Vassilios Tsiartas

Vassilis Tsartas (Greek: Βασίλειος Τσιάρτας, born 12 November 1972) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Although he was famed for his lackadaisical playing style, his ability was never in question and he was in many ways the epitome of a player who wears the number 10 shirt. Tsartas (nickname-EL MAGO) was predominantly left footed but was just as dangerous with his right. He was a phenomenal free kick specialist and also took all penalties for the National Team of Greece and his club sides. He was an important part of the Greek National Side claiming two assists in Portugal towards Greece's ultimate victory Euro 2004 (they began the tournament as 100–1 outsiders). In his entire career he did not receive a single red card. Although being a classic "number-10-player", Tsartas was capable of scoring many goals due to his deadly footage and scoring abilities being one of AEK Athens top scorers. He is considered one of the best Greek players in history.

Vasilis Tsartas
Tsartas signing an autograph for a Greek fan.
Personal information
Full name Vasilis Tsartas
Date of birth (1972-11-12) 12 November 1972
Place of birth Alexandreia, Greece
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position(s) Attacking midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–1992 Naoussa 92 (23)
1992–1996 AEK Athens 98 (37)
1996–2000 Sevilla 139 (43)
2000–2004 AEK Athens 98 (43)
2004–2005 1. FC Köln 4 (1)
2006–2007 Ethnikos Piraeus 3 (1)
Total 449 (149)
National team
1996–1999 Greece U21 2 (0)
1994–2005 Greece 70 (12)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Born in Alexandreia, Greece, he began his career at the academy at AE Alexandris and later the team of F.A.S. Naoussa FC which also produced such players as Vassilis Lakis and Dimitris Markos. The left footed attacking midfielder soon made a name for himself and his subsequent move to AEK Athens FC resulted in him scoring the most goals in the 1996 season in the Alpha Ethniki (A League). This and his huge attacking presence lead to a move to Sevilla FC for a fee of 1.5m €. There, he was an influential captain and vital in team gaining promotion to the Primera Division. He was known in Sevilla as 'El Mago' due to his lethal ability with any free kicks combined with a powerful shot in or outside the box. He managed to achieve 65 apps for Primera Division scoring 18 goals, although he was the passer of the team.[1] He returned to AEK Athens FC in 2000 for 3.5m € and after another successful 4 year spell at AEK he ended his career at 1. FC Köln. Tsartas officially returned to active competition, by signing with Ethnikos Piraeus in Greece. On 14 February 2007 Vasilis Tsartas announced his retirement from professional football.[2]

International career

Having played U-16 and U-21 he debuted for the Greek National Team on 27 April 1994 in a game against Saudi Arabia. He managed to score 12 goals (5 of which were penalties) in his 70 caps with the National Team including an important penalty against Northern Ireland in 2003 which led to Greece's qualification for Euro 2004. During the Euro 2004 he was used mainly as a substitute by the team's coach Otto Rehhagel, but managed to claim two vital assists, one against Spain and the other against the Czech Republic on the way to Greece's victory in the tournament.

Post-playing career

Tsiartas was the technical director at AEK FC for three months in the summer of 2012.[3][4]

Career statistics

International
National team Season Apps Goals
 Greece 1994 06 00
1995 10 02
1996 06 01
1997 02 00
1998 02 00
1999 03 02
2000 07 00
2001 01 01
2002 08 01
2003 09 03
2004 14 02
2005 02 00
Total 70 12

Last updated: 2010-3-03
Source: national-football-teams.com at National-Football-Teams.com

Vasilis Tsartas: International goals
GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
11995–05–17Žalgiris Stadium, Vilnius, Lithuania Lithuania1–12–1Friendly
21995–11–15Theodoros Vardinogiannis Stadium, Heraklion, Greece Faroe Islands5–05–01996 UEQ
31996–01–24Chalcis, Greece Israel2–02–1Friendly
41999–10–06Athens Olympic Sports Complex, Athens, Greece Albania1–02–02000 UEQ
51999–10–09Ljudski vrt, Maribor, Slovenia Slovenia0–10–32000 UEQ
62001–11–10Nikos Goumas Stadium, Athens, Greece Estonia3–04–2Friendly
72002–03–27Kostas Davourlis Stadium, Patras, Greece Belgium1–23–2Friendly
82003–03–26UPC-Arena, Graz, Austria Austria0–12–2Friendly
92003–04–30Žilina, Slovakia Slovakia0–12–2Friendly
102003–10–11Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium, Athens, Greece Northern Ireland1–01–02004 UEQ
112004–03–31Pankritio Stadium, Heraklion, Greece  Switzerland1–01–0Friendly
122004–10–09Olimpiysky National Sports Complex, Kiev, Ukraine Ukraine1–11–12006 WCQ

Honours

Club
Naoussa
  • Beta Ethniki: 1992-93
AEK Athens
Köln

International
Greece
  • UEFA European Championship: 2004

Individual

Trivia
  • He featured on the cover of the Greek edition of FIFA 2000.

References
  1. http://www.bdfutbol.com/es/j/j2572.html
  2. "Το αντίο του El Mago" (in Greek). Contra.gr. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  3. http://www.inews.gr/11/aek-neos-technikos-diefthyntis-o-tsiartas.htm
  4. http://www.ethnos.gr/ethnosport/article.asp?catid=8720&subid=2&pubid=129161190

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