Vasilis Lakis
Personal information
Full name Vasilios Lakis
Date of birth (1976-09-10) 10 September 1976
Place of birth Thessaloniki, Greece
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Midfielder, right winger
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1996 Naoussa 67 (7)
1996–1998 Paniliakos 69 (7)
1998–2004 AEK Athens 145 (37)
2004–2005 Crystal Palace 18 (0)
2005–2007 AEK Athens 49 (6)
2007–2009 PAOK 41 (3)
2009–2010 Kavala 17 (0)
Total 406 (60)
International career
1999–2005 Greece 35 (3)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Greece
UEFA European Championship
Winner2004
UEFA European U-21 Championship
Runner-up1998
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Vasilios Lakis (Greek: Βασίλειος Λάκης; born 10 September 1976) is a Greek former professional footballer. He was nicknamed "Turbo" for his speed when attacking along the right wing and his ability to provide accurate crosses.

Club career

Naoussa

Lakis began his career in Naoussa playing as a defender, but his coaches soon switched him to the attacking role more appropriate to his innate talent. His team mates in Naoussa included the future star Vasilios Tsiartas.

Paniliakos

In the summer of 1995, Lakis signed for the professional club Panileiakos. In the following season, he helped the team to finish seventh in the Greek League by scoring seven goals.

AEK Athens

On 12 June 1998, Lakis was transferred to AEK Athens[1] for a fee of 600,000,000 drachmas.[2] There he played alongside Demis Nikolaidis, Vasilios Tsiartas and Theodoros Zagorakis. With the yellow-blacks, he won two Greek Cups, one in 2000 against Ionikos[3] and the other in 2002 against their rival, Olympiakos.[4] He was in the squad that reached the Fourth round of the UEFA Cup in 2002 and was eliminated by the Inter Milan of Héctor Raul Cúper. The following season, with the acquisition of Grigorios Georgatos from Inter Milan, AEK reached the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, where they were drawn with Roma and Real Madrid. The club nearly beat Real Madrid after leading 3–1 and then 3–3 at home in the old stadium Nikos Goumas Stadium, but AEK Athens took their revenge in Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, drawing 2–2.

Crystal Palace

After Greece won Euro 2004, Lakis signed as a free agent for Crystal Palace in the Premiership.[5] He made 18 league appearances for Palace. He notably missed the goal from 6 yards in the game against Arsenal at Selhurst Park while the score was 1-1.[6] It is likely that Palace would have won the match had he scored. He was also sent off a in a 0–0 draw with Manchester United.[7] Unfortunately the club was relegated the same year and Lakis decided to return to Greece and AEK Athens.

Return to AEK Athens

Among Lakis's colleagues at AEK were Traianos Dellas, formerly of Roma, and, as president, Demis Nikolaidis. AEK Athens participated in the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League in the same group as Milan, which they beat at home 1–0 with a goal scored by Júlio César. In the summer of 2007, AEK Athens signed the Brazilian Rivaldo from the Olympiacos and the club reached the top of Greek Championship with their Piraeus rival. He is a pacy right winger who can also play up front, known for his fast-paced end-to-end style of play. He is renowned in his home country for his habit of missing easy chances but his speed, cutting passes, and incisive runs into the box more than makeup for this failing.

PAOK

On 2 July 2007, Lakis was released by AEK. On 3 July he signed a three-year contract with PAOK, which here he founds Zagorakis as the president of the club and Zisis Vryzas as a player, that they won Euro 2004. Lakis helped his new team to gain the second place in the Greek Championship behind Olympiacos and qualifying PAOK for the UEFA Intertoto Cup.

Kavala

On 1 July 2009, Lakis signed a two-year contract with the football club Kavala.[8] Here lakis found the goalkeeper Fanis Katergiannakis that he helped to promote the team in the Greek Super League after ten years. His new club Kavala was the revelation of the Greek Super League fighting for the first six positions and Lakis become one more time one of the most important players with experience.

Lakis with Kavala] reached the semifinal of the Greek Cup against Panionios. In the semifinal Kavala faced Aris.

International career

Lakis made 35 appearances for the Greece national football team[9] and scored his first goal in a friendly match, in April 2000 in Dublin against the Republic of Ireland, in Lansdown Road. The coach Otto Rehhagel called him for the qualification for Euro 2004 and he was included in the Greek squad that won Euro 2004 and made two appearances as a substitute against Portugal in the group-stage and France in the quarterfinal.

International goals

Scores and results list Greece's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Lakis goal.
List of international goals scored by Vassilis Lakis
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
123 February 2000Kalamata, Greece Austria4–1Friendly
226 April 2000Dublin, Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland1–0Friendly
315 November 2003Aveiro, Portugal Portugal1–1Friendly

Honours

AEK Athens

Greece

References

  1. ↑ "Στην ΑΕΚ ο Λάκης". tanea.gr. 13 June 1998.
  2. ↑ "Επιστρέφει στην ΑΕΚ ο Τσάρτας". in.gr (in Greek). Online. 26 June 2000.
  3. ↑ "ΑΕΚ-Ιωνικός 3-0: Ο τελικός Κυπέλλου… ήθους με το fair play του Ντέμη". onsports.gr. 10 May 2022.
  4. ↑ "27/4/2002: Το κύπελλο της ΑΕΚ επί του Ολυμπιακού με υπογραφή Ίβιτς". 27 April 2020.
  5. ↑ "Palace snap up Lakis". BBC Sport. 29 September 2004. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  6. ↑ "Crystal Palace 1-1 Arsenal". BBC Sport. 6 November 2004. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  7. ↑ "Crystal Palace 0-0 Man Utd". BBC Sport. 5 March 2005. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  8. ↑ "Έξι μεταγραφές ανακοίνωσε η Καβάλα". contra.gr. 1 July 2009. Retrieved 1 July 2009.
  9. ↑ Mamrud, Roberto (29 October 2009). "Greece – Record International Players". RSSSF.
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