Giorgos Samaras

Heerenveen

Samaras broke into the Heerenveen team during the 2002–03 season, still aged only 18. He scored three goals in his first four appearances, all of which were from the bench. This form prompted Heerenveen activate a three-year extension clause in his contract. Samaras' first goal of the 2003–04 season came, on 25 October, in a shock 2–1 loss for Heerenveen against NEC Nijmegen. On 3 December, Samaras scored as Heerenveen beat ADO Den Haag 2–0. His next goal came 10 days later as he scored an equaliser to secure a draw 1–1 for Heerenveen against RBC Roosendaal. He then scored on 20 December, as Heerenveen beat Roda JC 2–1. Samaras' first goal of the 2004–05 season came on 11 September, in a 2–0 win over De Graafschap. He then scored a last-minute winner on 3 October, as Heerenveen secure all three points against ADO Den Haag. On 28 November, Samaras scored one of Heerenveen's goals as they staged a late comeback against title-chasing Feyenoord, and secured a 2–2 draw. He then scored on 22 January, as Heerenveen, who were performing very well in the Eredivisie, beat Den Bosch 2–1. On 12 March, Samaras scored an equaliser against RKC Waalwijk, but Heerenveen then conceded a late goal and fell to a 2–1 defeat. On 2 April, Samaras scored to help Heerenveen secure a shock 2–1 victory over Ajax. A fortnight later, Samaras scored the equaliser as Heerenveen came from behind to beat Vitesse Arnhem 3–1. This win moved Heerenveen up to fifth in the table. In the next…

Samaras was eligible to play for the Australian national team. His father, Ioannis, was born in Melbourne, but moved to Greece at the age of 13, and had a successful football career, playing for OFI, Panathinaikos, and Greece. Additionally, his grandfather (also Georgios) was one of the founding members of South Melbourne FC. Although Samaras considered playing for Australia, he was never approached by Football Federation Australia and chose to play for the country of his birth. He made his debut for Greece just a week after his 21st birthday, on 28 February 2006, in a friendly game against Belarus, in which he scored the sole goal of the game. He featured in Greece's Euro 2008 qualifiers and was a member of the unsuccessful Greek squad at the finals, making just one appearance as a second-half substitute in their first UEFA Euro 2008 Group D game against Sweden. Samaras' fourth international goal was a crucial one, when he scored the winning goal in a 2010 World Cup qualifier against Israel in front of his hometown crowd in Heraklion. He scored his fifth international goal with an overhead kick in a World Cup qualifier on 10 October 2009, against Latvia in a 5–2 victory. Samaras also played against Ukraine in a World Cup Qualifying play-off, setting up the sole goal of the tie, passing to Dimitris Salpingidis who slotted home to give Greece a 1–0 win and a place in the 2010 World Cup Finals. On 1 June 2010, Georgios Samaras was selected in the 23-man Greece squad for the…

Samaras has been described as having all the skills necessary for forward play. His height, 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m), made him difficult to handle in the air – and he was also a good header of the ball. This meant he could be used as an effective target man and his team could hit long balls up to him. He could also score from corners and crosses. Samaras was also strong which further added to his physical presence and made him harder for defenders to play against.

Samaras was also a good dribbler. This was due to his skill, quick feet and agility. He used this to his advantage and often went on runs where he beat several opposition players. However, he sometimes held onto the ball for too long and got tackled. As well as his dribbling ability, he was quick which meant he could beat players with his pace. He could also use his strength to beat players as well and was also able to use his creativity to set up goals for other players. While he was at Manchester City, Eriksson said that he would only retain him in the side if he stopped dribbling and running out wide. Eriksson said that he believed Samaras to be a good header of the ball and he had to stop believing he was like Ronaldinho if he was to become a good player. Although predominantly a striker, Samaras could also play as a left midfielder. In addition to being able to play as a target man, Samaras was also able to be utilised in several different roles when playing up front. His natural style of play was to drift off the…

Samaras was born in Heraklion, the capital city of the Greek island of Crete to a Melbourne-born father who had settled back in Greece before Georgios' birth. His grandfather, also called Georgios, was from Arnaia and was also one of the founders of Australian side South Melbourne FC. His favourite footballer growing up was Marco van Basten. Samaras was also a keen basketball fan and his father, Ioannis Samaras, often let him stay up until the early hours of the morning so he could watch his hero Michael Jordan. In 1994, when he was 10 years old, Samaras joined his boyhood heroes, OFI. His father was playing for them at the time and then retired in 1996. Six months later, he became Academy chief manager, a position he retained until 2000, when he became manager. Samaras credits his father highly with helping start his football career. His influence meant that Samaras trained every day of his childhood and he also got to spend a lot of time behind the scenes at OFI. Samaras left for Eredivisie club Heerenveen in 2001.