Leonidas Kampantais

Leonidas Kampantais (Greek: Λεωνίδας Καμπάνταης; born 8 March 1982) is a Greek professional footballer[1] who plays as a striker for Atlantis Anthoussa.

Leonidas Kampantais
Personal information
Full name Leonidas Kampantais
Date of birth (1982-03-08) 8 March 1982
Place of birth Athens, Greece
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Atlantis Anthoussa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2004 Aris 18 (3)
2004–2007 AEK Athens 26 (8)
2005 → Anorthosis Famagusta (loan) 9 (2)
2005–2006 → Panionios (loan) 12 (2)
2007–2009 Arminia Bielefeld 8 (1)
2009–2010 Olympiakos Volou 19 (3)
2010–2012 OFI Crete 35 (9)
2012–2014 Panionios 44 (5)
2015–2016 Kerkyra 9 (2)
2016– Atlantis Anthoussa 0 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17 January 2016

Career

Aris

Born in Athens, Greece, Kampantais began his professional career at Aris Thessaloniki F.C. in 2002, appearing in 11 matches in Alpha Ethniki (in 2006 renamed to Super League), scoring two goals. He remained in Salonica for another year, scoring one goal in seven appearances.[2]

Move to AEK Athens

He joined AEK Athens in 2004. Kampantais picked number 11, which was used by Demis Nikolaidis, who was a fan favourite and current Chairman of AEK Athens.[3]

In the 2005–06 season, Fernando Santos proposed him to go on loan, to gain the required experience. He agreed, and moved to Anorthosis Famagusta FC,[4] where Temuri Ketsbaia (a former player of AEK Athens) was a player-manager. However, Kabantais returned after six months, in January 2006, after scoring only two goals and wasting numerous goal opportunities in 14 matches. Kampantais claimed that the reason Anorthosis released him due to personal problems he had with player-manager Ketsbaia which appeared to be true. He moved then to Panionios NFC for six months.

In 2006, Ilija Ivic told him that the best for him was to go on-loan again. However, Kampantais was unwilling to go, unless the new manager Lorenzo Serra Ferrer would tell him so. Serra Ferrer gave him enough chances to prove his worth, but did not register him for the UEFA Champions League matches, which upset Kampantais.

Even though not considered as a first team regular, he was one of the best players in the friendly matches. Serra Ferrer trusted him in the derby against Panathinaikos. Kampantais, even though he did not score, played a good match.

The next matches in which Kampantais played were versus Aris and Larissa. These two matches were critical for AEK, and Kampantais managed to score in each game once (in both matches he was in the first team). Versus Kerkyra, Kampantais was awarded two clear penalties. He was announced as Most Valuable Player in that match. That was the first time Kampantais was given this award.

Since then, he appeared in every match and scored some goals. He was voted one of the two MVP in the big derby against Olympiakos in early February.

His contract with AEK expired in summer 2007. On 21 May 2007, he was released by AEK and signed by German team Arminia Bielefeld.[5]

Arminia Bielefeld

Kampantais began his Bundesliga career with Arminia Bielefeld in 2007.[5] On 30 June 2009, Bielefeld did not renew Kampantais's contract and so he was released.

Return to Greece

Kampantais began his Beta Ethniki career in Olympiakos Volou in summer 2009.[6] After a year, he moved to Super League Greece, to play for OFI,[7] and in June 2012 he signed a two-year contract with Panionios.[8] On 10 September 2015, after a year as a free agent, he signed a year contract with Football League club Kerkyra for an undisclosed fee. [9]

References
  1. "Kampantais, Leonidas" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  2. Καπάνταης: «Κομμάτι της ζωής μου ο ΑΡΗΣ» (in Greek). allaboutaris.com. 15 March 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  3. Καπάνταη, Μπούρμπο και Κρασά απέκτησε η ΑΕΚ - Κινείται για τον Αλιούτα της Στεάουα (in Greek). sports.in.gr. 30 July 2004. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  4. ΑΝΟΡΘΩΣΗ 139 μετεγγραφές, 8 προπονητές και 8 διοικήσεις τα τελευταία 10 χρόνια (in Greek). sigmalive.com. 6 May 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  5. ""Er besitzt durchaus Kultstatus in seiner Heimat"" (in German). RevierSport. 21 May 2007. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  6. Με τη… βούλα ο Καπάνταης στον Ολυμπιακό Βόλου (in Greek). zougla.gr. 9 July 2009. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  7. Στον ΟΦΗ ο Καπάνταης (in Greek). inewsgr.com. 24 January 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  8. Στον Πανιώνιο θα συνεχίσει ο Καπάνταης (in Greek). newsbeast.gr. 21 August 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  9. Επίσημα στην Κέρκυρα ο Καμπάνταης (in Greek). www.enwsi.gr. 10 September 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
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