Michalis Kapsis ( el, Μιχάλης Καψής, born 18 October 1973) 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 ...

who played as a centre-back. He was an integral part of Greece's

UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. The ...

winning squad.

Club career

Aris Nikeas

Kapsis started his football career in 1990 at Aris Nikeas, where he turned in a number of impressive performances in 21 games.

AO Neapolis

In the summer 1991, he joined AO Neapolis having an impressive performances for the club playing in 24 games.

Anagennisi Arta

In the following season, Kapsis signed for the Greek Third Division side, Anagennisi Arta. There, Kapsis played for 1 season having played 18 matches, scoring once.

Ethnikos Piraeus

In 1993 he was transferred to

Ethnikos Piraeus Ethnikos Piraeus (Greek: Εθνικός Πειραιώς) is a Greek multisport club based in Piraeus. It was founded in 1923. The full name of the club is Ethnikos Omilos Filathlon Pireos/Phalirou or Ethnikos OFPF (Greek: Εθνικός Όμιλ ...

where he established himself at the club as a center-back. In his first season, Kapsis helped the team to win the second division championship in 1994 and to get promoted to the first division. He was a key player for the club in the following years, playing to both first and second division winning another second division championship in 1998.

AEK Athens

In January 1999,

Dimitris Melisanidis Dimitris Melissanidis (Greek: Δημήτρης Μελισσανίδης; born 8 March 1951) is a Greek business shipping and oil tycoon who is one of Greece's most successful businessmen. He is the current owner of AEK Athens Football Club. He ...

brought Kapsis to

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 ...

. He quickly became a regular and he was paired in defence alongside players such as Nikos Kostenoglou,

Carlos Gamarra Carlos Alberto Gamarra Pavón () (born 17 February 1971) is a Paraguayan former professional footballer who played as a centre back. He captained the Paraguay national team at international level and was for a long time the most capped player ...

Mauricio Wright Wílber Mauricio Wright Reynolds (born 20 December 1970 in San José, Costa Rica) is a Costa Rican former professional footballer who played as a defender. He was a key member of the Costa Rica national team for over ten years. Club career Wri ...

Vangelis Moras Vangelis Moras ( el, Βαγγέλης Μόρας; born 26 August 1981) is a Greek former professional Association football, footballer who played as a centre back and currently a manager. Club career Early years Moras started his football Ampel ...

and Traianos Dellas, with whom they also formed the national team's defensive duo. In 2001, where he was fined for his involvement in a training ground incident with

Ilias Atmatsidis Ilias Atmatsidis ( el, Ηλίας Ατματσίδης; born 24 April 1969) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is the Director of Football at AEK Athens B. Club career Atmatsidis started playing football re ...

, as AEK surrendered the championship to

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 the final matchdays of the season. In 2002, he played in AEK's six draws in 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 competi ...

group stage. The following season, Kapsis was his usual consistent self, despite the disappointing season for AEK, who finished fifth. During his spell at the club he won 2 Greek Cups in 2000 and 2002. In the summer of 2004, AEK faced administrative and financial issues and as a result Kapsis was among the footballers that left the club.

Bordeaux

After the EURO 2004, was transferred to

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

for €500,000. He played 29

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 ...

matches in France,. After this performance many club made an offer to Kapsis for a possible new contract.

Olympiacos

In the summer 2005 he signed two-year deal with the then champions, Olympiacos. He failed to settle at the club of

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saron ...

. His frequent injuries and the lack of confidence from successive coaches, deprived him of a first-team slot. There was often speculation about his future at the club, and he was allegedly offered as an exchange in a failed transfer bid for PAOK's

Dimitris Salpingidis Dimitris Salpingidis ( el, Δημήτρης Σαλπιγγίδης ; born 18 August 1981) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a winger or a striker. He was known to be "a very quick and useful tool on the counter attack." ...

. At end of the season he won his first Championship and with the conquest of the Cup, he also won the domestic double.

Trond Sollied Trond Johan Sollied (born 29 April 1959) is a Norwegian football manager and former player. He last managed Lokeren. During his playing career, Sollied was a defender who won the Norwegian top flight five times. He also played for Norway's nat ...

announced on 31 August 2006 that Kapsis would not be included in the team eligible to participate in the Champions League.

APOEL

In February 2007 Kapsis moved 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

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 Nicosia, and helped the club win the champion title race in 2007. The agreement was for that season only with the option to renew for the next one. Kapsis renewed, extremely pleased with the club. In August 2007 PAOK chairman and former teammate in Greece,

Theodoros Zagorakis Theodoros Zagorakis ( el, Θεόδωρος Ζαγοράκης ; born 27 October 1971) is a Greek politician and former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He was the captain of Greece that won UEFA Euro 2004, and was also presid ...

was interested in bringing him to PAOK. Kapsis stated that was flattered of PAOK's interest, but was also under a contract at APOEL. At the end of the season he also won the 2008 Cypriot Cup.

