Theodoros Zagorakis

Theodoros Zagorakis (Greek Θεόδωρος Ζαγοράκης, born October 27, 1971 in Kavala ) is a former Greek football player.

Career

In the club

Zagorakis began his career in 1988 at the Greek club AO Kavala. In 114 league games, he scored six goals for his hometown club. After that, the defensive midfielder moved to PAOK Thessaloniki in 1992. For six years he remained in the Greek first division, before leaving for 1.2 million euro moved to Leicester City to England in 1998.

In his two years at Leicester he reached each of the League Cup final. While he was with Leicester in the final still defeated in 1999, he won his first title in 2000 by defeating the Tranmere Rovers.

In 2000, Zagorakis back to Greece for AEK Athens. With AEK he won the Greek Cup in 2002. After lack of salary payments, he joined in the summer of 2004 free transfer to the Italian club Bologna FC. To round off his career, he played from 2005 to 2007 again for PAOK Thessaloniki.

In the National Team

In the Greek national team, he was in 1994 against the Faroe Islands his debut. In the national team he is together with Giorgos Karagounis with 120 inserts capped player. In the 2004 European Cup Zagorakis was captain of the Greek team, with which he surprisingly won the European title. Zagorakis was voted the best player of the tournament and finished in the election to the European Footballer of the year in fifth place. On 14 June 2007 he declared end of his career and was subsequently appointed president of PAOK Thessaloniki. His last game as a player, he played on 22 August 2007 with the Greek national team against Spain in Toumba Stadium in Thessaloniki.

Achievements

• European Champion 2004 ( also: the best player of the tournament )
• Greek Cup Winners 2002
• English League Cup Winners 2000