Theofanis Gekas

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Theofanis Gekas
Teofanis Gekas'13.JPG
Gekas playing for Konyaspor in 2013.
Personal information
Full name Theofanis Gekas
Date of birth (1980-05-23) 23 May 1980 (age 43)
Place of birth Larissa, Greece[1]
Height Script error: No such module "person height".
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Free Agent
Youth career
1997–1998 Toxotis Larissa
1998 AEL
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998–2001 AEL 61 (16)
2001–2005 Kallithea 100 (44)
2005–2007 Panathinaikos 41 (23)
2006–2007 → VfL Bochum (loan) 32 (20)
2007–2010 Bayer Leverkusen 50 (13)
2009 → Portsmouth (loan) 1 (0)
2010 → Hertha BSC (loan) 17 (6)
2010–2012 Eintracht Frankfurt 48 (23)
2012 Samsunspor 11 (8)
2012–2013 Levante 4 (0)
2013 Akhisar Belediyespor 15 (12)
2013–2014 Konyaspor 24 (13)
2014–2015 Akhisar Belediyespor 24 (12)
2015 Eskişehirspor 10 (5)
International career‡
2005–2014 Greece 78 (24)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 November 2015
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 25 November 2014

Theofanis "Fanis" Gekas (Greek: Θεοφάνης "Φάνης" Γκέκας; born 23 May 1980) is a Greek footballer who last played for Eskişehirspor in the Turkish Süper Lig, as a striker.

He has been the top goalscorer of Superleague Greece and the Bundesliga in previous seasons. Most of his career has been spent in those two countries and Turkey, but he has also played top-flight football in England and Spain.

At international level, Gekas has represented Greece at two European Championships and two World Cups. He was the top goalscorer of the European section of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification with 10 goals. With 24 goals for his national football team, he is Greece's third highest all-time goalscorer.

Career

AEL

Gekas started his professional career in the summer of 1998 at his hometown-based club AEL (then of the Greek Second Division).

Kallithea

In the summer of 2001, and after three years at Larissa, he moved to Kallithea. In his first season with the club, Kallithea was promoted to the Greek top division. Gekas scored 14 goals in 26 league matches and became top goalscorer of the 2001–02 league. Also, Gekas in 87 second division matches with Larissa and Kallithe scored 30 goals.

Panathinaikos

After scoring 46 goals in 80 matches for Kallithea at second and first Greek divisions and Greek Cup, Gekas and the club agreed to a transfer to Panathinaikos during the 2005 winter break. At his new club, Gekas became top goal scorer of the Greek league in 2005 with 18 goals. He was called to the national squad, making his playing debut in the 2–0 World Cup qualifying rounds victory against Albania in March 2005. In the Confederations Cup 2005, Gekas was part of the team of the European champion. With Panathinaikos, Gekas scored 23 goals in 41 appearances. In the season 2005–06, Gekas made his debut in the UEFA Champions League and came second in the Greek top goalscorers list for the competition.

VfL Bochum

The 2. Bundesliga club VfL Bochum showed an interest in Gekas already by the spring of 2006, but Panathinaikos wanted €2 million for its forward. In the summer of 2006, Panathinaikos signed Greek top scorer Dimitris Salpingidis from PAOK Salonica and, as part of the deal, Gekas was supposed to agree to a transfer to PAOK. Gekas refused and Panathinakos loaned Gekas out to VfL Bochum, which had just achieved promotion to the top division, for €300,000, with the German club having the option to buy out the rights for Gekas at the end of the season, if they were to remain in the top division, for another €700,000.

During the 2006–07 season, VfL Bochum was fighting against relegation, but within a short period Gekas became one of the stars of the team and popular among fans. His goals were celebrated with sirtakis from the stadium's loudspeakers. Coach Marcel Koller described him in November 2006 as their "life insurance", since Bochum not only avoided relegation but secured their place in the Bundesliga quite a few matchdays before the last. Gekas went on to finish the season as Bundesliga's top scorer, with a tally of 20 goals.

Bayer Leverkusen

Gekas training with Bayer Leverkusen in August 2007.

At the end of April 2007, VfL Bochum agreed to transfer Gekas to Bayer 04 Leverkusen for the following season. The transfer deal was as follows: Bayer 04 Leverkusen would pay €700,000 at the end of the season to Panathinaikos, and, if Bochum were to be relegated, they would get €1.5 million from Leverkusen. If Bochum were to remain in the Bundesliga's First Division, they would get €4 million from Leverkusen.

Gekas' first game for Bayer Leverkusen was a friendly which Bayer won 15–1 with Gekas scoring seven of those 15. However, despite being the top scorer for Bayer Leverkusen in the 2007–08 season, Gekas was consistently dropped from the squad by coach Michael Skibbe, making mostly substitute appearances. Following an injury to teammate Dmitri Bulykin, Gekas was placed back into the starting XI and scored three goals in three games, including two + against Hamburg in a game which earned Leverkusen a quarter-final spot in the UEFA Cup in March 2008.

