Takis Fyssas

Takis Fyssas
	Fyssas as a member of the Greek staff at Euro 2012
Personal information
Full name	Panagiotis Fyssas
Date of birth	12 June 1973 (age 51)
Place of birth	Athens, Greece
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Position(s)	Left back
Team information
Current team	Greece (sporting director)
Youth career
	Panionios
Senior career*
Years	Team
1990–1998	Panionios
1998–2003	Panathinaikos
2003–2005	Benfica
2005–2007	Hearts
2007–2008	Panathinaikos
Total
International career
1999–2007	Greece
Medal record
Men's football
Representing Greece
UEFA European Championship
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Takis Fyssas (Greek: Τάκης Φύσσας, born 12 June 1973) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a left back. After his retirement he served as the sporting director of the Greece national team.

From 1999 to 2007, he earned 60 caps for the Greece national team. He was part of the team which won Euro 2004.

Club career

Panionios

Fyssas started his career in the Panionios youth academy, achieving his senior debut in the 1990–91 season. After eight seasons in Nea Smyrni, which included a Greek Cup triumph.

Panathinaikos

He signed for Athens club Panathinaikos in 1998. The increased exposure Fyssas received playing at the Spiros Louis ensured a rapid elevation to the Greece national side and he made his debut against Finland in 1999. Fyssas also made his first UEFA Champions League appearance while with the Greens, in the 2000–01 season.

Benfica

In December 2003, he moved to Lisbon with Benfica, where he was to stay for a season and a half, helping Benfica claim the 2003–04 Portuguese Cup and 2004–05 Primeira Liga. On 25 January 2004, he was on the bench for a 1–0 away win against Vitória de Guimarães, a game overshadowed by the sudden death of his teammate Miklós Fehér. He scored a goal on the final of Portuguese Cup that season, that gave them the victory against FC Porto.

Hearts

After being allowed to leave Benfica in the summer of 2005, Fyssas made the surprise decision to move to Scotland with the Hearts, despite reported interest from England and Germany. He collected his fourth career winners medal in his first season with the Tynecastle side, when they defeated Gretna in the 2005–06 Scottish Cup final. His first and only Hearts goal came in a league game against Motherwell on 9 December 2006.^[1] He became a popular member of the Hearts team and will always be remembered fondly for his celebrations after clinching a place in the UEFA Champions League. He left the Edinburgh club at the end of the 2006–07 season to move back to Panathinaikos.

Panathinaikos

In his second Panathinaikos term, he played just a couple of games and he silently decided to retire from football.

International career

Fyssas played 60 matches for Greece national team and he scored four goals. He was one of the key players for team that won the Euro 2004 championship in Portugal, a win that shocked the footballing world as Greece were considered 100–1 outsiders before the tournament started. He was subsequently selected in the Team of the Tournament.

After retirement

Fyssas after his retirement entered into the staff of Panathinaikos Youth Departments serving as technical director. Then he was hired to the Greece national team, helping Otto Rehhagel for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the new coach Fernando Santos after Rehhagel retired in 2010. He also served as sporting director of the Greece national team until 2024.^[2]

In May 2019 Fyssas, was nominated as a candidate for Greece's New Democracy Party at the Greek legislative election, but he failed to get elected.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition^[3]^[4]
Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Panionios	1990–91	Alpha Ethniki	1	0
	1991–92	Alpha Ethniki	0	0
	1992–93	Beta Ethniki	3	0
	1993–94	Alpha Ethniki	18	2
	1994–95		28	0
	1995–96		32	3
	1996–97	Beta Ethniki	28	0
	1997–98	Alpha Ethniki	29	1
	1998–99	Alpha Ethniki	11	3
	Total		150	9
Panathinaikos	1998–99	Alpha Ethniki	18	3
	1999–00		24	0
	2000–01		25	1
	2001–02		20	0
	2002–03		27	0
	2003–04		9	2
	Total		123	6
Benfica	2003–04	Primeira Liga	14	0
	2004–05	Primeira Liga	16	0
	Total		30	0
Heart of Midlothian	2005–06	Premier League	32	0
	2006–07	Premier League	21	1
	Total		53	1
Panathinaikos	2007–08	Superleague Greece	7	0
Career total			363	16

International goals

Scores and results list Greece's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Fyssas goal.

List of international goals scored by Takis Fyssas
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	13 February 2002	Kleanthis Vikelides Stadium, Thessaloniki, Greece	Sweden	1–1	2–2	Friendly
2	15 May 2002	Ethniko Stadium, Rhodes, Greece	Cyprus	1–1	3–1	Friendly
3	15 May 2002	Ethniko Stadium, Rhodes, Greece	Cyprus	2–1	3–1	Friendly
4	29 January 2003	GSZ Stadium, Larnaca, Cyprus	Cyprus	1–1	2–1	Friendly