Kostas Frantzeskos

Kostas Frantzeskos
Personal information
Full name	Konstantinos Frantzeskos
Date of birth	4 January 1969 (age 55)
Place of birth	Athens, Greece
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
1985–1990	Vouliagmeni
Senior career*
Years	Team
1990–1994	Panathinaikos
1994–1997	OFI Crete
1997–2000	PAOK
2000–2001	Kalamata
2001–2002	Ionikos
2002–2003	AEK Larnaca
2003–2004	Aris
2004–2005	Proodeftiki
Total
International career
1992–2000	Greece
Managerial career
2017–2018	Panathinaikos U19
2018–2020	Panathinaikos U17
2020–2021	Panathinaikos U19
2021	Apollon Larissa
2021	AEL
2022	Karaiskakis
2022	Egaleo
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Kostas Frantzeskos (Greek: Κώστας Φραντζέσκος, born 4 January 1969)^[1] is a Greek professional football manager and former player.

Frantzeskos is better known for his deadly free-kick accuracy. He scored 57 free kick goals during his career.

Career

As a youngster, Kostas played for

Football A Division career in Panathinaikos, after they picked him up in 1990. He was very quick to adapt and soon made his 1st division debut, in a very successful season, with Panathinaikos winning the double. He made nearly 100 appearances for the Greens - including 11 European games - winning one championship and three cups.^[2]

In 1994, he was transferred to

OFI and spent two seasons there, under coach Eugène Gerards

, which he still holds to the highest esteem. He appeared in many games, becoming a mainstay in the Cretan team's midfield.

At the second half of 1996/97 season, Frantzeskos left OFI for

UEFA Cup, in Toumba Stadium

. PAOK went on to win the tie 2–1 on aggregate. He made over 100 appearances with PAOK during his 3-year stay, scoring 45 goals. He also made 12 appearances in the UEFA Cup, scoring 6 times. His standout performances helped him develop a good reputation in Europe especially after having some very good European match performances with PAOK.

After turning 31, Kostas left PAOK in 2000 for

Proodeftiki

. In 2003–2004 Aris narrowly escaped relegation, yet Proodeftiki was not equally lucky - so Frantzeskos finished his 15-year-long career in relative obscurity, playing a season in the Second Division until 2005.

Style of play

Frantzeskos holds the record in Greece for the most goals ever scored from direct free-kicks, always using his left foot. He was frequently cited as one of the most accurate free-kick takers in Europe, especially while playing for PAOK. He even scored a few of them in the UEFA Cup, most notably the two against Atlético Madrid, much to keeper José Francisco Molina's anguish, both home and away. He continued scoring from spot-kicks on to his last days, scoring a few for Proodeftiki. He also holds a rather unusual record of being the only player in Greece to score a

Kastoria FC

. Quite surprisingly, Frantzeskos was very inefficient at scoring from the penalty spot - which led to his famous quote during an interview: "Next time we win a penalty, and they want me to take it, I'll ask for a
wall
".

National team

Frantzeskos debuted for the
1994 World Cup. He ended his national years in 2000, again in a friendly match, this time against Austria, held in Kalamata
. He has been capped a total of 38 times for Greece, scoring 7 goals.[3]

Managerial statistics

As of 27 September 2022

Team From To Record Ref.

G W D L Win %

Apollon Larissa 8 February 2021 30 June 2021 21 6 6 9 28.57 ^[4]

AEL 1 July 2021 13 October 2021 2 2 0 0 100.00 ^[5]

Karaiskakis 3 February 2022 9 April 2022 12 2 4 6 16.67 ^[6]

Egaleo 25 August 2022 27 September 2022 0 0 0 0 – ^[7]

Total 35 10 10 15 28.57 –

Honours

Panathinaikos:

1991

1994

Individual

PAOK MVP of the Season: 1997–1998, 1998–1999, 1999–2000

References

^ "Frantzeskos, Kostas (Director of Football) Ilysiakos". Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2009.

^ Kolokotsios, Lambros (9 November 2010). Αθλητικοί Φάκελοι (ΦΡΑΝΤΖΕΣΚΟΣ) [Sporting Capsules (Frantzeskos)] (in Greek). Evrytania News. Archived from the original on 18 October 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2012.

^ Mamrud, Roberto (1 May 2009). "Greece - Record International Players". RSSSF. Retrieved 12 October 2009.

^ "Ανακοίνωσε τον Κώστα Φρατζέσκο ο Απόλλων Λάρισας". www.sport24.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 24 September 2021.

^ "ΑΕΛ: Νέος προπονητής της ο Κώστας Φραντζέσκος". www.sport24.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 24 September 2021.

^ Διακουμόπουλος, Στράτος. "Super League 2: Ο Κώστας Φρατζέσκος αναλαμβάνει τον Καραϊσκάκη Άρτας". Fosonline.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 6 March 2022.

^ Administrator (25 August 2022). "Αιγάλεω: Κατέληξε στον Κώστα Φραντζέσκο". Mikriliga.com (in Greek). Retrieved 25 August 2022.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kostas_Frantzeskos&oldid=1164454000"

[1] "Frantzeskos, Kostas (Director of Football) Ilysiakos". Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2009.

[Ev-2] Kolokotsios, Lambros (9 November 2010). Αθλητικοί Φάκελοι (ΦΡΑΝΤΖΕΣΚΟΣ) [Sporting Capsules (Frantzeskos)] (in Greek). Evrytania News. Archived from the original on 18 October 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2012.

[3] Mamrud, Roberto (1 May 2009). "Greece - Record International Players". RSSSF. Retrieved 12 October 2009.

[4] "Ανακοίνωσε τον Κώστα Φρατζέσκο ο Απόλλων Λάρισας". www.sport24.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 24 September 2021.

[5] "ΑΕΛ: Νέος προπονητής της ο Κώστας Φραντζέσκος". www.sport24.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 24 September 2021.

[6] Διακουμόπουλος, Στράτος. "Super League 2: Ο Κώστας Φρατζέσκος αναλαμβάνει τον Καραϊσκάκη Άρτας". Fosonline.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 6 March 2022.

[7] Administrator (25 August 2022). "Αιγάλεω: Κατέληξε στον Κώστα Φραντζέσκο". Mikriliga.com (in Greek). Retrieved 25 August 2022.

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