Middlesbrough has confirmed the signing of their second keeper, Dimitrios Konstantopoulos to a contract extension till the summer of 2019. His contract was close to being over and it was a wise move to increase his involvement by another season.
The veteran has been dropped to a secondary role behind Darren Randolph in recent times but that has not reduced his enthusiasm one bit. He is expected to travel with the team to Brentford as the team looks to keep their place among the top 6 and put up a solid fight for promotion to the Premier League.
The former Hartlepool United keeper was targeted by Sunderland boss Chris Coleman. He arrived at Boro in the summer of 2013 from AEK Athens and has made over 100 appearances for the Championship side. His career has undergone a major shift in the second division of English football before he made his name with Middlesbrough.
Dimitri’s only international cap for Greece came against Malta in the Euro Cup 2012. He has spent loan spells with Coventry City, Cardiff City, Swansea City and Nottingham Forest – all fruitless affairs in his playing career.
Mention the name Dimitrios Konstantopoulos to Cardiff City fans and there’ll be plenty of head-shaking, hand-wringing, rueful laughter – and an element of surprise that the 39-year-old is still with the Middlesbrough team. Known as ‘Agent Dimi’ or ‘Konstan-drop-olous’ among Bluebirds supporters, the Greek goalkeeper ended the 2015/16 season as one of the most successful goalkeepers in more than 100 Middlesbrough seasons and were a key part in their chase for promotion.
With nine games to go, Boro’s stop-start season is finally taking flight, with Tony Pulis’ side have won three on the bounce, forcing their way into the top six. They are 2 points clear of Sheffield United from the 7th spot and are looking to finish the regular the season on the strong note.
While Pulis has struck out with the West Brom team in the top-division with the Baggies handed over to an already sacked Alan Pardew and is still struggling in the relegation scraps, he has managed to instil a bout of consistency into the Boro side.
Pulis is also a manager who is known around the English game to adopt a strong backline. His gameplay mostly boasts of a structure squad which can knock in goals on the counter. The goalkeeping position has always had a stiff hand in promoting his game style by distributing the ball from the back.
