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Fullname: Giorgos Giakoumakis
aka: Jacki Mac, Giako
Born: 9 December 1994
Birthplace: Heraklion, Crete, Greece
Signed: 31 August 2021 (£2.5m from VVV Venlo)
Left: 8 February 2023 (£4.3m, £3.5m upfront with £800k potential addons, to Atlanta Utd (USA))
Position: Striker, Forward
Debut: Celtic 0-4 Bayer Leverkusen, UEFA Cup, 30 September 2021
Squad No.: 7
Internationals: Greece
International Caps: 11 [TBC at end of career]
International Goals: 2 [TBC at end of career]
Biog
“You always fancy him to nick a goal.”
Celtic player Stephen Welsh on Giakoumakis (2022)
Giakoumakis arrived at a Celtic in transition in an uncertain environment during the tail-end of the covid pandemic. With Ange Postecoglu newly installed as the Celtic manager, there were a number of new faces around the club looking to find their feet, and so Giakoumakis had room to shape things his way.
His transfer was a little surprising as after having been the top goal scorer in the highly rated Dutch top tier, his transfer fee was relatively low. It was a steal many thought, and in time many were convinced that that was true. He was already a little experienced, and now at Celtic at his age, it was now or never never to make it at a big club.
He struggled in his first half season at Celtic, losing game time due to injury and some lack of confidence with Kyogo the preferred striker but was forced to step up when Kyogo was himself out long term due to injury. Not wholly impressive at first, people were questioning him but patience was needed and many pointed out his record in the Netherlands and his fine performance v Sevco in a 3-0 win which proved his value (despite not scoring).
The lowest point in those early days was missing a match winning penalty late on v Livingston when it should have been given to Juranovic really didn’t help his case.
Not exactly a fashionable player with silky skills, he was a hard working player with an eye for goal without the flair of say a Moussa Dembele. It was a case of put the ball in the net by any means and talk about it later. Constantly harassing defences and putting himself about, he was a handful to contend with. Top scorer in the Eedversie (Dutch league) with a poor side demonstrated that to the cynics.
He finally came of age in February 2022 scoring a hat trick (left foot, right foot and header) to save Celtic who went behind and were struggling incredibly to bottom of the table Dundee. The 3-2 result took Celtic three points ahead of Sevco in the battle for the league title. From there on in, things kicked on and you could see he was finally settled in the side.
A back handed compliment was that his absence due to injury was deemed to be a notable reason for the loss to Sevco in the Scottish Cup semi-final in April 2022. He rallied to the end of the season, and incredibly despite having missed chunks of the season ended up as the joint top scorer in the league on 13 goals, sealing the position with a double on the last day v Motherwell in a 6-0 win.
The fact that Giorgos Giakoumakis finished the league as top scorer in this last season despite only starting 11 out of 38 matches seriously passed by many commentators.
Into the new season he mostly carried on where he left off, and even had a knack for scoring late goals.
Some even opined that he should have been a more regular starter even ahead of Kyogo, as his physicality and height were attributes that against certain opponents gave him an advantage. Certain cynics even used his example as one to argue of a bias or blind spot by the managers to the East Asian contingent which he had brought in, albeit they had proven themselves.
Disappointingly, it all turned negatively during the enforced World Cup (2022) break, where it was reported that Giakoumakis was demanding a transfer after talks broke down over improved contract terms & pay. His advisors took heavy advantage of social media, and the relationship between player & the support was soured.
It was clear that he wanted more gametime and opportunities, which was a fair ask, but Kyogo was performing too on the field so a good problem for the manager if not for the players.
With all due respect to Giakoumakis, there was a lot of respect for him, but his record at Celtic hadn’t as yet elevated him so high as that he could demand much greater than his current position. If anything, he should have looked at Juranovic who after raising his reputation globally after both a great spell at Celtic & at the World Cup, it was inevitable Juranovic’s agents could demand highly. Giakoumakis was nowhere near that level, and should still have been pushing for greater at Celtic to build up enough points to prove his worth beyond even just the domestic set up.
In February 2023, he signed for Atlanta Utd in the burgeoning MLS league in the USA, for a reported total figure of £4.3m (£3.5m transfer fee + £800,000 in potential addons).
