Panagiotis Tachtsidis ( el, Παναγιώτης Ταχτσίδης; born 15 February 1991) is a Greek professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for Emirati club

Khor Fakkan Khor Fakkan ( ar, خَوْر فَكَّان, Khawr Fakkān) is a city and exclave of the Emirate of Sharjah, located on the east coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), facing the Gulf of Oman, and geographically surrounded by the Emirate of F ...

Club career

AEK Athens

Tachtsidis was scouted by

Toni Savevski Toni Savevski ( mk, Тони Савевски; born 14 June 1963) is a Macedonian football player who played as a midfielder. Savevski is widely regarded as one of the best foreign players to have played in the Greek football league. After ret ...

, the head of

AEK Athens A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadel ...

's youth academy at the time, and signed his first professional contract with AEK on 1 November 2007. Shortly after signing his first professional contract, Tachtsidis made his debut for AEK in the

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most ...

against Fostiras. On 27 January 2009, he became the youngest player to have ever played for AEK in the Greek League when he played against Thrasyvoulos, being 16 years and 348 days old; that record, however, has since been surpassed by Taxiarchis Fountas, also for AEK. Against Thrasyvoulos, Tachtsidis scored the winning goal in the 92nd minute to give his team the three points.

Genoa

On 21 April 2010, Tachtsidis completed a move to Italian club

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

that had already been previously agreed upon in January 2010.

Loans to Cesena, Grosseto and Verona

In August 2010, he was loaned to

Cesena Cesena (; rgn, Cisêna) is a city and ''comune'' in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, served by Autostrada A14 (Italy), Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine Mountains, about from the Adriatic Sea. The total population is 97,137. ...

with an option to buy half of his registration rights in co-ownership. In February 2011, he was loaned to

Grosseto Grosseto () is a city and ''comune'' in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the Province of Grosseto. The city lies from the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Maremma, at the centre of an alluvial plain on the Ombrone river. It is the ...

. In the 2011–12 season, he was loaned to

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

. With Verona, he helped the club reach the play-offs.

Roma

On 19 July 2012, Tachtsidis signed a five-year contract with Roma for a fee of €2.5 million in co-ownership deal (€1.5 million plus 50% registration rights of Andrea Bertolacci). He scored one goal in 21 appearances for the club during the 2012–13 season. On 20 June 2013, Roma signed

Mattia Destro Mattia Destro (; born 20 March 1991) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Empoli. He has also featured at international level, holding eight caps for Italy. Club career Youth career Destro began his ...

outright for a pre-agreed figure of €4.5 million.

Giammario Piscitella Giammario Piscitella (born 24 March 1993) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a winger for club Rimini. Club career Genoa As a graduate of Roma reserve team, Piscitella signed a new five-year contract in May 2012. On 30 July h ...

and Valerio Verre, who were sent to Genoa as part of the Destro loan deal, returned to Roma for €4 million in total (having cost Genoa €3 million in 2012). As part of this complex deal, Tachtsidis returned to Genoa for €3 million.

Catania

On 20 June 2013, it was announced that Tachtsidis had returned to Genoa, however, less than a month later he was sold in a co-ownership deal to Catania in exchange for the co-ownership of Francesco Lodi. However, he left the club temporarily after 6 months and definitively in June 2014.

Loan to Torino

On 9 January 2014, he was loaned to

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

on loan for the rest of the season. He made his first appearance on 19 January, in a 2–0 away win against

Sassuolo Sassuolo (; egl, label= Modenese, Sasól ) is an Italian town, ''comune'', and industrial centre of the Province of Modena in Emilia-Romagna. Standing on the right bank of the river Secchia some southwest of Modena, the town is best known f ...

. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–3 away draw against

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. On 13 June 2014, Tachtsidis and Lodi returned to Genoa and Catania respectively.

Genoa and loan to Verona

Genoa bought back Tachtsidis on 13 June 2014. On 18 July 2014, he returned to

on loan with a buyout option at the end of the season. However, Verona did not buy Tachtsidis; Tachtsidis returned to Genoa at the end of season, making his debut 2 months later. He made his debut for Genoa on 23 August 2015, away to Palermo, as a 68th minute replacement for

Diego Capel Diego Ángel Capel Trinidad (; born 16 February 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left winger. He made his senior debut with Sevilla at 16, going on to appear in 173 competitive matches for the club over seven La Liga se ...

. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 win against Chievo Verona.

Return to Torino and loan to Cagliari

On 5 August 2016, he signed a contract with

for a fee of reported €1.3 million. However, contradicted to the press release, Torino stated in the 2016 filing that the deal initially a loan. Less than a month after the signing of his contract with

, Cagliari signed Tachtsidis in a temporary deal. On 15 November 2016, Tachtsidis was injured for at least two weeks after an injury on international duty.

