Angelos Charisteas

Having been a regular player for the Greek Under-21 side, Charisteas made his senior international debut in February 2001 in a 3–3 draw against Russia. His impact was immediate as he scored two of the goals for Greece that day. His prolific goal scoring continued, eventually helping his team qualify for the Euro 2004.

On 29 September 2004, Charisteas contributed a goal in his side's 2–1 win against Valencia in the Champions League. In total, he scored five goals in 11 matches for Werder Bremen the 2004–05 season.

In December 2004, Charisteas moved to the Netherlands to play for Ajax for a reported fee nearly €5 million. Greece manager Otto Rehhagel had publicly urged Charisteas to try to move to another club during the January 2005 transfer window, in order to get more first-team action. Ajax fitted the bill, as they were hoping to find a replacement for Swedish international striker Zlatan Ibrahimović, who had been sold to Juventus. Charisteas made his Ajax debut on 23 January 2005 against FC Utrecht and scored his first goal four days later against SC Heerenveen. However, he only managed three more games all season. Charisteas netted home eight goals in the 2005–06 season, which included a late winner against Vitesse Arnhem. Charisteas missed Greece's crucial match in the World Cup qualifying due to a head injury received after colliding with Arsenal's Kolo Touré in a Champions League match which Ajax lost 2–1.

Despite stating that he was only interested in a move to England or Germany, Charisteas signed for arch-rivals Feyenoord in Rotterdam on 31 August 2006, the final day of the summer transfer window. This move caused a great deal of agitation in Rotterdam with parts of The Legion, stating that they did not want an Ajax player at their club, protesting the move at De Kuip with the chant "Wij willen geen neus." (translated as: "we don't want a nose," nose being derogatory slang for Ajax players) and demanded that chairman Jorien van den Herik resign. Despite the protests, Charisteas made his debut for Feyenoord on 10 September against Sparta Rotterdam and played the full game. He eventually scored his first goal for his new club in his tenth game. Although he seemed to have convinced some fans at a certain point, Charisteas never enjoyed a good relationship with Feyenoord supporters. He finished the season having played a total of 28 games for Feyenoord, netting nine goals.

On 6 July 2007, 1. FC Nürnberg confirmed a deal with Feyenoord to sign Charisteas on a four-year deal worth €2.5 million. He scored his first two official team goals in a 6–0 victory against fourth division club SC Victoria Hamburg.

In January 2007, Charisteas told Dutch football magazine Voetbal International that winning Euro 2004 was an unbelievable experience which he would not swap for all the money in the world: "Even in 50 years time, everybody will remember that I scored the goal which made Greece the champions of Europe. We wrote history and my life changed completely at that point."

On 2 February 2009, he was loaned out to Bayer Leverkusen until the end of the season, helping the team to reach the final of the German Cup.

At the beginning of the 2009–10 season, he returned to the newly promoted Nürnberg. His first goal of the season came on 12 March 2010, when he scored the winning goal in the 1–2 away win against Hertha BSC, helping Nürnberg to avoid the relegation, before Otto Rehhagel called him up to the Greece national team for the 2010 World Cup.

On 10 August 2010, Charisteas signed for Arles-Avignon, along with teammate Angelos Basinas. He made his debut on 21 August 2010 in a 1–2 away defeat against Toulouse. Charisteas made a total of seven appearances, scoring no goals, before his contract was terminated on 26 November 2010.

In the qualifying rounds for Euro 2008, Charisteas scored three goals, helping Greece to automatically qualify for the competition with two games left. He would go on to be one of the few Greek players who performed well at Euro 2008, scoring the defending champions' only goal of the tournament in the 2–1 defeat to Spain. He also scored 4 goals for his country in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification.

On 30 January 2011, Schalke 04 formalized his arrival. Charisteas signed a contract on 30 June 2011, until the end of the season. In his debut match for Schalke, he scored the second goal in a 2–1 home win against Eintracht Frankfurt. It was his first touch of the ball, having been on the pitch for only 52 seconds. On 13 April 2011, Charisteas reached the semi-finals of the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League with Schalke, beating in the quarter-finals the defending champion Internazionale, Charisteas replaced the Brazilian Edu in the 32nd minute of the second half. Schalke 04 and Charisteas reached a result never achieved before.

On 21 May 2011, Charisteas won the German Cup with Schalke 04.

On 27 July 2011, Charisteas joined Panetolikos, newly promoted to the Super League, signing a one-year contract. His first goal of the season came on 14 September 2011 when he scored the winning goal in the 1–0 home win against Asteras Tripolis.

Charisteas was called up again on 8 October 2011 for the qualification match against Croatia, and on 11 October 2011, where he scored the winning goal in the 85th minute in Georgia, securing a 2–1 victory which sent Greece automatically to the Euro 2012 Championships. With this goal, Charisteas score in three qualifiers for European Championships and for three consecutive World Cups, became the only player to reach that in the Greek national team.

After interest from Inter Milan, reported in the newspaper Corriere dello Sport, on 17 February 2013, Charisteas signed a one and a half year contract with Al-Nassr FC. Charisteas played his debut in the final of the 2012–13 Saudi Crown Prince Cup against Al-Hilal FC on 22 February 2013. After 90 minutes penalties had to be taken and Charisteas missed the fourth.

In 2019, Charisteas became sporting director of his former club.