Basinas joins Portsmouth’s Greek Revolution

About twenty-four hours after Portsmouth signed Theofanis Gekas to a six-month loan, Portsmouth ended the transfer market by snaring yet another Greece international. Angelos Basinas was confirmed as the newest member of Pompey on Wednesday, as the Greek National Team captain was lured away from Greek club AEK Athens.

Signing on at Fratton Park for the next eighteen months, the move is rumoured to be a free transfer, but not all details have been revealed by either side.

A press release on AEK’s official website hints that the move is of the free nature; “AEK FC announces the termination of its co-operation with Angelos Basinas. The administration of AEK would like to thank the player for his efforts, and wish him success in the future.”

As AEK’s woes continue, and somewhat worsen after Giorgos Kintis stepped down as AEK president, Basinas appears to be exiting the capital club at just the right time. However, his departure was not swift enough for the EURO 2004 winner to excuse himself from hostile criticism originating from AEK’s most loyal supporters – mainly supporters club Original 21.

Meanwhile, in England, Basinas has been praised a big signing for Portsmouth, and the club’s chairman Peter Storrie was very excited about the move.

“We’ve brought in someone of immense experience, the current captain of Greece who is just three games away from winning his 100th cap for his country,” Storrie told http://www.portsmouthfc.co.uk.

“He’s exactly what we need in the situation that we’re in. He’s a player that Tony was eager to bring to Pompey.

“He desperately wanted to come here and we have an option to sign him for a further year on top of the 18 months.”

His full decade spell with Panathinaikos refers to an in-prime Basinas, but it wasn’t until the EURO 2004 finals that Basinas stamped his name on international football. Scoring on a penalty against Portugal in the tournament’s opening game; Basinas then went on to assist on Greece’s tournament-winning goal against the same Portuguese side in the tournament’s climax.

A year and half after helping Greece claim top spot in Lisbon, Basinas moved to Spanish side RCD Mallorca during the January transfer window of 2006. Immediately making an impact, Basinas was a crucial part of Mallorca’s survival in the Spanish top flight.

The following season Mallorca rose from the near extremes of the drop zone to finish seventh in the La Liga standings, and only one point from qualifying for European competition. While he contributed in Mallorca’s uprising, which was ultimately pioneered by Spain international Danny Guiza, Basinas was released by the island club in July.

Returning to Greece this summer, AEK signed the Greek midfielder to a two-year contract. That paperwork has since been terminated, and it is reported the Super League giants have saved a whopping € 1.9 million on salary by offloading Basinas.