Dimitrios Kourbelis

Dimitrios Kourbelis

Kourbelis playing for Greece U19 in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Dimitrios Kourbelis[1]
Date of birth	(1993-11-02) 2 November 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth	Korakovouni, Arcadia, Greece
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder Centre back
Team information
Current team	Al-Khaleej
Number	21
Youth career
2007–2011	Asteras Tripolis
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011–2016	Asteras Tripolis	103	(2)
2016–2023	Panathinaikos	149	(7)
2023–2024	Trabzonspor	6	(0)
2024	→ Fatih Karagümrük (loan)	12	(0)
2024–	Al-Khaleej	8	(1)
International career^‡
2011–2012	Greece U19	14	(1)
2013	Greece U20	6	(0)
2012–2015	Greece U21	10	(1)
2017–	Greece	43	(2)
Medal record Men's football Representing  Greece UEFA European Under-19 Championship Runner-up 2012 Estonia
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 November 2024 (UTC). ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 November 2024 (UTC).

Dimitrios Kourbelis (Greek: Δημήτριος Κουρμπέλης; born 2 November 1993) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Al-Khaleej and the Greece national team.^[2]

Club career

Asteras Tripolis

On 31 May 2015, Kourbelis reached 100 appearances for Asteras Tripolis and scored his first goal in 2014–15 playoffs against Atromitos.^[3] He made 131 appearances across all competitions during his career at Tripolis.

Panathinaikos

On 23 December 2016, Kourbelis signed a 3.5-season contract with Greek club Panathinaikos and was officially announced by Athens club, on an annual fee of €250,000. Panathinaikos will pay €500,000 to his former club during the next three seasons, along with a 25% next transfer percentage and some appearances and targets bonus, which could increase the cost of 23-year-old international's move to the team of manager Marinos Ouzounidis to €700,000.^[4][5] The Greek international quickly earned respect within the club and his quick transition from Asteras Tripolis to Panathinaikos proved his ability to overcome new challenges. On 5 January 2017, he made his debut with the club playing as a starter in a 1–0 away loss against Platanias and ever since, Kourbelis has become an irreplaceable option in Panathinaikos.

After the sale of Zeca to Copenhagen, despite the fact that he had spent only 8 months with the club, he was appointed as the new captain for the 2017–18 season.^[6]

On 13 January 2018, according to Live Sport athletic newspaper, Genoa offered about €2 million to the financially struggling Panathinaikos, in order to secure the 24-year-old international defensive midfielder and captain of the club in the January transfer window, without ignoring other German and Italian clubs that asked about the market value of the player.^[7] At the last week of the 2018 January transfer window, PAOK submitted a proposal to financial struggling Panathinaikos for the acquisition of the international midfielder. PAOK are offering Panathinaikos €1.5 million for Kourbelis, including the services of Ergys Kaçe, Giannis Mystakidis and Dimitris Konstantinidis for the second half of this season, but the player is reluctant for this transfer, besides the annual fee of €450,000.^[8] At the last day of the January transfer window, the administration of PAOK did not manage to reach an agreement with Kourbelis, while Sampdoria will try to capture Panathinaikos' captain. The 25-year old defensive midfielder wants to compete in a team abroad with the Italian club eyeing his case. The Genova's team is willing to offer about €2 million for Kourbelis and a news update is expected. Nevertheless, Panathinaikos maybe capture either Konstantinidis, Kaçe and Mystakidis regardless the Kourbelis future.^[9] Eventually, the captain of Panathinaikos will remained at the club for the rest of the season.^[10] On 3 February 2018, Kourbelis suffered an injury during the first half of a home game against Panetolikos. He was expected to remain out of action for 3–4 weeks and his absence was a blow for the plans of Panathinaikos' manager Marinos Ouzounidis.^[11]

