Angelos Charisteas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Angelos Charisteas
Άγγελος Χαριστέας

Charisteas in 2008
Personal information
Date of birth	(1980-02-09) 9 February 1980 (age 45)
Place of birth	Strymoniko, Greece
Height	1.91 m
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current club	Aris (sporting director)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1997–2002	Aris	87	(19)
1998–1999	→ Athinaikos (loan)	7	(1)
2002–2005	Werder Bremen	66	(18)
2005–2006	Ajax	31	(12)
2006–2007	Feyenoord	28	(9)
2007–2010	1. FC Nürnberg	57	(8)
2009	→ Bayer Leverkusen (loan)	13	(1)
2010	Arles-Avignon	6	(0)
2011	Schalke 04	4	(1)
2011–2012	Panetolikos	24	(4)
2013	Al-Nassr	7	(1)
Total		330	(74)
National team
2001–2011	Greece	88	(25)
Honours Men's football Representing  Greece UEFA European Championship Winner 2004
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Angelos Charisteas (born February 9, 1980) is a famous Greek former footballer. He played as a forward, which means he was usually trying to score goals. Since 2019, he has been working as a sporting director for Aris, a football club.

During his career, Angelos played for many clubs. Some of the well-known ones include Aris Thessaloniki, Werder Bremen, Ajax, and Schalke 04. In 2004, he had a fantastic year with Werder Bremen, winning both the German league (Bundesliga) and the German Cup (DFB-Pokal). He also won the Dutch Cup and Super Cup with Ajax.

Angelos Charisteas was also a very important player for the Greek national team. He played 88 games for his country and scored 25 goals. He was a key part of the team that won the UEFA Euro 2004 tournament. He scored three goals in that competition, including the winning goal in the final against Portugal. This was a huge victory for Greece! He also played for Greece in other big tournaments like UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Angelos Charisteas' Football Journey

Starting Out at Aris

Angelos Charisteas began his professional football career with Aris Thessaloniki in Greece. He quickly started to show his talent. In his first season, he scored two goals in nine matches, helping Aris win the Greek second division in 1997–98.

He continued to impress in the top Greek league, even scoring twice in a big local derby against PAOK. He also got to play in a European competition, the UEFA Cup, when he was just 19 years old. He kept getting better, scoring seven goals in the 2000–01 season.

Success with Werder Bremen

In 2002, Angelos moved to Germany to play for Bundesliga club Werder Bremen. The club's sporting director, Klaus Allofs, said that Angelos was good at heading the ball, very fast, and understood the game well.

He scored many goals for Werder Bremen between 2002 and 2005. In the 2003–04 season, his team won both the German league and the German Cup. Angelos scored four goals in 24 games that season. He even scored a goal in the Champions League against Valencia in 2004.

Moving to Ajax and Feyenoord

In 2004, Angelos went to the Netherlands to play for Ajax. He hoped to play more first-team games there. He scored his first goal for Ajax just four days after his debut. He scored eight goals in the 2005–06 season, including a winning goal against Vitesse Arnhem.

Later, in 2006, he moved to Feyenoord, a big rival of Ajax. This move caused some upset among Feyenoord fans at first. Despite this, he played 28 games for Feyenoord and scored nine goals.

Playing for Nürnberg and Other Clubs

In 2007, Angelos signed with 1. FC Nürnberg in Germany. He scored his first two goals for them in a big 6–0 win against a smaller club. In 2009, he was loaned to Bayer Leverkusen and helped them reach the German Cup final.

He later played for Arles-Avignon in France and then for Schalke 04 back in Germany. For Schalke, he scored a goal in his very first game, just 52 seconds after coming onto the pitch! He also helped Schalke reach the semi-finals of the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League and won the German Cup with them in 2011.

After that, he played for Panetolikos in Greece and finished his career with Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.

Angelos Charisteas' International Career

Angelos Charisteas played for the Greek national team for many years. He made his first appearance in 2001 and scored two goals in that game! He was known for scoring important goals for his country.

Charisteas scores for Greece in the UEFA Euro 2004 Final against Portugal on July 4, 2004.

His most famous achievement was helping Greece win the UEFA Euro 2004 tournament. He scored three goals in that competition:

• One against Spain in the group stage.
• One against France in the quarter-finals.
• The winning goal against the host country Portugal in the final on July 4, 2004. This goal made Greece the champions of Europe and is remembered as a huge moment in Greek sports history.

Because of his great performance, he was named in the Euro 2004 All-star Team. He also finished 11th in the voting for the 2004 Ballon d'Or award, which is given to the best player in Europe. Angelos said that winning Euro 2004 was an amazing experience he would never trade for anything.

He continued to play for Greece in other major tournaments, including UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He scored important goals in the qualifying rounds for these tournaments too. In 2011, he scored a winning goal against Georgia that helped Greece qualify for UEFA Euro 2012.

Angelos Charisteas is the second-highest goal scorer for the Greek national team, with 25 goals.

Life After Football

Working as a Sports Director

On August 29, 2019, Angelos Charisteas became the sporting director for his old club, Aris Thessaloniki. In this role, he helps manage the club's football operations, like signing new players and working with the coaching staff.

In Politics

In 2019, Angelos Charisteas was elected to the Regional Parliament of Central Macedonia in Greece. He was re-elected in 2023. He has held roles like Deputy Regional Governor of Digital Policy and is currently the Deputy Regional Governor for Volunteering and Youth Affairs. This means he helps make decisions and lead projects for young people and volunteers in his region.

Personal Life

When he was a footballer, Angelos Charisteas was known to play the Bouzouki, a Greek musical instrument, in his free time.

Career Statistics Summary

Angelos Charisteas had a long and successful career playing for many different clubs and his national team.

Club Appearances and Goals

International Appearances and Goals

Honours and Awards

Angelos Charisteas won many trophies and received awards during his football career:

With Werder Bremen

• Bundesliga (German League): 2003–04
• DFB-Pokal (German Cup): 2003–04

With Ajax

• Dutch Cup: 2005–06
• Dutch Super Cup: 2005–06

With Schalke 04

• DFB-Pokal (German Cup): 2010–11

With Greece National Team

• European Championship: 2004

Individual Awards

• UEFA Euro 2004: Named in the UEFA Team of the Tournament (one of the best players in the competition)

Images for kids

• 

  Charisteas scores for Greece in the UEFA Euro 2004 Final against Portugal on July 4, 2004.

See also

In Spanish: Angelos Charisteas para niños