Levadiakos

In July 2008 he returned to

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 ...

to sign a 2-year contract with

Levadiakos Levadiakos Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Λεβαδειακός) is a Greek professional football club that plays in the Super League Greece. Based in Livadeia, Greece, the club was promoted to the Alpha Ethniki, forerunner of the Super League, afte ...

. Kapsis made his debut for Levadiakos in the Super League on 31 August 2008 against

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 ...

at the

Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium The Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium () or Charilaou Ground (Γήπεδο Χαριλάου) is a football stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece. It was built in 1951 as the home stadium of Aris F.C. (Thessaloniki), one of the most popular football clubs in ...

. He helped the team during the season to stay in the category, being one of the most important and experienced players for his club. The following season he played his first match against

Kavala Kavala ( el, Καβάλα, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia and the capital of Kavala (regional unit), Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across ...

, where he faced his former teammates in the national team, Fanis Katergiannakis and Vasilios Lakis.

Ethinikos Piraeus

In February 2010 Kapsis returned to Ethnikos Piraeus, as he desire to play for the team where he debuted as a professional player before retiring.

International career

Kapsis with his great performances at a club level, earned a call-up in 2003, to play for

in the critical UEFA EURO 2004 qualifying matches against

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. In those matches he marked

Raúl González Raul, Raúl and Raül are the Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan forms of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph. They are cognates of the French Raoul. Raul, Raúl or Raül may re ...

and Andriy Shevchenko superbly, where Greece won in both games. Afterwards, he was naturally included in the squad of

that ended up winning the tournament and in particular Kapsis achieved a great performance. Kapsis was included in the Greek squad for the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup in Germany.

Otto Rehhagel Otto Rehhagel (; born 9 August 1938) is a German former football coach and player. Rehhagel is one of only two people who, as player and manager combined, has participated in over 1,000 Bundesliga matches (the other being Jupp Heynckes). In t ...

also included him in the squad for the qualifying rounds to the

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

in Switzerland and

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 ...

. Kapsis made 34 appearances in total and even scored once against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

for the FIFA World Cup qualification 2006 on 26 March 2005 in

, where Greece won by 1–3.

Personal life

His father, Anthimos, was also a footballer, who played as a defender for Panathinaikos, where he was a key player in their course to the

1971 European Cup final The 1971 European Cup Final was a football match between Ajax of the Netherlands and Panathinaikos of Greece on 2 June 1971 at Wembley Stadium. It was the final match of the 1970–71 season of Europe's premier cup competition, the European Cu ...

. In 2002 when Kapsis debuted in the Champions League, became the first player in Greek football that was featured alongside his father, in a Champions League match. The two were followed some years later by

Georgios Samaras Georgios Samaras ( el, Γεώργιος Σαμαράς, ; born 21 February 1985) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a striker. Samaras started his career at OFI Crete, before moving on to Eredivisie side Heerenveen in 200 ...

, son of

Ioannis Ioannis or Ioannes ( el, Ιωάννης), shortened to Giannis or Yannis (Γιάννης) is a Greek given name cognate with Johannes and John and the Arabic name Yahya . Notable people with the name include: * Ioannis I, Tzimiskis, Byzantine Emp ...

After football

After the end of his career, Kapsis was not involved with football and stayed away from the publicity "lights". Today he is a Fire captain in the

Hellenic Fire Service The Hellenic Fire Service ( el, Πυροσβεστικό Σώμα, Pyrosvestiko Soma) is the national agency of Greece for fire and rescue service. It is part of the Ministry for Citizen Protection. (today the 15% of the strength). Volunteers ac ...

Honours

;Ethnikos Piraeus * Beta Ethniki: 1993–94, 1997–98 ;AEK Athens *

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 ...

: 1999–2000, 2001–02 ;Olympiacos *

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 ...

: 2005–06 *Greek Cup: 2005–06 ;APOEL *

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 ...

: 2006–07 *

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 ...

: 2007–08 ;Greece *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA). The competition is conte ...

: 2004

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kapsis, Michalis Living people 1973 births Footballers from Piraeus Association football central defenders Greece international footballers UEFA European Championship-winning players UEFA Euro 2004 players 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup players Super League Greece players Cypriot First Division players Ligue 1 players Anagennisi Arta F.C. players Ethnikos Piraeus F.C. players AEK Athens F.C. players FC Girondins de Bordeaux players Olympiacos F.C. players APOEL FC players Levadiakos F.C. players Greek expatriate footballers Greek expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Expatriate footballers in Cyprus Greek expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate footballers in France Greek footballers