Anthony Koutoufides
Encyclopedia
Anthony Koutoufides is a former Australian rules football
er with the Carlton Football Club
. One of the most powerful and athletic players of all-time, he played in almost every position and was often called the prototype of the modern footballer.
Of Greek
and Italian descent, Koutoufides has been an Australian celebrity making numerous television appearances both during and after his football career. He was most recently a gladiator in the Australian television series Gladiators
in character as Kouta, "a Gladiator touched by the gods" and won the Australian Dancing with the Stars
in 2006.
by Carlton
in 1990, and played fifty games in the reserves, where he won the 1991 best and fairest. Beginning his AFL
career in 1992, he quickly established himself as one of the most versatile and athletic players ever to play the game. He was a strong mark, a beautiful kick and a hard runner. Koutoufides, a state under-16 high jump
champion who also competed in the 110m hurdles and the discus, made a choice to switch from track and field
athletics to Australian rules football
.
His profile grew through the early-to-mid 1990s, and he was a star of the game by 1995. Koutoufides was best known for both his strong mark, and his incredible one-handed capability at stoppages. He was better than any other player in the league at picking the ball up off the ground with one hand, and then looping that arm over opponents to set up clearing handpasses. He played in Carlton
's 1995 premiership, earning All-Australian selection in that year.
From 1996 to 1999, Koutoufides was a solid contributor to the team, playing more often in key positions. This was usually in defense, but played some games in the forward line, scoring his career-best 6.4 against Collingwood
in 1997. He was the club leading goalkicker in 1997 with 28 goals. In 1999, he was selected in the final Victorian State of Origin team
, his only ever Big V.
Koutoufides rose to greatness in 2000, his best season. He played 20 games, averaging 26 disposals, over six marks and nearly 2 goals a game. He managed his career-high 39 disposals against Sydney
in Round 8. He was clear favourite in the Brownlow Medal
, but suffered a knee injury (torn posterior cruciate ligament
) in the Round 20 against Essendon
in front of 91,000 fans; he held the equal-lead in the Brownlow count at the time of his injury, but unable to poll votes in the final three games, he ultimately finished fourth. He would also fail to win Carlton's best and fairest
, that prize shared between Brett Ratten
and Scott Camporeale
, but he won the prestigious AFLPA MVP Award
(now known as the Leigh Matthews Trophy), and would gain All-Australian selection for the second time; his knee injury would prevent him from taking part in the International Rules series.
Koutoufides' PCL injury was healed before the start of 2001, and he had another stellar season, finally winning his first club best and fairest
. However, in the semi-final against Richmond
, he again sustained a knee injury, this time a very serious torn anterior cruciate ligament
. He would not play again until Round 15, 2002, playing only three games in that year, and wearing a specially designed game-day knee brace. Koutoufides' capacity to jump was severely limited for the following years. Carlton's poor season was put down to his long term injury.
Following the retirement of Andrew McKay
, Koutoufides was made the captain of the team in 2004, a position he held until 2006. As captain, Koutoufides won his second best and fairest, in 2005, once again a key figure in Carlton's midfield. In 2007, he handed the captaincy to Lance Whitnall
.
record for games in that number.
Koutoufides was selected in both the Italian and the Greek
Teams of the Century, in the latter of which he was named a vice-captain. He is a life-member of the Carlton Football Club
. Furthermore, having played a total of 305 games (278 regular season games, 26 pre-season games, 1 State of Origin
game), he is a life-member of the AFL
.
at Optus Oval, Koutoufides dominated on the wing. He took his career-high 18 marks, including the final game-saving mark which kept the Blues ahead by one point. It was included in the "Memorable Moments" competition for the Optus Oval farewell.
