Pantelis Kapetanos

Early career

Kapetanos started his in football career at Kozani. There he was spotted by the manager of Iraklis, Eugène Gerards, and thus in 2002 he was transferred to the club of Thessaloniki. He was distinguished for his strength in the air, but at the same time he was also a heavy player, without particular technical qualities and a big weakness at finishing. At Iraklis, he made quite good appearances that earned him a call to Greece U21. On 19 January 2006 Kapetanos was transferred to AEK Athens for a fee of €400,000. Gerards, who was the technical director of the club, was involved in this transfer.

AEK Athens

Kapetanos did not manage to meet the expectations that were created with his acquisition, as his presence at AEK was indulgently mediocre and was combined with a steady decreasing course in both performance and appearances. Even though he began his spell as a starter, in his second season he gradually lost his place in the starting line-up to Leonidas Kampantais. On 18 March 2007 in an away match against Kerkyra, he delivered a memorable performance as, after scoring the winner, he also missed a huge double chance. At the 58th minute of the match, he unintentionally chipped the opposing goalkeeper with a volley, with the ball taking a strange course and bouncing on the goal line before returning to him. He then attempted a second volley, which was deflected by the goalkeeper. In the following season his few appearances with the club made him also…

Kapetanos was called up by Greece for the first time ahead of its international friendly against Senegal. He was included in the squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and made his World Cup debut in a group stage match against South Korea.

Club

International

He is the elder brother of Kostas Kapetanos He is married to fellow Greek, Fotini Dougali and they have three children together. His older child, Giannis, is also a footballer, who plays as a striker for Super League Greece 2 club Panargiakos.