Angelos Basinas

Personal information
Date of birth	January 3, 1976 (1976-01-03) (age 35)
Place of birth	Chalkida, Greece
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current club	Free Agent
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1995–2005	Panathinaikos	199	(44)
2006–2008	Mallorca	75	(1)
2008–2009	AEK Athens	16	(0)
2009–2010	Portsmouth	17	(0)
2010	Arles-Avignon	4	(0)
National team‡
1999–2009	Greece	100	(7)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:40, 17 May 2010 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 1 April 2009 (UTC)

Angelos Basinas (Greek: Άγγελος Μπασινάς, born on 3 January 1976 in Chalkida, Greece) is a Greek international footballer and the former captain of his country's national team. He played as a defensive midfielder for Arles-Avignon in the Ligue 1 until 22 October 2010.

Club career

Panathinaikos

Massive Basinas started his career with Greek side Panathinaikos, during his time at Panathinaikos he won both the league and the Greek Cup in 2004. After a row broke out between Basinas, the manager and the Panathinaikos board over wages, Basinas was released on September 21, 2005, which brought an end to a career at the club which lasted over 10 years, during this time he made over 200 appearances for the club scoring many crucial goals both domestically and in European competitions.[1]

Mallorca

Although rumored to go to Birmingham City, Everton, AEK Athens and Olympiacos during the 2006 Winter transfer window, Basinas signed a contract with RCD Mallorca preferring to leave Greece and avoid the Spanish Primera División. In the second half of the 05/06 season, Basinas completed a successful first period at Mallorca, helping to save the team from relegation proving a key part of the struggling teams survival. In his second year at the club he helped the team to finish in 7th position, one point from European qualification. He was released by Mallorca on July 1, 2008 after his 2½ years' contract came to an end.

AEK Athens

On 31 July 2008 he signed a 3-year contract of 1.4 million euros per annum with AEK Athens,[2] choosing the number 14. Despite the pre-season odds, AEK underachieved during the first half of the season and lost the title race too early, making Basinas favourable towards a new move during the winter transfer period.

Portsmouth

On 2 February 2009, Portsmouth confirmed the signing of Basinas on an eighteen month contract.[3] He made his debut for Portsmouth on 7 February 2009 against Liverpool. Just a few hours after his debut, manager Tony Adams, who brought Basinas in, was sacked by the club and replaced by Paul Hart. Under the new manager, Basinas hardly played and was benched for the rest of the season after only making 3 appearances for Portsmouth. Despite little playing time in his first season at Portsmouth, Basinas stated that he wanted to stay at the club.[4] When Avram Grant became the manager of the club, Basinas had continued to impress for Portsmouth when called upon and a poll among Portsmouth fans on January 23, 2010, showed that he's appreciated by the fans. 77% of fans believe that "Basinas has the creative touch and must play", while only 2% believed he should leave the club.[5] With Portsmouth Angelos Basinas achieved the 2010 FA Cup Final against Chelsea of Carlo Ancelotti.

AC Arles-Avignon

In the summer 2010, Angelos Basinas signed for Arles, with his teammate Angelos Charisteas, in the Ligue 1. The contract was broken two months later.

International career

Basinas won his first cap in a 3–1 win over El Salvador on August 18, 1999 and scored his first goal in just his second match, also against El Salvador just two days later. He has remained a part of the national team setup since his debut and has been a regular since Otto Rehhagel took over in 2001.

He was a key player in Greece's upset European Championship victory, scoring a penalty in his country's 2–1 upset win over host team Portugal in the tournament's opening game. Basinas was a vital player in the hard working midfield of the Greek team throughout the tournament. In the final, Charisteas scored the winning goal for Greece against Portugal off a corner kick by Basinas, which saw Greece win the trophy.

After Theodoros Zagorakis retired, Basinas was selected to take the captains arm band. Basinas earned his 100th cap for Greece April 1, 2009 in a FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifier against Israel. At the time, he was only the second Greek player to achieve 100 national team appearances alongside Theodoros Zagorakis.
[edit] International goals
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 20 August 1999 Kavala, Greece El Salvador 3–0 Win Friendly Match
2. 28 February 2001 Heraklion, Greece Russia 3–3 Draw Friendly Match
3. 12 June 2004 Porto, Portugal Portugal 1–2 Win UEFA Euro 2004
4. 9 February 2005 Athens, Greece Denmark 2–1 Win 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier
5. 28 March 2007 Valletta, Malta Malta 0–1 Win UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier
6. 17 November 2007 Athens, Greece Malta 5–0 Win UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier
7. 21 November 2007 Budapest, Hungary Hungary 1–2 Win UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier

Honours

Panathinaikos

* Greek League: 1996, 2004
* Greek Cup: 2004

Greece

* European Championship: 2004

Finals

Panathinaikos

* Greek Cup: Runners up 1997–98

Panathinaikos

* Greek Cup: Runners up 1998–99

Portsmouth

* FA Cup. Runners up 2010

References

1. ^ Basinas quits PAO
2. ^ AEK FC sign Basinas
3. ^ Basinas joins Blues
4. ^ Basinas staying at Portsmouth
5. ^ "NO Basinas in Pompey's FA Cup plans?" Vitalfootball.co.uk January 23, 2010. Accessed January 23, 2010.