Former Greece Int’l Paraskevas Antzas dies at 49 from ALS

Former Olympiacos and Xanthi defender Paraskevas Antzas died Monday at the age of 49 after battling ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that had left him confined to a wheelchair in recent years.

The former Greece international had been hospitalized in the intensive care unit of a hospital in the northern city of Drama in recent days, where he was listed in critical condition. His death prompted an outpouring of grief from his family and across Greek football.

Antzas began his career with Pandramaikos in Drama before joining Xanthi in 1995. After three seasons there, he moved to Olympiacos FC, where he won five league championships and one Greek Cup during one of the club’s most dominant eras. He later played for Doxa Drama and returned to Xanthi before rejoining Olympiacos in 2007, helping the Piraeus club secure back-to-back league and cup doubles. He also earned caps with the Greece national team.

ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is the same disease that affected renowned physicist Stephen Hawking. Other notable figures who have died from the disease in recent years include Rob Burrow, Kenneth Mitchell and Joe Bonsall.

“With deep sadness and pain, the Olympiacos family bids farewell to Paraskevas Antzas. Our sincere condolences to his family and loved ones,” Olympiacos said in a statement.