Kostas Katsouranis
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kostantinos Katsouranis | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Benfica | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of June 8, 2006 | |||
Konstantinos “Kostas” Katsouranis (born June 26, 1979 in Patras, Greece) is a Greek football player currently playing for SL Benfica, having joined them from AEK Athens FC in June 2006.
AEK Athens FC
At Athens Kostas played great, eventualy winning the Captaincy of the club. He also led the club to a second place finish in the league and brought them into the UEFA Champion's league. After the season he left and followed former coach Fernando Santos to SL Benfica.
Greek Posterboy
He debuted in the 1996/97 season for the Patras-based club Panachaiki. He spent six seasons at the club and by the third was already a starter. In the 2002–03 season he earned a transfer to one of the domestic giants of the Greek league, AEK Athens.
Greek League
Kostas was one of the key factors in Greece's triumph at the European Championships of 2004. Many consider him one of the best talents to arise from Greece. AEK saw him as one of the best footballers ever to play for the club.
SL Benfica
Katsouranis signed a 4 year contract with Portuguese side SL Benfica on 23 June 2006 and completed his move to another top European club after have successfully played for AEK Athens FC. Giorgos Karagounis is another Greek player who arrived in SL Benfica an year earlier, and both Greek footballers are now Benfica's players on the same team.Many Greek fans were happy to see Kostas at a club like Benfica. In June when he entered Kostas 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 Champion's league I am here to achieve that same objective and joining Benfica can only help my International carreer also".
Personal life
Married to Effie since July 2004, in Greece they have their own mansion in Athens. Currently, they live in Lisbon, Portugal.
