Anastasios "Tasos" Katsabis ( Greek: Αναστάσιος "Τάσος" Κατσαμπής; born 30 July 1973) is a former Greek football player, who last played for

Iraklis Thessaloniki F.C. Gymnastic Club Iraklis Thessaloniki Football Club ( el, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Ηρακλής Θεσσαλονίκης) is a Greek professional football club based in the city of Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece. As of 2022, t ...

Greek Super League The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

as a centre back. Katsabis started his career as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

but when he was played at PAOK,

Angelos Anastasiadis Angelos Anastasiadis (; born 8 March 1953) is a Greek football manager and former international footballer. He previously coached numerous clubs in Greece including PAOK, Panathinaikos, Platanias and PAS Giannina as well as the Greece and Cyp ...

tried him as a centre back because of his height. It was by playing his new position that he gained his first call-up in the Ethniki.

Club career

Early career

Katsabis started his career in the amateur club of Iraklis Neo Irakleio. In 1992, he got transferred to the semi-professional club

Acharnaikos Acharnaikos Football Club ( el, Α.Ο. Αχαρναϊκός) is a Greek football club based in Acharnes (Menidi area), Attica, Greece. It was created in 1938 and was founded in 1953. The club was known as Yperochi Menidi until 1961. It plays in Ac ...

, at that time playing in the Delta Ethniki. Katsabis assisted the club to achieve its promotion to the

Gamma Ethniki The Gamma Ethniki ( el, Γ΄ Εθνική Ερασιτεχνική Κατηγορία, C National Amateur Division) is the third highest football league in Greece. History The Gamma Ethniki began in 1965 as an amateur championship, while in 198 ...

by scoring 6 goals. In the next season Katsabis was an automatic choice in the starting 11 of

missing just one match out of 34 and scoring 7 goals. His good performances attracted the attention of Alpha Ethniki club

Panionios Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan- Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis'') ...

that signed him in the summer of 1994.

Panionios

Katsabis was titular in

from his first season in the club. In the 1994–95 season he played in 29 matches and scored 2 goals, helping

to avoid relegation. In his second season for the club he featured in 30 matches and scored 3 goals, but

suffered relegation to the

Beta Ethniki The Football League ( el, Φούτμπολ Λιγκ) was the second highest professional football league in Greece since its inception in 1962 as ''Beta Ethniki'' and until 2019. It then served as a third tier after the creation of the Super Lea ...

. Panionios was a firm favorite for promotion in the next season, and Katsabis propelled the club to winning the

Betta Ethniki The Football League ( el, Φούτμπολ Λιγκ) was the second highest professional football league in Greece since its inception in 1962 as ''Beta Ethniki'' and until 2019. It then served as a third tier after the creation of the Super Le ...

championship by scoring 11 goals in 31 games. The next season was the best of the club since years as the club won the Greek Cup. Katsabis was in the starting 11 of the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

. In the

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

he featured in 28 matches and scored 5 goals. After the Greek Cup success Katsabis along with other teammates ( Vokolos, Nalitzis, Fyssas), attracted the attention of the top clubs in Greece. He finally signed for PAOK in the summer transfer window of 1998.

PAOK

From day one Katsabis was an important first team player for PAOK. In his first season he helped PAOK to finish in the 4th position and win qualification to the

UEFA CUP A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

. In total he played in 31 matches and scored 4 goals. In his next season PAOK ended up in the 5th position in the

and Katsabis was once again mainly in the starting 11 (27 matches). The next season brought glory to both PAOK and Katsabis. PAOK won the Greek Cup. Katsabis captained the club in the final, a match held in

Nikos Goumas Stadium Nikos Goumas Stadium ( el, Στάδιο Νίκος Γκούμας) was a multi-purpose stadium in Nea Filadelfeia, a northwestern suburb of Athens, Greece. It was used mostly for football matches and was the home stadium of AEK Athens F.C. It is ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

that found PAOK victorious against

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

by 4–2. In the

Katsabis featured in 23 matches and scored 2 goals. In his last season for the PAOK he played in 25 matches and scored 2 goals helping the club to achieve its 6th consecutive

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

qualification.

Iraklis

After his successful spell with PAOK Katsabis signed a contract with

Iraklis Thessaloniki Gymnasticos Syllogos Iraklis ( el, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Ηρακλής, en, Gymnastics Club Heracles), commonly referred to as Iraklis, is a Greek multi-sports club based in Thessaloniki. The club was founded in 1908 as "Mace ...

. He has proved himself indispensable for the club being thought of as the first team choice during his nine years he played for

Iraklis Gymnasticos Syllogos Iraklis ( el, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Ηρακλής, en, Gymnastics Club Heracles), commonly referred to as Iraklis, is a Greek multi-sports club based in Thessaloniki. The club was founded in 1908 as "Mace ...

. He featured in at least 22 matches each season of a possible 30 totaling over 200 appearances for the club, most were as a starter. He debuted for

in a 3–0 victory against OFI in the first matchday of the 2002–03 season. His first goal was scored in the 16th minute of a match against

Egaleo Aigaleo or Egaleo ( el, Αιγάλεω ) is a suburban municipality in the western part of Athens, belonging to the West Athens regional administrative unit. It takes its name from Mount Aigaleo. Its population was 69,946 at the 2011 census. Ge ...

. It was the second goal of the team in a match that found

victorious by 2–0. From the 2006–07 season till his retirement he captained

. In a match against

Atromitos Atromitos (Greek: Ατρόμητος, "fearless") may refer to: * Atromitos F.C., a football team based in Peristeri, Athens, Greece * Atromitos Piraeus, a football team based in Piraeus, Athens, Greece * Atromitos Yeroskipou, a football team curr ...

, on 10 September 2010, in

Peristeri Stadium Peristeri Stadium (also known as the Atromitos Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Peristeri, a western district of Athens, Greece. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Atromitos Atromitos (Greek: Ατρ� ...

Katsabis made his 400th appearance in the top tier of Greek football ( Alpha Ethniki or Superleague). Katsabis retired in a match against former club PAOK. He was lauded by Iraklis and PAOK with a standing ovation by the Iraklis' supporters when he was substituted by Stamou in the 71st minute of the match.

International

Katsabis made nine appearances for

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. Katsabis debuted for

as a starter in a 1–0 win against

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

on 5 February 1999 in

Neo GSZ Stadium GSZ Stadium or Gymnastic Club Zenon Stadium (; Γ.Σ.Ζ., ) is a multi-purpose stadium in Larnaca, Cyprus. Usually it is referred to as the 'neo GSZ Stadium' to distinguish it from the old GSZ Stadium, which it replaced. It is currently used most ...

Larnaca Larnaca ( el, Λάρνακα ; tr, Larnaka) is a city on the south east coast of Cyprus and the capital of the district of the same name. It is the third-largest city in the country, after Nicosia and Limassol, with a metro population of 144 ...

. He scored his sole goal in a friendly match against

Salvador Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ( ...

on 18 August 1999, in Kavala National Stadium. It was scored in the injury time of the match and was the last goal in a 3–1 win for

Honours

Club

Panionios * Greek Cup (1):

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

(1): 1997 PAOK * Greek Cup (1):

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

Individual

*'00 Greek Golden 11 nominee.

References

External links

Guardian Football

Iraklis FC Official Web site

Iraklis FC Official Web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Katsabis, Anastasios 1973 births Living people Greece international footballers Super League Greece players Panionios F.C. players PAOK FC players Iraklis Thessaloniki F.C. players Association football central defenders Footballers from Athens Greek footballers