Michalis Konstantinou (born February 19, 1978 in Paralimni, Cyprus) is a football striker who currently plays for Olympiacos in the Greek Championship. He has also played for the Cyprus national football team, being its all-time leading scorer with 19 goals in 46 appearances.
An absolute hero at his former club Iraklis FC, Michalis Konstantinou is a powerful Cypriot striker who reportedly turned down offers from a number of leading clubs to sign for his boyhood team, Panathinaikos FC. However, he subsequently joined their city rivals Olympiacos in 2005.
He got his start in professional football playing for Cypriot side Enosis Neon Paralimni FC,for whom he scored 17 goals in 25 games in the 1996/97 season and became top goal scorer of Cypriot Championship. Picked up by Iraklis in Greece in 1997, Konstantinou proved a huge hit, his four seasons produced a total of 60 goals in 119 appearances and he also played in the UEFA Cup.
The spearhead of the Cypriot attack, he made his international debut against Albania in August 1998 and subsequently averaged almost a goal every other game in his first 35 caps. His blossoming coincided with his nation's vast improvement as a footballing force, although they failed to reach the play-offs for either the 2000 or 2004 UEFA European Championship.
In 2001, signed in a deal which took three Panathanaikos FC players to Iraklis, Konstantinou transferred to Panathinaikos for €11.3 million. It was an extraordinary move, but many believed that the young Cypriot striker was more than gifted enough to justify Panathanaikos's dramatic bid of €11.3m - the most ever paid for a Cypriot player. The added pressure did not faze Konstantinou; with Panathinaikos, he had the opportunity to play in the UEFA Champions League, and he earned praise for his role in the team's performance there, especially in his first year with the club. He scored a majestic effort in the Camp Nou in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg defeat by FC Barcelona. His second season proved less stellar, injury restricting his involvement to 21 league games. The man of the match in the 2003/04 Greek Cup final after scoring twice, Konstantinou was not so prolific in the league - registering five times. In 2004/05 he had a very good season, with 15 goals, even as Panathinaikos lost the title to Olympiacos. Panathinaikos did not renew his contract due to a major economic restructure that the board decided and Konstantinou signed a three-year deal with the Champion & Cup Winner, Olympiacos CFP on July 14, 2005.
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