Alexandros Tziolis

Alexandros Tziolis
Personal information
Full nameAlexandros Tziolis
Date of birth13 February 1985
Place of birthKaterini, Greece
Height1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Playing positionDefensive midfielder
Club information
Current team
PAOK
Number6
Youth career
1995–2002Apollon Litochorou
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2002–2005Panionios61(3)
2005–2010Panathinaikos116(6)
2009–2010→ Werder Bremen (loan)15(1)
2010–2011Siena13(0)
2010–2011→ Racing Santander (loan)10(0)
2011–2012Racing Santander12(0)
2012–2013Monaco3(0)
2012–2013→ APOEL (loan)30(0)
2013–PAOK37(1)
2014→ Kayserispor (loan)15(0)
National team‡
2001–2005Greece U2112(6)
2005–Greece49(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 26 April 2015.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 4 June 2014

Alexandros Tziolis (Greek: Αλέξανδρος Τζιόλης; born 13 February 1985) is a Greek professional footballer who plays for PAOK FC and the Greek national team as a defensive midfielder.

Club career

Early club career

Tziolis began his playing career as a teenager in a local team called Apollon Litochorou. He played there for about 7 years and in 1995, a Panionios scouter spotted his talent and brought him to Athens. He was an integral part of Panionios team for 3 seasons, playing 61 matches and scoring 3 goals. As a result, Panathinaikos F.C.offered Panionios €650.000 and signed him.

Panathinaikos

Tziolis has been established as a first team player for Panathinaikos after replacing the big-name but disappointing Igor Biscan during the 2006–2007 season. The lack of titles for Panathinaikos put Tziolis in the center of criticism alongside with his team-mate Loukas Vyntra. For both players, though, this criticism could be considered unfair since they were neither big-money signings of the club nor did they receive the biggest contracts. By the end of 2007–2008 season Tziolis was close to his exit from Panathinaikos but the new manager Henk Ten Cate chose to keep him. After being mostly neglected at the beginning of 2008–2009 season, Tziolis was included in the team in November and was MVP in the epic 3–0 win in Germany against Werder Bremen for the UEFA Champions' League, where he also scored the third goal for Panathinaikos. According to some Greek sport newspapers, he avoided to celebrate the victory with the fans, embittered by the recent criticism he received. Since Ten Cate shows his preference to 4–3–2–1 tactics, he is expected to gain more opportunities in the first XI at the expense of Marcelo Mattos. He has since established himself as a valuable member of the squad, linking well with team-mates Gilberto Silva and Simao Mate Junior.

Werder Bremen

On 7 January 2009, Panathinaikos agreed terms with Werder Bremen and Tziolis will go on loan at the German club for at least 6 months, for a fee of €300.000. After those months, Werder Bremen has the right to fully obtain Tziolis for a fee of €1.6m.[2][3]

Tziolis played a regular role in Bremen's midfield and helped the club to make the UEFA Cup final against Shaktar Donetsk, on 20 May 2009. In the final, he came on as a substitute for Peter Niemeyer in the 103rd minute. After having nearly scored the equalizing goal when Bremen where a goal behind, the team lost the final of the last UEFA Cup edition to Shaktar with a final score of 2–1. Tziolis also featured in Bremen's 1–0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen in the German Cup final the same season, where Tziolis won his first ever trophy in professional football.

AC Siena

On 29 January 2010 Panathinaikos agreed terms with the ex-Panathinaikos coach Alberto Malesani, Italian Serie A club AC Siena obtaining Tziolis for a fee of €1.4m.[4][5] He made his debut in the Serie A on 7 February 2010 against Sampdoria. Tziolis was a regular for Siena, but the team wasn't able to avoid relegation to the Serie B.

Racing Santander

In August 2010, it was confirmed that the Spanish La Liga side Racing Santander had agreed to take Tziolis on a one year loan deal. Greek international Alexandros Tziolis faces up to six months out after suffering a leg break in his nation's 1-0 win over Latvia.The defensive midfielder, who is on loan at Racing Santander from Italian Serie B side Siena, was carried from the field in agony and was assessed immediately by medical staff, who took the 25-year-old to hospital for surgery.Spanish club Racing have confirmed that the operation was a success, but that the period of recuperation will be between four and six months. Tziolis, is now likely to terminate his loan deal with the Primera Division side and return to Italy in order to continue his rehabilitation.[6]

Then after a successful league campaign for the 2nd half of the season they signed him from Siena for an undisclosed fee. The 26 year-old was a personal target for Racing Santander coach Héctor Cúper, who has concerns about the strength of his backline.[7]

