Georgios Vakouftsis (; born 30 January 1980) is a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

. He last played for

PAEEK FC PAEEK (; short for Ποδοσφαιρική Αθλητική Ένωσις Επαρχίας Κερύνειας, ''Podosfairiki Athlitiki Enosis Eparxeias Kerynias'', translated as "Football and Sport Union of Kyrenia District", literally "Footb ...

in Cyprus, previously he played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for

Anagennisi Karditsa Anagennisi Karditsa Football Club () is a Greek professional football club based in Karditsa, Greece, which competes in the Super League 2, the second tier of the Greek football league system. History One of the oldest clubs in Greek football ...

in the

Gamma Ethniki The Gamma Ethniki (, C National Division) is the Greek football league system, third highest football league in Greece. History The Gamma Ethniki began in 1965 as an amateur championship, while in 1983 it was changed to professional. Although no ...

. A striker, he is 192 cm tall.

Career

Born in

Kalabaka Kalabaka (, ''Kalabáka'', alternative transliterations are ''Kalambaka'' and ''Kalampaka'') is a town and seat of the municipality of Meteora (municipality), Meteora in the Trikala (regional unit), Trikala regional unit, part of Thessaly in G ...

, Vakouftsis began playing football for Panathinaikos' youth side. His body shape led Fiorentina's scouts to sign him from Panathinaikos youth team in 1999. His early performance was one of the key factors for Vakouftsis to gain the nickname "Il Greco Batistuta", due to the Argentine legend striker of Viola. His return in the

Greek Superleague The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

for Iraklis FC on loan did not meet expectations, and in 2002 he moved in Cyprus to play for

APOEL APOEL FC (; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") is a Cypriot professio ...

and later for rivals

AC Omonia Athletic Club Omonia Nicosia (; ''Athlitikós Sýllogos Omónoia Lefkosías''), commonly known as Omonia Nicosia, or simply Omonia (also Romanization of Greek, transliterated as Omonoia), is a Cyprus, Cypriot professional multi-sport club, esta ...

. In Cyprus Vakouftsis proved his calibre, scoring 52 goals in 113 appearances for the two clubs. In 2008, he moved back in Greece to play for Cretan club

Ergotelis F.C. Ergotelis Football Club () is a Greek professional football club based in Heraklion, Crete, which competes in the FCA Heraklion A1, the fourth tier of the Greek football league system, and hosts its home games at the Pankritio Stadium. Establ ...

and in the summer of 2009 he signed for Skoda Xanthi F.C. Vakouftsis played only three games for Xanthi in the league and because he was considered as a backup for the first team he requested a transfer. On 14 January 2010 he signed for

Anagennisi Karditsa F.C. Anagennisi Karditsa Football Club () is a Greek professional football club based in Karditsa, Greece, which competes in the Super League 2, the second tier of the Greek football league system. History One of the oldest clubs in Greek footbal ...

which caused much surprise in the Greek football transfer market. His contract is for six months and he is considered as a great addition to the squad. In January 2011 he returned to Cyprus to play for

in the second division. His former clubs include:

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos (, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club based in the City of Athens. Panathinaikos is one of the mos ...

ACF Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

Ravenna Calcio Ravenna Football Club is an Italian association football club, based in Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna. It currently plays in Serie D after relegation from Serie C in the 2020–21 season. The club was founded in 1913. History Foundation The club ...

, Iraklis FC,

and Skoda Xanthi F.C.

References

External links

Profile
at Onsports.gr

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vakouftsis, Georgios 1980 births Living people People from Kalabaka Greek men's footballers Greece men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football forwards Super League Greece players Serie A players Serie B players Cypriot First Division players Panathinaikos F.C. players APOEL FC players AC Omonia players ACF Fiorentina players Ravenna FC players Ergotelis F.C. players Iraklis F.C. (Thessaloniki) players Xanthi F.C. players Anagennisi Karditsa F.C. players PAEEK FC players Greek expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Footballers from Thessaly 21st-century Greek sportsmen