Theofanis Gekas was the most prolific marksman in the entire UEFA qualification campaign for the South African tournament.

His ten goals, including a four-goal haul in a 5-2 win over Latvia in Greece’s penultimate qualifier, booked Greece’s place in the play-offs for South Africa, where they overcame Ukraine to qualify for the finals for only the second time.

These goals have brought his international tally to an impressive 20 in 46 games. And he has been a regular net-finder since his early domestic career, which included two seasons with Athens giants Panathinaikos.

 

He moved to Bundesliga strugglers VfL Bochum in 2007 and not only helped them avoid relegation but ended the season top of the Bundesliga’s goalscoring charts with 20 goals.

He was top-scorer for Bayer Leverkusen the following season, but his spell there was less successful overall and he moved to Hertha Berlin on loan midway through last season.

The side from the German capital were also struggling against relegation. But this time, Gekas’s goals, six in 17 appearances, were not enough to save Hertha from the drop.

His international goal-touch, however, has not deserted him, and he comes into the World Cup tournament as one of its truly in-form strikers.