Thanasis Karagounis ( Greek: Θανάσης Καραγκούνης; born 25 September 1991) is a Greek 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 plays as a winger or an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

for

Super League 2 Stones Bitter Super League II was the official name for the year 1997's Super League championship season, the 103rd season of top-level professional rugby league football in Britain, and the second to be played in summer. Teams Twelve teams were ...

club

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 ...

Club career

Fokikos

Karagounis started his professional career in 2008 with Fokikos, making 30 appearances in the

Football League 2 The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

and scoring 4 goals.

Atromitos

In summer 2009 he joined the newly promoted

Beta Ethniki The Football League ( el, Φούτμπολ Λιγκ) was the second highest professional football league in Greece since its inception in 1962 as ''Beta Ethniki'' and until 2019. It then served as a third tier after the creation of the Super Lea ...

champions

Atromitos Atromitos (Greek: Ατρόμητος, "fearless") may refer to: * Atromitos F.C., a football team based in Peristeri, Athens, Greece * Atromitos Piraeus, a football team based in Piraeus, Athens, Greece * Atromitos Yeroskipou, a football team curr ...

,. He was part of the Atromitos team who were runners-up of the

2010–11 Greek Cup 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit (measurement), unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment ...

, after losing 0–3 to AEK Athens. Thanasis only made 2 appearances in Atromitos' way to the final, one as a starter against Anagennisi Giannitsa for the fourth phase and one as a substitute against Diagoras for the second leg of the quarter-finals. He scored his first goal with the club on 3 May 2014 in an away loss 2–1 against

Twente Twente ( nl, Twente , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Germ ...

Zwolle

In January 2014, he signed a 2.5-year contract with

PEC Zwolle PEC Zwolle is a Dutch football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2021–22 season. They have played in the Eredivisie for a total ...

for a transfer fee of €300,000. He made his debut with the club in January, 18th as a substitute in a 1–2 home loss against

Vitesse Arnhem Vitesse may refer to: * Vitesse Models, a diecast model car company * Vitesse (band), Dutch rock band * Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, a car * Rover 216 Vitesse, a car * Rover 3500 Vitesse, a car * Rover 800 Vitesse, a car * Triumph Vites ...

. Karagounis injured on his lip during the Dutch cup match between PEC Zwolle and

NEC Nijmegen NEC Nijmegen (''Nijmegen Eendracht Combinatie''), commonly known as NEC (), is a professional Dutch association football club based in Nijmegen. The club currently competes in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, following promotion fr ...

at the IJsseldelta stadium on 26 March 2014 in Zwolle. On 25 November 2014, Karagounis injured again suffering a cruciate ligament rupture losing the rest of the 2014–15 season. In July 2015, after a very difficult year for the defender marred by injury (185 days to be exact), according to Voetbal International, Karagounis' return was postponed when there was a setback during his rehabilitation from a cruciate ligament injury. It remained a question whether there is a need for another operation. Eventually he lost the whole season and returned to the squad on 30 June 2016. In April 2016, PEC Zwolle renewed Karagounis' contract for two seasons, till the summer of 2018, despite his severe injury that kept him out of action for the whole season. There is also an option included in his contract for one more season. After a very difficult year for the midfielder marred by injury (363 days to be exact), Karagounis returned to action in a 4–1 away win game against

DVS '33 DVS '33 Ermelo (, English: ''Strong Through Unity'') is a Dutch amateur football club from Ermelo, founded 1 September 1933. The club currently competes in the Derde Divisie, the fourth tier of league football in the Netherlands. The club evo ...

for the

2016–17 KNVB Cup The 2016–17 KNVB Cup was the 99th season of the annual Dutch national football cup competition. It started on 6 September 2016 with the first of six rounds, and ended on 30 April 2017 with the final played at De Kuip in Rotterdam. This editi ...

. On 2 October 2016, he made his reappearance in the championship as a late substitute in a 2–1 home win against

ADO Den Haag Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation f ...

. On 17 February 2017, he suffered a new knee injury, a second during the 2016–17 season, and the medical predictions estimate his return to action in six months. In the beginning of 2017–18 season after a third difficult season marred by injury (219 days to be exact), PEC Zwolle announced Karagounis that he could continue his career elsewhere as his not in the plans of club's coach

John van 't Schip Johannes Nicolaas van 't Schip (; born 30 December 1963) is a Dutch Canadian and former Dutch international footballer, who played as a winger. He spent his club career with Ajax, where they won four Eredivisie titles, a UEFA Cup and a Europea ...

, besides the fact that his contract is still in force. According to Dutch websites the player will probably sign a contract with Ekstraklasa club

Korona Kielce Korona Kielce, , (Korona – ''Crown'' – symbol of club and city, Kielce – name of city where club is based) is a Polish football club, which will compete in Ekstraklasa in the 2022–23 Ekstraklasa, 2022–23 season. In the year ...

in the January transfer window, but the transfer was not completed and the Greek midfielder is still searching for the next club in his career.

Lamia

On 3 July 2018, Lamia announced the signing of the Greek midfielder for an undisclosed fee.

Apollon Smyrnis

On 14 August 2019,

Apollon Smyrnis Apollon Smyrnis Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Απόλλων Σμύρνης), or in its full name Gymnasticos Syllogos Apollon Smyrnis ( el, links=no, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Απόλλων Σμύρνης, ''Gymnastics Club Apollon o ...

announced the signing of the Greek midfielder for an undisclosed fee.

International career

Thanasis Karagounis made 7 appearances for Greece under-19 in the past. He is currently a member of the under-21 team, making 9 appearances for them so far.

Personal life

His brother, Vasilis, is also a professional footballer, who is currently playing for

reek Reek may refer to: Places * Reek, Netherlands, a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant * Croagh Patrick, a mountain in the west of Ireland nicknamed "The Reek" People * Nikolai Reek (1890-1942), Estonian military commander * Salme Reek ( ...

second division club Kalamata FC. Although he shares the same surname as Giorgos Karagounis, the former captain of

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 ...

, it was revealed at a joint interview of both players that they are not related.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

;Zwolle *

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...

: 2013–14 *

Johan Cruijff Shield The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national footbal ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

References

External links

*
Voetbal International profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karagounis, Thanasis 1991 births Living people Men's association football wingers Men's association football midfielders Greek men's footballers Greece men's under-21 international footballers Greece men's youth international footballers Greek expatriate men's footballers Super League Greece players Super League Greece 2 players Fokikos A.C. players Atromitos F.C. players PAS Lamia 1964 players Apollon Smyrnis F.C. players Eredivisie players PEC Zwolle players Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Footballers from Lamia (city) 21st-century Greek people