HE played alongside legends such as Fabio Cannavaro, Edgar Davids and Rui Costa and was part of the biggest shock in Euros history.
But he could have enhanced his CV with a spell playing in Glasgow for one of the Old Firm giants.
Greece caused one of the biggest upsets in football history in winning Euro 2004[/caption]
Greece midfielder Giorgios Karagounis holds up the cup with his teammates[/caption]
Greece stunned world football when they went all the way to the final of Euro 2004 in Portugal.
And then they did the unthinkable by beating the hosts – with Cristiano Ronaldo, Ricardo Carvalho and Luis Figo in tow – in the final to lift the trophy.
The man who scored the first goal of the tournament for Greece (also against Portugal) was Giorgos Karagounis, with an audacious long-range effort that zipped past Ricardo and into the bottom corner.
Karagounis was 30 at the time but would continue playing for his country for another ten years, picking up 139 caps in total.
He was an Inter Milan player when he went to the Euros and during his stint at the San Siro he shared a dressing room with World Cup heroes Cannavaro and Champions League winners, not to mention enigmatic talents like Brazilian maverick Adriano and future Premier League cult hero Geovanni.
But what if he ended up sharing a dressing room with some of the Celtic and Rangers stars of yesteryear?
The former midfielder has revealed, in the week that Greece play Scotland in the Nations League play-offs, that he could have moved to Scotland.
Instead, he played for Benfica, Panathinaikos and Fulham before retiring in 2014.
Karagounis told Bet365: “I remember some interest happening from Celtic and Rangers, it’s been so long so I can’t remember.
“It would’ve been an interesting idea but I was very happy with my career.
“Overall I was very happy with the career I had.”
A midfield of Barry Ferguson and Karagounis? Or Scott Brown and Karagounis…?
That’s something to think about, and for Kaaragounis there is one current Scotland midfielder that he rates above the others.
Talking about the upcoming play-off, Karagounis was moved to insist Greece had the more talent in their squad but that Napoli ace Scott McTominay will be the man to watch.
He said: “I think Greece has more talent than Scotland, but Scotland play in the same way and fight until the end. They have some good Premier League players and both teams will be playing to win.
“They will have two tough games and whoever wants it the most will win.
“Greece need to watch out for Scott McTominay, he is a player with the right attitude and will fight until the end. He has had a good year with Napoli, they are a good team.
“Greece has more talent but Scotland are difficult to play against and the talent might not be enough.”
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