Teenage talents of the Super League
Emmanouilidis, Liavas, Athanasakopoulos, Fakis, and Mandas headline list of talented teens that received debuts in last season’s Greek Super League.
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The official website of the Greek Super League recently published a list of the brightest talents to have played in last season’s edition of the Championship. All of these players are not even of legal age (still under 18 years old) and made their respective debuts in a season to remember.
There were a total of 14 players that were used in last season’s competition who had not yet turned 19, and five of these players played before turning 18. Here is the rundown on these five players, who will have high expectations in the years to come.
Andreas Athanasakopoulos (Panathinaikos)
Debut: 21/4/19 - Atromitos - Panathinaikos
Age: 17 years, 4 months and 24 days
Appearances: 2
The Patra-born attacking midfielder made his debut later on in the season and became one of many talented youngsters to receive a debut under Giorgos Donis. He played a total of 56 minutes and big things are expected of him moving forward, following his exploits at youth level for club and country.
Giorgos Liavas (Panetolikos)
Debut: 25/8/18 - Panetolikos - Atromitos
Age: 17 years, 6 months and 12 days
Appearances: 19
The sky is the limit for the versatile defender. He made his debut at the start of the season and became a mainstay in a solid Panetolikos side under Traianos Dellas. He can play either right back, left back, and defensive midfield, and became one of Panetolikos’ most prized assets (estimated to be worth in the region of one million euro).
Christos Mandas (Atromitos)
Debut: 21/4/19 - Atromitos - Panathinaikos
Age: 17 years, 7 months and 3 days
Appearances: 1
He only made the single appearance this season in what can be described as a ‘dead rubber’ fixture against Panathinaikos, but this rookie is tipped for big things. Despite Atromitos boasting strong goalkeepers, his name was in the conversation to become back up. At a monstrous 189cm, he could be Greece’s number one for many years to come.
Giannis Fakis (Xanthi)
Debut: 26/1/19 - Panetolikos - Xanthi
Age: 17 years, 9 months and 13 days
Appearances: 4
He went on to make four appearances in the second half of the season and should receive more playing time next season as Xanthi undergo a rebuild. The striker has been involved in the youth setup for Greece and scored one goal at the U17 level, before moving onto the U18 team.
Dimitris Emmanouilidis (Panathinaikos)
Debut: 26/8/18 - Xanthi - Panathinaikos
Age: 17 years, 10 months and 1 day
Appearances: 11
Possibly the most hyped of the list, the pacey forward with an eye for goal made history earlier this season when he scored his first goal at senior level against Lamia - he became the first millenial to score in the Super League. His second goal of the season came in the final round against Panetolikos. This season was a massive learning curve for him as he got used to the rigours of men’s football and was also disciplined by Giorgos Donis midway through the season for a poor demeanour. He has already scored seven goals for the Greece U19 team and was a regular in that side by 17.
