PAOK reaping rewards for youth investment
Over the past two seasons, PAOK have won the U19 Super League title without suffering a single defeat, with the club heavily investing in the youth system.
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Their success is no fluke. Since he became the major shareholder of the organisation in 2012, Ivan Savvidis has heavily invested in the PAOK academy, with his efforts having subsequently wielded fantastic results. Once again, PAOK were far too strong for their opponents in the U19 Super League, storming to their third consecutive title by remaining undefeated in 24 games. Panathinaikos found themselves eight points behind in second spot of the table.
Incredibly, PAOK have not lost a single U19 league game since the 2017/2018 campaign, a hugely impressive statistic, especially taking into account the usual inconsistent nature of youth sport. At the moment, the unbeaten run stands at 69 games, stretching all the way back to December 2017.
Two seasons without any defeats is enough to prove that Savvidis’ hard work and investments are working. Pablo Garcia, who used to represent PAOK as a player between 2008 and 2013, has installed a positive, determined mentality that has steered the young Dikefalos tou Vorra to national domination. This season, Christos Tzolis (19 goals) and Giorgos Doumtsis (11 goals) have stood out with their scoring abilities, while defensive midfielder Kyriakos Giaxis has been the crucial link between defence and attack with his strong technical skills. Tzolis, in particular, is considered one of the brightest youth prospects that Greek football currently possesses.
Of course, the success of the young Greek champions will be judged by their step up to senior level, and some of them will likely be loaned out to smaller Super League clubs to gain playing time. For example, in the summer of 2019, Lefteris Lyratzis, Apostolos Diamantis, Konstantinos Balogiannis, and Marios Tsaousis were all sent on loan to newly promoted Volos NFC.
“Yes, I understand that the first team always comes under a lot of pressure, but we need to support our young players, give them experience and make sure that they play against seniors more often,” stated Garcia when recently speaking to PAOK TV. Interestingly, according to reports, PAOK are in favour of creating a B team that would enable more youngsters to play against senior teams without being sent out on loan.
Overall, if we stretch back to the 2010/2011 campaign, a grand total of 50 PAOK players who have progressed through the system have gone on to play for the first team. The likes of Konstantinos Stafylidis, Dimitris Pelkas, Stelios Kitsiou, and Efthymis Koulouris have all enjoyed relative success at the professional level after starting their careers in the PAOK academy. Pelkas, 26, is still playing for PAOK in Thessaloniki and is an important part of Abel Ferreira’s set-up.
As a result of the threat of breaking Financial Fair Play rules, PAOK are unlikely to be big spenders in the upcoming transfer window, a factor which increases the chances of young talents receiving an opportunity to prove their worth with the senior side. The PAOK first team, the reigning champions of Greece, ended the regular season in second position, one point above third-placed AEK in the race for UEFA Champions League football. The playoffs and playouts were indefinitely suspended at the start of March because of the coronavirus pandemic.
