Vasilis Torosidis facts for kids
Torosidis with Roma in 2013
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Vasilios Torosidis | ||
| Date of birth | 10 June 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Xanthi, Greece | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Right-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Skoda Xanthi | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2002–2007 | Skoda Xanthi | 76 | (3) |
| 2007–2013 | Olympiacos | 134 | (12) |
| 2013–2016 | Roma | 60 | (4) |
| 2016–2018 | Bologna | 44 | (1) |
| 2018–2020 | Olympiacos | 19 | (0) |
| Total | 333 | (20) | |
| International career | |||
| 2007–2019 | Greece | 101 | (10) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Vasilis Torosidis (Greek: Βασίλης Τοροσίδης, born on June 10, 1985) is a Greek former professional footballer. He played mainly as a right-back, which is a defensive position on the right side of the field.
Contents
Vasilis Torosidis: A Football Star
Early Career at Skoda Xanthi
Vasilis Torosidis started his professional football journey at Skoda Xanthi. He made his first team debut on April 19, 2003, when he was just 17 years old. His first goal in the Super League came on October 17, 2005, against Iraklis. He played 76 games for Skoda Xanthi over five years. His strong performances caught the eye of Greece's biggest clubs. These included AEK Athens, Olympiacos, and Panathinaikos. In the end, he decided to join Olympiacos on January 1, 2007.
Time at Olympiacos
Torosidis moved to Olympiacos in January 2007. He quickly scored his first goal for the team on January 21, 2007, against PAOK. He also scored his first European goal for Olympiacos in the 2008–09 UEFA Cup. This was a 5–0 home win against FC Nordsjælland. He scored another goal in the group stage against Hertha BSC.
In 2009, Torosidis signed a new contract with Olympiacos. This deal was set to last until June 31, 2013. Many big European clubs were watching him. These included Newcastle United, Roma, Juventus, Atlético Madrid, and Bayern Munich.
In February 2011, Olympiacos faced consequences due to fan behavior. The team had to play one game without fans. This happened after a match against Panathinaikos. Torosidis also received a five-game ban after being sent off in that game.
By January 2013, Torosidis decided not to sign another contract with Olympiacos. He wanted to play in a different European league. He told the Sun newspaper, "I want to move abroad." On January 22, 2013, he moved from Olympiacos to Roma. He signed a contract with the Italian club until June 31, 2015.
Playing for Roma
On January 23, 2013, Torosidis joined Italian team Roma. The transfer cost €400,000. He signed a contract until June 30, 2015, with an option for another year. Roma's sporting director, Sabatini, was happy to have him. He said Torosidis was an "experienced player" who had played for the best team in Greece.
Torosidis made his first appearance for Roma in a 3–3 draw against Bologna. He scored his first goal for Roma in a 3–2 away win over Atalanta. He also scored in a Coppa Italia semi-final match against Internazionale. Roma won that game 3–2 and reached the 2013 Coppa Italia Final. However, they lost the final to Lazio.
On January 9, 2014, Torosidis scored an early goal for Roma. This helped them win 1–0 against Sampdoria in the Coppa Italia. This win was important after a league loss. On March 17, 2014, Torosidis scored again as Roma beat Udinese Calcio. This helped Roma stay in second place in Serie A.
On August 2, 2014, Roma announced that Torosidis had signed a new contract. This kept him at the club until 2017. He said he wanted to win something with Roma. He believed they were a strong team with big goals. On May 16, 2015, Torosidis scored the winning goal in a 2–1 Serie A game against Udinese Calcio.
In the 2015–16 season, Torosidis scored his first goal on September 29, 2015. This was in a UEFA Champions League match against FC BATE Borisov. Roma lost that game 3–2. He faced several injuries during this season. This caused him to lose his starting position.
Moving to Bologna
On August 31, 2016, Torosidis moved to Bologna. The transfer cost €1 million. He signed a contract until June 30, 2018. He made his first appearance for Bologna on September 11, 2016. He came on as a substitute in a 2–1 home win against Cagliari Calcio.
In October 2016, Torosidis got injured while playing for Greece. He had to leave the game against Estonia after only 18 minutes. He missed about 15 days due to a muscle injury. He returned to play on October 23, 2016. On February 4, 2017, he scored his first goal for Bologna. This was in a tough 7–1 home loss against Napoli. On February 26, 2017, he received a red card in a game against Genoa. This left his team with 10 players.
He started the 2017–18 season as a regular player. However, he suffered more injuries. On November 25, 2017, he received two yellow cards in a game against Sampdoria. This meant he was sent off, but his team still won 3–0. He continued to face hamstring and muscle problems in 2018. On July 1, 2018, he left Bologna by agreement.
Back to Olympiacos
On July 28, 2018, after five years in Italy, Torosidis returned to Greece. He signed a contract with his former club, Olympiacos. On October 25, 2018, he scored a header in a UEFA Europa League group stage game. This gave Olympiacos the lead in a 2–0 away win against F91 Dudelange. He was even included in the UEFA Europa League team of the week!
