Loukas Vyntra

Paniliakos

Vyntra signed his first professional contract in 1999 with Paniliakos. He made his senior debut on loan with third division Veroia in 2000–01. Returning to Paniliakos at the end of the season, he swiftly became established in the starting 11, helping them win promotion to the Alpha Ethniki in 2002–03. Making his debut in the Greek top-flight, Vyntra played in Paniliakos' first 15 games of the 2003–04 season.

Panathinaikos

Greek giants Panathinaikos was quick to notice his potential and brought Vyntra to Athens-based club in 2004. Immediately making an impact at the club, Vyntra became a legend player for Panathinaikos since his first season, wearing the green-and-white. He was a versatile member of back-line, switching between playing on the right and the centre of defence. On 29 September 2004, he made his European competition debut in a 1–0 away loss against PSV in the UEFA Champions League. He scored two memorable goals during the 2004–05 season, one against Arsenal in the Champions League and one against Sevilla in the UEFA Cup. In the summer of 2007, German Bundesliga side Hertha BSC approached the player about a transfer, but Panathinaikos did not wish to sell him unless they found adequate cover in defence. Although he was described as a hard-working player, good in tackling and marking and picked by all his managers for the starting XI, his lack of stability made him the target of complaints and he has received the most criticism for…

Vyntra represents Greece instead of his birth country, the Czech Republic; he has gone on to feature for the national team on several levels. He represented Greece at the 2004 Summer Olympics, held on home soil in Athens. Vyntra's debut with the Greek senior team came on 8 June 2005, in a 1–0 home defeat against Ukraine in a 2006 World Cup qualifying match. He was included in the final squad for the 2005 Confederations Cup in Germany. Generally for Greece, Vyntra has been used in his more natural right-back position, but his playing-time has benefited through injuries to regular starters. With his occasional gaffes, he faces the same scrutiny that surrounded him at Panathinaikos. Vyntra was called by manager Fernando Santos to both the 30-man provisional 2014 World Cup squad and the final 23-man squad. On 23 March 2015, an injury of Roma's defender José Holebas led to Vyntra's participation in a crucial match against Hungary national football team for qualification to UEFA Euro 2016.

Vyntra was born as Lukáš Vydra in Město Albrechtice, Czechoslovakia, to a Czech father and a Greek mother. As a youngster, he moved to his mother's homeland of Greece.

Panathinaikos

Super League Greece: 2003–04, 2009–10 Greek Football Cup: 2003–04, 2009–10