Andreas Samaris ( el, Ανδρέας Σάμαρης; born 13 June 1989) is a Greek professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who plays 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 ...
for Portuguese
Primeira Liga
The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...
club
Rio Ave
Rio Ave Futebol Clube, commonly known as Rio Ave (), is a Football in Portugal, Portuguese professional Association football, football club based in Vila do Conde, that competes in the Primeira Liga. The club is named after the Ave River, which ...
.
After winning
Superleague Greece
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 ...
with
Olympiakos in 2014, he signed with
Benfica in Portugal for €10 million. With them, he has won four
Primeira Liga
The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...
, one
Taça de Portugal, two
Taça da Liga
The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual football club competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the Primeira Liga and LigaPro, the top two tier ...
and two
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira.
A full international since 2013, Samaris represented
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 ...
at the
2014 FIFA World Cup
The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...
.
Club career
Greece
Samaris started his career in
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 ...
side
Panachaiki in 2006, making a total of 37 league appearances and scored three goals for the club.
On 10 April 2007, he signed his first professional contract with
Panachaiki, where he was coached by future
Australia national team
Sport is an important part of Australia that dates back to the early colonial period. Australian rules football, rugby league, rugby union, association football, cricket and tennis are among the earliest organised sports in Australia. Sport ha ...
manager
Ange Postecoglou
Angelos Postecoglou ( el, Άγγελος Ποστέκογλου, ; born 27 August 1965) is an Australian association football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Scottish Premiership club Celtic.
Born in Greece, he moved ...
. On 11 January 2010, Samaris moved to
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'') ...
.
Samaris joined
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 ...
in 2012 but spent the season on loan at Panionios. In 2013, he returned to Olympiacos and scored his first goal with the club on 23 November 2013, in an away 4–1 victory against
Panthrakikos
Panthrakikos Football Club ( el, Α.Π.Σ. Πανθρακικός) is a Greek football club based in Komotini, Thrace in North Eastern Greece founded in 1963. The club competed in Super League Greece during the 2008–09 season for the first time. ...
. Samaris ended the league with 38 appearances and scored four goals en route to the Greeks' 41st title.
Benfica
On 22 August 2014, Samaris moved abroad and joined Portuguese champions
Benfica on a five-year contract for a transfer fee of €10 million and with a €45 million release clause. He made his debut for Benfica on 12 September against
Vitória Sétubal.
At the end of the
2014–15 season, Samaris mentioned that the Portuguese language was a barrier in his first year with the club. The Greek international stressed the importance of learning it by stating, "I liked to learn Portuguese because I became closer to my colleagues. The most important is to understand what my coach says because there was an idea of game and I had to adapt faster than the others."
On 29 August 2015, in the second day of
2015–16 Primeira Liga
The 2015–16 Primeira Liga (also known as Liga NOS for sponsorship reasons) was the 82nd season of the Primeira Liga, the top professional league for Portuguese association football clubs. The fixtures were determined by draw on 4 July 2015. The ...
, Samaris, after an assist from Greek teammate
Kostas Mitroglou, scored with a right-footed shot from outside the box to the bottom left corner, the second goal giving the lead to his club in a 3–2 win against
Moreirense
Moreirense Futebol Clube is a Portuguese professional football club based in Moreira de Cónegos, Guimarães Municipality, in Minho. Founded on 1 November 1938, it plays in the Liga Portugal 2, holding home games at Parque de Jogos Comendador Joa ...
. It was his first goal in the
Primeira Liga
The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...
. On 1 April 2016, he scored his second goal in the Portuguese league, with a
direct free kick
A free kick is a method of restarting play in association football. It is awarded after an infringement of the laws by the opposing team.
Direct and indirect free kicks
Free kicks may be either direct or indirect, distinguished as follows:
...
, in a 5–1 home game against
Braga. On 4 March 2017, in a 1–0 away game against
C.D. Feirense
Clube Desportivo Feirense, commonly known as CD Feirense or just Feirense, is a Portuguese football club based in Santa Maria da Feira. Founded on 18 March 1918, Feirense play in the LigaPro, the second tier of Portuguese football. Their chair ...
