Theodoros Zagorakis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Theodoros Zagorakis
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Θεόδωρος Ζαγοράκης
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Zagorakis in 2019
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| Member of the European Parliament | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 1 July 2014 – 16 July 2024 |
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| President of Hellenic Football Federation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 27 March 2021 – 8 September 2021 |
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| Preceded by | Evangelos Grammenos | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Panagiotis Dimitriou | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President of PAOK | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 18 June 2007 – 8 October 2009 |
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| Preceded by | Nikolaos Vezyrtzis | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 28 January 2010 – 20 January 2012 |
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| Succeeded by | Zisis Vryzas | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 27 October 1971 Lydia, Kavala, Greece |
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| Profession | Politician | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Association football career
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Theodoros Zagorakis (Greek: Θεόδωρος Ζαγοράκης; born 27 October 1971) is a Greek politician and a former professional footballer. He played as a midfielder. He was the captain of the Greece team that won UEFA Euro 2004. He was also captain and later president of PAOK, a famous Greek football club. In 2004, he was named the Greek Male Athlete of the Year.
He was elected as a Greek MEP (Member of the European Parliament) in May 2014 and May 2019. An MEP is someone who represents their country in the European Parliament, which helps make laws for Europe. He also served as the president of the Hellenic Football Federation from March to September 2021.
Contents
Playing Football: Club Career
Theodoros Zagorakis was a strong central midfielder. He could also play on the right side of the midfield.
Starting with Kavala
Zagorakis began his football journey with Kavala in 1988. This was the same club where his close friend, Zisis Vryzas, also started. Zagorakis played a key role in helping his team reach the Beta Ethniki, which was a higher division in Greek football.
Time at PAOK
In the 1992–93 season, Zagorakis moved from Kavala to PAOK during the winter transfer period. He played for PAOK until December 1997. In his last two seasons there, he was the team's captain. He was known for almost always playing in important league matches and scoring crucial goals. His best season for goals was 1994–95, when he scored four times.
Playing in England: Leicester City
After his time at PAOK, Zagorakis moved to England in 1998 to play for Leicester City. While in England, he played in two League Cup finals at Wembley Stadium. His team lost the first final against Tottenham Hotspur in 1999. However, they won the second final against Tranmere Rovers in 2000, though he was a substitute and did not play in that match. Leicester fans remember Zagorakis for his strong effort in midfield. They also remember a funny moment when he played as a goalkeeper for a short time in a match against Crystal Palace after both regular goalkeepers got injured!
Return to Greece: AEK Athens
Zagorakis was not happy about not playing regularly at Leicester, so he decided to return to Greece in 2000. He joined AEK Athens. There, he played with other Greek stars like Michalis Kapsis and Demis Nikolaidis. He worked very well with other midfielders, helping with both defense and setting up attacks. Sometimes, he even captained the team. One memorable goal he scored for AEK was against Inter Milan in Italy, with a powerful shot in a European competition. With AEK, Zagorakis won the Greek Cup in 2002, beating their rivals Olympiacos.
In his last season with AEK, Zagorakis agreed to take less money to help the club. In the summer of 2004, after his amazing performance at the Euro tournament, he left AEK.
Short Time in Italy: Bologna
On 14 July 2004, Zagorakis left AEK Athens and joined Bologna in Italy. He signed a two-year contract. He was voted the best player of the tournament at Euro 2004. Bologna's owner even called him "our Greek Baggio!"
In the 2004–05 season, Zagorakis played regularly for Bologna. However, the team was moved down to Serie B (a lower division) after losing a special play-off series. The next summer, he left the team because they could no longer afford his salary in the lower division.
Back to PAOK Again
In 2005, Zagorakis returned to Thessaloniki to sign with PAOK once more. He signed a two-year contract. When he arrived at the airport, 7,000 fans were there to welcome him back! However, his return happened during a difficult time for the club, as they had many money and management problems. On 28 May 2007, Zagorakis announced that he was retiring from professional football.
Playing for Greece: International Career
Zagorakis played his first game for the Greece on 7 September 1994. He scored his first goal for Greece against Denmark in 2005. He played 120 games for Greece, which was a record for the most international games played by a Greek player for a long time. He was also the team's captain for the longest period.
Zagorakis was a very important player in Greece's amazing win at the 2004 European Championships. He was named the Player of the Tournament by UEFA and was also included in the Team of the Tournament. He was even considered for the best player awards in the world that year! He holds a record for playing in 57 consecutive matches for the national team, showing how consistently he played.
After 12 years as captain for Greece, Zagorakis announced his retirement from international football on 5 October 2006. However, he played one last special friendly match against Spain on 22 August 2007. He played for about 15 minutes and received a huge cheer from the fans.
Life After Playing: PAOK President
After retiring as a footballer, Theodoros Zagorakis became the new president of PAOK on 18 June 2007.
The club had been having serious money problems for several years. Zagorakis took on the challenge to fix the club's finances. He wanted to attract new investors, earn more money for the club, and get the fans excited again. He said that the strength of PAOK comes from its supporters. He promised to do everything he could to solve the club's money issues.
He worked to reorganize the club's debt and team. He also brought in his former teammate, Zisis Vryzas, as the technical director. By late 2008, PAOK had paid off most of its old debts. They also saw more people buying tickets and more money coming from advertising. The team's performance on the field also got much better.
On 8 October 2009, Zagorakis surprised everyone by saying he would leave the presidency. He mentioned personal problems as the reason. His close friend, Zisis Vryzas, quickly took over.
However, Zagorakis stayed in touch with the club and often went to their home games. He changed his mind and returned as president on 20 January 2010, with Vryzas becoming vice-president.
In January 2012, Zagorakis resigned again as president. This happened after a player was sold for money reasons, which caused protests from the fans.
How He Played Football
UEFA.com described Zagorakis as a "tough, hard-working defensive midfielder with a powerful shot from his right foot." This means he was strong in the middle of the field, good at winning the ball back, and could shoot well.
Political Career
After his football career, Zagorakis started a new path in politics. He became a candidate for the European Parliament in the elections of 25 May 2014. He was part of the New Democracy party. He was elected as an MEP and joined the European People's Party. He was re-elected in the European Parliament in the 2019 elections.
In January 2020, there was a disagreement involving PAOK FC. Zagorakis stated that he could no longer be an MEP for New Democracy because of this. The party's leader decided to remove him from the party. However, in 2021, Zagorakis returned to New Democracy and their group of MEPs. In the 2024 European elections, he ran as a candidate for a different party, PASOK, but he was not elected.
President of Hellenic Football Federation
Theodoros Zagorakis also served as the president of the Hellenic Football Federation (EPO). He was chosen for this role in March 2021. Most of Greece's major football clubs supported him, and he was elected with almost everyone agreeing. He wanted to make Greek football better and fix problems like corruption. However, his time as president was short. He resigned in September 2021 because of disagreements about how the federation was run.
Honours and Awards
Leicester City
- Football League Cup: 1999–2000 (Winner); 1998–99 (Runner-up)
AEK Athens
- Greek Cup: 2001–02 (Winner)
Greece National Team
- UEFA European Championship: 2004 (Winner)
Individual Awards
- PAOK MVP of the Season: 1996–97
- UEFA Euro 2004 Player of the Tournament
- UEFA Euro 2004 Team of the Tournament
- UEFA Euro 2004 final Man of the Match
- Greek Male Athlete of the Year: 2004
See also
In Spanish: Theodoros Zagorakis para niños