Portsmouth

On 2 February 2009, Gekas was loaned by Leverkusen to Portsmouth for the remainder of the 2008–09 season.[2]

Gekas was brought in by manager Tony Adams with a view to a permanent deal. However, soon after the move, Adams was sacked and replaced by caretaker Paul Hart. Gekas was not given any games and went on to state his desire to leave the club, with Zenit St. Petersburg reportedly being interested in him.[3]

On 11 April 2009, he came on as a substitute for one minute, replacing Jermaine Pennant in a 2–2 draw with West Bromwich Albion[4] in his only Portsmouth match. His loan period was terminated by Portsmouth on 21 May 2009 two weeks earlier than initially expected and he returned to Bayer Leverkusen.

Bayer Leverkusen

Gekas, while playing for his national team, became the top scorer in the European section of the qualification for 2010 World Cup. But in Leverkusen, he was competing with Stefan Kießling, Eren Derdiyok and Patrick Helmes for a place in the starting formation, and he failed to establish himself. He left the club after half a year.

Hertha

On 17 December 2009, Bayer Leverkusen signed a half-year loan of Gekas with Hertha BSC. In his first game for Hertha, Gekas scored in the team's 0–3 away win against Hannover 96 on 16 January 2010. Despite that promising start, Hertha continued to struggle at the bottom of the Bundesliga table. Gekas' most notable performance came on 21 March 2010, when he scored a hat-trick in the 1–5 away victory over German champions VfL Wolfsburg. Hertha eventually did not avoid relegation. Gekas ended up scoring 6 goals in 17 appearances for the club.

Eintracht Frankfurt

On 19 May 2010, Gekas signed a two-year contract with Eintracht Frankfurt.[5] He scored 16 goals in 34 appearances but this did not prevent Eintracht from being relegated to the German second division.

Gekas left Eintracht under a cloud, after having not picked up the language during his almost six years in Germany. "I wonder how it is possible for somebody to be living in Germany for five years but not be willing to learn the language" said Eintracht legend Egon Loy. When Gekas was told about the criticism, he responded: "I am being paid to score goals, not to speak."[6]

Samsunspor

On 7 January 2012, Gekas signed a six-month contract with Super Lig side Samsunspor.[7] He scored his first goals against Orduspor,[8] and scored a hat-trick two weeks later, in a game against Fenerbahçe.[9]

Levante

In August 2012, Gekas moved to the Spanish La Liga, signing a two-year contract with Levante UD.[10] He left the club on 27 November of the same year.[11]

Akhisar Belediyespor

On 25 January 2013, Gekas signed a one and a half-year contract with Turkish Süper Lig side Akhisar Belediyespor, then struggling to avoid relegation. He scored a goal on his debut on 1 February 2013 against Kayserispor.[12] Gekas went on to score 12 goals overall in the 15 games he played during the rest of the 2012–13 season. Akhisar avoided relegation.

Konyaspor

On 5 September 2013, Gekas signed a one-year contract with Süper Lig club Torku Konyaspor. He will wear the number 22 shirt.[13]

Return to Akhisar Belediyespor

On 26 July 2014, Gekas completed a return to his former club Akhisar signing a two-years' contract.[14] He has scored nine times so far in his first eight league games. On 3 April 2015, despite the fact that Gekas had no injury problems and was the top scorer of the club, he was left out of the squad. It was a surprising decision made by Roberto Carlos, Akhisar's coach.[15][16]

Eskişehirspor

On 7 July 2015, Gekas signed a one-year contract with Süper Lig club Eskişehirspor.[17] On 20 November 2015, Gekas left Eskişehirspor after his contract was cancelled by mutual consent.[18]

International career

File:Gdansk PGE Arena GER-GRE Euro 2012 28 Gekas.jpg
Gekas playing with the Greek national team against Germany at Euro 2012.

Gekas helped his country's team to reach UEFA Euro 2008 and also became the top scorer among the 2010 World Cup Qualifiers from UEFA nations with 10 goals. At the 2010 World Cup he helped the team to reach the team's first victory at a World Cup. Gekas is also fifth in the top scorer rankings of the Greek national team. On 9 September 2010, Gekas officially announced his decision to retire from the national team of Greece, due to "special circumstances inside the team", as he mentioned. This was the third player retirement after the departure of coach Otto Rehhagel, following Sotiris Kyrgiakos and Ioannis Amanatidis.[19]

One year later, Gekas stated that it was a mistake for him to retire from the national team, thus making himself once again available to be selected by manager Fernando Santos.[20]

He was part of the Greek squad at UEFA Euro 2012, where he played in every match and scored one goal in a 2–1 loss against the Czech Republic in the group stage, as his country reached the quarter-finals of the tournament.