Giakoumakis signed off at Celtic by scoring at the death to seal a victory over Kilmarnock in the League Cup to close out his career with Celtic (and even ended up with a yellow card for his goal celebrations for taking his top off). He deserved the warm cheers he received at the end of the match, and would be remembered fondly, despite the disappointment that he was leaving prematurely.
We wished him the best.
Post-Celtic
Things worked out well for Giakoumakis at Atlanta United, and incredibly he was named Major League Soccer’s newcomer of the year, beating even Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi of Inter Miami in the process.
[….]
Quotes
Celtic new boy Giorgios Giakoumakis has been backed to score between 15 and 20 goals this season. The Greek ace has yet to get up and running with his impact halted by injury but former Netherlands international and Venlo technical director Stan Vlackx told the Herald the target is not “unrealistic”. “He keeps running, he keeps fighting,” he said. “He does very well in the box, he doesn’t need that many chances.”
(Oct 2021)
“You always fancy him to nick a goal.”
Welsh on Giakoumakis (2022)
“I didn’t choose Celtic because of the European games. It’s something extra. I chose Celtic because it’s Celtic.”
Giakoumakis (Feb 2022)
“You always fancy him to nick a goal and he did it at the perfect moment,”
Welsh on Giakoumakis (2022)
“I’m not sure what goes on behind the scenes and who maybe coming in the door but this seems bonkers letting Giakoumakis go right now for such a small fee… there’s a league to win!”
Chris Sutton (Jan 2023)
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES (subs) |
LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 2021-22 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 29 |
| Goals | 13 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| 2022-23 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 28 |
| Goals | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
| Total | 40 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 57 |
| Goals | 19 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 26 |
Honours with Celtic
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Scottish League
Scottish League Cup
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Articles
Giakoumakis: I want to help us write new history at Celtic
By Joe Donnelly, Celtic View Reporter
https://www.celticfc.com/news/2021/august/Giakoumakis-I-want-to-help-us-write-new-history-at-Celtic/
Celtic today confirmed the signing of striker Giorgos Giakoumakis, and the Greece internationalist now can’t wait to open his scoring account in green and white.
With 26 goals last campaign, the forward was top-scorer in the Netherlands’ Eredivisie, and said he can already hear the noise from the Paradise faithful as they celebrate his first goal at the club.
Speaking exclusively to Celtic TV, the 26-year-old said: “It’s really amazing, I’m really excited and I’m looking forward to wearing this strip with pride. Celtic have always been a team I’ve liked and I’ve watched many games in the past.
“The amazing atmosphere in the stadium is something else and I’m delighted to be here and to help write history together.
‘I’m already hearing the stadium celebrating my first goal in my head. I’m really looking forward to scoring my first goal with our fans and celebrating together.’
“I’m really proud, I’m happy and I’m really excited that I signed for this beautiful club. I’ll give 100 percent in every single game to help my team to win every game, because this is the target that Celtic should always have – to win in every game, in Europe and in the Scottish Premiership.”
Giakoumakis said while he was delighted to have notched so many goals last season, having no fans in stadiums was unfortunate for everyone involved in football. Moving forward, he said his previous record has inspired him to work even harder with an eye on the future.
Before the move, ex-Celt and countryman Georgios Samaras spoke highly of Celtic and what lies ahead for Giakoumakis.
The striker added: “I’ve watched a lot of Georgios’ games and we worked together in Greece, he’s now the president of OFI Crete where I played for two years.
“We’ve known each other for a while and we keep in touch, I’ve learned lots from him and that’s made me even more excited to come and play here.
“He told me that the fans are great, that I will represent a very big club, and I’ll be expected to win every game.
“The manager’s attacking style of play is perfect for me. I can’t wait to come, to meet the fans and start something really good together.”
‘If I’m fit and healthy I will be the one’ – returning Celtic ace says he can help take down Hearts and Rangers
Celtic striker Giorgos Giakoumakis has backed himself to be “the one” for his side in the central striking berth as he is left the only one for that role across a crucial three-game run of cinch Premiership games.
