Greece 2014 FIFA World Cup Squad: Player-by-Player Guide
Paul Ansorge@@utdrantcast
Featured ColumnistMay 14, 2014Greece 2014 FIFA World Cup Squad: Player-by-Player Guide
Greece have announced their 30-person squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
The squad features players plying their trade in Greece, including an unsurprisingly substantial Olympiakos contingent, as well as players playing in England, Germany and Italy.
Their triumph in Euro 2004 was a shock of enormous proportions, but it would be as nothing compared to a Greek win in Brazil. Let's take a look at the players tasked with this Herculean endeavour.
Updated 19 May 2014
The 23-person, final squad has been announced. Fernando Santos, the Portuguese coach of Greece said "I was sorry not to include players that helped us in qualification, like [midfielder] Sotiris Ninis and [Dimitris] Siovas, but the national team is above players and above the coach. We must use the safest choices," per The Guardian.
Goalkeepers
Name: Orestis Karnezis
Date of Birth: July 11, 1985
Birthplace: Athens, Greece
Position: Goalkeeper
Caps: 17
Name: Stefanos Kapino
Date of Birth: March 18, 1994
Birthplace: Piraeus, Greece
Position: Goalkeeper
Caps: 1
Club: Panathinaikos
Name: Panagiotis Glykos
Date of Birth: October 10, 1986
Birthplace: Volos, Greece
Position: Goalkeeper
Caps: 1
Club: PAOK
Defenders
Name: Vasilis Torosidis
Date of Birth: June 10, 1985
Birthplace: Xanthi, Greece
Position: Full-back, Defensive midfielder, Right-winger
Caps: 63
Club: Roma
Name: Ioannis "Giannis" Maniatis
Date of Birth: October 12, 1986
Birthplace: Livadeia, Greece
Position: Right-back, Defensive midfielder
Caps: 28
Club: Olympiakos
Name: Sokratis Papastathopoulos
Date of Birth: June 9, 1988
Birthplace: Kalamata, Greece
Position: Centre-back, Right-back
Caps: 46
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Name: Vangelis Moras
Date of Birth: August 26, 1981
Birthplace: Larissa, Greece
Position: Centre-back
Caps: 16
Club: Hellas Verona
Name: Jose Holebas
Date of Birth: June 27, 1984
Birthplace: Aschaffenburg, West Germany
Position: Left-back, Left midfielder
Caps: 20
Club: Olympiakos
Name: Kostas Manolas
Date of Birth: June 14, 1991
Birthplace: Naxos, Greece
Position: Centre-back
Caps: 6
Club: Olympiakos
Name: Georgios Tzavellas
Date of Birth: November 26, 1987
Birthplace: Athens, Greece
Position: Centre-back, Left-back
Caps: 12
Club: PAOK
Name: Loukas Vyntra
Date of Birth: February 5, 1981
Birthplace: Mesto Albrechtice, Czechoslovakia
Position: Centre-back, Right-back
Caps: 47
Club: Levante
Midfielders
Name: Andreas Samaris
Date of Birth: June 13, 1989
Birthplace: Patras, Greece
Position: Central midfielder
Caps: 3
Club: Olympiakos
Name: Georgios "Giorgos" Karagounis
Date of Birth: March 6, 1977
Birthplace: Pyrgos, Greece
Position: Midfielder
Caps: 132
Club: Fulham
Name: Panagiotis Tachtsidis
Date of Birth: February 15, 1991
Birthplace: Nafplio, Greece
Position: Midfielder
Caps: 4
Name: Konstantinos "Kostas" Katsouranis
Date of Birth: June 21, 1979
Birthplace: Patras, Greece
Position: Defensive Midfielder, Centre-back
Caps: 109
Club: PAOK
Name: Alexandros Tziolis
Date of Birth: February 13, 1985
Birthplace: Katerini, Greece
Position: Defensive midfielder
Caps: 46
Club: Kayserispor (On loan from PAOK)
Name: Panagiotis Kone
Date of Birth: July 26, 1987
Birthplace: Tirana, Albania
Position: Attacking midfielder, Winger
Caps: 14
Club: Bologna
Name: Lazaros Christodoulopoulos
Date of Birth: December 19, 1986
Birthplace: Thessaloniki, Greece
Position: Attacking midfielder, Right-winger, Central midfielder
Caps: 13
Club: Bologna
Name: Ioannis "Giannis" Fetfatzidis
Date of Birth: December 21, 1990
Birthplace: Drama, Greece
Position: Attacking midfielder, Winger
Caps: 16
Club: Genoa
Forwards
Name: Georgios Samaras
Date of Birth: February 21, 1985
Birthplace: Heraklion, Greece
Position: Winger, Striker
Caps: 71
Club: Celtic
Name: Dimitrios Salpingidis
Date of Birth: August 18, 1981
Birthplace: Thessaloniki, Greece
Position: Winger, Striker
Caps: 73
Club: PAOK
Name: Theofanis "Fanis" Gekas
Date of Birth: May 23, 1980
Birthplace: Larissa, Greece
Position: Striker
Caps: 69
Club: Konyaspor
Name: Konstantinos "Kostas" Mitroglou
Date of Birth: March 12, 1988
Birthplace: Kavala, Greece
Position: Striker
Caps: 28
Club: Fulham