Kevin Mirallas
Encyclopedia
Kevin Antonio Mirallas is a Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 footballer who plays for Greek Superleague club Olympiacos, having previously played for Lille
Lille OSC
LOSC Lille Métropole is a French association football club based in Lille. The club was founded in 1944 as a result of a merger and currently play in Ligue 1, the first division of French football. Lille plays its home matches at the Stade Lille-Metropole in nearby Villeneuve-d'Ascq. In 2012, the...

 and Saint-Étienne
AS Saint-Étienne
Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne Loire is a French association football club based in Saint-Étienne. The club was founded in 1919 and currently play in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. Saint-Étienne plays its home matches at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard located within the city...

. He has been capped
Cap (sport)
In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...

 by Belgium at international level.

Early years

He played for his home town side Standard Liège
Standard Liège
Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (Dutch: Standard Luik [], German: Standard Lüttich , is a Belgian football club from the city of Liège....

 at youth level, and has played for Lille OSC
Lille OSC
LOSC Lille Métropole is a French association football club based in Lille. The club was founded in 1944 as a result of a merger and currently play in Ligue 1, the first division of French football. Lille plays its home matches at the Stade Lille-Metropole in nearby Villeneuve-d'Ascq. In 2012, the...

 since the opening of the 2004–05 season. Mirallas participated in the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...

 in his first season at the club. Mirallas subsequently was transferred to AS Saint-Etienne
AS Saint-Étienne
Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne Loire is a French association football club based in Saint-Étienne. The club was founded in 1919 and currently play in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. Saint-Étienne plays its home matches at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard located within the city...

 for €4m, scoring against Lyon on his debut in the Rhone-Loire derby.

Olympiacos Piraeus

On 17 June 2010 Olympiacos Piraeus acquired the 23-year old from Saint-Etienne on a one-year loan basis. He made his debut against Besa Kavajë in UEFA Europa League qualifying phase. His scored his first 2 goals against Olympiakos Volou F.C.
Ethnikos Olympiakos Volos F.C.
Olympiakos Volou Football Club , is a Greek football club based in the city of Volos. It is currently inactive and does not compete in any professional league, due to the 2011 match fixing scandal that caused the teams complete elimination.-History:...

, in a 3–1 victory and after this game he became first-choice center-forward for his team. His scoring form continued and he scored a great goal against rivals Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos is a multi-sport club based in Athens, Greece. It has the shamrock as its official emblem and green and white as its colours...

. After that, Olympiacos Piraeus decided to sign him on a four-year contract. As of 11 April 2011, he has scored 14 goals in 26 matches in the Greek Superleague, many of them playing as a right winger or an attacking midfielder.

Position

Mirallas has the ability to play in various attacking positions. His favorite position is striker
Striker
Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...

 but he can also play as a second striker, attacking midfielder and winger.

International career

Mirallas has represented Belgium at Under-17, Under-19 levels and Under-21 levels and was one of the leading figures in guiding 2007 Belgium
Belgium national under-21 football team
The Belgium national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Belgium and is controlled by the Belgian Football Association. The team competes in the European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years...

 to the semi-finals during the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
The European Under-21 Football Championship is a football competition organised by the sport's European governing body, UEFA. It is held every two years. The competition has existed in its current form since 1978. It was preceded by the Under 23 Challenge Cup which ran from 1967 to 1970...

.

He scored twice in the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

 football tournament, once against China (2–0 victory) and once against Italy (3–2 victory).
Kevin Mirallas: International Goals
Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 22 August 2007 Stade Roi Baudouin
King Baudouin Stadium
The King Baudouin Stadium is a sports ground in north-west Brussels, Belgium. It was inaugurated on 23 August 1930 as the Stade du Jubilé or Jubelstadion in the presence of Prince Leopold. It was built to embellish the Heysel plateau in view of the Brussels International Exposition...

, Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

 
3 – 2 Won Euro 2008 Qualification
2 12 September 2007 Almaty Central Stadium
Almaty Central Stadium
The Almaty Central Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Almaty, Kazakhstan. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium is shared by FC Kairat Almaty. It also serves the home stadium for the Kazakhstan national football team....

, Almaty
Almaty
Almaty , also known by its former names Verny and Alma-Ata , is the former capital of Kazakhstan and the nation's largest city, with a population of 1,348,500...

 
2 – 2 Drawn Euro 2008 Qualification
3 19 November 2008 Stade Josy Barthel
Stade Josy Barthel
Stade Josy Barthel is the national stadium of Luxembourg, home to the Luxembourg national football team and also used for athletics. It is located on route d'Arlon, in Luxembourg City.It was first constructed in 1928 and it was entirely rebuilt in 1990...

, Luxembourg City 
1 – 1 Drawn Friendly
Exhibition game
An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...

4 13 November 2009 Jules Ottenstadion
Jules Ottenstadion
Jules Ottenstadion is a multi-purpose stadium in Gentbrugge, Ghent, Belgium. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of K.A.A. Gent. The stadium holds 12,919 and was built in 1920. It is due to be replaced by the new Arteveldestadion in 2010. The people of Ghent...

, Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...

 
3 – 0 Won Friendly
Exhibition game
An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...


Honours

Olympiacos
  • Superleague Greece: 2010–2011
    2010–11 Super League Greece
    The 2010–11 Superleague Greece was the 52nd season of the highest football league of Greece and the fifth under the name Superleague. The league consisted of 16 teams, the 13 best teams of the 2009–10 season and three teams that had been promoted from the 2009–10 Beta Ethniki.The season began on 27...


External links

  • Kevin Mirallas at L'Équipe
    L'Équipe
    L'Équipe is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sports, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of football , rugby, motorsports and cycling...

  • Kevin Mirallas at National Football Teams
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