By Andrew Smith
Sunday, 23rd January 2022, 10:30 pm
Yet the Greek forward confesses he is still troubled by his penalty miss in added time of the costly scoreless draw with Livingston in October, though upbeat at now having shaken off fitness issues that beset him across his opening four months in Scotland – subsequent his £2.5million move from Dutch club VVV-Venlo on transfer window deadline day.
With Kyogo Furuhashi sidelined by hamstring problems and Daizen Maeda on international duty with Japan as Ange Postecoglou’s men are away to Hearts on Wednesday, entertain Dundee United on Saturday and host Rangers in a crucial title-shaping derby on February 2, it was put to the 27-year-old the Celtic support had still to see the best of him. However, following his smart finish in the 2-1 Scottish Cup victory at Alloa that earned him a second goal in only three starts with the club, the player presented other considerations.
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“I’m not worrying about that,” he said of essentially winning over the fanbase after bagging 29 goals in the Netherlands last season. “If I’m fit and healthy I will be the one. I’m very happy I got the goal. I’m back after a long time and from now on I start my season. I hope I can be healthy until the end. I try to push a lot. I missed pre-season, I didn’t have a pre-season. After that I had surgery on my injured knee but now I’m back and I’m really happy for that. [But] I’m not happy about [the record of two goals from three starts]. It could have been three starts, three goals but I missed the penalty. It’s something that’s really in my mind. I try to move on and I hope from now on I will score in every single game and help my team.
Giorgios Giakoumakis opens up on his early struggles at Celtic and how he overcame them
In many ways Giorgos Giakoumakis personifies Celtic’s season. Doubted in the early days, with the help of Ange Postecoglou he has turned things around, strutting into the recent derby with well-deserved confidence and emerging from it well on top.
By Moira Gordon
Thursday, 7th April 2022, 10:30 pm
While Celtic now sit six points clear and favourites to clinch the title, the Greek striker – who notched his second hat-trick in two months in a 4-0 home win over Ross County – has been named the cinch Premiership Player of the Month.
It has been a significant turnaround in fortunes for the 27-year-old, who has scored 12 goals in 13 starts and a total of 23 appearances and while he says little could dent his ego at the moment, the same could not be said in the early part of his Celtic career, but he gained strength from Postecoglou’s man-management.
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“Since the first moment I came here and had this hard time, he was always next to my side and trying to help me and convince me that ‘I believe in you,” said Giakoumakis.
“He told me I just needed to try to get fit and that I was a really important player for him and the team. That was really important for me.
“It was something that made me feel good and relaxed. I could focus on my recovery.
“I feel good about my football at the moment. The second half of the season has been really good for me.”
But those early days were tough.
“It was a really frustrating time for me. I was trying to settle and adjust to a new environment. I was looking forward to coming here and playing my first games but it was harder than I thought.
“I had an injury and also Covid so it was difficult for me to get fit and strong and help my team-mates.
‘It was a really difficult time but it’s made me even more egoistical. My ego is now even bigger. I worked even harder and that’s why I’m really strong right now.”
That self-belief has irked rivals, with Ryan Jack taking umbrage when Giakoumakis claimed Celtic outshone their Glasgow rivals in every area on the park, but it has also fuelled the kind of performances that justify his words and earn him the right to think about the Treble.
“Of course I can say that when you play for Celtic that the target is to win every trophy. So we have to fight for it. We have a strong semi-final but right now we’re focused on the league because it’s the next game that we have to play.”
Once this weekend’s St Johnstone game is negotiated, sights return to Rangers, and the quest for a spot in the Scottish Cup final. And, although Greek football has given Giakoumakis a decent derby grounding, he says the Celtic/Rangers head-to-head in special.
“There are some huge games back in Greece – derbies where the atmosphere is really crazy. But I think the Old Firm is something special – even bigger.
“You can see how much people love football here so I think it’s even bigger here. But, those experiences in Greece did prepare me for it. They made me stronger and gave me focus. But last Sunday I had to close my ears and focus on my team.”
