Giannis Kalitzakis ( el, Γιάννης Καλιτζάκης; born 10 February 1966) is a

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 ...

former 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 played as a

center back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. His nickname was ''"The Ninja"'' due to his hard acrobatic tackles and very strong defensive style. He is currently the General manager at

Panathinaikos B Panathinaikos Football Club B, known as Panathinaikos B, (Greek: ΠΑΕ Παναθηναϊκός B) is a Greek football club based in Athens, Greece. Founded in 2021, they play as the reserve team of Panathinaikos in the Super League Greece 2. ...

Club career

Kalitzakis started his career in Panelefsiniakos, where he played three and a half season and after playing for another half season at Diagoras he signed 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 ...

. In the "greens" he quickly established himself as a key player and irreplaceable, he became especially loved by the world and did a lot important career for a whole decade, being also captain of the team, winning 4

championships In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

, 6 Greek Cups and 3 Super cups, including 3 doubles. He participated in very important European nights of the club, including the course of the team to the semi-finals of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

in 1996. In the summer of 1997, he was released by Panathinaikos and the people of

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 ...

did not miss the opportunity to sign him. He had a pretty good presence for three years with many different partners by his side, without usually losing his place in the lineup. Despite this, he did not reach the standards of performance that he previously achieved at Panathinaikos. Kalitzakis with AEK won 1 cup in 2000. He left the team in 2000 following the decision of the coach,

Giannis Pathiakakis Giannis Pathiakakis ( el, Γιάννης Παθιακάκης; 15 June 1953 – 8 February 2002) was a Greek professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder and a later Manager (association football), manager. After his ...

. After AEK he played for one season at

Ethnikos Asteras Ethnikos Asteras F.C. ( el, Γ.Α.Ο. Εθνικός Aστέρας, the ''National Star'') is a professional football club based in Kaisariani, Athens, Greece. History The club, originally named ''Ethnikos Astir,'' was founded in 1927 from the m ...

before ending his career.

International career

Kalitzakis played 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 ...

from 16 December 1987 to 1999. He had 71 caps in total, including three appearances at the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...

After football

After the end of his career, he served as the head of Panelefsiniakos' academies and general captain of

Paniliakos Paniliakos Football Club ( el, Πανηλειακός Α.Ο. Πύργου) is a Greek association football club based in Pyrgos, Elis, Greece. The club plays in Gamma Ethniki, the third tier of Greek football. It plays its home matches at the Pyrg ...

. In 2009 he returned to Panathinaikos as a member of the scouting department, a position he held for a year. In 2022 he became General manager of

Honours

Panathinaikos *

Alpha Ethniki 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 ...

: 1989–90, 1990–91, 1994–95, 1995–96 *

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most im ...

: 1987–88, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95 *

Greek Super Cup The Greek Super Cup ( el, Σούπερ Καπ Ελλάδος), officially known as the Cup of Friendship and Solidarity ( el, Κύπελλο Φιλίας και Αλληλεγγύης) was a Greek Football (soccer), association football one-match ...

: 1988, 1993, 1994 AEK Athens *Greek Cup: 1999–2000

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kalitzakis, Giannis 1966 births Living people Footballers from Elefsina Super League Greece players Panathinaikos F.C. players AEK Athens F.C. players Diagoras F.C. players Ethnikos Asteras F.C. players 1994 FIFA World Cup players Greek footballers Greece international footballers Association football central defenders Panelefsiniakos F.C. players Panathinaikos F.C. non-playing staff