Iosif "Sifis" Daskalakis ( el, Ιωσήφ "Σήφης" Δασκαλάκης; born 7 August 1982) is a Greek professional

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 ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

. He is currently a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

Career

Daskalakis began his career at his local side OFI, playing mostly as a back-up goalkeeper to

Michalis Sifakis Michalis Sifakis ( gr, Μιχάλης Σηφάκης; born 9 September 1984) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Early years Born in Heraklion, Greece, Sifakis started playing football at the age of 9. His fir ...

. He then moved to fellow

Cretan Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

Superleague The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

side

Ergotelis The Gymnastics Club «Ergotelis» Heraklion Crete ( el, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος «O Εργοτέλης» Ηρακλείου Κρήτης, Γ.Σ. Εργοτέλης), commonly known simply as Ergotelis ( el, Εργοτέλης), ...

, staying at the club for 5 years (the last 4 of which he was the starting XI goalkeeper) making a total of 90 appearances for the club. His steady performances with

drew the attention of

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece 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 ...

champions

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

, who signed Daskalakis in the summer of 2011 to be the back-up of

Franco Costanzo Franco Costanzo Geymonat (born 5 September 1980) is a former Argentine football goalkeeper who last played for Chilean club Universidad Católica of the Primera División. He has earned the reputation of being an eccentric goalkeeper by often ...

. His spell with the Greek champions lasted one year, in which the club won the 2011–12 season double. Daskalakis made only a single appearance for the club during the season, as he ended up being back-up to third-choice keeper

Balázs Megyeri Balázs Attila Megyeri (, born 31 March 1990) is a Hungarian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Debreceni VSC. Club career Ferencváros Born in Budapest, Megyeri began his career with Ferencvárosi TC and played a short ...

, after

Costanzo Costanzo is an Italian given name, translated from the Latin name Constantius. It is also used as an, originally patronymic, surname. It may refer to: People with the surname Costanzo *Alessandra Costanzo *Alfredo Costanzo *Angelo Costanzo *Blake C ...

's contract was terminated. In 2012, Daskalakis signed a contract with freshly promoted

side

Veria Veria ( el, Βέροια or Βέρροια), officially transliterated Veroia, historically also spelled Berea or Berœa, is a city in Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the regional unit of ...

, but was immediately sidelined after conceding two goals in his debut vs. his former club

. He left the club in the summer of 2013, signing a three-year contract with his first club, OFI. His second spell at OFI however, was also abruptly terminated after a dispute with manager

Gennaro Gattuso Gennaro Ivan Gattuso (; born 9 January 1978) is an Italian professional football coach and former player, who currently serves as manager of La Liga club Valencia. He was born in Corigliano ( Calabria). As a player, he mainly played in the ce ...

, who allegedly requested Daskalakis and teammate

Michail Fragoulakis Michail Fragoulakis ( el, Μιχαήλ Φραγκουλάκης; born 15 July 1983) is a Greek professional footballer who plays for the Greek Gamma Ethniki club Giouchtas. Career Born in Heraklion, Fragoulakis began his football career wit ...

to be expelled from the club. A year after his dispute with the club, Daskalakis returned to OFI in October 2015 signing a one-year deal, after the club filed for bankruptcy in 2015 and was therefore relegated to the

Gamma Ethniki The Gamma Ethniki ( el, Γ΄ Εθνική Ερασιτεχνική Κατηγορία, C National Amateur Division) is the third highest football league in Greece. History The Gamma Ethniki began in 1965 as an amateur championship, while in 198 ...

, the third tier of the

Greek football league system The Greek football league system includes four levels in which teams can possibly make it to the Super League 1, Greece's highest division of football. Cup eligibility Greek Football Professional Cup: Levels 1 to 2 Greek Football Amateur Cup: ...

. However, as the club signed experienced defenders Minas Pitsos,

Kostas Kiassos Konstantinos Panteleimon Kiassos ( gr, Κώστας Κιάσσος; born 13 December 1975) is a Greek former professional football player who mainly played for OFI, as a midfielder. Club career Born in Chania, Kiassos has played for OFI, Pan ...

and

Ilias Kotsios Ilias Kotsios (Greek: Ηλίας Κώτσιος; born 25 April 1977) is a former Greek footballer who played as defender. He has also played for Levadiakos Levadiakos Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Λεβαδειακός) is a Greek professiona ...

in the winter transfer window of 2016, due to a limitation on the number of players over 33 years old allowed to play for a single club in the

, Daskalakis' was released by the club in February 2016.

Honours

: **

Superleague Greece The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

(1) : 2011–12 **

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most i ...

(1) :

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

References

External links

Profile
at Onsports.gr {{DEFAULTSORT:Daskalakis, Iosif 1982 births Living people Super League Greece players OFI Crete F.C. players Ergotelis F.C. players Olympiacos F.C. players Veria F.C. players Men's association football goalkeepers Footballers from Heraklion Greek men's footballers