World Cup 2014: Player profile - who is Sokratis Papastathopoulos, the Greece midfielder?

Counting down the 100 players to look out for in Brazil this summer

Staff
Monday 17 March 2014 19:19 GMT
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Sokratis Papastathopoulos (right) in action for Borussia Dortmund
Sokratis Papastathopoulos (right) in action for Borussia Dortmund

The World Cup in Brazil is coming into view and everyone is hoping this summer's carnival can take its place among some of the great tournaments of the past, but who will be the star of the show?

With 86 days to go until things kick-off, check out our latest instalment of 100 players to look out for at the competition below.

86. Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Greece)

The Borussia Dortmund centre half is arguably Greece’s most important player. The 27-year-old is captain for his national side, and domestically, is also a consistent performer for his club.

Making a name for himself for Italian outfit Genoa in 2010, Sokratis left to join giants of European football, AC Milan where his time there was unsuccessful. Subsequently he moved to the Bundesliga to play for Werder Bremen and after some magnificent displays, Dortmund snapped him up to partner Mats Hummels.

After being dismissed from the Euro 2008 squad by manager Otto Rehhagel, Sokratis is now the first name on the team sheet. Finishing second in Group G in qualifying, Sokratis played a fundamental part in helping Greece overcome Romania in order to b boarding the plane to Brazil. With every chance of qualifying out of Group C which consists of Colombia, Ivory Coast and Japan, Sokratis will prove important to keep out the likes of Falcao and Yaya Toure.

Did you know? Sokratis became the youngest ever player to have captained AEK Athens at the age of 19

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