Loukas Vyntra

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Loukas Vyntra
File:Vyntra 2008.jpg
Vyntra with Greece in 2008
Personal information
Full name Loukas Vyntra
Date of birth (1981-02-05) 5 February 1981 (age 43)
Place of birth Město Albrechtice, Czechoslovakia
Height Script error: No such module "person height".
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Hapoel Tel Aviv
Number 24
Youth career
1998–1999 Almopos Aridaia
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2004 Paniliakos 67 (4)
2000–2001 → Veria (loan) 24 (0)
2004–2013 Panathinaikos 227 (10)
2013–2015 Levante 75 (2)
2015– Hapoel Tel Aviv 16 (0)
International career‡
1997–2003 Greece U21 20 (3)
2004 Greece U23 3 (0)
2005– Greece 54 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 9 January 2016
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 June 2015

Loukas Vyntra (Greek: Λουκάς Βύντρα; born 5 February 1981) is a Czech-born Greek footballer who plays for Hapoel Tel Aviv and the Greek national team. Mainly a central defender, he can also play as a right back.

Early life

Vyntra was born in Město Albrechtice, Czechoslovakia to a Czech father and a Greek mother. Vyntra moved as a youngster to his mother’s homeland of Greece.

Club career

Paniliakos

Vyntra signed his first professional contract in 1999 in Paniliakos. He made his senior debut on loan with third division Veroia in 2000/01. Returning in Paniliakos at the end of the season, he swiftly became established in the starting 11, helping them win promotion to the Alpha Ethniki in 2002/03. Making his debut in the Greek top-flight, Vintra played in Paniliakos' first 15 games of the 2003-04 season.

Panathinaikos

Panathinaikos was quick to notice his potential and brought Vyntra to Athens in 2004. Immediately making an impact at the club, Vyntra has become a regular for Panathinaikos since his first season wearing the green-and-white. Vyntra is versatile in the Panathinaikos back-line as he tends to switch between playing on the right side and the centre of defence.[1] On 29 September 2004, he made his debut to European competitions in a 1-0 away loss against PSV Eindhoven for UEFA Champions League.[2]

In the summer of 2007, Hertha BSC Berlin approached the player but Panathinaikos did not wish to sell him unless they found adequate cover.Although he is a hard working player good in tackling and marking and he is picked by all his managers for the starting XI, his lack of stability made him the target of complaints and he has received the most critisicm for Panathinaikos' recent inability to win titles. However his new manager, Henk ten Cate, has been using Vyntra mainly as a central defender for the 2008–2009 season and he offered him a lot of support helping him to build his confidence. Although the heart of the defence remained a problem for the team, Vyntra gained more respect and support from the fans. During the 2009–2010 season he was one of the key players, enjoying a particularly memorable season and helping Panathinaikos to the domestic double, reaching 50 games in European competition; also ended the campaign by appearing in all three matches for Greece at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[3]

Vyntra has been used mainly as a defensive midfielder or right back for Panathinaikos and more recently he has moved to the centre of the defence. He also played some games as a left back in 2008. Besides his versatility, he is a quite fast defender, good in close marking and tackling.

After Panathinaikos' head coach Henk ten Cate was sacked, he gave an interview to a Greek sports website and he was asked "If you get hired by a big European club, which player from Panathinaikos F.C. would you recommend to your new club?" and his answer was "Only one: Vyntra. He can play either as a defensive midfielder and right or left back, he can also play as a centre back, he is quick, he has good aerial abilities, with a good technique for a defender, he is good in tactics. What else can a manager ask from him? He has a tough mind because he plays many years under continuous, unfair criticism". [4] Described by his critics as error-prone, Vyntra's greatest asset is his natural athleticism: he has consistently led his teammates in all fitness tests, he is indefatigable, and has never suffered a single injury.

He scored two memorable goals during the 2004/2005 Season, one against Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League and one against FC Sevilla in the UEFA Cup. He scored 2 important goals in the Greek Superleague derby against rivals PAOK Thessaloniki on 8 February 2009.[5] Two seasons later on 16 October 2010 he scored the winning goal against PAOK again, with a fantastic strike.

