Theofanis Gekas facts for kids

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Fanis Gekas

Gekas training for Bayer Leverkusen in 2007
Personal information
Full name	Theofanis Gekas
Date of birth	(1980-05-23) 23 May 1980 (age 45)
Place of birth	Larissa, Greece
Height	1.80 m
Playing position	Striker
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)
2016–2017	Sion	30	(13)
2017	Sivasspor	10	(2)
Total		480	(210)
National team
2005–2014	Greece	78	(24)
Teams managed
2021–2022	Panegialios
2022	Akhisarspor
2023	Darıca Gençlerbirliği
2023–2024	Tilikratis
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Theofanis "Fanis" Gekas (Greek: Θεοφάνης "Φάνης" Γκέκας), born on May 23, 1980, is a Greek football expert. He used to be a professional football player, playing as a striker. Now, he is a coach.

Fanis was a top scorer in Greece's Superleague and Germany's Bundesliga. He played most of his career in Greece, Germany, and Turkey. He also played in England and Spain.

He played for the Greek national team in two European Championships and two World Cups. He played 78 games for Greece between 2005 and 2014. He was the top scorer in the European part of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers with 10 goals. With 24 goals, he is Greece's third highest goal scorer of all time.

Fanis Gekas's Club Journey

Starting Out at AEL

Fanis Gekas began his professional football career in 1998. He joined his hometown club, AEL, which was then in the Greek Second Division.

Success with Kallithea

In 2001, after three years at Larissa, Gekas moved to Kallithea. In his first season, Kallithea was promoted to the top Greek league. Gekas scored 14 goals in 26 league games. He became the top scorer of the 2001–02 league. Overall, he scored 30 goals in 87 second division matches for Larissa and Kallithea.

Joining Panathinaikos

Gekas scored 46 goals in 80 games for Kallithea. In early 2005, he moved to Panathinaikos. At his new club, Gekas became the top scorer in the Greek league in 2005 with 18 goals. He was called up to the national team. He played his first game in March 2005 against Albania. Gekas also played in the Confederations Cup 2005. For Panathinaikos, he scored 23 goals in 41 games. In the 2005–06 season, Gekas played in the UEFA Champions League. He finished second in the Greek top scorers list that season.

Time at VfL Bochum

In 2006, VfL Bochum, a German club, wanted Gekas. Panathinaikos loaned Gekas to VfL Bochum for €300,000. Bochum had just been promoted to the top German league, the Bundesliga. They had an option to buy him if they stayed in the top division.

During the 2006–07 season, VfL Bochum was trying to avoid being relegated. Gekas quickly became a key player and a favorite among fans. His goals were celebrated with Greek sirtaki music. His coach called him their "life insurance." Bochum stayed in the Bundesliga. Gekas finished the season as the Bundesliga's top scorer with 20 goals.

Moving to Bayer Leverkusen

In April 2007, VfL Bochum agreed to transfer Gekas to Bayer 04 Leverkusen. His first game for Bayer Leverkusen was a friendly match. Bayer won 15–1, and Gekas scored seven of those goals. Even though he was Bayer Leverkusen's top scorer in the 2007–08 season, he often started games from the bench. After a teammate got injured, Gekas returned to the starting lineup. He scored three goals in three games. This included two goals against Hamburg, helping Leverkusen reach the UEFA Cup quarter-finals in March 2008.

Loan Spell at Portsmouth

On February 2, 2009, Gekas was loaned by Leverkusen to Portsmouth in England. He was brought in by manager Tony Adams. However, Adams was soon replaced by Paul Hart. Gekas did not play many games. He expressed his wish to leave the club.

On April 11, 2009, he played for one minute as a substitute. This was in a 2–2 draw against West Bromwich Albion. It was his only game for Portsmouth. His loan ended early on May 21, 2009, and he went back to Bayer Leverkusen.

Return to Bayer Leverkusen

While playing for his national team, Gekas became the top scorer in the European qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup. But at Leverkusen, he faced strong competition from other strikers. He struggled to get a regular spot in the team. He left the club after half a year.

Playing for Hertha BSC

On December 17, 2009, Gekas was loaned to Hertha BSC for six months. In his first game for Hertha, he scored in a 3–0 win against Hannover 96. Despite this good start, Hertha struggled in the Bundesliga. Gekas's best game was on March 21, 2010. He scored three goals in a 5–1 win against German champions VfL Wolfsburg. Hertha was eventually relegated. Gekas scored 6 goals in 17 games for the club.