The second was his final quarter against Essendon
in the 1999 preliminary final
. In the final quarter, Koutoufides moved into the midfield, and drifted forward and back, to finish with Koutoufides ten kicks and six marks, generating four clearances, three rebounds and two goals, helping the Blues to come from 11 points behind to famously beat the heavily favoured Bombers by one point. The performance was described by club legend (and later, president) Stephen Kernahan
as "the greatest quarter of football ever played".
calendar on numerous occasions, and being an AFL face of Nike
and adidas
in the mid-1990s. Competition between those rival companies for boots sponsorship caused a particular controversy in 1997, with Koutoufides having an individual adidas sponsorship, and Carlton having a team Nike sponsorship. The "Kouta's Boots" scandal nearly resulted in Koutoufides missing games unless he could fulfil his own endorsement contract, but the issue was resolved before any such action was taken.
There was criticism that, in later years, Koutoufides did not deserve his $1 million contract, as he missed a vast number of matches due to injuries to his knee, hamstring and hand. However, much of Koutoufides' salary during the height of his career was deferred to later contracts for salary cap reasons.
On 28 November 2006, Koutoufides won the fifth season of the Seven Network
's Dancing with the Stars
.
In 2008, Koutoufides played 'Kouta the Greek God' in the Seven Network's revival of Gladiators. On the show he was usually referred to as 'Kouta, a Gladiator touched by the gods'.
Koutoufides owned the Souvlaki Hut restaurant in Templestowe Lower
with former Carlton team-mate Ang Christou
, and became the advertising face for the franchise, until its closure in early 2011.
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
er with the Carlton Football Club
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
. One of the most powerful and athletic players of all-time, he played in almost every position and was often called the prototype of the modern footballer.
Of Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
and Italian descent, Koutoufides has been an Australian celebrity making numerous television appearances both during and after his football career. He was most recently a gladiator in the Australian television series Gladiators
Gladiators (2008 Australian TV series)
Gladiators was an Australian television series which aired on the Seven Network in 2008. It was a revival of the earlier series of the same name, and was based on the American version of the show, which was also revived in 2008....
in character as Kouta, "a Gladiator touched by the gods" and won the Australian Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars (Australian TV series)
Dancing with the Stars is a Logie Award-winning, Australian light entertainment reality show airing on the Seven Network and filmed live from the HSV-7 studios in Melbourne...
in 2006.
Career
Koutoufides was recruited from LalorLalor Football Club
Lalor Football Club is an Australian rules football club located 18 km north of Melbourne in the suburb of Lalor, Victoria which has a population of 19561 circa 2006.The club fields Seniors and Juniors and is affiliated with the Northern Football League....
by Carlton
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
in 1990, and played fifty games in the reserves, where he won the 1991 best and fairest. Beginning his AFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
career in 1992, he quickly established himself as one of the most versatile and athletic players ever to play the game. He was a strong mark, a beautiful kick and a hard runner. Koutoufides, a state under-16 high jump
High jump
The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....
champion who also competed in the 110m hurdles and the discus, made a choice to switch from track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
athletics to Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
.
His profile grew through the early-to-mid 1990s, and he was a star of the game by 1995. Koutoufides was best known for both his strong mark, and his incredible one-handed capability at stoppages. He was better than any other player in the league at picking the ball up off the ground with one hand, and then looping that arm over opponents to set up clearing handpasses. He played in Carlton
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
's 1995 premiership, earning All-Australian selection in that year.
From 1996 to 1999, Koutoufides was a solid contributor to the team, playing more often in key positions. This was usually in defense, but played some games in the forward line, scoring his career-best 6.4 against Collingwood
Collingwood Football Club
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
in 1997. He was the club leading goalkicker in 1997 with 28 goals. In 1999, he was selected in the final Victorian State of Origin team
Interstate matches in Australian rules football
Australian rules football matches between teams representing Australian colonies/states and territories have been held since 1879. For most of the 20th century, the absence of a national club competition and international matches meant that football games between state representative teams were...
, his only ever Big V.
