Giourkas Seitaridis - Greek Football Player

giourkas seitaridis greek football player

Giourkas Seitaridis was born in June 4, 1981 in Piraeus (Giourkas means “George” in the Greek Pontic dialect).

His father, Dimitris Seitaridis, was a striker who also played for Giannina and Panathinaikos football teams, while his uncle, Miltos Seitaridis, and grandfather were both also stars in Greece.

Giourkas Seitaridis signed professional terms with PAS Giannina football team, for whom he played just eight league matches before joining Panathinaikos football club on a five-year contract in January 2001 as a 19-year-old.

Giourkas Seitaridis first game for Greece was on 13 February 2002 against Sweden, and later that year participated in the 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Championship final round in Switzerland. Breaking into the senior football team regularly in UEFA EURO 2004 qualifying, his reputation grew and was one of the main reasons why Greece were crowned champions.

Following his EURO 2004 success, he joined Portuguese champions and UEFA Champions League holders fooball team Porto. But after just one season in Portugal, Seitaridis was on the move again, signing a 10m euro five-year deal with Dynamo Moscow football club to become the richest player in Greek history on May 23, 2005. After one season at Dynamo, Seitaridis signed for Atletico Madrid football club in the Spanish Primera Liga.