Levante

At the beginning of 2013, Vyntra was typically out from Panathinaikos, searching for a new professional roof. But mainly looking for a team that has fans that do not disapprove looking for scapegoats. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that seeks alternatives abroad. For this reason has asked his manager to make some contacts with foreign teams and Anderlecht arranged immediately a scouter to watch him.[6] During the 2012/13 season he signed a half year contract with the Spanish club Levante. He expanded it at the end of the season, with an annual fee of €450,000.[7] On 19 January 2014 he scored his first goal with the club in a 1-1 draw against FC Barcelona. Vyntra got Levante off to the best possible start as he headed low past Victor Valdes from Andreas Ivanschitz's cross after 10 minutes.[8][9] On 25 January 2014, Levante pulled off an unlikely 3-2 victory over a dominant Sevilla in an enthralling game at the Sanchez Pizjuan, when Vyntra levels just three minutes after going behind by heading in a corner swung in by Andreas Ivanschitz.[10] Ten days later, in the second leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-final, Levante stunned the Spanish champions by taking the lead on the night early as Vyntra rises inside the box before thumping his header into the bottom corner, but Barcelona levelled just before the 30-minute mark and eventually triumphed by 5-1 and 9-2 on aggregate.[11]

On May 4, 2014 couple of days after Atlético Madrid succeeded to reach the UEFA Champions League final, Levante took advantage of a clearly worn down Atlético side and pulled off an impressive 2-0 victory over the league leaders. It was Atléti that had two close calls as they chased the equalizer. One of them, in the 63rd minute it was Filipe Luis whose shot from just inside the box was blocked on the six-yard line by Loukas Vyntra. The Greek defender was among the key players in this victory.[12]

The 2014/15 season seemed to be a disaster therefore Lucas Alcaraz, former coach of Aris considered Vynta as responsible. Lucas Alkarath has not hesitated to pull out of the lineup one of the best players of last season including David Barral one of the pillars of the team. The unsuccessful results with Elche, Villarreal and Athletic Bilbao hold Vyntra on the bench for four games (2014/2015) and could be described as almost impossible to return to the lineup. His performance considered as inferior compared to that of David Navarro and Ramis.[13] Eventually, he returned to the starting XI on April, 4 in an away 4-1 win against UD Almería. Without reaching the 30 apps which was the target for the 2014-15 season, Vyntra will probably return to a Greek club next season as he has realized that is difficult to renew his contract with the club.[14]

According to sources from Israel, Hapoel Tel Aviv is interested in Vyntra. The 34-year-old defender is out of contract and he's looking for his next destination.[15]

Hapoel Tel Aviv

On 27 July 2015, Hapoel Tel Aviv reached an agreement with the former Levante back. Vyntra signed a two-years' contract with an annual fee of €250,000 and is expected to go through the necessary medical examinations, in order to sign his contract.[16]

International career

Vyntra represented Greece at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

He made his debut with the Greece national football team on 8 June 2005 in a 1-0 home loss match against Ukraine for the qualifying 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was included in the final squad for the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup in Germany.[17]

He represents Greece instead of his birth country; Vyntra has gone on to feature for the national team on several levels. Generally his services have been employed in the more natural right-back position, but his playing-time has only benefited through injuries to regular starters. With his occasional gaffes, Vyntra faces the same scrutiny that surrounds him at Panathinaikos. It is his tendency to perform when it matters that keeps him in the national team fold, as manager Otto Rehhagel has opted to recall Vyntra despite several self-destructive errors. Nevertheless, Vyntra is the best choice for the national team off the bench as his speed and agility remain useful for the Greece national football team.[18] Vyntra called from Greek national manager Fernando Santos to the 30 man provisional World Cup squad, but also to the final 23-man squad for 2014 FIFA World Cup.[19]

On March 23, 2015 an injury of Roma's defender José Holebas is ultimately the cause of accelerated dial after the 2014 World Cup finals for Loukas Vyntra, so as to integrate immediately the preparation of the national team ahead of the crucial match against Hungary national football team for the preliminary round of UEFA Euro 2016 .[20]

Career statistics

Club Season League Cup Europe Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Paniliakos 1999-00 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Veria 2000–01 24 0 0 0 0 0 24 0
Paniliakos 2001–02 26 2 1 0 0 0 27 2
2002–03 29 2 1 0 0 0 30 2
2003–04 8 0 1 0 0 0 9 0
Panathinaikos
2003–04 5 0 3 0 0 0 8 0
2004–05 27 0 3 0 7 1 37 1
2005–06 23 0 1 0 6 0 30 0
2006–07 26 0 6 0 8 0 40 0
2007–08 23 0 1 0 7 0 31 0
2008–09 30 2 3 0 12 0 45 2
2009–10 24 4 5 0 13 1 42 5
2010–11 31 2 3 2 6 0 40 4
2011–12 24 0 2 1 4 0 30 1
2012–13 14 2 1 0 9 0 24 2
Levante 2012–13 15 0 0 0 0 0 15 0
2013-14 33 2 5 1 0 0 38 3
2014-15 27 0 0 0 0 0 27 0
Hapoel Tel Aviv 2015–16 16 0 2 0 0 0 18 0
Career Total 409 16 38 4 75 2 522 22

Honours

Panathinaikos

References

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External links

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