Koutoufides rose to greatness in 2000, his best season. He played 20 games, averaging 26 disposals, over six marks and nearly 2 goals a game. He managed his career-high 39 disposals against Sydney
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
in Round 8. He was clear favourite in the Brownlow Medal
Brownlow Medal
The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
, but suffered a knee injury (torn posterior cruciate ligament
Posterior cruciate ligament
The posterior cruciate ligament is one of the four major ligaments of the knee. It connects the posterior intercondylar area of the tibia to the medial condyle of the femur...
) in the Round 20 against Essendon
Essendon Football Club
The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
in front of 91,000 fans; he held the equal-lead in the Brownlow count at the time of his injury, but unable to poll votes in the final three games, he ultimately finished fourth. He would also fail to win Carlton's best and fairest
John Nicholls Medal
The John Nicholls Medal is an Australian rules football award given to the player adjudged Best and Fairest for the Carlton Football Club for the season....
, that prize shared between Brett Ratten
Brett Ratten
Brett "Ratts" Ratten is a former Australian rules footballer and the current coach of the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League....
and Scott Camporeale
Scott Camporeale
Scott Camporeale is a former Australian rules footballer who spent the majority of his AFL career with the Carlton Football Club.-AFL career:...
, but he won the prestigious AFLPA MVP Award
Leigh Matthews Trophy
The Leigh Matthews Trophy is an annual award given by the AFL Players Association to the Most Valuable Player in the Australian Football League. It is named in honour of Leigh Matthews, who won the first MVP award in 1982, when the league was still known as the Victorian Football League...
(now known as the Leigh Matthews Trophy), and would gain All-Australian selection for the second time; his knee injury would prevent him from taking part in the International Rules series.
Koutoufides' PCL injury was healed before the start of 2001, and he had another stellar season, finally winning his first club best and fairest
John Nicholls Medal
The John Nicholls Medal is an Australian rules football award given to the player adjudged Best and Fairest for the Carlton Football Club for the season....
. However, in the semi-final against Richmond
Richmond Football Club
The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...
, he again sustained a knee injury, this time a very serious torn anterior cruciate ligament
Anterior cruciate ligament
The anterior cruciate ligament is a cruciate ligament which is one of the four major ligaments of the human knee. In the quadruped stifle , based on its anatomical position, it is referred to as the cranial cruciate ligament.The ACL originates from deep within the notch of the distal femur...
. He would not play again until Round 15, 2002, playing only three games in that year, and wearing a specially designed game-day knee brace. Koutoufides' capacity to jump was severely limited for the following years. Carlton's poor season was put down to his long term injury.
Following the retirement of Andrew McKay
Andrew McKay
Dr Andrew Ian McKay is a former Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League.McKay grew up in eastern South Australia, and played junior football for Lucindale in the Kowree-Naracoorte Football League. He moved to Adelaide and played senior SANFL football for Glenelg between 1991...
, Koutoufides was made the captain of the team in 2004, a position he held until 2006. As captain, Koutoufides won his second best and fairest, in 2005, once again a key figure in Carlton's midfield. In 2007, he handed the captaincy to Lance Whitnall
Lance Whitnall
Lance Whitnall is a former Australian rules footballer, and the ex-captain of the Carlton Football Club.-Early career :...
.
Retirement
Koutoufides announced his retirement from AFL football on 31 July 2007. The decision was made following a hip injury that he suffered against St Kilda in Round 17 2007 which was discovered to be more severe than first expected. In Round 18 2007 Carlton vs Collingwood he had a lap of honour and a standing ovation before the match from the Carlton playes and the supporters. Having played 278 games, Koutoufides is sixth all-time on Carlton's list. Despite the usual practice of players changing to lower numbers after their junior seasons, Koutoufides wore the #43 guernsey through the prime of his career, and holds VFL/AFLAustralian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
record for games in that number.
Koutoufides was selected in both the Italian and the Greek
Greek Team of the Century
The Greek Team of the Century was a representative team chosen in 2004 in the sport of Australian rules football.Anthony Koutoufides and Peter Daicos were named vice-captains, Lou Richards was captain. The criteria was that any Greek blood whatsoever constituted eligibility for the team...
