Masouras earns Ethniki debut to cap off rapid rise
Panionios rising star Giorgos Masouras topped off his rapid rise to fame after making his debut for the Ethniki in the final UEFA Nations League match against Estonia by starting on the right wing. Whilst the Ethniki fell to yet another embarrassing defeat, the debut of Masouras was virtually the only positive as he impressed during his time on the pitch.
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Following his selection in the squad for the first ever time, Masouras could not hide his pride and said “All players dream of someday representing their country and I am happy for this opportunity. It has been a dream as a child”.
This had been coming for some time, as the 24-year-old has been scoring for fun this season. Operating as a winger, he has notched an impressive 5 goals in 12 appearances in all competitions to date (4 in 10 in the League). His pace and skill on the ball have also caught the eye during his time at Nea Smyrni - he has played a lot of football for a youngster (last season he made a whopping 42 appearances in all competitions, scoring on 8 occasions and notching 1 assist).
Football was always a priority for Masouras and when the opportunity to leave his village of Amfilochia first arose in 2012, he took it with open arms. Moving to Athens as a teenager was not going to be easy, however, he played his part in Ilisiakos’ promotion to Gamma Ethniki.
At the same time, Panionios was in a poor financial position and they could not sign players on big deals. Masouras was also known to the club by this time and the Istoriko did not hesitate in offering him a 3-year contract in the summer of 2014. He earned the trust of then-Panionios manager Marinos Ouzounidis and went on to make 20 appearances en route to scoring his first goal for the club.
His playing time only increased whilst he continued to impress. This led to Panionios giving him a fresh contract extension in 2016 - for a further 3 seasons. He is out of contract in 2019 and there is expected to be serious interest from Greece’s biggest clubs.
Masouras has the chance to follow in the footsteps of fellow Nea Smyrni graduates such as Dimitris Saravakos, Nikos Anastopoulos, Thomas Mavros and Kostas Nestoridis, who all went on to become Greek football legends after starting out at Panionios before going on to represent the likes of Panathinaikos, AEK and Olympiacos.
Even in recent years, Panionios has a knack for spotting top Greek talent, evidenced by the likes of Dimitris Siovas, Andreas Samaris, Giannis Anestis, Vasilis Lampropoulos, Manolis Siopis, Dimitris Chatziisaias, Spyros Risvanis, Tasos Bakasetas and Vangelis Oikonomou, all going to to play for Greece’s “Big 4” and also the National Team. Quality foreigners such as Karim Ansarifard and Rafik Djebbour also turned out for the Nea Smyrni club.
Masouras’ debut at senior level was not the first time he has worn Ethniki colours, as he played on 8 occasions for the U21 Elpidon team. This rise, coupled with the fact that he will be off contract next year, has inevitably led to interest from AEK and Olympiacos.
AEK technical director, Nikos Lymberopoulos, was an admirer from his time in the same role at Panathinaikos and Masouras has previously played under Ouzounidis. Meanwhile, Olympiacos always keeps an eye on the best players in the League, just as they did with Samaris, Siovas, Siopis and Ansarifard.
Panionios will be holding out for over half a million Euro, somewhere closer to 700,000-750,000 Euro, but the two aforementioned rival clubs are currently offering around 300,000-350,000 Euro. Olympiacos does have the advantage of being able to offer players going the other way as part of any deal.
From a Panionios perspective, the aim will be to sell Masouras to another European club outside of Greece as he does not go to a rival club and play against them but this is not easy for a club of their size.
