Sotirios Kyrgiakos (, born 23 July 1979) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a central defender. Club career Kyrgiakos made his first football steps with a local team, Thyella Megalochoriou. It did not take long for him to be recognized. At the start of the 1996–97 season he became a member of the Panathinaikos football academy. He is well known as alani. He lived and played football at the Paiania athletic complex, the club's training ground. In the wake of the 1999–2000 season he became a member of Agios Nikolaos, a second division club and won the respect of president Lampros Maris whom Kyrgiakos considers as his second father. He stayed with Agios Nikolaos for two years and in 2001 he took part in the pre-season camp at OFI Crete. The centre-back injuries at his parent club, Panathinaikos, just before the Third Qualifying round matches with Slavia Prague for the 2000–01 Champions League meant that he had to return to Paiania and become a regular member of the starting line-up. In the 2003–04 season, Kyrgiakos won with Panathinaikos the Greek League and Greek Cup against the eternal rival Olympiacos. Rangers The following January, Kyrgiakos joined Rangers during the 2004–05 season with a view to a permanent deal. With his new club, he won a second consecutive championship and also the Scottish League Cup, scoring two goals in the 5–1 win against Motherwell in the final. He initially failed to agree terms with Rangers and held talks with Everton, Portsmouth and Schalke 04 and the Italian club Genoa before finally agreeing a one-year deal with Rangers. He scored a famous winning goal against F.C. Porto in the UEFA Champions League that year, and ended the season with three goals after also scoring against Peterhead in the Scottish Cup and Dunfermline in the league. He left the club by mutual consent in May 2006 after his contract ran out. Eintracht Frankfurt In June 2006, Kyrgiakos signed a two-year deal with Eintracht Frankfurt. In his first season, he proved to be a fan favourite with some great performances and crucial goals which helped the team avoid relegation. In his second season with the club, with more excellent performances he helped the team finish in ninth position. On 1 July 2008, after his two-year deal expired, Kyrgiakos decided not to renew his contract with the German club, and so was released.