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Stelios Profile
 Bolton Wanderers Stelios Giannakopoulos scores the equalising goal

Stelios Giannakopoulos

Born:Athens, Greece, 12th July 1974

International Honours: Greece Full

Position: Midfielder

Squad Number: 7

Former Clubs: Ethnikos (Greece), Panaikos (Greece), Olympiakos (Greece)

Stelios took some time to integrate himself in the Bolton squad following his move from Olympiakos in the summer of 2003, but it is now fair to say that the dynamic midfielder is one of the most important players in Sam Allardyce's team.

He won back to back titles during his seven year stay with Olympiakos and followed this up by winning the European Championships in 2004, this considered a unlikely success given the fact that his country Greece has been classed as the firm outsiders behind the likes of Portugal, Czech Republic, England and Italy.

During his stay at Bolton he has often been used to support the lone attacker by pushing forward from the flanks and this paid dividens in 2005 as he scored a number of goals from this position, including a contender for goal of the season against Norwich City.

He is a driving force going forward and is not scared to muck in with defensive responsibilities when required to. He is only small in height but can still score goals with his head, as was demonstrated when he scored the only goal in Bolton's win over title chasers Arsenal in January 2005.

His late season form in 2004-2005 attracted the interest of Champions League winners Liverpool which meant that Sam Allardyce had to secure the wide man to a better contract.

Like many of the Wanderers squad he has played in domestic European competitions such as the UEFA Cup and Champions League, so this experience was to stand Bolton in good stead for their first ever venture into such a competition.

He is industrious and a good team player to have around the club and this was demonstrated as he created and scored a number of important goals during the 2005-2006 campaign.

He finished as the Trotters top goalscorer in that campaign but could not repeat the feat in the 2006-2007 season as most of his performances came from the substitutes bench due to the arrival of record signing Nicolas Anelka.

BOLTON RECORD: 122 appearances, 18 goals

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