How will Samaras be remembered?

Article by e-Celtic's Tom Shanahan

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Georgios Samaras emotionally departed Celtic Park on his final appearance for the Hoops with a penalty, which he won and converted. He lapped up the praise with tears in his eyes in what was clearly a poignant farewell for the Greek international. Loved and loathed in equal measures by the Celtic support, how will he be truly remembered now that his love affair with Celtic is finally over?

Samaras began his professional career in Holland with Heerenveen, where he impressed as an 18 year old. After four years in Holland, Manchester City deemed Samaras worthy of a £6 million transfer fee. The City manager at the time, Stuart Pearce, was so sure of the Greek’s ability that he confidently announced that Manchester City would easily recoup that figure if Samaras was ever sold in the future.

Unfortunately for Samaras the move turned sour as he failed to acclimatise to the Premier League. Samaras needed to find a home and luckily a move to Glasgow was on the cards.

Samaras signed for Celtic initially on loan from Manchester City in January 2008 in what was a vital transfer window for the Bhoys. Celtic under Gordon Strachan were behind Rangers in the title race and the January transfer window gave them one last opportunity to roll the dice. Samaras was signed to assist Scott McDonald and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink with finding the goals that would lead Celtic to a third successive league title.

In his first interview on Celtic TV, Samaras stated the one thing Celtic supporters could expect from him was “goals, goals and goals.” The Greek went on to score crucial goals in his loan spell including winning headers against Aberdeen and Motherwell, which helped the team on their way to three in a row.

With a record of 74 goals in 253 appearances for the Hoops it’s fair to say that Samaras didn’t quite live up to this boast, however as Samaras’ career at Celtic has gone on it’s evident his game is not just about scoring goals.

The problem for Samaras in the first part of his Celtic career was that most supporters did not realise this. Bought as a striker and wearing the coveted number 9 shirt, fans automatically expected a player in the mould of Chris Sutton or Van Hooijdonk. Samaras doesn’t have the aggression or the tenacity needed to be a typical number 9. His play is a lot more graceful and is more suited to be classed as a second striker.

Samaras’ highest and lowest points at Celtic may well have both came at Ibrox a few months apart. At the turn of 2011 Celtic travelled to Govan with numerous absentees and the feeling around Glasgow was that Celtic would leave empty handed. Samaras had other ideas. With both goals in a 2-0 victory and the sound of 8,000 jubilant Celtic fans singing his name, Samaras left the field a hero after one the most brilliant individual performances by a Celtic player against Rangers in a very long time.

Fast forward a few months and Samaras missed a decisive penalty at Ibrox which would have almost guaranteed the title would return to Celtic Park, although the pain would not be felt straight away. Celtic of course left the stadium of their fiercest rivals still with the league in their own hands after a 0-0 draw but when title races are so tight you need to be clinical. It was only when Celtic lost away to Inverness Caley Thistle a few weeks later that the true price of the penalty miss was realised. As the season ended many people wondered if Samaras would pay for that penalty miss with his Celtic career, even although he had just signed a contract extension in March 2011.

An offer from St Etienne in France was accepted for Samaras in the summer of 2011, however Samaras rejected the offer and vowed to fight for his future at Celtic. It is also worth noting that the deal would have seen Samaras earn more money in France, which shows us a glimpse of what motivates the man from Heraklion. It was only a short time after this that Neil Lennon was quoted as saying that Samaras is the type of player that could cost a manager his job. Instead of sulking about this remark Samaras remained a true professional and fully concentrated on helping the team regain the league crown.

Neil Lennon started to deploy Samaras in a wide left position, which helped his game enormously. He was now able to physically dominate smaller full backs and contribute more to the team.

When Rangers came calling though he was shifted back up front to support Gary Hooper but Samaras now seemed to relish these tussles. His height was also an attribute in these games when defending set plays against a team who in the past had bullied Celtic. The turnaround had been remarkable. This good form carried on throughout the season as Celtic wrapped up the title in early April.

Massive praise must be given to Neil Lennon when assessing how Samaras transformed himself. It was Lennon who took the gamble in playing him out wide when some fans were baying for his blood. However, as his performances started to impress, the support started to appreciate exactly what Samaras brought to the team.

The following season, as Celtic reached the Champions League group stages for the first time since 2008/09 Samaras took on the role of talisman, scoring in 5 of Celtic’s European away matches. This tally included the winner in Moscow to finally break the Champions League away day hoodoo. The Champions League seemed to take Samaras to a higher level with the matches being less physical and more technical, which suited his game perfectly. Samaras also seemed to acknowledge this fact and accepted the manager’s decision to put him on the bench during many domestic matches. This made sense as teams in Scotland like to sit deep when playing Celtic, which denies Samaras the chance to use his pace in behind defenders.

As the most recent season marched on it seemed inevitable that Samaras would sign a contract extension however this never materialised. According to Neil Lennon a contract had been offered but not accepted by Samaras. This is contrary to what Samaras said after the final game of the season when he stated he in fact wanted to stay with Celtic, however a new deal had not been forthcoming. If this is in fact true then it makes perfect business sense for Celtic. A player who does not start many matches domestically cannot be seen as a necessity to keep.

Samaras though is much more than a player happy to pick up wages for sitting in the dugout. He is a player who is truly loved by his team mates. He is a complete professional in how he behaves on and off the pitch. Also, Samaras understands exactly what it means to play for Celtic. A footballer’s career should be measured by the medals he has won and not by his bank balance. There is something truly romantic about how Samaras views being a footballer and if more players were the same the game would be a much healthier sport.

It depends on your outlook whether you will remember Samaras for his footballing ability or for the fact that he had lovely hair like Cheryl Cole. One thing is certain though, Celtic Park will miss a character like Georgios Samaras, Celtic’s number 9.

“Even in the tough periods I felt Celtic Park and this club was my home.”

Georgios Samaras

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