career total 13513144103115318

Personal life

His brother Vasilios Karagounis is also a footballer, who is currently playing for Iraklis F.C.. Although he shares the same surname as Giorgos Karagounis, the former captain of the Greek national football team, it was revealed at an joint interview of both players that they are not related.[13]

Honours

Club

Atromitos

PEC Zwolle

References


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/27/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.