He was the absolute star during the European Championship 2004, when he scored the winning and only goal in the final against hosting country Portugal. Many European Clubs were standing in line to recruit him, but he chose to continue his career at Ajax Amsterdam: Angelos Charisteas.
Born in the small village of Strymoniko, which is in the far north of Greece, Charisteas started off his professional football career at Aris FC Thessaloniki. In the summer of 2002, Charisteas left Greece to play for Bundesliga team: Werder Bremen.
During his first season in Germany, the striker contributed to Bremen winning the Bundesliga as well as the German Cup, scoring 4 goals in 24 matches. He continued playing in Bremen for two more seasons and got transferred to Ajax in 2005 for an (at that time for Dutch standards) extraordinary amount of 4.5 million Euros.
The most memorable part of his career was of course the European Championship for countries in 2004. During the tournament his status transformed from being an average skillful player to an absolute Greek legend, when he guided his team to victory after defeating the favorite for the title: Portugal.
Watch his winning goal here:
In 2005 he moved to Amsterdam to play for Ajax. Because of his strong performance at the EC 2004, he received multiple offers from top European clubs, but he decided to go for a new adventure in The Netherlands.
In an interview that he gave quite recently, he explains this decision:
“It was a conscious decision, because after that goal during the European Championship I had plenty of options, even Barcelona wanted me as a pinch-hitter, but they chose for Maxi Lopez the Argentinean. Everton and Tottenham were also very serious”
Looking back, it probably wasn't the best decision to go for the Ajax offer. Even though he scored his goals and at times being important to the team, his time in The Netherlands was not a huge success, due to a number of circumstances. I really think he would have been able to utilize his potential better if he had chosen for a different team, and perhaps a different league.
Things got worse when he made the decision to move to Ajax’s biggest enemy: Feyenoord Rotterdam. Shamefully, the supports never really accepted him because he had played for their rival.
After having played just one season in Rotterdam, he went back to Germany to continue his career at FC Nürnberg. After another three years in Germany, a period of club-hopping started, and the last team he would play for was Al Nassr FC in Saudi Arabia.
During his career (which was one of heights and lows) he won many trophies. Have a look at his impressive track-record:
European Championship 2014 (national team)
Bundesliga Championship 03/04 (Werder Bremen)
German Cup 03/04 (Werder Bremen)
German Cup 10/11 (FC Schalke)
Dutch Cup 05/06 (Ajax)
Dutch Super Cup 05/06 (Ajax)
The retired striker nowadays runs a successfully restaurant in (surprisingly) Amsterdam. His ‘Libertine Comptoir de Cuisine’ opened its doors in the beginning of this year and business is going well. If you fancy a ‘Souvlaki’, you will probably get disappointed, as the restaurant solely serves French dishes.
In an interview, Charisteas elaborated on his career switch and the link he sees between running a restaurant and football:
“I’m here almost every day. To learn more about the food we are selling. It’s just like football; you have to train every day to improve yourself. I did a lot of traveling during my football career, so I had some knowledge about it. Furthermore, I like to be inspired. I love perfection and I also want to achieve this in my restaurant”
So when you are planning a visit to the Dutch capital and you’re in for a 'Croque monsieur', served by a true Greek legend, this just might be the place for you!
Comments