Charisteas gives Greece hope

October 6 will forever be etched in the memory of English football fans as the day when David Beckham curled his country into the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals.

Dramatic events
But as a nation lost itself in the euphoria of a trip to Korea/Japan, a young Greece striker could have been forgiven for affording himself a wry smile of satisfaction as he walked off the Old Trafford stadium pitch. Few people outside of Greece would have heard of Angelos Charisteas before the dramatic events of that brisk Saturday afternoon.

Failed to read the script
With England needing only to match Germany's result at home to Finland to top Group Nine, Greece were seen as whipping boys to the English hurrah. Charisteas, however, failed to read the script and his performance had the scouts jumping to their feet.

Superb left-footed drive
The 67,000-strong crowd was stunned into silence as the young frontman collected a clearance from Rio Ferdinand, steadied himself, before lashing in a superb left-footed drive into the far corner to open the scoring. The goal earned Charisteas hero status back home following an amazing rise into the ranks of the Greek national team.

Beckham heroics
His 36th-minute strike was his fourth goal in four starts and almost helped his side to an historic 2-1 victory before Beckham's well-documented heroics saved the day for Sven-Göran Eriksson.

Progress monitored
English FA Premiership clubs Ipswich Town FC and Arsenal FC immediately sent scouts to run the rule over the FC Aris Thessalonika striker and they continue to monitor the progress of a player whose transfer value is estimated at a mere €4.8m - but is rising.

Stiff competition
Any future bid from foreign shores for Greece's rising star, however, will surely be matched by any of the big guns in his homeland. AEK Athens and Olympiakos Piraeus FC have been keeping tabs on Charisteas and would provide stiff competition for his signature.

Little surprise
While the home patriots inside the home of Manchester United FC were left shaking their heads at Charisteas's goal, it would have come as little surprise to former Aris coach Henri Michel.

Threatened to resign
After just one month in charge - before he left following contractual disagreements - the 57-year-old rated Charisteas so highly that he said he would resign if the club sold their prize asset to Serie A side AC Perugia.

'I don’t want to leave'
Despite Michel's opposition, the club tried to push through a quick sale. But Charisteas, born and bred in Thessalonika, and a product of Aris's youth system, turned down the move. "I don't want to leave like a thief," he said at the time. "I don't want to leave without the agreement of the fans and the coach."

Memorable debut
A key member of the Greece Under-21 side that finished runners-up to Spain in the 1998 UEFA Under-21 Championship, Charisteas fired in two goals on his full international debut in a friendly against Russia in February.

Modest start
He had a modest start to his professional career, though, maturing from the youth ranks during the 1997/98 season and scoring two goals in nine games for Aris. The following campaign saw him start 12 games and net four goals before he was loaned to AC Athinaikos for the 1998/99 season.

Matured into a fine player
He returned to Aris but struggled for form, scoring just once in 19 appearances. But seemingly overnight he matured into one of Greek football's most-feared attackers.

Improved play
Despite scoring a modest eight goals in 28 matches, his link-up play and ability to create chances for others improved immensely, leading many in Greece to draw comparisons with Panathinaikos FC's Nikos Liberopoulos.

Home defeat by Germany
Since receiving the call for the national team from former coach Vasilis Daniel, Charisteas has been in every squad. His first competitive international goal came in March when Greece went down 4-2 to Germany in a World Cup qualifier in Athens.

‘Greek Cantona’
Charisteas is of a similar build to the 27-year-old Liberopoulos, known affectionately by supporters as the 'Greek Cantona'. And if Charisteas can continue to progress at the rate he has already, Greece will be in a strong position to return to the spotlight - and secure a trip to Portugal for the 2004 UEFA European Championship in the process.