Andreas Samaris

Andreas Samaris (Greek: Ανδρέας Σάμαρης; born 13 June 1989) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a midfielder.

After winning Superleague Greece with Olympiakos in 2014, he signed with Benfica in Portugal for €10 million. With them, he has won four Primeira Liga, one Taca de Portugal, two Taca da Liga and two Supertaca Candido de Oliveira.

A full international since 2013, Samaris represented Greece at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Club Career

Greece

Samaris started his career in Gamma Ethniki side Panachaiki in 2006, making a total of 37 league appearances and scored three goals for the club. On 10 April 2007, he signed his first professional contract with Panachaiki, where he was coached by future Australia national team manager Ange Postecoglou. On 11 January 2010, Samaris moved to Panionios.

Samaris joined Olympiacos in 2012 but spent the season on loan at Panionios. In 2013, he returned to Olympiacos and scored his first goal with the club on 23 November 2013, in an away 4–1 victory against Panthrakikos. Samaris ended the league with 38 appearances and scored four goals en route to the Greeks' 41st title.

Benfica

On 22 August 2014, Samaris moved abroad and joined Portuguese champions Benfica on a five-year contract for a transfer fee of €10 million and with a €45 million release clause. He made his debut for Benfica on 12 September against Vitoria Setubal.

At the end of the 2014–15 season, Samaris mentioned that the Portuguese language was a barrier in his first year with the club. The Greek international stressed the importance of learning it by stating, "I liked to learn Portuguese because I became closer to my colleagues. The most important is to understand what my coach says because there was an idea of game and I had to adapt faster than the others.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Андреас Самарис (russian)