Vellios seeking to replicate Mitroglou and Koulouris at Atromitos
Atromitos offer Apostolos Vellios a career lifeline and an opportunity to emulate Kostas Mitroglou and Efthimis Koulouris
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Forgotten man Apostolos Vellios signed a two-year contract with Atromitos last week, to mark his third return back to the Greek Super League since starring with boyhood club Iraklis in his previous two stints (2008-2011 and 2015-2016). It was this great form and promise that led to English Premier League giants Everton luring the then-teenager to one of the world’s best leagues. England came calling again in 2016 and Vellios signed with English Championship side Nottingham Forest.
The physical attributes and technique have never been a doubt, and although he is far from the complete player as a lack of pace, work rate, and skill - often brought up by critics - this represents a golden opportunity for him to resurrect his career for the second time.
After that failed Everton stint and a loan spell in between at Blackpool, he headed to Lierse in Belgium and again struggled. He was then loaned out to Danish club FCV Vikings and his career was at a crossroads. A move back to Greece and former club Iraklis worked wonders for the big striker. In 2015-16, he resurrected his career by scoring 13 goals in 32 games to become one of their best players of the season. This also led to his selection for the Ethniki for the very first time.
His career was on the rise again and Iraklis sold their prized asset to stay alive (the club faced financial issues) for 1.2 million euros to Nottingham Forest. However, his career plateaued out at the City Ground after constant managerial changes. He scored a couple of eye-catching goals in his first season but never really got going in a relentless and physical Championship. He spent last season on loan at Waasland-Beveren in Belgium, and all of a sudden his career had taken a similar direction after another poor stint in England.
This time Vellios has moved to perennial “overachievers” Atromitos and on the face of it, this move could well work wonders yet again. He will be their first choice striker under new manager Giannis Anastasiou, who likes to play with a goal-hungry forward leading the line. The Peristeri club have entrenched themselves in Greece’s upper echelons with a series of top-five finishes, meaning this will enable Vellios to play in the UEFA Europa League qualifying rounds.
The club will be hoping Vellios emulates the form of former Atromitos strikers such as Kostas Mitroglou and Efthimis Koulouris, with the Thessaloniki-born target man replacing the latter.
Mitroglou moved to Western Athens on loan as he was not in the plans of Ernesto Valverde at Olympiacos and scored 19 goals in 39 appearances. He then returned to his parent club and the rest was history. Koulouris, on loan from PAOK, bettered that by scoring a whopping 25 goals in 35 appearances to finish as the 2019 Super League’s top scorer and broke into the Ethniki call-ups. This has led to PAOK accepting 3.5 million euros for their player to join Toulouse in France.
As it can be observed, Atromitos have a history of finding high-impact strikers and the club has proved to be the perfect stepping stone for bigger and better things. Vellios has the chance to follow in the footsteps of former Atromitos number 9’s but there will be a lot of work that needs to be done before then. This summer looms as a vital one for club and player alike, as Atromitos come to terms under life without the instrumental Damir Canadi. Vellios has to adjust to his new surroundings quickly in order to hit the ground running in the UEFA Europa League qualifiers.
There are countless examples of others who have shone at Atromitos such as Dimitris Giannoulis who made 53 appearances and notched 14 assists (this swayed parent club PAOK to take him back), Andreas Gianniotis enjoyed a great stint to persuade Olympiacos to make him their first choice goalkeeper, and Spyros Risvanis and Dimitris Chatziisaias have formed a near unbreakable pairing in the heart of defence which has led to them being considered for the Ethniki.
This season will be intriguing for Atromitos as they hope to reach the UEFA Europa League group stages for the first time in their history and obtain a third successive top-four finish. A changing of the guard is occurring as the experienced Anastasiou works with a new-look squad, and Vellios as the focal point of attack has to be a key player if the team is to enjoy more success.
A fantastic Mitroglou-Koulouris-like season could see Vellios regain his Ethniki spot and this time it would be different for Atromitos as this is ‘their’ player, meaning they could command a significant transfer fee by their standards, should the player excel of course.