AS Monaco

In January 2012, Racing Santander also announced the exit of Tziolis, saying they and AS Monaco "have reached an agreement for the incorporation" of the player into the French club. Monaco were relegated to the French Ligue 2 last summer and then slipped to the foot of the table before Russian businessman Dmitry Rybolovlev bought the club in December and committed funds to strengthen the team. Tziolis spent 18 months at Racing Santander, the first 12 months on loan from AC Siena before the clubs struck a permanent deal. He signs a three-and-a-half-year contract with the club.[8]

APOEL

On 31 August 2012, Tziolis joined Cypriot side APOEL on a season-long loan deal from AS Monaco.[9] “APOEL FC announces the agreement with international footballer Alexander Tziolis on a one-year contract,” read the official APOEL press release. Tziolis joined AS Monaco last January as the Greek international arrived on transfer from Racing Santander. He expected to make a name for himself in Ligue 2 along with Greece team-mate Giorgos Tzavellas, but he failed to make an impact and earn playing time. [10]

During his loan spell at APOEL, he became a league champion for the first time in his career, appearing in all but two of the league matches and helping his team to win the Cypriot First Division.

PAOK

On 25 June 2013, Tziolis signed a three-year contract with Greek Superleague side PAOK. On 17 August he made his league debut in a 3-0 home win against Xanthi. On 22 December 2013, he scored his first goal with the club in a home victory against Levadiakos. Besides the fact that was among the key players of PAOK in the first round of the 2013/14 season, the acquisition of so many great players along with his desire to be in the final selection for the 2014 World Cup made him to sign with the Super Lig team Kayserispor.[11]

Kayserispor

On 31 January 2014 he signed a six-month with Kayserispor on loan from PAOK. After those months, Kayserispor has the right to fully obtain Tziolis for a fee of €1.5m,[12] Nine days after he made his debut in the Süper Lig in an away loss against Elazigspor.

International career

After representing his country 12 times for the under-21 side, Tziolis made his international debut for Greece on 21 January 2006 in a friendly match against South Korea. He was a part of the defending European champions at UEFA Euro 2008, where he played once, when he came on as a substitute in a 1–2 loss to Spain in the group-stage. He also made four appearances in qualifying, including as a substitute in the play-off win away to Ukraine.[13]

He was also part of the squad that participated to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He played every minute of the tournament for his country, including their first ever World Cup win over Nigeria on 17 June 2010.

But, after the participation in two major events, Greece coach Fernando Santos dropped Alexandros Tziolis from his final 23-player squad for the UEFA Euro 2012.[14] Two years later, Tziolis exceptional season year with both PAOK and Kayserispor was his passport not only to be called by Santos to the 30 man provisional World Cup squad, but also to the final 23-man squad for 2014 FIFA World Cup.[15]

International goals

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 8 June 2011 New York, USA  Ecuador 1–1 Draw Friendly

Playing style

Tziolis is a tall defensive midfielder, good in air, with powerful long shots. He plays a "silent" role in the game, and he tends to occupy the role of a deep-lying playmaker more than a defensive stopper. His crisp passing and physical strength are also positive aspects of his game.

Honours

Team

Werder Bremen
Panathinaikos
APOEL

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 11 June 2014. p. 18. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  2. ↑ Tziolis jolts to Bremen on loan deal, greece.theoffside.com, 7 January 2009. Retrieved on 2009-01-09.
  3. ↑ Werder sign Tziolis on six-month loan, sportingreece.com, 7 January 2009. Retrieved on 2009-01-09.
  4. ↑ Tziolis to Siena, kathimerini.gr, 29 January 2010.
  5. ↑ Με μεταγραφή στη Σιένα ο Τζιόλης, sentragoal.gr, 29 January 2010.
  6. ↑ "Racing Santander Midfielder Alexandros Tziolis Faces Six Months Out After Suffering Broken Leg". goal.com. 11 October 2010.
  7. ↑ "Racing Santander sign Siena defender Alexandros Tziolis". nz.sports.yahoo.com. 31 August 2011.
  8. ↑ "Tziolis out for Racing". foxsportsasia.com. 1 February 2012.
  9. ↑ Υπέγραψε ο Τζιόλης (in Greek). APOEL FC. 31 August 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  10. ↑ "Alexandros Tziolis joins APOEL on loan from AS Monaco". footballhellas.com. 1 September 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  11. ↑ http://www.sport24.gr/football/EllinesExoterikou/tziolhs_eprepe_na_paizw.2653219.html, sport24.gr, 20 February 2014. Retrieved on 2014-02-20.
  12. ↑ "Τούρκος" ο Τζιόλης! (in Greek). APOEL FC. 2 February 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  13. ↑ "Alexis Tziolis". bbc.co.uk.
  14. ↑ "Greece drop Tziolis, Kone from Euro 2012 squad". samachar.com. 29 May 2012.
  15. ↑ "Greece World Cup 2014 squad". telegraph.co.uk. 19 May 2014.

External links