Aggelos Charisteas

Aris

After a few years playing for amateur club Strymon Strymonikos, Charisteas joined Greek side Aris Thessaloniki, where he started his professional career. It was during his first season at Aris that Charisteas started making a name for himself, scoring twice in nine matches as they won the Greek second division in 1997–98. Charisteas started well in his first season in the Greek top league and got further noticed when he scored twice in the local derby against Thessaloniki rivals PAOK. The striker made twelve appearances in the Alpha Ethniki – six as a substitute – before a loan at Athinaikos in 1998–99. He returned to Aris the following season and made his European debut in a UEFA Cup defeat by Celta de Vigo at the age of 19. Charisteas was continuously developing and in the 2000–01 season, where he scored seven goals.

Werder Bremen

On 29 January 2002, Charisteas joined Bundesliga side Werder Bremen, signing a four-year contract valid from the summer, having been watched by scouts from a number of Europe's leading sides. Werder Bremen Sporting director, Klaus Allofs attested "Angelos is strong header of the ball, very fast and has good tactical behaviour". At the club, he scored with regularity between 2002 and 2005. The transfer fee paid to Aris was reported as €3 million. He had a successful first season scoring nine goals in 31 appearances in the Bundesliga and two goals from four games in the UEFA Cup. In the 2003–04 season, Werder Bremen won the…

After having been a regular player for the Greek U21 side, Charisteas made his international debut in February 2001 in a 3–3 draw against Russia. His impact was immediate as he scored two of the goals for Greece that day. His prolific goal scoring continued, eventually helping his team qualify for the Euro 2004.

During the victorious Euro 2004 campaign, Charisteas scored three goals: one in the group stage against Spain, one against France in the quarterfinals and the winning goal against the host country Portugal in the final on 4 July, securing himself a permanent place in the history of the sport. The win against Portugal was also considered as the greatest triumph of the nation. His contribution to the team and his impact in the competition was further recognised when he was named in the Euro 2004 All-star Team and he was also nominated for the 2004 Ballon d'Or award, where he finished 11th in votes. In January 2007, Charisteas told Dutch football magazine Voetbal International that winning Euro 2004 was an unbelievable experience which he would not swap for all the money in the world: "Even in 50 years time, everybody will remember that I scored the goal which made Greece the champions of Europe. We wrote history and my life changed completely at that point." Charisteas scored three goals for Euro 2008 qualifying rounds, helping Greece to automatically qualify for the competition with two games left. He would go on to be one of the few Greece players who performed well…

Charisteas played primarily as a target man.

Sports Directing

On 29 August 2019, Charisteas became sporting director of his former club Aris Thessaloniki. He initially worked loosely as a player agent, and obtained a UEFA B license before registering to acquire further coaching certificates.

Politics

In 2019, Charisteas was elected to the Regional Parliament of Central Macedonia and he was re-elected in 2023. He has served as Deputy Regional Governor of Digital Policy of the Region of Central Macedonia and he is currently serving as Deputy Regional Governor for Volunteering and Youth Affairs of Central Macedonia.