Pantelis Kapetanos ( el, Παντελής Καπετάνος; born 8 June 1983) is a Greek 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 le ...

who played as a striker and is known for his last minute goals and for the tendency to score them with his head, which he celebrates by covering his

forehead In human anatomy, the forehead is an area of the head bounded by three features, two of the skull and one of the scalp. The top of the forehead is marked by the hairline, the edge of the area where hair on the scalp grows. The bottom of the fore ...

with his

forearm The forearm is the region of the upper limb between the elbow and the wrist. The term forearm is used in anatomy to distinguish it from the arm, a word which is most often used to describe the entire appendage of the upper limb, but which in anat ...

Club career

Pantelis Kapetanos preparing to take a penalty during a match with Internaţional Curtea de Argeş

Kapetanos started his career in his native Greece, playing for

Kozani Kozani ( el, Κοζάνη, ) is a city in northern Greece, capital of Kozani (regional unit), Kozani regional unit and of Western Macedonia. It is located in the western part of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, in the northern part of the Aliakmona ...

, Iraklis and

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 Greece, Greek multi-sport club based in Nea ...

, with whom he competed 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 competit ...

Steaua București

In July 2008 he joined Steaua București on a free transfer, signing a one-year contract. In his first season at Steaua, Kapetanos was the club's top scorer with

Bogdan Stancu Bogdan Sorin Stancu (; born 28 June 1987) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a forward. Stancu started his professional career at Argeș Pitești, and had a brief loan spell at Mioveni. Due to an irregularity in his contract he ...

, scoring 11 goals. The Steaua board extended his contract for two years, and he finished the 2009–10 season as the club's leading scorer in

Liga I The Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1, is a Romanian professional league for men's association football clubs. Currently sponsored by betting company Superbet, it is officially known as the SuperLiga. It is the country's top ...

, with 15 goals, and in all competitions, with 19 goals. In January 2011 his contract with Steaua was terminated, as the team did not want to pay his high salary.

CFR Cluj

Although Steaua allowed Kapetanos to leave on a free transfer, they did not want to allow him to sign for another

team. He joined

CFR Cluj Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj, commonly known as CFR Cluj ( or ), is a Romanian professional association football, football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, which competes in the Liga I. It was founded in 1907 as ''Kolozsvári Vas ...

in January 2011, signing a three years and a half contract. Due to the fact that he previously had to undergo surgery to fix a

meniscus tear A tear of a meniscus is a rupturing of one or more of the fibrocartilage strips in the knee called menisci. When doctors and patients refer to "torn cartilage" in the knee, they actually may be referring to an injury to a meniscus at the top of ...

, he was sidelined for his first months at

. Kapetanos had a much better 2011–12 season, scoring 12 goals to help

claim their third title in five years. On 14 July 2012, Kapetanos scored a late goal in

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

to help his team reach the

Penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...

against

Dinamo București A dynamo is a magnetic device originally used as an electric generator. Dynamo or Dinamo may also refer to: Places * Dinamo (Moscow Metro), a station of the Moscow Metro, Moscow, Russia * Dinamo (Yekaterinburg Metro), a station of the Yekaterin ...

in the 2012 Romanian Supercup.

lost at the

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

s and the trophy went to Dinamo.

Second spell in Steaua București

On 3 September 2013, Steaua București announced that they have reached agreement with CFR Cluj for the transfer of Pantelis Kapetanos.

Skoda Xanthi

On 11 July 2014, after six years, Kapetanos returned to Greece by joining

Skoda Xanthi Xanthi Football Club ( el, Α.Ο. Ξάνθη Π.Α.Ε.) is a Greek professional football club based in Xanthi, Western Thrace and plays at Xanthi FC Arena. The club resigned from the Super League 2 due to financial issues. Founded in 1967, Xan ...

on a two-year contract, as a free agent. Kapetanos as a reserved for 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 im ...

final, pulled one goal back for

in the 87th minute from close range.

Veria

After being released on a free transfer from Xanthi, Kapetanos signed a one-year contract to

Veria Veria ( el, Βέροια or Βέρροια), officially transliterated Veroia, historically also spelled Berea or Berœa, is a city in Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the regional unit of I ...

. After Veria's relegation he left the club. After spending 6 months in Veria, Kapetanos left

in January 2017. In July 2018, there were rumors for his transfer to Iraklis .

International career

Kapetanos was called up by

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 first time ahead of its international friendly against

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

. He was included in the squad for the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

, and made his World Cup debut in a group stage match against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Personal life

He is the elder brother of Kostas Kapetanos who plays for A.E. Karaiskakis. He is married to fellow Greek, Fotini Dougali and they have three children together.

Career statistics

Club

''(Correct as of 23 April 2017)''

Honours

*Steaua București: **

Romanian League The Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1, is a Romanian professional league for men's association football clubs. Currently sponsored by betting company Superbet, it is officially known as the SuperLiga. It is the country's top ...

: 2013–14 **

Romanian Cup Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language ** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...

: 2010–11 *CFR Cluj: **

: 2011–12

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kapetanos, Pantelis 1983 births Living people Greek footballers Greek expatriate footballers Association football forwards Greece under-21 international footballers Greece international footballers AEK Athens F.C. players Iraklis Thessaloniki F.C. players Kozani F.C. players FC Steaua București players CFR Cluj players Xanthi F.C. players Veria F.C. players Liga I players Super League Greece players Expatriate footballers in Romania 2010 FIFA World Cup players Footballers from Ptolemaida Greek expatriate sportspeople in Romania