Time at Eintracht Frankfurt

On May 19, 2010, Gekas signed a two-year contract with Eintracht Frankfurt. He scored 16 goals in 34 games. However, this was not enough to stop Eintracht from being relegated to the German second division.

Gekas left Eintracht with some discussion. Some people wondered why he hadn't learned German after living in Germany for almost six years. Gekas replied, "I am being paid to score goals, not to speak." This showed his focus on his main job: scoring goals.

Later Career Clubs

On January 7, 2012, Gekas signed a six-month contract with Samsunspor in Turkey. He scored his first goals against Orduspor. Two weeks later, he scored three goals in a game against Fenerbahçe.

In August 2012, Gekas moved to Spain's La Liga. He signed a two-year contract with Levante UD. He left the club on November 27 of the same year.

On January 25, 2013, Gekas signed a contract with Turkish club Akhisar Belediyespor. They were trying to avoid relegation. He scored a goal in his first game on February 1, 2013. Gekas scored 12 goals in 15 games for the rest of the 2012–13 season. Akhisar managed to avoid relegation.

On September 5, 2013, Gekas signed a one-year contract with Torku Konyaspor in Turkey. He wore the number 22 shirt.

On July 26, 2014, Gekas returned to Akhisar Belediyespor. He signed a two-year contract. On April 3, 2015, his manager, Roberto Carlos, surprisingly left him out of the team. This happened even though Gekas was the club's top scorer and had no injuries.

On July 7, 2015, Gekas signed a one-year contract with Eskişehirspor in Turkey. On November 20, 2015, Gekas left Eskişehirspor after his contract was ended by agreement.

On February 1, 2016, Gekas joined Sion in Switzerland. He signed a contract until summer 2017. Six days later, he made his debut as a substitute in a win against FC Zürich. On February 17, he played his first UEFA Europa League game. On February 24, 2016, Gekas scored two amazing goals against Sporting Braga in the Europa League. However, Sion did not advance to the next round. On February 27, 2016, he scored two goals in a 3–2 win against FC Luzern. On April 23, 2016, he scored three goals in Sion's win against FC Lugano. He became the club's second top scorer with 10 goals in just 12 games. On August 27, 2016, he scored his first goal of the 2016–17 season. On October 29, 2016, he scored two goals in a 5–1 win against FC Lugano.

On December 14, 2016, Sivasspor in Turkey announced they had signed Gekas. On February 20, 2017, he scored his first league goal for Sivasspor. It was a late goal that gave his team a 3–2 win. This was important for their goal of being promoted. On March 19, 2017, he got an injury that kept him out of action for 1–2 months. On May 7, 2017, he returned to the team as a substitute.

Playing for Greece: International Career

Gekas playing with the Greece national team against Germany at Euro 2012.

Gekas helped the Greek national team reach UEFA Euro 2008. He also became the top scorer in the European qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup with 10 goals. At the 2010 World Cup, he helped Greece get their first-ever victory in a World Cup. Gekas is also the fifth highest goal scorer for the Greek national team. On September 9, 2010, Gekas announced he was retiring from the national team. He mentioned "special circumstances inside the team."

One year later, Gekas said it was a mistake to retire. He made himself available again to play for the national team.

He was part of the Greek team at UEFA Euro 2012. He played in every match. He scored one goal in a 2–1 loss against the Czech Republic. Greece reached the quarter-finals of the tournament.

At the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Gekas started Greece's first match against Colombia. They lost 3–0. Gekas came on as a substitute in later games against Japan (a 0–0 draw) and Ivory Coast (a 2–1 win). These results helped Greece reach the knockout stage of the World Cup for the first time. In Greece's match against Costa Rica, Gekas came on as a substitute. He helped set up a goal that tied the game. The match was decided by a penalty shootout. Gekas was the only player to miss his penalty, and Costa Rica won 5–3.

Gekas later said that he would not return to the Greek national team. He thanked everyone he worked with and hoped the current players would bring the team success.

Fanis Gekas's Family Life

After the 2008 European Championships, Fanis Gekas's wife, Vasso, gave birth to twins. Their names are Nikolaos and Mikaela-Lamprini.

Career Statistics

Club Appearances and Goals

International Appearances and Goals

International Goals Scored

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.
6.
7.	20 August 2008	Bratislava, Slovakia	Slovakia	0–2	Win	Friendly Match
8.
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.
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.
18.
19.
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

Managerial Statistics

Awards and Honours

Individual Achievements

• Greek Super League top scorer: 2004–05 (18 goals)
• Bundesliga top scorer: 2006–07 (20 goals)
• 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers UEFA section top scorer

See also

In Spanish: Theofanis Gekas para niños