Difference between revisions of "Georgios Samaras"
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Samaras had to make the hard decision whether to play for Australia or Greece as he was eligible to play for both. Having not been born in Australia, never lived there, and having no Australian blood ties he chose Greece, despite the fact his [[Yiannis Samaras|father]] happened to be born in Melbourne, Australia but eventually moved to Greece at the age of 13 and had a successful career in football himself, playing for [[Panathinaikos FC|Panathinaikos]] and the [[National Football Team|national team]]. In fact his grandfather (also Georgios) was one of the founding members of South Melbourne FC. He is quoted saying "I love Australia, and it was a very hard decision for me to make, I wish them all the luck in the future!" He is currently one of Greece's future talents. | Samaras had to make the hard decision whether to play for Australia or Greece as he was eligible to play for both. Having not been born in Australia, never lived there, and having no Australian blood ties he chose Greece, despite the fact his [[Yiannis Samaras|father]] happened to be born in Melbourne, Australia but eventually moved to Greece at the age of 13 and had a successful career in football himself, playing for [[Panathinaikos FC|Panathinaikos]] and the [[National Football Team|national team]]. In fact his grandfather (also Georgios) was one of the founding members of South Melbourne FC. He is quoted saying "I love Australia, and it was a very hard decision for me to make, I wish them all the luck in the future!" He is currently one of Greece's future talents. | ||
| − | He made his first appearance for [[National Football Team|Greece]] on [[February 28]], [[2006]], scoring against Belarus | + | He made his first appearance for [[National Football Team|Greece]] on [[February 28]], [[2006]], scoring against Belarus. He has since featured in [[Euro 2008]], WC 2010 and [[Euro 2012]] |
| + | |||
| + | He has so far (Summer [[2012]]) appeared 58 times for his country, scoring 8 goals. | ||
Georgios Samaras has a large fan base in Adelaide, South Australia. | Georgios Samaras has a large fan base in Adelaide, South Australia. | ||
Revision as of 09:18, July 5, 2012
Georgios Samaras (Greek: Γιώργος Σαμαράς; born February 21, 1985 in Heraklion, Crete) is a Greek footballer who currently plays as a striker for the Scottish team Celtic.
Football Career
Heerenveen
Samaras moved to the Netherlands at the age of 16, signing for Heerenveen. He made his first team debut in the 2003-04 season, starting a total of ten matches. In the 2005-06 season he scored 6 goals in 13 starts for Heerenveen before joining Manchester City for a fee of £6,000,000 (rising to £7,000,000).
Manchester City
His Manchester City debut came in as a substitute against Newcastle United, scoring his first goal in English football on February 12, 2006 in a 3-2 victory over Charlton Athletic. His subsequent form has been largely disappointing.
Samaras has started 36 games for Manchester City (plus 13 as substitute)in all competitions since his debut, scoring 12 goals. Samaras quickly fell out of favour when Sven-Goran Eriksson replaced Pearce as manager and lost his position as first choice striker with the signing of Emile Mpenza.
Celtic F.C.
On January 29, 2007, Samaras joined Scottish team Celtic on loan until the end of the season. Samaras scored six goals for Celtic, helping them win the championship, although he failed to break up the first-choice strike partnership of Scott McDonald and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink. On July 15, 2008, Samaras signed a three-year contract with Celtic, the Scottish champions at the time.
He is the most expensive Greek player in Europe and has inspired the chant "feed the Greek and he will score!", an adaptation of the song coined for Shaun Goater. His nickname at the club is 'Sam', although fans have made light of his likeness to Freddie Mercury.
National Team
Samaras had to make the hard decision whether to play for Australia or Greece as he was eligible to play for both. Having not been born in Australia, never lived there, and having no Australian blood ties he chose Greece, despite the fact his father happened to be born in Melbourne, Australia but eventually moved to Greece at the age of 13 and had a successful career in football himself, playing for Panathinaikos and the national team. In fact his grandfather (also Georgios) was one of the founding members of South Melbourne FC. He is quoted saying "I love Australia, and it was a very hard decision for me to make, I wish them all the luck in the future!" He is currently one of Greece's future talents.
He made his first appearance for Greece on February 28, 2006, scoring against Belarus. He has since featured in Euro 2008, WC 2010 and Euro 2012
He has so far (Summer 2012) appeared 58 times for his country, scoring 8 goals.
Georgios Samaras has a large fan base in Adelaide, South Australia.
External links
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