Teams of the Century, in the latter of which he was named a vice-captain. He is a life-member of the Carlton Football Club
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
. Furthermore, having played a total of 305 games (278 regular season games, 26 pre-season games, 1 State of Origin
Interstate matches in Australian rules football
Australian rules football matches between teams representing Australian colonies/states and territories have been held since 1879. For most of the 20th century, the absence of a national club competition and international matches meant that football games between state representative teams were...
game), he is a life-member of the AFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
.
Memorable Performances
Standing out amongst Koutoufides' career are two particularly memorable performances. In Round 6, 1996, against West CoastWest Coast Eagles
The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League. The club is based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and played its first games in the 1987 season. Its current home ground is Subiaco Oval...
at Optus Oval, Koutoufides dominated on the wing. He took his career-high 18 marks, including the final game-saving mark which kept the Blues ahead by one point. It was included in the "Memorable Moments" competition for the Optus Oval farewell.
The second was his final quarter against Essendon
Essendon Football Club
The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
in the 1999 preliminary final
1999 AFL First Preliminary Final
The 1999 AFL First Preliminary Final was an Australian rules football match contested between the Essendon Bombers and the Carlton Blues at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 18 September 1999...
. In the final quarter, Koutoufides moved into the midfield, and drifted forward and back, to finish with Koutoufides ten kicks and six marks, generating four clearances, three rebounds and two goals, helping the Blues to come from 11 points behind to famously beat the heavily favoured Bombers by one point. The performance was described by club legend (and later, president) Stephen Kernahan
Stephen Kernahan
Stephen Scott Kernahan is a former Australian rules footballer best known for his career with the Carlton Football Club of the Australian Football League and the Glenelg Football Club of the SANFL from 1981 until 1997...
as "the greatest quarter of football ever played".
Controversy
Through the mid 1990s, Koutoufides was hot property, becoming a pin-up boy for the club, appearing in the Men For All SeasonsMen For All Seasons
The Men For All Seasons calendar was a popular and controversial pin up Wall calendar featuring Australian Football League players that was published periodically and was first printed in 1993.-Players featured:2004...
calendar on numerous occasions, and being an AFL face of Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
and adidas
Adidas
Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...
in the mid-1990s. Competition between those rival companies for boots sponsorship caused a particular controversy in 1997, with Koutoufides having an individual adidas sponsorship, and Carlton having a team Nike sponsorship. The "Kouta's Boots" scandal nearly resulted in Koutoufides missing games unless he could fulfil his own endorsement contract, but the issue was resolved before any such action was taken.
There was criticism that, in later years, Koutoufides did not deserve his $1 million contract, as he missed a vast number of matches due to injuries to his knee, hamstring and hand. However, much of Koutoufides' salary during the height of his career was deferred to later contracts for salary cap reasons.
Outside of Football
In October, 2002, Koutoufides married Susie Angeloski. They have three children – two sons, Jamie and Lukas, and a daughter, Monique.On 28 November 2006, Koutoufides won the fifth season of the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
's Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars (Australian TV series)
Dancing with the Stars is a Logie Award-winning, Australian light entertainment reality show airing on the Seven Network and filmed live from the HSV-7 studios in Melbourne...
.
In 2008, Koutoufides played 'Kouta the Greek God' in the Seven Network's revival of Gladiators. On the show he was usually referred to as 'Kouta, a Gladiator touched by the gods'.
Koutoufides owned the Souvlaki Hut restaurant in Templestowe Lower
Templestowe Lower, Victoria
Templestowe Lower is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 15 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. It's Local Government Area is the City of Manningham...
with former Carlton team-mate Ang Christou
Ang Christou
Ang Christou is a former Australian rules footballer for Carlton in the Australian Football League.-Football career:Christou played for the Carlton Football Club and along with Anthony Koutoufides was a popular figure as a Greek Australian.In 2001, Christou had a solid pre-season, but missed the...
, and became the advertising face for the franchise, until its closure in early 2011.