1. Theofanis "Fanis" Gekas is a Greek professional football official, coach and a former player, who played as a striker.
31 Facts About Theofanis Gekas
1. 2.
Theofanis Gekas has been the top goalscorer of Superleague Greece and the Bundesliga in previous seasons.
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At international level, Gekas represented Greece at two European Championships and as many World Cups, earning 78 caps between 2005 and 2014.
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Theofanis Gekas was the top goalscorer of the European section of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification with 10 goals.
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Theofanis Gekas started his professional career in the summer of 1998 at his hometown-based club AEL.
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At his new club, Theofanis Gekas became top goal scorer of the Greek league in 2005 with 18 goals.
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Theofanis Gekas's goals were celebrated with sirtakis from the stadium's loudspeakers.
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Theofanis Gekas went on to finish the season as Bundesliga's top scorer, with a tally of 20 goals.
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Theofanis Gekas was brought in by manager Tony Adams with a view to a permanent deal.
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Theofanis Gekas was not given any games and went on to state his desire to leave the club, with Zenit St Petersburg reportedly being interested in him.
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Theofanis Gekas, while playing for his national team, became the top scorer in the European section of the qualification for 2010 World Cup.
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Theofanis Gekas ended up scoring 6 goals in 17 appearances for the club.
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On 19 May 2010, Theofanis Gekas signed a two-year contract with Eintracht Frankfurt.
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Theofanis Gekas scored 16 goals in 34 appearances but this did not prevent Eintracht from being relegated to the German second division.
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Theofanis Gekas left Eintracht under a cloud, after having not picked up the language during his almost six years in Germany.
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On 7 January 2012, Theofanis Gekas signed a six-month contract with Super Lig side Samsunspor.
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Theofanis Gekas scored his first goals against Orduspor, and scored a hat-trick two weeks later, in a game against Fenerbahce.
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On 25 January 2013, Theofanis Gekas signed a one-and-a-half-year contract with Turkish Super Lig side Akhisar Belediyespor, then struggling to avoid relegation.
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Theofanis Gekas scored a goal on his debut on 1 February 2013 against Kayserispor.
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On 5 September 2013, Theofanis Gekas signed a one-year contract with Super Lig club Torku Konyaspor, wearing the number 22 shirt.
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On 26 July 2014, Theofanis Gekas completed a return to his former club Akhisar Belediyespor, signing a two-year contract.
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On 3 April 2015, despite the fact that Theofanis Gekas had no injury problems and was the top scorer of the club, he was left out of the squad in a surprise move by manager Roberto Carlos.
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On 7 July 2015, Theofanis Gekas signed a one-year contract with Super Lig club Eskisehirspor.
24.
On 20 November 2015, Theofanis Gekas left Eskisehirspor after his contract was cancelled by mutual consent.
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On 1 February 2016, Theofanis Gekas agreed to join Sion until the summer 2017 and to continue his career in Switzerland, after three years in Turkey.
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Theofanis Gekas helped his country's team to reach UEFA Euro 2008 and became the top scorer among the 2010 World Cup Qualifiers from UEFA nations with 10 goals.
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Theofanis Gekas is fifth in the top scorer rankings of the Greece national team.
28.
On 9 September 2010, Theofanis Gekas officially announced his decision to retire from the national team of Greece, due to "special circumstances inside the team", as he mentioned.
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One year later, Theofanis Gekas stated that it was a mistake for him to retire from the national team, thus making himself available to be selected by manager Fernando Santos.
30.
Theofanis Gekas came on a substitute in the subsequent games against Japan and Ivory Coast, putting Greece through to the knockout stage of the World Cup for the first time.
31.
In Greece's round of 16 match against Costa Rica, Theofanis Gekas came on as a substitute in the 69th minute and assisted Sokratis Papastathopoulos' 91st-minute equaliser with a shot that was parried into the defender's path by Keylor Navas.