Ioannis "Giannis" Okkas (

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 ...

: Ιωάννης «Γιάννης» Οκκάς; born 11 February 1977) is a retired Cypriot striker and a football manager. He was also the captain of the National Team of Cyprus for many years and he is the 2nd leading scorer of all time just behind

Michalis Konstantinou Michalis Konstantinou ( el, Μιχάλης Κωνσταντίνου; born 19 February 1978) is a Cypriot retired football striker. He played for the Cyprus national football team, and he is the all-time leading scorer with 32 goals in 85 appe ...

, scoring in total 27 goals for Cyprus. With 106 national caps since 1997, Okkas has made more appearances for Cyprus than any other player in history.

Club career

Okkas started his career with Nea Salamis in the 1993–94 season, aged 17. He scored the second goal in Anorthosis' 3–1 win against Apollon Limassol for the 1997–98 Cypriot Cup final. In the summer of 1997 he transferred to

Anorthosis Famagusta Anorthosis Famagusta ( el, Ανόρθωση Αμμοχώστου, translit=Anorthosi Ammochostou), commonly known as Anorthosis in English or Anorthosi in Greek, is a Cypriot football club, part of the Anorthosis Famagusta multi-sport club fo ...

for a reported fee of £350,000. In 2000 Okkas signed for

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 ...

club PAOK for a reported 900 million

greek drachma The drachma ( el, δραχμή , ; pl. ''drachmae'' or ''drachmas'') was the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history: # An ancient Greek currency unit issued by many Greek city states during a period of ten centuries, f ...

s. In 2003 Okkas signed for

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 Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadel ...

. After being release from his AEK contract, due to the club's financial problems, Okkas signed for

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 ...

. His league debut for Olympiacos was marked by Okkas' scoring the very first goal for Olympiacos, in the newly built

Karaiskakis Stadium The Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium ( el, Στάδιο Γεώργιος Καραϊσκάκης), commonly referred to as the Karaiskakis Stadium ( el, Στάδιο Καραϊσκάκη, ), is a football stadium in Piraeus, Attica, Greece, and the ...

. In 2007, after trials at

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

and

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...

, Okkas became the first

Cypriot Cypriot (in older sources often "Cypriote") refers to someone or something of, from, or related to the country of Cyprus. * Cypriot people, or of Cypriot descent; this includes: **Armenian Cypriots **Greek Cypriots **Maronite Cypriots **Turkish C ...

player to move to Spain, signing a contract with

Celta Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues), ...

. In 2008, he returned to

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

to play for Omonia. Okkas was released from Omonoia, in June 2009, after confronting manager Takis Lemonis on his playing position. In 2009, he returned to Anorthosis, signing a three-year contract with the club. After being released by Anorthosis,

Ermis Aradippou Ermis Aradippou () is a Cypriot professional football club based in Aradippou, a settlement on the outskirts of the city of Larnaca. The club was formed in 1958, and currently plays in the Cypriot Second Division. Ermis' greatest success came ...

became the fourth, and last, team, Okkas would play in the Cypriot First Division. He debuted for Ermis, in an away defeat against

APOEL APOEL FC ( el, ΑΠΟΕΛ; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', literally "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") ...

. In his second match for Ermis, Okkas scored twice to help the club get past ENP.

Stats

International career

Okkas debuted for Cyprus on 15 February 1997 in a friendly 2–3 home loss against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. He made his competitive debut in a match against

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, on 29 March 1997, for the 1998 World Cup qualifying stage. Four days later he scored his first goal for Cyprus in a 4–1 away defeat against

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

. He scored three goals in his side's failed attempts to qualify for the

2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...

, and was also on target in Euro 2004's qualifying stage, notably against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, in which Cyprus lost 1–2, but with fine displays from Okkas, including a delicate chip that left French keeper

Grégory Coupet Grégory Coupet (born 31 December 1972) is a French former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Throughout his playing career, he represented Saint-Étienne, Lyon, Atlético Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, as well as the Franc ...

completely stranded. On 15 November 2006, Okkas netted in a surprising Euro 2008 qualifier draw with giants

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. He started captaining the national squad since the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...

. On 8 October 2010, Okkas reached 100 appearances for

Cyprus national football team The Cyprus national football team ( el, Εθνική ομάδα ποδοσφαίρου της Κύπρου) represents Cyprus in international football and is controlled by the Cyprus Football Association, the governing body for football in Cyp ...

in a 1–2 home loss against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, in match that he managed to score his 26th goal for Cyprus. On 11 October 2011, he played for the last time with the national side, in

UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying Group H This page shows the standings and results for Group H of the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying tournament. Standings Matches Group H fixtures were to be negotiated between the participants in a meeting held in Copenhagen on 8 March. After that meeting ...

match against

Ullevaal Stadion Ullevaal Stadion () is an all-seater football stadium located in Oslo, Norway. It is the home ground of the Norway national football team, and the site of the Norwegian Cup Final. From its opening in 1926 to 2009 it was the home ground of FK ...

, Oslo, where he scored his last goal for the Cypriot national team. After fifteen full playing years as the captain for Cyprus, Okkas announced his retirement from international football on 2 March 2012. At the time of his retirement Okkas was the most capped player for Cyprus and the second all-time scorer.

International goals

Trivia

For two consecutive years, Okkas scored the first

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 ...

goal of the season in

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 AEK in 2003–04 and Olympiacos the next season.

Coaching career

After retiring as a professional football player, Okkas was appointed as an assistant manager in

. In March 2015 he replaced Mitchell van der Gaag as manager of Ermis Aradippou. He was dismissed from his position at Ermis on 11 May.

Honours

;Anorthosis *

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus officially ...

: 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000 *

Cypriot Cup The Cypriot Cup () is the main cup competition in Cypriot football, run by the Cyprus Football Association (CFA). It began in 1934, the same season with the Cypriot Championship. It is the second most important competition for Cypriot club team ...

: 1997–98 *

Cypriot Super Cup The Cypriot Super Cup is a Cypriot football trophy, contested in an annual match between the previous season's Cypriot First Division champions, and the Cypriot Cup winners. The match is contested at the beginning of the football season, and is u ...

: 1998, 1999 ;PAOK *

Greek Football 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 imp ...

: 2000–01, 2002–03 ;Olympiacos *

Greek Superleague 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 ...

: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07 *

: 2004–05, 2005–06

Individual

* PAOK MVP of the Season: 2001–2002, 2002–2003

References

External links

*
Stats and profile at zerozero.pt
{{DEFAULTSORT:Okkas, Ioannis 1977 births Living people Greek Cypriot people People from Larnaca Cypriot footballers Cyprus international footballers Cypriot expatriate footballers Cypriot expatriate sportspeople in Greece Cypriot expatriate sportspeople in Spain Association football forwards Anorthosis Famagusta F.C. players PAOK FC players AEK Athens F.C. players Nea Salamis Famagusta FC players Olympiacos F.C. players RC Celta de Vigo players AC Omonia players Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Greece Cypriot First Division players Super League Greece players Segunda División players FIFA Century Club Ermis Aradippou FC players Cypriot football managers Ermis Aradippou FC managers