, Samaris reached 100 appearances with the jersey of Benfica. In that season, he also played in the
Taça de Portugal final, which Benfica won over
Vitória de Guimarães (2–1).
On 11 March 2019, Samaris scored a
volley
Volley or Volly may refer to:
People
* Volly De Faut (1904–1973), American jazz reed player
* Paul Volley (born 1971), English rugby union player
Sports
* Volley (association football), an air-borne strike in association football
*In some rack ...
in a league match, giving his team a two-goal lead in an eventual 2–2 home draw to
Belenenses
Clube de Futebol Os Belenenses, commonly known as Os Belenenses (), is a Portuguese sports club best known for its football team. Founded in 1919, it is one of the oldest Portuguese sports clubs. It is based in the 25,000-seat Estádio do Reste ...
. It was his first goal in the
2018–19 season in all competitions. On 14 May, he extended his contract with Benfica until 2023.
On 21 July 2021, Andreas Samaris starts training with Benfica’s B team today. The 32-year-old Greek international midfielder is not part of
Jorge Jesus
Jorge Fernando Pinheiro de Jesus (; born 24 July 1954) is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe.
He started his career with Sporting CP, going on to play for 12 ...
’ plans and has refused all Benfica’s attempts to negotiate a mutually agreed termination of the contract that runs until 2023. Eventually on 31 August 2021, Samaris agreed with the club for the termination of his contract.
Fortuna Sittard
On 19 November 2021,
Fortuna Sittard announced the acquisition of Andreas Samaris until the end of the season. The 32-year-old international midfielder was released last summer and was looking for the next stage of his career, finding a football home in the
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...
, has signed a link valid until the end of the current season. The Dutch club in its announcement does not mention anything about a purchase option. On 27 November 2021, he made his debut with the club as a late substitute in a frustrating 1–4 loss against
FC Groningen
Football Club Groningen () is a Dutch professional association football club based in Groningen, province of Groningen. Founded on 16 June 1971 as the successor of GVAV, the team compete in the Eredivisie, the highest tier of Dutch football. G ...
.
Rio Ave
On 29 August 2022, Samaris returned to Portugal and signed a one-season contract with
Rio Ave
Rio Ave Futebol Clube, commonly known as Rio Ave (), is a Football in Portugal, Portuguese professional Association football, football club based in Vila do Conde, that competes in the Primeira Liga. The club is named after the Ave River, which ...
.
International career
Samaris is a former
Greece under-19 international.
He made his debut in a
2008 European Under-19 Championship qualifier against
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
In October 2013, he was called up to the
Greek senior side by manager Fernando Santos and made a substitute appearance in the final group qualifier against
Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...
, also coming off the bench in the two play-off matches against
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
. After a strong season with Olympiakos, Santos opted to select Samaris to his final 23-man squad for the
2014 FIFA World Cup
The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...
.
On 24 June 2014, in his first appearance in a final tournament of the World Cup and against the
Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
, Samaris opened the scoring after capitalizing on
Cheick Tioté's defensive mistake in the 42nd minute in an eventual 2–1 victory; Samaris came on as an early replacement for the injured
Panagiotis Kone.
Career statistics
Club
International
Honours
Olympiacos
*
Super League Greece
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 ...
:
2013–14
Benfica
*
Primeira Liga
The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...
:
2014–15,
2015–16,
2016–17,
2018–19
*
Taça de Portugal:
2016–17
*
Taça da Liga
The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual football club competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the Primeira Liga and LigaPro, the top two tier ...
:
2014–15,
2015–16
*
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira:
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
,
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samaris, Andreas
1989 births
Living people
Footballers from Patras
Association football midfielders
Greek footballers
Greece youth international footballers
Greece international footballers
Panachaiki F.C. players
Panionios F.C. players
Olympiacos F.C. players
S.L. Benfica footballers
Fortuna Sittard players
Rio Ave F.C. players
Super League Greece players
Primeira Liga players
Eredivisie players
2014 FIFA World Cup players
Greek expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Portugal
Greek expatriate sportspeople in Portugal
Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands
Greek expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands