Theofanis Gekas
When most people think of Greece they imagine a beautiful, picturesque countryside, philosophy and mythology, and cuisine like Boureki, Dolmades and Spanakopita.
Thanks to players like Theofanis Gekas, Greece is also now synonymous with soccer. For years Greece had virtually disappeared from the international soccer scene. Prior to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the last time Greece qualified for the tournament was in 1994.
Behind the play of guys like Gekas, the Greece National team qualified in fine fashion for the 2010 Cup placing second in Group 2 behind Switzerland in the first round, and second amongst the runners up in the second round.
Gekas would prove to be a vital part of the effort to return to the World Cup scoring 10 goals in six games during qualifying.
Scoring from an early age
Theofanis Gekas is a striker for the Greece National team and a player that has always been known for his scoring prowess. Besides being the team's leading scorer in the 2010 World Cup qualifying matches, he has been the leading scorer for the Greek League (in 2004-05) and in the German professional league, the Bundesliga (in 2006-07).
His soccer career began much earlier in life. As a youth he would play for Toxotis from 1997-98 before moving on to the youth side of AEL 1964 (Larissa) in 1998. It would not take long for the impressive striker to be promoted to the senior side of the second division team. For the next three years he would play in 61 matches scoring 16 goals. In 2001, he would move onto Kallithea FC; a season later they would move from the second division to the first. Over the course of his 87 second division matches he would score 30 goals.
After Kallithea FC moved up to the first division he went on to score 32 goals for Kallithea over 73 matches. When you score as often as Gekas does you are bound to be on the radar of many competing teams. One such team was Panathinaikos FC which was where he moved in 2005. Over the next two years he would appear in 41 matches scoring 23 goals. In 2005 he would score 17, good enough to earn him top honours as the league's leading scorer that season.
International and World Cup play
Unlike many national side players, Gekas never played at the national level as a youth. He did not represent Greece as part of the national side until March 2005 when he was called upon to play in a World Cup qualifying match against Albania (a game the team would win 2-0). Gekas would also be a part of the European champion side that played in the 2005 Confederations Cup.
His ability to score made him a player that many teams wanted to acquire. In 2006, VFL Bochum of the German professional soccer league Bundesliga showed significant interest, but were unwilling to meet the steep financial demand of Panathinaikos FC. Bochum would acquire another Greek star that summer with the provision that Thekas would move to PAOK. Gekas refused to switch teams though, angering the owner of Panathinakos's, Giannis Vardinogiannis.
As punishment for Thekas, Vardinogiannis loaned him to the German team for a much smaller sum than originally sought. During the ensuing 2006-07 season he would be a vital part of the team's fight not to be relegated to a lower division. Fans of the 'Greek God' would celebrate his goals by doing a traditional Greek folkdance called the Sirtakis.
Over the next few seasons the prolific scorer would change teams a number of times. In April of 2007 he shifted to another German team, Bayer 04 Leverkusen; in his first game he scored seven goals. Portsmouth would obtain his services in February of 2009 where he finished the season. His time there was controversial and he would end up leaving two weeks earlier than expected to return to Germany.
When the team qualified for the 2010 World Cup, Gekas was looked upon as the team's best chance to get their first World Cup goal (they were shut out in 1994). He would play in the first two matches, failing to score in either (Greece did score 2 goals against Nigeria). Greece was eliminated in the first round.
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