Loukas Vyntra

Loukas Vyntra was born on the 5th of February 1981 and plays for AC Omonia and the Greek national team. Mainly a central defender, he can also play as a right back. Vyntra was born in Mesto Albrechtice, Czechoslovakia to a Czech father and a Greek mother. Vyntra moved as a youngster to his mother’s homeland in Greece. Vyntra signed his first professional contract in 1999 with Paniliakos. He made his senior debut on loan with third division Veroia in 2000–01. Returning to Paniliakos at the end of the season, he swiftly became established in the starting 11, helping them win promotion to the Alpha Ethniki in 2002–03. Making his debut in the Greek top-flight, Vintra played in Paniliakos’ first 15 games of the 2003–04 season.Greek giants Panathinaikos was quick to notice his potential and brought Vyntra to Athens-based club in 2004. Immediately making an impact at the club, Vyntra became a regular for Panathinaikos since his first season wearing the green-and-white. He was a versatile member of back-line, switching between playing on the right and the centre of defence. On 29 September 2004, he made his European competition debut in a 1–0 away loss against PSV in the UEFA Champions League. He scored two memorable goals during the 2004–05 season, one against Arsenal in the Champions League and one against Sevilla in the UEFA Cup. In the summer of 2007, German Bundesliga side Hertha BSC approached the player about a transfer, but Panathinaikos did not wish to sell him unless they found adequate cover in defence. Incoming manager Henk ten Cate, began using Vyntra mainly as a central defender for the 2008–09 season. During the subsequent 2009–10 campaign, he was one of the side’s key players, enjoying a particularly memorable season and helping Panathinaikos to the domestic double, reaching 50 games in European competition. He also ended the year by appearing in all three matches for Greece at the 2010 World Cup. He scored two important goals in the Greek Superleague derby against rivals PAOK FC on 8 February 2009. After Henk ten Cate’s resignation as Panathinaikos manager on 8 December 2009, Ten Cate gave an interview to a Greek sports website where he was asked the question, “If you get hired by a big European club, which player from Panathinaikos F.C. would you recommend to your new club?” He responded, “Only one: Vyntra. He can play either as a defensive midfielder and right or left back, he can also play as a centre back, he is quick, he has good aerial abilities, with a good technique for a defender, he is good in tactics. What else can a manager ask from him? He has a tough mind because he plays many years under continuous, unfair criticism.”
At the beginning of the 2013 calendar year, facing criticism from fans and in-and-out of the starting lineup, Vyntra asked his manager to make some contacts with foreign teams and Belgian club Anderlecht arranged immediately a scout to assess him. During the 2012–13 season, however, he ultimately signed a half-year contract with Spanish La Liga side Levante, later extending it at the conclusion of the year. On 19 January 2014, Vyntra scored his first goal with Levante in a 1–1 draw against Barcelona, heading-home a low goal past goalkeeper Victor Valdes from an Andreas Ivanschitz cross after ten minutes. On 25 January 2014, Levante pulled off an unlikely 3–2 victory over a strong Sevilla side in an enthralling game at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. After just three minutes going behind, Vyntra headed-in a corner swung in by Andreas Ivanschitz. Ten days later, in the second leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-final, Levante stunned Barcelona by taking an early lead, as Vyntra rose inside the box to thump-in his header into the bottom corner. Barca, however, levelled just before the 30-minute mark and eventually triumphed 5–1 and 9–2 on aggregate. On 4 May 2014, a couple of days after Atletico Madrid succeeded to reach the 2014 UEFA Champions League Final, Levante took advantage of a worn-down Atletico side by pulling off an impressive 2–0 victory over the league leaders. Atletico had two close calls as they chased the equalizer. One of them, in the 63rd minute came from Filipe Luis, whose shot from just inside the box was blocked on the six-yard line by Vyntra. The Greek defender was among the key performers in the victory. The 2014–15 began poorly for Levante, and head coach Lucas Alcaraz did not hesitate to pull Vyntra out of the lineup along with David Barral, defensive pillars for the club just one season prior. The team’s unsuccessful results against Elche, Villarreal and Athletic Bilbao had Vyntra on the substitute’s bench, kept out of the starting XI in favour of central defenders David Navarro and Ivan Ramis. Vyntra eventually returned to the starting lineup on 4 April 2015 in a 4–1 away win over Almeria. Without reaching the 30-appearance mark that was the target for the 2014–15 season, Vyntra was touted for a return to Greece for the subsequent season, as it was believed Levante would not renew his contract.
According to sources from Israel, Hapoel Tel Aviv was interested in signing Vyntra. On 27 July 2015, Hapoel Tel Aviv reached an agreement with Levante and Vyntra for his signature; he ultimately signed a two-years’contract after passing his medical. On August 2016, he solved his contract with the club.
On 29 August 2016, Vyntra signed a contract with Cypriot club AC Omonia,after passing his medical. On 10 September 2016, he made his debut with the club in a 1-1 home draw against Doxa Katokopias.
Vyntra represents Greece instead of his birth country, the Czech Republic; Vyntra has gone on to feature for the national team on several levels. He represented Greece at the 2004 Summer Olympics, held on home soil in Athens. Vyntra made his debut with the Greek senior team on 8 June 2005 in a 1–0 home loss match against Ukraine in a 2006 World Cup qualifying match. He was included in the final squad for the 2005 Confederations Cup in Germany. Generally for Greece, Vyntra has been used in his more natural right-back position. Vyntra was called from Greek national manager Fernando Santos to both the 30-man provisional 2014 World Cup squad and the final 23-man squad
Honours
Panathinaikos
(2) Superleague Greece: 2004, 2010
(2) Greek Cup: 2004, 2010