Kostas Frantzeskos ( el, Κώστας Φραντζέσκος, born 4 January 1969) is a Greek professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

and former player. Frantzeskos is better known for his deadly free-kick accuracy. He scored 57 free kick goals during his career.

Career

As a youngster, Kostas played for

Vouliagmeni Vouliagmeni ( el, Βουλιαγμένη, meaning "sunken") is a seaside suburb and former municipality 20 km south of Athens city centre. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Vari-Voula-Vouliagmeni, of which ...

. He started his Football A Division career in

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 ...

, after they picked him up in 1990. He was very quick to adapt and soon made his 1st division debut, in a very successful season, with Panathinaikos winning the double. He made nearly 100 appearances for the Greens - including 11 European games - winning one championship and three cups. In 1994, he was transferred to OFI and spent two seasons there, under coach

Eugène Gerards Eugène 'Gène' Gerards (7 May 1940 − 2 January 2018) was a Dutch football player, manager and scout. As a player, Gerards played for Limburgian clubs SV Limburgia and Fortuna '54. As a manager, he spent the majority of his career in Greece, ...

, which he still holds to the highest esteem. He appeared in many games, becoming a mainstay in the Cretan team's midfield. At the second half of 1996/97 season, Frantzeskos left OFI for PAOK. He was one of the many Greek star-players bought at that time by then-PAOK owner Giorgos Batatoudis, along with

Zisis Vryzas Zisis Vryzas ( el, Ζήσης Βρύζας; born 9 November 1973) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a forward for various teams in Greece and abroad, as well as for the Greece national football team, when they won the Euro ...

Vassilis Borbokis Vasilios Borbokis (Greek: Βασίλειος Μπορμπόκης; born 10 February 1969) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a defender. He is the younger brother of the former Greek international, Stefanos Borbokis. Caree ...

Spiros Marangos Spyros Marangos ( el, Σπύρος Μαραγκός, born 20 February 1967) is a former Greek football player. He played for Panionios, Panathinaikos, PAOK, Omonia and APOEL at the club level. He also made 26 appearances for the Greece natio ...

, and others. He was much loved by PAOK fans for his many memorable goals, especially his winner against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in the first round first leg of the 1997/98

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

Toumba Stadium Toumba Stadium ( el, Στάδιο Τούμπας) is a football stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece. It is property of AC PAOK. The official name of the stadium is simply PAOK Stadium ( el, Στάδιο ΠΑΟΚ), but through the years it has become ...

. PAOK went on to win the tie 2–1 on aggregate. He made over 100 appearances with PAOK during his 3-year stay, scoring 45 goals. He also made 12 appearances in the UEFA Cup, scoring 6 times. His standout performances helped him develop a good reputation in Europe especially after having some very good European match performances with PAOK. After turning 31, Kostas left PAOK in 2000 for

Kalamata Kalamáta ( el, Καλαμάτα ) is the second most populous city of the Peloponnese peninsula, after Patras, in southern Greece and the largest city of the homonymous administrative region. As the capital and chief port of the Messenia reg ...

, a much smaller club, then struggling for survival in the 1st Division. His tenure there was rather short, and although making a handful of appearances, he could not help the club stay in the first division. He left the next year for Ionikos, another mid-range club, also battling to avoid relegation. Managing even less appearances than the previous year, Frantzeskos decided to try out the

Cypriot League 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 ...

, signing for

AEK Larnaca AEK Larnaca FC ( el, AEK; for short Αθλητική Έvωση Κίτιον Λάρνακας , translit=''Athletiki Enosi Kition Larnakas'', "Athletic Union Kition of Larnaca") is a Cypriot professional football club based in Larnaca. The club ...

, where he regained some of his former glory. That was not the case, however, when he returned to Greece in 2003, playing half a season for

Aris Thessaloniki F.C. Aris FC ( el, ΠΑΕ Άρης), commonly known as Aris Thessaloniki FC, AFC or simply Aris, is a Greek professional football club based in the city of Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece. Created in 1914 as ''Aris Thessaloniki Football Club'', th ...

and another half for

Proodeftiki Proodeftiki Football Club, also known as Proodeftiki Piraeus, simply as Proodeftiki, or with its full name as A.O. Proodeftiki Neolea ( el, Αθλητικός Όμιλος Προοδευτική Νεολαία, transliterated "Athlitikós Όmilo ...

. In 2003–2004 Aris narrowly escaped relegation, yet Proodeftiki was not equally lucky - so Frantzeskos finished his 15-year-long career in relative obscurity, playing a season in the Second Division until 2005.

Style of play

Frantzeskos holds the record 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 ...

for the most goals ever scored from direct free-kicks, always using his left foot. He was frequently cited as one of the most accurate free-kick takers in Europe, especially while playing for PAOK. He even scored a few of them in the UEFA Cup, most notably the two against

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

, much to keeper

José Francisco Molina José Francisco Molina Jiménez (born 8 August 1970) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Eleven years of his extensive professional career were spent at Atlético Madrid and Deportivo de La Coruña, where he won a total ...

's anguish, both home and away. He continued scoring from spot-kicks on to his last days, scoring a few for Proodeftiki. He also holds a rather unusual record of being the only player in Greece to score a ''

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

'' with free-kicks and one of only four in the world (the others are

Giuseppe Signori Giuseppe "Beppe" Signori (; born 17 February 1968) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He played for several clubs in Italy throughout his career, and also had spells in Greece and Hungary with Iraklis Thessal ...

Siniša Mihajlović Siniša Mihajlović ( sr-Cyrl, Синиша Михајловић, ; 20 February 1969 – 16 December 2022) was a Serbian professional Footballer, football player and Football coach (association football), manager. During his career as a football ...

and Ray McKinnon), in the last game of the 1996–1997 season, with PAOK playing against

Kastoria FC Kastoria F.C. or AS Kastoria 1980 ( el, Α.Σ. Καστοριά 1980 - Αθλητικός Σύλλογος Καστοριά 1980), the ''Athletic Club Kastoria 1980'', is a Greek football (soccer), association football club based in the city of Ka ...

. Quite surprisingly, Frantzeskos was very inefficient at scoring from the penalty spot - which led to his famous quote during an interview: ''"Next time we win a penalty, and they want me to take it, I'll ask for a

wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: * Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the supe ...

"''.

National team

Frantzeskos debuted for the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exam ...

in 1992, in a friendly match against

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 geo ...

, held in

Kaftanzoglio Stadium Kaftanzoglio Stadium ( el, Καυτανζόγλειο στάδιο) is a sports stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece. The stadium was built with money donated by the Kaftanzoglou Foundation, in honour of Lysandros Kaftanzoglou, hence its name. At th ...

, with Cyprus winning 2–3. He was an important member of the squad that qualified to the

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

. He ended his national years in 2000, again in a friendly match, this time against

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, held in

. He has been capped a total of 38 times for Greece, scoring 7 goals.

Managerial statistics

''As of 27 September 2022''

Honours

: *

Greek 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 ...

(1):

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

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 ...

(3):

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

Individual

* PAOK MVP of the Season: 1997–1998, 1998–1999, 1999–2000

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frantzeskos, Kostas 1969 births Living people Greece international footballers OFI Crete F.C. players Panathinaikos F.C. players PAOK FC players Aris Thessaloniki F.C. players Kalamata F.C. players Ionikos F.C. players Proodeftiki F.C. players AEK Larnaca FC players Expatriate footballers in Cyprus Super League Greece players Cypriot First Division players Panathinaikos F.C. non-playing staff Association football midfielders Footballers from Athens Greek footballers