At the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Gekas started the team's first match against Colombia, which ended in a 3–0 loss. Gekas came on a substitute in the subsequent games against Japan (a 0–0 draw) and Ivory Coast (a 2–1 victory), putting Greece through to the knockout stage of the World Cup for the first time. In Greece's round of 16 match against Costa Rica, Gekas came on as a substitute in the 69th minute and assisted Sokratis Papastathopoulos' 91st-minute equaliser with a shot that was parried into the defender's path by Keylor Navas. The match was decided by a penalty shootout, with Gekas the only player to miss in a 5–3 Costa Rican victory.[21]

Gekas told SDNA that a return to the Greek national team is not among his options: "The door of the Greece National Team is closed. I would like to thank all the people there whom I worked with the last decade and I hope that the current players can lead the team back to the former glories."[22]

Career statistics

Club

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Greece League Greek Cup League Cup Europe Total
1998–99 AEL Beta Ethniki 8 1 1 0 — — 9 1
1999–2000 24 5 2 1 — — 26 6
2000–01 29 10 1 0 — — 30 10
2001–02 Kallithea 26 14 1 0 — — 27 15
2002–03 Alpha Ethniki 29 8 2 1 — — 31 9
2003–04 29 13 1 0 — — 30 13
2004–05 16 9 2 1 — — 18 10
2004–05 Panathinaikos 13 8 1 0 — 2 0 16 8
2005–06 28 15 1 0 — 4 0 33 15
Germany League DFB-Pokal DFB Ligapokal Europe Total
2006–07 VfL Bochum Bundesliga 32 20 3 2 — — 35 22
2007–08 Bayer Leverkusen 29 11 1 0 — 10 2 40 13
2008–09 15 2 3 1 — — 18 3
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
2008–09 Portsmouth Premier League 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Germany League DFB-Pokal DFB Ligapokal Europe Total
2009–10 Bayer Leverkusen Bundesliga 8 0 2 1 — — 10 1
2009–10 Hertha BSC 17 6 1 1 — 2 0 20 7
2010–11 Eintracht Frankfurt 34 16 3 2 — — 37 18
2011–12 2. Bundesliga 14 7 1 2 — — 15 9
Turkey League Türkiye Kupası League Cup Europe Total
2011–12 Samsunspor Süper Lig 11 8 1 0 — — 12 8
Spain League Copa del Rey Copa de la Liga Europe Total
2012–13 Levante La Liga 4 0 0 0 — 4 1 8 1
Turkey League Türkiye Kupası League Cup Europe Total
2012–13 Akhisar Belediyespor Süper Lig 15 12 0 0 — — 15 12
2013–14 Konyaspor 24 13 1 0 — — 25 13
2014–15 Akhisar Belediyespor 24 12 3 1 — — 27 13
2015–16 Eskişehirspor 10 5 0 0 — — 10 5
Country Greece 202 83 12 3 0 0 6 0 220 86
Germany 149 62 14 9 0 0 12 2 175 73
England 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Turkey 84 50 5 1 0 0 0 0 89 51
Spain 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 8 1
Total 440 195 31 13 0 0 22 3 493 211

International

Greece national team
Year Apps Goals
2005 6 0
2006 5 0
2007 11 6
2008 13 6
2009 10 8
2010 7 0
2011 3 1
2012 11 2
2013 3 1
2014 9 0
Total 78 24

International goals

Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 2 June 2007 Heraklion, Greece  Hungary 2–0 Win UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier
2. 22 August 2007 Thessaloniki, Greece  Spain 2–3 Loss Friendly Match
3. 13 October 2007 Athens, Greece  Bosnia and Herzegovina 3–2 Win UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier
4. 17 November 2007 Athens, Greece  Malta 5–0 Win UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier
5. 17 November 2007 Athens, Greece  Malta 5–0 Win UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier
6. 17 November 2007 Athens, Greece  Malta 5–0 Win UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier
7. 20 August 2008 Bratislava, Slovakia  Slovakia 0–2 Win Friendly Match
8. 20 August 2008 Bratislava, Slovakia  Slovakia 0–2 Win Friendly Match
9. 6 September 2008 Luxembourg, Luxembourg  Luxembourg 0–3 Win 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
10. 10 September 2008 Riga, Latvia  Latvia 0–2 Win 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
11. 10 September 2008 Riga, Latvia  Latvia 0–2 Win 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
12. 19 November 2008 Piraeus, Greece  Italy 1–1 Draw Friendly Match
13. 11 February 2009 Piraeus, Greece  Denmark 1–1 Draw Friendly Match
14. 28 March 2009 Ramat Gan, Israel  Israel 1–1 Draw 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
15. 9 September 2009 Chişinău, Moldova  Moldova 1–1 Draw 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
16. 10 October 2009 Athens, Greece  Latvia 5–2 Win 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
17. 10 October 2009 Athens, Greece  Latvia 5–2 Win 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
18. 10 October 2009 Athens, Greece  Latvia 5–2 Win 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
19. 10 October 2009 Athens, Greece  Latvia 5–2 Win 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
20. 14 October 2009 Athens, Greece  Luxembourg 2–1 Win 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
21. 7 October 2011 Piraeus, Greece  Croatia 2–0 Win UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier
22. 12 June 2012 Wrocław, Poland  Czech Republic 1–2 Loss UEFA Euro 2012
23. 7 September 2012 Riga, Latvia  Latvia 1–2 Win 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier
24. 22 March 2013 Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina  Bosnia and Herzegovina 3–1 Loss 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier

Honours

Personal life

Shortly after the 2008 European Championships, his wife Vasso gave birth to twins Nikolaos and Mikaela-Lamprini.[23]

References

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External links

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