Angelos Messaris (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: Άγγελος Μεσσάρης; 1910-1978) was a

footballer. He played for

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...

and he is widely regarded as the best Greek player of the pre-war era. This is probably also due to the myth that for decades followed his sudden and mysterious early leaving from football. He made his last appearance in the football field on 23 April 1931 at the age of 21, in a match against

AEK Athens A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greece, Greek multi-sport club based in Nea ...

. Panathinaikos were losing 2-0 but Messaris tied the score with two reverse headers and he received great cheering. His nickname was ''"Ο Ξανθός Άγγελος, The Blonde

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

"''

Career

Playing career

Messaris was descended from the Messaris family of

Kefalonia Kefalonia or Cephalonia ( el, Κεφαλονιά), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallenia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It ...

, an island in the Ionian sea, but he was born in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in 1910. In 1924, he moved to Athens, and spent three years at

Goudi Goudi (, since 2006; formerly Γουδί ) is a residential neighbourhood of Athens, Greece, on the eastern part of town and on the foothills of Mount Hymettus. History The name of the area derives from the 19th century Goudi (Γουδή) famil ...

before transferring to Panathinaikos. His dribbling skills, his ball control together with his versatile mind and hard work quickly propelled him up the ranks in Greek football. During his short career he scored 53 goals: 23 in the Athens FCA Championship, 11 in the

Panhellenic Championship 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 ...

, 2 with the Greece national team and 17 in international and friendly games of Panathinaikos and the mixed team of

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 ...

. He was first scorer in the 1929–30 season with 7 goals. Aggelos Messaris is widely known for his performance in the 8–2 victory over rivals Olympiakos, where he scored three goals and had three assists. This is the largest win either rival had recorded against each other. He also performed well in a 4–1 victory versus

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Howard, Former President of the Jama ...

, which inspired the following chant: ''"We scored eight to Olympiakos and four more to Aris. Hooray to Angelos Messaris!" (

: "Εβάλαμε οκτώ στον Ολυμπιακό και άλλα τέσσερα στον Άρη. Γεια σου Άγγελε Μεσσάρη!")''

After football

After giving up football, Messaris concentrated on his studies at the

National Technical University of Athens The National (Metsovian) Technical University of Athens (NTUA; el, Εθνικό Μετσόβιο Πολυτεχνείο, ''National Metsovian Polytechnic''), sometimes known as Athens Polytechnic, is among the oldest higher education institution ...

. Then he returned to South Africa where he concluded his studies and following this he came back to Greece where he became an executive manager at the Doxiadis enterprises. It is said that the reason why he left Panathinaikos rests on the unbearable pressure Apostolos Nikolaidis was putting on him in order to persuade him to commit himself to football and forget about his studies at

NTUA The National (Metsovian) Technical University of Athens (NTUA; el, Εθνικό Μετσόβιο Πολυτεχνείο, ''National Metsovian Polytechnic''), sometimes known as Athens Polytechnic, is among the oldest higher education institution ...

. In a short telephone talk that he had with journalist Dimitris Liberopoulos back in 1973 Messaris said: "Please leave me alone... The football player you are asking for died in 1931". He died in 1978 and his funeral was attended by thousands of people.http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JGCOxpOgZRw/T89X7bqHDMI/AAAAAAAABjQ/ZzJkVSOsdN8/s1600/messaris_pethane.jpg

Honours

: :: 1929–30 * Athens FCA Championship (3): ::

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

top scorer : ::

* Athens FCA Championship top scorer (2): ::

External links

pao.gr
Panathinaikos F.C. Official website

greenzone.gr * ttps://web.archive.org/web/20121030222243/http://www.leoforos.gr/history/301/1921-1930 1921-1930 leoforos.gr
9/3: Τα τρελά εννιάρια του «ψηλού» στο Λίβερπουλ και οι δηλώσεις του Άγγελου Μεσσάρη
greenzone.gr

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Messaris, Angelos Panathinaikos F.C. players 1910 births 1978 deaths Greece international footballers Association football forwards South African people of Greek descent Naturalized citizens of Greece Footballers from Athens Greek footballers