On November 1, 2018, he scored again in a Greek Cup game against Panachaiki. This was his first goal for the club in the 2018–19 season. A week later, he scored another goal in a 5–1 win against F91 Dudelange in the UEFA Europa League.
Retirement from Football
On September 13, 2020, Vasilis Torosidis officially announced his retirement from professional football. His last game was the 2019–20 Greek Football Cup final. Olympiacos won that game 1–0 against AEK, and Torosidis was the team leader.
International Career with Greece
Playing for the National Team
Torosidis made his first appearance for the Greece national team in 2007. This was in a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier against Turkey. After another player retired, Torosidis became Greece's main left-back. He scored his first international goal in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Luxembourg. He was also part of the Greek squad for Euro 2008.
On June 18, 2010, in a World Cup game against Nigeria, Torosidis scored a very important goal. This goal gave Greece a 2–1 win. It was Greece's first ever win at a World Cup!
Torosidis scored an own goal in a 1–1 draw with Romania. However, this did not stop Greece from qualifying for the 2014 World Cup. This was Greece's third time qualifying for a World Cup. From his debut in 2007, Greece always qualified for major tournaments. Many people call this period the "Golden Era" of Greek football.
On October 10, 2017, he scored his 10th goal for the national team against Gibraltar. At 32 years old, he became the first defender in Greece's history to score ten international goals. Five of these goals were headers!
Career Statistics
Club Appearances and Goals
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Skoda Xanthi | 2002–03 | Super League Greece | 4 | 0 | – | – | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2003–04 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 17 | 0 | |||
| 2004–05 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | 22 | 1 | |||
| 2005–06 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 2 | ||
| 2006–07 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 1 | ||
| Total | 76 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 84 | 4 | ||
| Olympiacos | 2006–07 | Super League Greece | 11 | 1 | – | – | 11 | 1 | ||
| 2007–08 | 26 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 37 | 2 | ||
| 2008–09 | 19 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 31 | 4 | ||
| 2009–10 | 24 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 33 | 6 | ||
| 2010–11 | 20 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 3 | ||
| 2011–12 | 22 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 34 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 18 | 3 | ||
| Total | 134 | 12 | 19 | 3 | 34 | 4 | 187 | 19 | ||
| Roma | 2012–13 | Serie A | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | 12 | 2 | |
| 2013–14 | 18 | 1 | 4 | 1 | – | 22 | 2 | |||
| 2014–15 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 28 | 2 | ||
| 2015–16 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 1 | ||
| Total | 60 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 12 | 1 | 77 | 7 | ||
| Bologna | 2016–17 | Serie A | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 1 |
| 2017–18 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | ||
| Total | 44 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 1 | ||
| Olympiacos | 2018–19 | Super League Greece | 13 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 25 | 3 |
| 2019–20 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 1 | ||
| Total | 19 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 36 | 4 | ||
| Career total | 333 | 20 | 36 | 8 | 60 | 7 | 429 | 35 | ||
- A. Includes appearances in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.
International Appearances and Goals
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greece | |||
| 2007 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 11 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2010 | 9 | 2 | |
| 2011 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2012 | 12 | 2 | |
| 2013 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 12 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 10 | 2 | |
| 2017 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 101 | 10 | |
- Scores and results list Greece's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Torosidis goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 September 2008 | Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg | 17 |  Luxembourg |
1–0 | 3–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 14 October 2009 | Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece | 25 | Luxembourg |
1–0 | 2–1 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 17 June 2010 | Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, South Africa | 28 |  Nigeria |
2–1 | 2–1 | 2010 FIFA World Cup |
| 4 | 8 October 2010 | Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Greece | 33 |  Latvia |
1–0 | 1–0 | UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying |
| 5 | 26 March 2011 | Ta' Qali National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta | 36 |  Malta |
1–0 | 1–0 | UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying |
| 6 | 26 May 2012 | Kufstein Arena, Kufstein, Austria | 44 |  Slovenia |
1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 7 | 15 August 2012 | Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway | 49 |  Norway |
1–0 | 3–2 | Friendly |
| 8 | 6 September 2016 | Estádio Algarve, Faro/Loulé, Portugal | 85 |  Gibraltar |
4–1 | 4–1 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 9 | 10 October 2016 | A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia | 87 |  Estonia |
1–0 | 2–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 10 | 10 October 2017 | Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Greece | 93 | Gibraltar |
1–0 | 4–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours and Awards
Team Trophies
Olympiacos
- Super League Greece:
- 2006–07
- 2007–08
- 2008–09
- 2010–11
- 2011–12
- 2019–20
- Greek Cup:
- 2007–08
- 2008–09
- 2011–12
- 2019–20
- Greek Super Cup:
- 2007
Individual Awards
- Super League Greece Greek Footballer of the Season: 2009–10
- Super League Greece Team of the Season: 2009–10
See also
In Spanish: Vasilis Torosidis para niños
- List of footballers with more than 100 international caps
