Recently retired Greece international captain Georgios Karagounis was handed a new role where he is set to work alongside coach Claudio Ranieri, the Greek football federation said. The board of directors of the federation “unanimously approved the recommendation of President Georgios Sarris for the awarding of a two-year contract” with Karagounis, the federation announcement said. Greek media reports said Karagounis will most likely be a technical assistant to Ranieri, helping to bridge any communication gap between the players he knows well and the new coach. The 37-year-old midfielder, who also spent time at Inter Milan and Panathinaikos and was released by Fulham last summer, has retired from football. Giorgos Karagounis has brought the curtain down on his playing career after the 37-year-old midfielder announced plans to retire from playing and take up a role with the Greece national team. The former Inter Milan midfielder, who also played for Benfica, was a key component of the Ethniki team that upset the odds to win the European Championship in 2004, beating Portugal, France and the Czech Republic en route to lifting the trophy in Lisbon. Karagounis also helped the national team to progress to the quarter finals of the 2012 European Championships in Ukraine and Poland as well as playing a part in their march to the second round of the World Cup in Brazil last summer. Greece’s most capped player of all time, Karagounis made 139 appearances for the national side, with the last of these coming in their penalty shootout defeat at the hands of Costa Rica in last summer’s finals.
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