Angelos Basinas ( el, Άγγελος Μπασινάς , born 3 January 1976) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an 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 central midfielders often go across boundari ...

. He could also operate as a

central midfielder A midfielder is an 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 central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

and a

centre 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 ...

. He is best remembered for his key role in the Greece national team that won the 2004 European Championship. He provided the corner kick through which

Angelos Charisteas Angelos Charisteas ( el, Άγγελος Χαριστέας, ; born 9 February 1980) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a forward. He works as sporting director for Aris Thessaloniki. At club level he played for Aris Thessa ...

scored the winning goal in the final against Portugal.

Club career

Panathinaikos

Basinas started his career with Greek side Panathinaikos, during his time at Panathinaikos he won both the league and the

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 ...

in 2004. After a row broke out between Basinas, the manager and the Panathinaikos board over wages, Basinas was released on 21 September 2005, which brought an end to a career at the club which lasted over ten years, during this time he made over 150 appearances for the club scoring many crucial goals both domestically and in European competitions. ( He played 153 games (26 goals, five assists) with the club in all competitions).

Mallorca

Although rumored to go to

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

, Everton,

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 ...

and Olympiacos during the 2006 winter transfer window, Basinas signed a contract with Mallorca preferring to leave Greece and join the Spanish Primera División. In the second half of the 2005–06 season, Basinas completed a successful first period at Mallorca, helping to save the team from relegation proving a key part of the struggling team's survival. In his second year at the club he helped the team to finish in seventh position, one point from European qualification. He was released by Mallorca on 1 July 2008 after his -year contract came to an end. He played 81 games (one goal, one assist) with the club in all competitions.

AEK Athens

On 31 July 2008, Basinas signed a three-year contract of €1.4 million per annum with

, choosing the number 14. Despite the pre-season odds, AEK underachieved during the first half of the season and lost the title race too early, making Basinas favourable towards a new move during the winter transfer period.

Portsmouth

On 2 February 2009,

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

confirmed the signing of Basinas on an eighteen-month contract. He made his debut for Portsmouth on 7 February 2009 against

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

. Just a few hours after his debut, manager

Tony Adams Tony Alexander Adams (born 10 October 1966) is an English former football manager and player. Adams played for Arsenal and England, captaining both teams. He spent his entire playing career of 19 years as a centre back at Arsenal, making 672 t ...

, who brought Basinas in, was sacked by the club and replaced by

Paul Hart Paul Anthony Hart (born 4 May 1953) is an English football manager, coach, and former professional player who made 567 appearances in the Football League as a defender. The son of Johnny Hart, who played for and managed Manchester City, ...

. Under the new manager, Basinas hardly played and was benched for the rest of the season after only making three appearances for Portsmouth. Despite little playing time in his first season at Portsmouth, Basinas stated that he wanted to stay at the club. When Avram Grant became the manager of the club, Basinas had continued to impress for Portsmouth when called upon and a poll among Portsmouth fans on 23 January 2010, showed that he's appreciated by the fans. 77% of fans believe that "Basinas has the creative touch and must play", while only 2% believed he should leave the club. With Portsmouth Angelos Basinas reached the 2010 FA Cup Final against

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

Carlo Ancelotti Carlo Ancelotti , (born 10 June 1959) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of La Liga club Real Madrid. Regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, Ancelotti is the most decorated manager ...

Arles-Avignon

In the summer 2010, Angelos Basinas moved to

Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...

, with his teammate

, in the Ligue 1. He made his debut on 21 August 2010 in a 2–1 away defeat against

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

. Basinas made a total of five appearances in Ligue 1 and

French Cup The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and professiona ...

. The contract was broken two months later.

International career

Basinas won his first cap in a 3–1 win over El Salvador on 18 August 1999 and scored his first goal in just his second match, also against El Salvador just two days later. He has remained a part of the national team setup since his debut and has been a regular since

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 ...

took over in 2001. He was a key player in Greece's upset European Championship victory, scoring a penalty in his country's 2–1 upset win over host team

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

in the tournament's opening game. Basinas was a vital player in the hard working midfield of the Greek team throughout the tournament. In the final, Charisteas scored the winning goal for Greece against Portugal off a corner kick by Basinas, which saw Greece win the trophy. After

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 ...

retired, Basinas was selected to take the captain's arm band. Basinas earned his 100th cap for Greece 1 April 2009 in a FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifier against

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. At the time, he was only the second Greek player to achieve 100 national team appearances alongside Theodoros Zagorakis.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Greece's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Basinas goal''.

Honours

Panathinaikos * Greek League: 1995–96, 2003–04 *

: 2003–04; runner-up 1997–98, 1998–99 Portsmouth *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

: runner-up 2010 Greece U-21 * UEFA European Under-21 Championship: runner-up

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

Greece * European Championship: 2004

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Basinas, Angelos 1976 births Living people Greek footballers Association football midfielders La Liga players AEK Athens F.C. players RCD Mallorca players Panathinaikos F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players AC Arlésien players UEFA Euro 2004 players 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup players UEFA Euro 2008 players UEFA European Championship-winning players Greece international footballers Greece under-21 international footballers Super League Greece players Premier League players Ligue 1 players FIFA Century Club Footballers from Chalcis Greek expatriate footballers Greek expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate footballers in Spain Greek expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in England Greek expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate footballers in France