var playerInfo={"92D102DDE1327A88":"Georgios Samaras","C9B224F2C5B356EF":"Samsunspor","76E5DE99890AB189":"193cm","95081CC600C137A3ECD07E1A2BAC6047":"999","1E9A8D352C52FB60DE0D25B327F8FD01":"1985-2-21","033EA04110C4B96A":"1","289C5F85E5EE1B609E88960AAED5C65D":"1985-2-21","E40B4988E6F21D3C":"15065","F9622CC2808B37CB":"82kg","3DD52A7123843A0599BD59EBE6AB4E97":"Zaragoza","70356B8F0C59F6B5":"1247","DF03820F537F8E7C95F8F8605BCB052C":"Greece","6438FCEB8DF4FD6202A461D3835934E5":"Zaragoza,Rayo OKC,Al Hilal,West Bromwich(WBA),Celtic,Manchester City,SC Heerenveen","31E4B7E841B17C66":"Georgios Samaras","B628C0FB460378A51A233D645651DF2F":"","26A41B77C025E2F442D11C4E5D31FCE8":"0","4931588B4E3083E863A5C74E5EDB35F1":"The son of the Australian-born former Greek midfielder Ioannis Samaras, Georgios Samaras has spent his entire first-class career outside Greece.<BR><BR>The big front man left his homeland at the age of only 16, joining Dutch side Heerenveen, where he enjoyed two successful seasons and attracted interest from a number of English Premier League sides.<BR><BR>He chose Manchester City as his next port of call, struggling to settle in at first but gradually gaining in confidence under coach Stuart Pearce. When Pearce left Samaras had to prove himself all over again to his replacement Sven-Goran Eriksson, and before long was on his way to Glasgow Celtic on loan.<BR><BR>Samaras was rewarded for his part in Celtic&#8217;s 2007\/08 league championship triumph by earning a permanent contract in July 2008, by which time he had done enough to win a place in the Greece squad for UEFA EURO 2008. The following year he also lifted the Scottish League Cup with the Celts.<BR><BR>Doing his bit to help Greece bounce back from the disappointment of their EURO 2008 campaign, Samaras chipped in with some important goals as Greece secured a place at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa&#8482;.","FD1933E1882D5E7A216F21827D2B22B4":"","e_index":7};