Pantelis Kafes

Pantelis Kafes (Greek: Παντελής Καφές; born 24 June 1978) is a Greek retired professional footballer who played as a defensive or central midfielder. He was known for being one of very few outfield players to have worn the number 1 jersey and has won acclaim for his creative abilities and passing skills.

Pantelis Kafes
Personal information
Full name Panteleimon Kafes
Date of birth (1978-06-24) 24 June 1978
Place of birth Veria, Greece
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1992–1995 Pontioi Veria
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–1997 Pontioi Veria 51 (7)
1997–2003 PAOK 146 (29)
2003–2007 Olympiacos 81 (8)
2007–2012 AEK Athens 138 (16)
2012–2013 Veria 14 (1)
Total 430 (61)
National team‡
1994–2000 Greece U21 17 (3)
2001–2011 Greece 40 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 26 March 2013
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 26 March 2013

Club career

Pontioi Veria

He started playing professional football in January 1995 at the age of 17 for Pontioi Veria. The club were relegated to the third division that summer and the following May were demoted again. The one shining light was Kafes, who joined PAOK in January 1997.

PAOK

Kafes burst on to the Alpha Ethniki scene in 1998–99, scoring seven times. He continued to impress and was instrumental in PAOK's 2000–01 and 2002–03 Greek Cup triumphs. Yet his spell in Thessaloniki ended acrimoniously as he was released from his contract after a dispute over unpaid wages. Olympiacos stepped in with a three-year contract.

Olympiacos

He was ever-present in his first season at Olympiacos as they finished second in the Alpha Ethniki in 2003, and made his first UEFA Champions League appearances, five in all. Kafes played in the majority of Olympiacos' league matches on their way to the domestic double, and only a mid-season injury preventing him from matching his record in Europe, where he took part in all of the club's Champions League and UEFA Cup games. Likewise for next season, 2005–2006, where he played 22 domestic league games, earned another double and scored two truly memorable tying goals from the edge of the box for Olympiacos in the UEFA Champions League against Real Madrid. the goal of Raul at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu. On 19 October 2005, he scored also against Olympique Lyonnais. Kafes was released from Olympiacos during 2006–07 season. A few days later he signed a 2-year contract with rival side AEK Athens.

AEK Athens

Soon after signing for AEK and continuing his tradition of wearing the number 1, Kafes broke into the first team and was a mainstay in AEK's fight for the championship, but they had to settle for second. The following season on 12 January 2008 Kafes scored his first goal for AEK against Veria. On 30 March of the same year, Kafes scored against his former club Olympiacos and put AEK 4–0 in front. AEK initially finished in first place in the Greek League, but after the court case between Apollon Kalamaria and Olympiacos for the illegal usage of a player (Roman Wallner) in the 1–0 Apollon Kalamaria win earlier in the season, Olympiacos were awarded the 3 points in a court hearing, thus finishing 2 points ahead of AEK Olympiacos. In his third season with the "Dikefalos-Aetos", AEK did not live up to their expectations and finished third, Kafes was a key figure in there revival inwich he captained the side on a few occasions. On 12 June 2009, Kafes signed a new 3-year deal which will keep him at AEK until 2012. He agreed to reduce his wages to help the club's financial difficulties. On 11 July 2009, Kafes was given the captain's armband and will be the new captain for the upcoming season.[1] On 13 September 2009, Kafes scored his first goal of the 2009–10 season versus Iraklis. Kafes also scored 2 goals against PAS Giannina. He has made great appearances throughout the 2009–10 season, with much silent work as a defensive midfielder and some great assists to his teammates. In the summer 2010, Kafes found his ex-teammate Traianos Dellas that he joy to AEK Athens and also they won EURO 2004 with the Greek national Team. On 30 April 2011, Kafes won the Greek Cup scoring AEK's 3rd goal in a 0–3 win against Atromitos. Kafes scored his first goal in the 2011/12 season against Panionios in a 1 -0 home win on the 5/2/12. The 2011–12 season was his last with AEK.

Veria

Pantelis Kafes left AEK in June. He trialed with Rangers F.C. in Scotland but did not sign with the financially troubled club.[2][3] After being free agent for 2 months, on 31 August he joined back to his hometown team Veria FC. He scored his first goal with his new team 6 October 2012 against Atromitos and on 12 December 2012, he made his debut in Greek Cup with Veria FC against Thrasyvoulos and 22 December, he helped his new team to qualify for the stage and for the quarter-final of the Greek Cup. He was released during the winter break and in February 2013, he trialed with Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer.[4]

International career

Kafes made his debut in the national team against Croatia in April 2001 and scored his first goal against Austria in Vienna in March 2003. Kafes made two appearances in UEFA EURO 2004 qualifying, and was in the finals squad and he won Euro 2004 with Greece. Kafes participated in 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign, the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup. Kafes has been re-called into the team from the new coach Fernando Santos during the qualification for Euro 2012. On 8 October 2010 Kafes came on as a substitute against Latvia replacing Giorgos Karagounis, helping the team to qualify for UEFA's 2012 European Football Championship tournament. This was Kafes' first competitive match under new coach Fernando Santos. On 17 November 2010, Kafes played also the second half of the friendly match against Austria, giving a big contribution, where Greece beat Austria.

Career statistics

Club
Club performance League Cup Continental Total
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Greece League Greek Cup Europe Total
1994–95 ΑΕP Verias Beta Ethniki 1521000162
1995–96 Gamma Ethniki 2850000285
1996–97 80000080
P.A.O.K. Alpha Ethniki 40000040
1997–98 1421000152
1998–99 2772100298
1999–00 2642020304
2000–01 27412260456
2001–02 2347361368
2002–03 2587150379
2003–04 Olympiacos 3047150425
2004–05 21251100363
2005–06 2225062334
2006–07 Superleague 802030130
AEK Athens 71002091
2007–08 2532080353
2008–09 2735130354
2009–10 2950070365
2010–11 2434171355
2011–12 2611030301
2012–13 Veria Super League 1412000161
Career total 43061651173456876

International
Greece national team
YearAppsGoals
2001 03 0
2002 08 0
2003 05 2
2004 05 0
2005 06 1
2006 03 0
2008 01 0
2009 04 0
2010 06 0
Total 41 3

Last updated: 2010-10-15
Source: Pantelis Kafes at National-Football-Teams.com

Pantelis Kafes: International goals
GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
12003-03-26UPC-Arena, Graz, Austria Austria1–22–2Friendly
22003-08-20Idrottsparken, Norrköping, Sweden Sweden1–21–2Friendly
32005-11-16Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Greece Hungary2–12–1Friendly

Honours

Club
PAOK
2001, 2003
Olympiacos
2005, 2006
2005, 2006
AEK Athens
2011

International
Greece
2004

References
  1. Kafes new Captain
  2. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19042703
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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