Andreas Samaris

Andreas Samaris
Samaris playing for Benfica in 2016
Personal information
Full name Andreas Samaris
Date of birth (1989-06-13) 13 June 1989
Place of birth Patras, Greece
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position Central midfielder, Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Benfica
Number 22
Youth career
2006–2007 Panachaiki
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2010 Panachaiki 37 (3)
2010–2012 Panionios 49 (1)
2012–2014 Olympiacos 28 (4)
2012–2013 → Panionios (loan) 21 (5)
2014– Benfica 92 (3)
National team‡
2007 Greece U19 1 (0)
2013– Greece 32 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 7 October 2018
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 28 March 2018

Andreas Samaris (Greek: Ανδρέας Σάμαρης; born 13 June 1989) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Portuguese club Benfica and the Greece national team.[1]

After winning Superleague Greece with Olympiakos in 2014, he signed for Benfica in Portugal for €10 million. With them, he has won three consecutive Primeira Liga, one Taça de Portugal, two Taça da Liga and one Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira.

A full international since 2013, Samaris represented Greece at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Greece

Samaris started his career in Gamma Ethniki side Panachaiki in 2006, making a total of 37 league appearances and scored three goals for the club.[2] On 10 April 2007, he signed his first professional contract with Panachaiki, where he was coached by future Australia national team manager Ange Postecoglou.[3] On 11 January 2010, Samaris moved to Panionios.[2]

Samaris joined Olympiacos in 2012 but spent the season on loan at Panionios. In 2013, he returned to Olympiacos and scored his first goal with the club on 23 November 2013, in an away 4–1 victory against Panthrakikos.[4] Samaris ended the league with 38 appearances and scored four goals en route to the Greeks' 41st title.[5]

Benfica

On 22 August 2014, Samaris moved abroad and joined Portuguese champions Benfica on a five-year contract for a transfer fee of €10 million and with a €45 million release clause.[6][7][8] He made his debut for Benfica on 12 September against Vitória Sétubal.[9]

At the end of the 2014–15 season, Samaris mentioned that the Portuguese language was a barrier in his first year with the club. The Greek international stressed the importance of learning it by stating, "I liked to learn Portuguese because I became closer to my colleagues. The most important is to understand what my coach says because there was an idea of game and I had to adapt faster than the others."[10]

On 29 August 2015, in the second day of 2015–16 Primeira Liga, Samaris, after an assist from Greek teammate Konstantinos Mitroglou, scored with a right-footed shot from outside the box to the bottom left corner, the second goal giving the lead to his club in a 3–2 win against Moreirense. It was his first goal in the Primeira Liga.[11] On 1 April 2016, he scored his second goal in the Portuguese league, with a direct free kick, in a 5–1 home game against Braga.[12] On 4 March 2017, in a 1–0 away game against C.D. Feirense, Samaris reached 100 appearances with the jersey of Benfica.[13] In that season, he also played in the Taça de Portugal final, which Benfica won over Vitória de Guimarães (2–1).[14]

International career

Samaris is a former Greece under-19 international.[2] He made his debut in a 2008 European Under-19 Championship qualifier against France.[1] In October 2013, he was called up to the Greek senior side by manager Fernando Santos and made a substitute appearance in the final group qualifier against Liechtenstein, also coming off the bench in the two play-off matches against Romania. After a strong season with Olympiakos, Santos opted to select Samaris to his final 23-man squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[15]

On 24 June 2014, in his first appearance in a final tournament of the World Cup and against the Ivory Coast, Samaris opened the scoring after capitalizing on Cheick Tioté's defensive mistake in the 42nd minute in an eventual 2–1 victory; Samaris came on as an early replacement for the injured Panagiotis Kone.[16]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 7 October 2018[17]
Club Season League Cup Other* Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Panachaiki 2006–07 Gamma Ethniki 4000——40
2007–08 19300——193
2008–09 14000——140
2009–10 0010——10
Total 37310——383
Panionios 2009–10 Superleague 2000——20
2010–11 20100——201
2011–12 27030——300
2012–13 21510——225
Total 70640——746
Olympiacos 2013–14 Superleague 28440—60384
Benfica 2014–15 Primeira Liga 280103050370
2015–16 272106070412
2016–17 180604040320
2017–18 181103030251
2018–19 1000100020
Total 923901701901373
Career total 2271618017025028716

*Includes Taça da Liga and Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira

International

As of match played 23 March 2018[18]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Greece 201330
201481
201590
201670
201740
201810
Total321

International goals

GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
124 June 2014Estádio Castelão‚ Fortaleza, Brazil Ivory Coast1–02–1[19][20]2014 FIFA World Cup

Honours

Olympiacos[21]

Benfica[21][22]

References

  1. 1 2 "Andreas Samaris profile". uefa.com. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 "Τον Ανδρέα Σάμαρη απέκτησε ο Πανιώνιος (Panionios signed Andreas Samaris)". Eleftherotypia (in Greek). 11 January 2010.
  3. ↑ Bossi, Dominic (3 June 2016). "How Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou made Andreas Samaris a Greek football star". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  4. ↑ "11/24/2013: Latest Greek Super League Results with Video". greece.greekreporter.com. 24 November 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  5. ↑ "Quem é Andreas Samaris?". Desporto.sapo.pt (in Portuguese). 21 August 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  6. ↑ "Samaris assina contrato com o SL Benfica por cinco épocas". www.slbenfica.pt (in Portuguese). 22 August 2014. Archived from the original on 24 August 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  7. ↑ "Jorge Jesus confirma contratação de Samaris pelo Benfica". Público (in Portuguese). 22 August 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  8. ↑ "Announcement to CMVM" (PDF). S.L. Benfica. 22 August 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  9. ↑ "V. Setúbal-Benfica, 0-5 (crónica)" [Vitória Setubal- Benfica, 0-5 (chronicle)]. Maisfutebol.iol.pt (in Portuguese). 12 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  10. ↑ "Samaris: "O tricampeonato é muito importante"". www.record.xl.pt. 17 June 2015.
  11. ↑ "Benfica vs Moreirense 3-2". www.skysports.com. 29 August 2015.
  12. ↑ ""Πάρτι" Μήτρογλου-Σάμαρη στην πεντάρα της Μπενφίκα". www.sport24.gr. 1 April 2016.
  13. ↑ "Έγινε 100ρης ο Σάμαρης". www.sport24.gr. 4 March 2017.
  14. ↑ https://www.abola.pt/jogodireto/ficha.aspx?id=251730&wtv=&page=c&tipo=info&a=1&f=1&c=1&mc=0&mcres=1&gl=1&src=Info
  15. ↑ "Greece World Cup 2014 squad". telegraph.co.uk. 19 May 2014.
  16. ↑ "Greece-Ivory Coast 2-1". goal.com. 24 June 2014.
  17. ↑ Andreas Samaris at ForaDeJogo. Retrieved 8 June 2017. Edit this at Wikidata
  18. ↑ "Andreas Samaris". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  19. ↑ "Greece 2-1 Ivory Coast - 24 June 2014". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  20. ↑ "Greece 2-1 Ivory Coast - 24 June 2014". Fifa.com. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  21. 1 2 Andreas Samaris at Soccerway Edit this at Wikidata
  22. ↑ Cunha, Pedro Jorge (17 May 2015). "Benfica bicampeão: 28 com as faixas e dois à espera" [Benfica back-to-back champion: 28 with the sashes and two await] (in Portuguese). Maisfutebol. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
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