On 1 September 2018, he scored his first goal for the club in all competitions, with a penalty kick after 21-year-old winger Tasos Chatzigiovanis was fouled in the box by Lamia's goalscorer Daniel Adejo, sealing a 3–1 home win game.^[12] On 24 November 2018, Kourbelis scored as Tasos Chatzigiovanis squared the ball for the captain. His initial shot struck Apollon defender Klodian Gino, but the ball fell favorably for Kourbelis to score from the rebound, in a hammering 5–1 home win game against struggling Apollon Smyrnis.^[13]

On 27 November 2019, he renewed his contract with the club until the summer of 2023 for an undisclosed fee.^[14] On 22 January 2020, the Greek international defender let fly with an unstoppable shot from just outside the penalty area which left Balázs Megyeri no chance, in a hammering 3–0 home win game against Atromitos.^[15] On 1 July 2020, the Greece international midfielder made a vital interception before striding forward and beat Fabian Ehmann with four minutes to go to the interval, giving the lead in a 2–0 home win game against Aris.^[16] On 6 December 2020, he scored his first goal in the 2020-21 season, leading to a vital 2-1 away win against rivals AEK Athens.^[17] On 17 December 2020, he faced a tear in the abductor muscle that kept him out of the squad for six months. After a very difficult year for the defender marred by injury (425 days to be exact), Kourbelis returned to action in an away 2021-22 Greek Cup quarterfinals game against Anagennisi Karditsa F.C. in February 2022.^[18]

Al-Khaleej

In August 2024, Kourbelis signed for Saudi Pro League club Al-Khaleej.^[19]

International career

On 9 June 2017, Kourbelis earned Michael Skibbe's first call to Greece national team as a result of his remarkable appearances at Panathinaikos. On the same match, he officially debuted in the Greece national team coming on as a late substitute in a 0–0 away draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifications. He scored his first goal on 30 May 2019 during a friendly game against Turkey.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 12 March 2024^[20]

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Asteras Tripolis	2011–12	Super League Greece	15	0	2	0	—		17	0
	2012–13	Super League Greece	20	0	5	0	3[b]	0	28	0
	2013–14	Super League Greece	18	0	2	0	2[b]	0	22	0
	2014–15	Super League Greece	26	2	1	0	7[b]	1	34	3
	2015–16	Super League Greece	20	0	2	0	4[b]	0	26	0
	2016–17	Super League Greece	4	0	—		—		4	0
	Total		103	2	12	0	16	1	131	3
Panathinaikos	2016–17	Super League Greece	19	0	2	0	—		21	0
	2017–18	Super League Greece	23	0	3	0	4[b]	0	30	0
	2018–19	Super League Greece	25	2	2	0	—		27	2
	2019–20	Super League Greece	31	3	6	1	—		37	4
	2020–21	Super League Greece	10	1	0	0	—		10	1
	2021–22	Super League Greece	11	0	2	0	—		13	0
	2022–23	Super League Greece	30	1	4	0	2[c]	0	36	1
	Total		149	7	19	1	6	0	174	8
Trabzonspor	2023–24	Süper Lig	6	0	0	0	—		6	0
Fatih Karagümrük (loan)	2023–24	Süper Lig	6	0	3	0	—		9	0
Career total			264	9	34	1	22	1	320	11

1. Includes Greek Cup, Turkish Cup
2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
3. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

International

As of match played 31 August 2024

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Greece	2017	1	0
	2018	6	0
	2019	9	1
	2020	7	0
	2022	7	0
	2023	6	0
	2024	4	1
Total		40	2

International goals

Scores and results list Greece's goal tally first.^[21]

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	30 May 2019	New Antalya Stadium, Antalya, Turkey	Turkey	1–2	1–2	Friendly
2.	21 March 2024	Agia Sophia Stadium, Athens, Greece	Kazakhstan	4–0	5–0	UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying

Honours

Asteras Tripolis

• Greek Cup runner-up: 2012–13

Panathinaikos

• Greek Cup: 2021–22^[22]

Greece U19

• UEFA European Under-19 Championship runner-up: 2012

Individual

• Super League Greece Team of the Season: 2017–18,^[23] 2018–19,^[24] 2019–20^[25]

