Panagiotis Ventouris

Panagiotis Ventouris (; 1 March 1943 – 10 June 2002) was a Greek professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Club career

Early years Ventouris started his football career, when at the age of 12 signed a sports card at Fostiras, where in 1958 was promoted to the men's team. He was a member of the great team that won the second division in their respective group and were promoted to the recently established first national division. Fostiras stayed for two seasons in the top and in 1963 was relegated again, but Ventouris had shown examples of his talent and his football value. In the summer of 1965, AEK Athens acquired him as part of the renewal of the club's roster, spending the particularly important for the time amount of 435,000 drachmas. In December 1965, disillusioned by the failure of the management for professional rehabilitation, Ventouris left AEK and traveled to Cape Town to play at the local Hellenic, alongside his former teammates at Fostiras, Deimezis and Aidiniotis in the non-FIFA professional South African League. The new contacts and discussions with the management of AEK, towards the end of the season, got him to return to Greece continue his career with the yellow-blacks.

AEK Athens In the summer of 1966, under Tryfon Tzanetis, they emerged as Cup winners, as the other finalist, Olympiacos did not accept to compete in the final. He scored his first two goals with the club on 30 October 1966 in a 2–0 home win against Vyzas Megara. Ventouris had a major contribution in the campaign of the club to the finals of the Balkans Cup in 1967, where the lost to Fenerbahçe. In the following season, he scored a brace in the institution, scoring the only goal of his team in the 2–1 away defeat against Spartak Sofia and in the 3–1 win against Fenerbahçe at home. In 1968 under the guidance of Jenő Csaknády, they won the championship, where he had a decisive contribution, as well as in the championship of 1971 under Branko Stanković. In his 7 appearances for the European Cup he scored 3 times, including a brace in the 3–2 away defeat against Jeunesse Esch on 2 October 1968, in a campaign that eventually reached the quarter-finals of the tournament and once on 29 September 1972 against Internazionale at home, equalizing the game before the final 3–2 win.

Later career In the summer of 1972, Ventouris left AEK as a part of the renewal of the club's roster by Stanković and moved to Cyprus, where he signed for Anorthosis Famagusta. He played there for one season, before returning to Greece to play for the AFCA league side, Agioi Anargyroi, before retiring from football in 1974.

International career

Ventouris made 2 appearances with Greece in 1963. On 14 April 1963, he played at a friendly match was held in Lisbon for Greece U21 against Portugal, but it proved to be a men's team, as players of 25 and 26 years old were competing.

He made his official debut on 27 November 1963, under his future manager at AEK, Tryfon Tzanetis and alongside his future teammate also at AEK, Mimis Papaioannou, who was the captain, in a friendly away 3–1 loss against Cyprus.

Personal life Ventouris worked at the PPC, while he was playing for AEK. He had a wife named Evgenia and two children named Antonis and Athanasia. He died on 10 June 2002, at the age of only 59, from heart attack and after suffering in his last years from health problems with rheumatoid arthritis.

Honours

Fostiras Beta Ethniki: 1959–60 (Central Group)

AEK Athens Alpha Ethniki: 1967–68, 1970–71 Greek Cup: 1965–66