Vasilis Tsiartas

Early years

Tsiartas began his career at the academy at AE Alexandris and later the team of Naoussa, which also produced players such as Vasilios Lakis and Dimitris Markos. His performance for Naousa, gained the interest of the big teams, notably AEK Athens and Panathinaikos.

AEK Athens

On 30 November 1992, Tsiartas was eventually transferred to AEK for a fee of 70 million drachmas. He showed samples of his rare class with a characteristic debut on 12 December 1992, in which he scored two goals in a 7–0 victory against Korinthos in Nea Filadelfeia. However, in his first 18 months within the club were a period of adjustment and thus he was between substitutes and starters. At the end of the season AEK won the league, which was followed by another one at the end of the following season, with Tsiartas gaining an ever-increasing role within the team. On 20 April 1994 he had one of the worst moments of his career missing his penalty, in the penalty shoot-out, in the Cup Final against Panathinaikos, in one of the best Greek cup finals of all time, which AEK lost by 4–2. In 1994 he played in the first ever group stage of the Champions League, where he made several very good appearances in domestic competitions. In 1996 he emerged as the league's top scorer making the best season of his career with 26 goals in 33 league matches, achieving and many impressive goals, while he also scored many assists for his teammates, while he also scored 7 goals in the Cup, which…

Having played at under-16 and under-21 level, Tsiartas made his debut for men's team on 27 April 1994 in a game against Saudi Arabia. He managed to score 12 goals in his 70 caps with Greece including the decisive penalty against Northern Ireland which sent Greece to Euro 2004 in a match that he also captained. He also tallied three other crucial assists in the preliminary phase, ultimately leading all Greek players in total goal involvements as they unexpectedly finished atop their qualification group. During the Euro 2004 finals, the now veteran Tsiartas was primarily deployed as Greece’s main super-sub by Otto Rehhagel. He made four total appearances throughout the tournament, and despite never starting still managed to claim two vital assists, the most from any Greek player. The first came in the group stages against Spain as Tsiartas was substituted on during the second half and within minutes had set up Angelos Charisteas for the 1-1 equalizer with a clever ball behind the Spanish defense, essentially securing Greece its first ever knockout stage berth. His second assist of the tournament—and considered as the most iconic moment of his international career—occurred in the final minutes of the semi-final match against the Czech Republic, where Tsiartas came on in extra time and executed the corner kick headed in by Traianos Dellas, resulting in the first and only ever silver goal at a major tournament, directly sending the Greek side to the final.

After retiring, Tsiartas became a scouting agent. On 22 May 2012 he became the technical director of AEK Athens, but was fired on 26 October due to disagreements with the club management. Tsiartas was the first Greek player to be featured on the cover of FIFA, appearing on the box art of the debut Greek edition of FIFA 2000.

Tsiartas was known for his seemingly lackadaisical playing style, however, his ability was never in question and he was in many ways the epitome of a classic "number 10". He was naturally left-footed, although he was also highly effective with his right foot. He possessed exceptional vision and football intelligence, being particularly renowned for his world-class vertical passing, creative playmaking, and powerful long-range shooting. His main weakness was his lack of pace, which was largely offset by his outstanding technical skills. A hallmark of his exceptional left foot was his proficiency in set pieces: in addition to scoring numerous goals from free kicks, long-range efforts, and penalties, he also occasionally scored directly from corner kicks. As a result, he was the primary set-piece taker for Greece as well as for the club he played at. Tsiartas was a key member of the Greece squad that won UEFA Euro 2004, providing two assists against Portugal during the tournament. Notably, throughout his entire career, he was never sent off. Although primarily a playmaker, he was also a capable goalscorer, thanks to his powerful shooting and finishing ability, and was among the top scorers for AEK Athens during his time at the club.