References

1. "FIFA U-20 World Cup Turkey 2013 List of Players: Greece" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 23 June 2013. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 June 2013.
2. "Asteras Tripolis squad". uefa.com. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
3. "Θεραπεία ο Λούι, "100άρης" με γκολ ο Κουρμπέλης". www.contra.gr. June 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
4. "Ανακοίνωσε Κουρμπέλη ο Παναθηναϊκός" (in Greek). gazzetta.gr. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
5. "Μποροβήλος: "Ο Κουρμπέλης δόθηκε με 700.000 ευρώ και 25% ποσοστό μεταπώλησης"" (in Greek). sport24.gr. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
6. "Κουρμπέλης ο νέος αρχηγός" (in Greek). novasports.gr. Archived from the original on 23 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
7. "Genoa CFC made offer to Panathinaikos for the purchase of Kourbelis". sdna.gr. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
8. ""Ναι" του Αλαφούζου, διστάζει ο Κουρμπέλης για ΠΑΟΚ" (in Greek). sport24.gr. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
9. "Ανατροπή: Προς Σαμπντόρια ο Κουρμπέλης (αποσύρει το ενδιαφέρον ο ΠΑΟΚ)" (in Greek). politis.com.cy. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
10. "Έμεινε στον Παναθηναϊκό ο Κουρμπέλης" (in Greek). sport24.gr. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
11. "ΣΟΚ με Κουρμπέλη στον ΠΑΟ – "Έγκλημα" από τον παίκτη στον τραυματισμό του" (in Greek). sportdog.gr. 3 February 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
12. "Οι μπέμπηδες έκαναν τη διαφορά, 3–1 ο Παναθηναϊκός τη Λαμία" (in Greek). sport24.gr. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
13. "Παναθηναϊκός – Απόλλων Σμύρνης 5–1: "Κέντα" με Μακέντα το τριφύλλι" (in Greek). sport24.gr. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
14. "Παναθηναϊκός: Στο τριφύλλι για 3,5 χρόνια ακόμα ο Κουρμπέλης" (in Greek). sport24.gr. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
15. "Παναθηναϊκός – Ατρόμητος 3–0: Τριάρα και εδραίωση στην τετράδα με ωραία μπάλα" (in Greek). sport24.gr. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
16. "Παναθηναϊκός – Άρης 2–0: Τα έκανε όλα ο αρχηγός" (in Greek). sport24.gr. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
17. "ΑΕΚ - Παναθηναϊκός 1-2: Πράσινη κυριαρχία" (in Greek). sport24.gr. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
18. "Κέρδισε... ηρεμία και Κουρμπέλη ο Παναθηναϊκός στην Καρδίτσα!" (in Greek). www.sport-fm.gr. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
19. @KhaleejClub (20 August 2024). "من أرض الفلاسفة إلى سـيـهـات 🦅 كوربيليس .. الدولي اليوناني خلجــاوي 🔰 #قدم_الدانة | #يلا_خليج" [From the land of philosophers to Saihat 🦅 Korbelis .. The Greek international Khalajawi 🔰] (Tweet) (in Arabic). Retrieved 21 August 2024 – via Twitter.
20. "Kourbelis profile". Soccerway. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
21. "Dimitrios Kourbelis". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
22. Georgakopoulos, George (22 May 2022). "Panathinaikos ends eight-year trophy drought lifting the Greek Cup". Ekathimerini. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
23. "Τα βραβεία του ΠΣΑΠ για τη σεζόν 2017-18". TaMeteora.gr (in Greek). 15 February 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
24. "Βραβεία ΠΣΑΠ: Oι κορυφαίοι της Superleague για τη σεζόν 2018-19! (pics)". NewsIT (in Greek). 28 January 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
25. "Super League Interwetten: Η καλύτερη ενδεκάδα της σεζόν 2019-20". www.sport24.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 11 January 2022.

External links

• Dimitrios Kourbelis – UEFA competition record (archive)
• Dimitrios Kourbelis at ESPN FC
• Dimitrios Kourbelis at Soccerbase