Kyogo’s Celtic status and the frustrated Giorgos Giakoumakis
Kyogo’s Celtic status and the frustrated Giorgos Giakoumakis
By Editor 7 November, 2023 No Comments
[Kyogo’s Celtic status and the frustrated Giorgos Giakoumakis]
Celtic’s Greek striker Giorgos Giakoumakis applauds supporters at the end of the UEFA Champions League Group F football match between Celtic FC and Shakhtar Donetsk, at the Celtic Park stadium in Glasgow, on October 25, 2022. – Celtic FC and Shakhtar Donetsk equlized 1 – 1. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty Images)
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Giorgos Giakoumakis has certainly made a huge success of his move from Celtic to Atlanta United where he was recently voted the MLS Newcomer of the Season after scoring 17 goals for this new club, beating none other that Lionel Messi to that particular accolade.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 16: Giorgos Giakoumakis #7 of Atlanta United reacts after losing the ball during the first half against Inter Miami CF at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 16, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Yet in an interview with The Athletic, the Greek international striker, still has Celtic on his mind and believes he was forced out of the club after failing to shift Kyogo as the main striker under Ange Postecoglou.
“I wouldn’t think to leave Celtic if several things didn’t go wrong, and many of them were completely wrong,” Giakoumakis said. “I cannot lie. My relationship with the manager wasn’t great, at the end of the day.
“We never had a specific fight, but he didn’t trust me as much as I wanted to feel trusted.
“I had to go. I had to go. I never regretted a moment. I was sad that I had to leave Celtic. I was living a life there. I was like a god for the fans,” the former Celtic striker said.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 16: Giorgos Giakoumakis #7 of Atlanta United celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the second half against Inter Miami CF at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 16, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
“My connection with them was really special, and it was sad, but I had to make my decision. My last month in Celtic I was suffering because of some people at the club. I didn’t receive the respect from the people or from the club. So actually, I think they forced me to go out.”
Giakoumakis was indeed a very popular figure among the Celtic support and also more importantly a top striker. However so too is Kyogo and he was the first pick under Ange Postecoglou and indeed subsequently under Brendan Rodgers.
Giorgos Giakoumakis celebrates with teammates after scoring during the UEFA Champions League match between Celtic and Shakhtar Donetsk, at Celtic Park, on October 25, 2022. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty Images)
That was obviously a frustration but Ange always made it clear that it wasn’t his job to keep players happy and that he’d always pack the best team possible to give him the best chance of winning the game.
Giakoumakis was also out injured in his early months at the club – didn’t he get hurt in the warm up after he got himself fit and we were all thinking we’d signed another Derk Boerrigter from Holland. But that wasn’t the case and Giakoumakis certainly proved his worth and won the hearts of the Celtic support.
St Johnstone v Celtic – cinch Premiership – McDiarmid Park Celtic s Giorgos Giakoumakis centre and team mates celebrate after the cinch Premiership match at McDiarmid Park, Perth. Picture date: Saturday October 8, 2022. Photo Jeff Holmes
Giakoumakis may well have been scouted by Celtic whereas Kyogo was signed on the instruction of Ange Postecoglou who talked about being certain that the former Vissel Kobe striker would be a huge success at Celtic. That was a crucial call from Postecoglou who was coming into European football with plenty to prove and you can’t say that he’s done too badly.
In the early 1980s Celtic had three strikers – Frank McGarvey, Charlie Nicholas and George McCluskey and Billy McNeill had a job on his hands keeping all three happy, sometimes all three would play.
The same thing happened two decades later under Martin O’Neill when he had Henrik Larsson, Chris Sutton and John Hartson and often big Sutton would be moved to midfield or centre half to accommodate the other two.
Celtic Legends arrive at Parkhead (L-R) John Harrison, Henrik Larsson and Chris Sutton before the UEFA Champions League Match between Celtic and Paris Saint Germain at Celtic Park Stadium on September 12, 2017.. (Photo by Steve Welsh/Getty Images)
Move on another two decades and Celtic were playing with just one striker and frustratingly for Giorgos Giakoumakis he seldom was going to be selected ahead of a fit Kyogo meaning that a move was inevitable.
Postecoglou was never going to keep an unhappy player and the Greek striker was undoubtedly a frustrated figure having plenty of confidence in the job he could do for Celtic if he was given the nod. That was not going to happen unless Kyogo got injured so annoyingly that was that.