Panagiotis Kone facts for kids
Kone with Greece in 2013
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Birth name | Gjergji Kone | ||
| Date of birth | 26 July 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Tirana, Albania | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1999–2004 | Olympiacos | ||
| 2004–2005 | Lens | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2008 | AEK Athens | 24 | (2) |
| 2008–2010 | Iraklis | 49 | (8) |
| 2010–2012 | Brescia | 31 | (1) |
| 2011–2012 | → Bologna (loan) | 31 | (1) |
| 2012–2014 | Bologna | 59 | (11) |
| 2014–2018 | Udinese | 38 | (1) |
| 2016 | → Fiorentina (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2017 | → Granada (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | → AEK Athens (loan) | 13 | (1) |
| 2019–2020 | Western United | 15 | (2) |
| Total | 263 | (27) | |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2006 | Greece U19 | 4 | (1) |
| 2006–2007 | Greece U21 | 8 | (0) |
| 2010–2015 | Greece | 28 | (2) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2020–2022 | AEK Athens (Technical Director) | ||
| 2022–2024 | AEK Athens (Executive Director) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 03:29, 23 February 2020 (UTC). ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 24 October 2015 |
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Panagiotis Kone (born July 26, 1987) is a Greek former professional footballer. He played as an attacking midfielder, which is a player who helps both defend and attack.
Kone started his football journey in the youth teams of Olympiacos in Greece. He then moved to Lens' youth team in France. His professional career began with AEK Athens before he joined Iraklis in 2008. After two seasons, Kone moved to Italy to play for Brescia in Serie A. He later joined Bologna, first on loan and then permanently.
In 2014, he signed with Udinese. He also had loan spells with Fiorentina, Granada, and AEK Athens again. Kone left Udinese in August 2018. He finished his playing career with Western United in Australia.
Kone played for Greece at different youth levels before joining the senior national team in 2010. He was part of the Greece squad that played in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Contents
Early Life and Background
Panagiotis Kone was born as Gjergji Kone in Tirana, Albania. When he was two years old, he moved to Athens, Greece, with his parents and older brother. His father was a biologist, and his mother was a piano teacher.
As part of becoming a Greek citizen, he changed his name to Panagiotis. Kone has stated that he feels Greek. He began his youth football career at the Olympiacos youth academy. Just before his 17th birthday, he moved to France to join Lens, who bought him for €400,000.
Club Career Highlights
Starting at AEK Athens
After one year with Lens, Kone returned to Greece. He joined AEK Athens and signed his first professional contract. For the 2005–06 season, he wore the number 10 shirt as an 18-year-old. However, when famous player Rivaldo joined the team, Kone changed his number to 22.
Time with Iraklis
In 2008, Kone moved to Iraklis because he was not needed at AEK anymore. During his two seasons with Iraklis, he played in 49 league matches and scored eight goals. He often came on as a substitute or was substituted during games. Even though he showed flashes of great skill, he was not always consistent. This meant he did not always have a guaranteed spot in Iraklis' starting team.
Moving to Brescia
In July 2010, Kone joined Brescia Calcio in Italy for the 2010–11 Serie B season. He played very well, impressing the club with his skills, speed, and ability to score goals. After Brescia was relegated from Serie A in 2011, Kone moved to Bologna on a loan deal for the 2011–12 season. Bologna also had the option to buy him permanently.
Playing for Bologna
Kone initially joined Bologna to replace another player who had left. In June 2013, Bologna officially bought Kone completely from Brescia for €1.6 million. At that time, both clubs owned a part of his contract. After the deal, Kone extended his contract with Bologna until June 2017. He became known in Italy for scoring some amazing goals. One memorable goal was a scissor-kick volley against Napoli, which helped his team win 3–2 away from home.
On November 24, 2013, Kone scored his first goal of the 2013–14 season in a 1–1 draw against Internazionale. In May 2014, Bologna was relegated to Serie B after losing to Catania. After the loss, Kone was very upset and cried on the field. He was one of the few players who had a good season for the team.
Joining Udinese
Despite interest from other clubs, Udinese signed Kone. On January 22, 2015, Kone scored an equalizing goal for Udinese in the 2014–15 Coppa Italia against Napoli. Even though he scored, Udinese was eliminated from the tournament after a penalty shootout. On March 22, he scored his first Serie A goal for Udinese against Fiorentina. He said his goal was important for the team and that they played a great game.
On August 23, 2015, Kone came on as a substitute in the first match of the 2015–16 Serie A season. He helped Udinese end Juventus' long unbeaten streak at home by assisting a goal in a 1–0 away win. In October 2015, Udinese announced that Kone had a calf injury while playing for Greece, which kept him out for about two and a half months. He returned on December 17, 2015, scoring an impressive goal against Lazio in the 2015–16 Coppa Italia. He controlled a cross with his heel and then acrobatically kicked the ball into the top corner. However, Lazio won the game 2–1.
Kone faced more injuries in the 2016-17 season. In October 2016, Udinese announced that he had dislocated his shoulder.
Loan to Fiorentina
On January 31, 2016, Kone joined Fiorentina on a loan deal from Udinese. Fiorentina had the option to buy him permanently. Kone had been struggling with injuries, which limited his appearances for Udinese. He made his debut for Fiorentina on April 10, 2016, coming on as a substitute against Empoli.
Loan to Granada
On January 19, 2017, Kone was loaned to the Spanish club Granada for six months.
Return to AEK Athens
On August 30, 2017, Kone returned to AEK on a season-long loan from Udinese. On November 23, 2017, he played his first game after almost eight months, coming on as a substitute in a UEFA Europa League match against Rijeka. On December 11, 2017, Kone scored his first goal for AEK in 10 years, helping them win 3–1 against Kerkyra.
After his loan, Kone went back to Udinese. On August 31, 2018, he and Udinese agreed to end his contract.
Playing for Western United
On January 31, 2019, Kone became the very first player signed by the new A-League team Western United FC. He signed a two-year deal to play for them in their first season.
International Career
Panagiotis Kone played for Greece at the youth level. After joining Brescia, he was called up to the senior Greece national team by coach Fernando Santos. On November 17, 2010, Kone made his debut for the senior team in a friendly match against Austria, which Greece won 2–1.
Kone was included in the first squad for UEFA Euro 2012. However, he was sent off in a friendly match against Slovenia before the tournament. Because of this, he was not included in Greece's final squad for Euro 2012.
Two years later, Kone's great season with Bologna helped him get selected for the 2014 FIFA World Cup squad. On June 7, 2014, he scored his first goal for Greece in a 2–1 friendly win against Bolivia.
On October 11, 2015, Kone scored a goal in a dramatic 4–3 win over Hungary during the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying matches. He scored with a powerful header from a cross. This was Greece's only win in that qualifying group, and they did not make it to the final tournament.
Career Statistics
International Goals
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 7 June 2014 | Red Bull Arena, Harrison, NJ, United States |  Bolivia |
2–1 | Win | Friendly Match |
| 2. | 11 October 2015 | Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Greece |  Hungary |
4–3 | Win | Euro 2016 Qualifying Match |
Honours
AEK Athens
- Super League Greece: 2017–18
See also
In Spanish: Panagiotis Kone para niños
