24 Facts About Sotirios Kyrgiakos

Sotirios Kyrgiakos is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a central defender.

Sotirios Kyrgiakos lived and played football at the Paiania athletic complex, the club's training ground.

Sotirios Kyrgiakos stayed with Agios Nikolaos for two years and in 2001 he took part in the pre-season camp at OFI Crete.

Sotirios Kyrgiakos initially failed to agree terms with Rangers and held talks with Everton, Portsmouth and Schalke 04 and the Italian club Genoa before finally agreeing a one-year deal with Rangers.

Sotirios Kyrgiakos scored a famous winning goal against FC Porto in the UEFA Champions League that year, and ended the season with three goals after scoring against Peterhead in the Scottish Cup and Dunfermline in the league.

Sotirios Kyrgiakos left the club by mutual consent in May 2006 after his contract ran out.

In June 2006, Sotirios Kyrgiakos signed a two-year deal with Eintracht Frankfurt.

On 1 July 2008, after his two-year deal expired, Sotirios Kyrgiakos decided not to renew his contract with the German club, and so was released.

On 1 August 2008, Sotirios Kyrgiakos agreed to sign for AEK Athens on a five-year deal.

Sotirios Kyrgiakos played in the Greek Cup Final in 2009 as AEK played Olympiacos in one of the most thrilling games in the history of Greek football.

Sotirios Kyrgiakos did not manage to complete the match though having picked up an injury in the second half of the match.

Meanwhile, the legendary Liverpool striker Ian Rush praised Sotirios Kyrgiakos, stating that he is ready to fill the void left behind by Sami Hyypia.

Sotirios Kyrgiakos' performances had been so impressive that the British sports journalist, Steven Saunders, identified Sotirios Kyrgiakos as "One To Watch" in the preview to Liverpool's home game against Bolton Wanderers on 30 January 2010.

Teams are having to work hard to score against Liverpool, which hadn't always been the case before Sotirios Kyrgiakos' sustained run in the side.

Sotirios Kyrgiakos was voted man of the match against Bolton on 30 January 2010 by Liverpool fans for the third time in four games.

In June 2011, it was announced that Sotirios Kyrgiakos would get a 12-month contract extension at Anfield after his initial two-year contract expired.

Sotirios Kyrgiakos is experienced, knows the Bundesliga and does not need time to adapt.

On 1 March 2014, Sotirios Kyrgiakos signed for Australian club Sydney Olympic for a two-game contract.

Sotirios Kyrgiakos was officially unveiled as a Sydney Olympic player at a press conference at the Alpha Restaurant in Sydney.

Sotirios Kyrgiakos made his senior international debut on 13 February 2002 against Sweden, scoring his first goal against Norway one year later on 13 February 2003.

Sotirios Kyrgiakos was unavailable to Greece for Euro 2004 due to a knee injury, missing out on their historic triumph.

Sotirios Kyrgiakos scored three goals during Euro 2008 qualifiers and was selected in the final squad to represent Greece in the final tournament.

Sotirios Kyrgiakos contributed to the qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Sotirios Kyrgiakos ended his international career prematurely with 61 caps and four goals for Greece because of in-fighting within the Greece national team.