Giorgos Galitsios

Georgios Galitsios was born on the 6th of July 1986 in Greece and plays as a right back in Lokeren. He is a right-sided defender who has made a number of appearances for Greece’s youth teams. More of an endurance player than a virtuoso, he is distinguished by exceptional leg strength. He played an important role and became a vital player for AEL during his early years with the club, including Larissa’s appearances in the UEFA Cup group stages during the 2007–08 season, attracting interest from Greece’s bigger teams. He is the son of Giannis Galitsios, who was also a star player for his hometown team, Larissa, in the 1980s. Georgios scored his first league goal on 7 October 2007 in Larissa’s 3-3 home draw with Levadiakos, followed it with another against Panathinaikos the following month. He was present in club’s six-game UEFA Cup run, which included elimination of Blackburn Rovers FC. He made a positive impact in his first Super League campaign, 2005/06, appearing in 27 of the team’s 30 matches, helping them finish eighth in the season, and cup winners against Panathinaikos. Olympiakos agreed with AEL for the acquisition of the 22 years old defender. Galitsios agreed to sign a five years’ contract. Giorgios Galitsios joined Olympiacos in January 2008 after displaying consistent form over the previous years. After three years with the club, he succeeded to have 45 appearances in all competitions, winning 2 champioships and one cup. On 28 January 2011 he joined Panionios F.C. on a 6-month loan. The player had also had an offer from his former club Larissa, but he preferred to join Panionios having the opportunity to play a key role replacing Giannis Maniatis. During the winter of 2011-2012 he signed a contract at Koninklijke Sporting Club Lokeren in Belgium after being released from Olympiacos in July 2011. The former defender of Olympiakos signed a six-month contract as Lokeren was looking to cover the right side of its defense, concluding that Galitsios could be an ideal case. He made his debut with the club in an 1-1 away draw against OH Leuven. Galitsios signed for two more years with the club till the end of 2014/15 season, as the management of the club was completely satisfied with his performances and activated the option that existed in their agreement. Lokeren coach Peter Maes gives some explanation. “‘Gali’ is a player that you can always count on. Moreover, he has made tremendous progress. Initially he was a Greek, he is now more ‘European’. I mean football for him was more of a game, and now is more of a job. In terms of efficiency, professionalism and discipline in the game he has grown tremendously, in line with club expectations”. On 26 December 2013, he scored his first goal with the club in a 3-0 away win against KV Oostende. With Lokeren he won two Belgian Cups in three seasons. Although his contract with the team ended in the summer of 2015 and George had proposals from Greek teams as a free agent, he decided to return back to Lokeren in the winter transfer season and signed a new contract ending in the summer of 2017. Galitsios was called up on 15 November 2009 by Greece national football team coach Otto Rehhagel for the second leg of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification play-offs against Ukraine
Honors
AEL Greek Football Cup: 2007 Greek Super Cup Runner-up: 2007
Olympiacos: Greek Super League: 2009, 2011 Greek Football Cup: 2009
Sporting Lokeren Belgian Cup: 2012, 2014 Belgian Super Cup Runner-up: 2012, 2014