Olympiacos

On 30 June 2017, he was signed by

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

. On 19 September 2017, he made his debut with the club in a

2–1 home win game against

Asteras Tripolis Asteras Tripolis Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Αστέρας Τρίπολης), commonly referred to as Asteras Tripolis (meaning "Star of Tripoli"), is a Greek professional football club based in the city of Tripoli in Arcadia, Peloponnese, G ...

. On 7 February 2018, Tachtsidis grabbed a goal back from a set-piece for Oscar Garcia's Olympiacos, but the reds could not find a way back and waved goodbye to a chance of silverware with AEK progressing to the

semifinals 2–1 on aggregate after the first leg ended 0–0. It was his first goal with the club.

Nottingham Forest

On 5 September 2018, Tachtsidis signed for EFL Championship side

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

on a two-year deal. In December 2018, Tachtsidis completed a loan move to Italian club Lecce. The deal included a clause to make the move permanent the following summer. The Greek midfielder had found his opportunities hugely limited at the City Ground, following his arrival from Olympiacos. The 27-year-old has featured on the bench – but has not had any minutes on the pitch, amid fierce competition for places in

Aitor Karanka Aitor Karanka de la Hoz (Basque and ; born 18 September 1973) is a Spanish football manager and former player who was most recently the head coach of Segunda División club Granada. Save for a brief spell in the United States at age 32, Karanka ...

's squad. Following his loan spell at Lecce, Tachtsidis was released by Forest.

Lecce

On 3 January 2019, he moved to

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been ...

side Lecce on loan, with a clause included to make the move permanent in the summer. On 19 January he made his debut with the ''giallorossi'' side in a home draw against Benevento in the

. On 11 May 2019, he helped his club in a 2–1 home win against Spezia Calcio and Lecce secured automatic promotion to

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

. Lecce triggered the buying option at the end of the season.

Al-Fayha

On 16 July 2021, he moved to

Saudi Professional League The Saudi Pro League (SPL for short) ( ar, دوري المحترفين السعودي, link=no, ''Dawriyy al-Muḥtarifayni as-Suʿūdī''), known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL for short) for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of associat ...

side Al-Fayha. On 11 August 2021, he was the only scorer, in his first appearance with the club in a home 1–0 win game against

Al-Ittihad Al-Ittihad (Arabic: الاتحاد "The Union"), sometimes transliterated as Al-Etihad or Al-Ettihad may refer to: Sports Football Libya *Al-Ittihad Club (Tripoli), a football club based in Bab Ben Gashier * Al Ittihad Gheryan, a football club bas ...

. On 19 May 2022, he scored the winning penalty (3–1) for Al-Fayha against Al Hilal in the 2022 King Cup Final.

Khor Fakkan

On 30 September 2022, Tachtsidis joined

UAE Pro League The UAE Pro League ( ar, دوري المحترفين الإماراتي), known for sponsorship reasons as the ADNOC Pro League, is the top professional football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The first team to win the title was Al ...

side

International career

Tachtsidis' exceptional season with both Catania and

was his passport not only to be called from Greek national manager Fernando Santos to the 30-man provisional World Cup squad, but also to the final 23-man squad for 2014 FIFA World Cup. On 30 March 2015, Tachtsidis and

Vangelis Moras Vangelis Moras ( el, Βαγγέλης Μόρας; born 26 August 1981) is a Greek former professional Association football, footballer who played as a centre back and currently a manager. Club career Early years Moras started his football Ampel ...

as well

Giannis Fetfatzidis Giannis Fetfatzidis ( el, Γιάννης Φετφατζίδης; born 21 December 1990) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a winger for Italian club SPAL. Primarily a winger, Fetfatzidis is praised for his dribbling skills, his pa ...

were in a car crash. The three Greek internationals were travelling by taxi to Budapest Airport in Hungary, following a

Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...

qualifier. One person was killed in the collision, but the Greek Federation released a statement confirming that the three players were not seriously injured. Three other people were seriously injured in the crash. On 11 October 2015, he scored his first goal with

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

in a 4–3 home win against

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

when he lashed in a powerful shot.

Style of play

Tachtsidis is a particular type of player that needs to be accommodated into a specific system. Without being particularly athletic, the Greek international more than makes up for this with an exceptional range of passing.

Personal life

He is married to Zeta Theodoropoulou, with whom he has three children.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

:''Scores and results list Greece's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Tachtsidis goal''.

Honours

AEK Athens *

Greek Football Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most imp ...

runner-up: 2008–09 Al-Fayha * King Cup: 2021–22

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tachsidis, Panaglotis 1991 births Living people Greek footballers Footballers from Nafplion Greece youth international footballers Greece under-21 international footballers Greece international footballers Association football midfielders AEK Athens F.C. players Genoa C.F.C. players A.C. Cesena players F.C. Grosseto S.S.D. players Hellas Verona F.C. players A.S. Roma players Catania S.S.D. players Torino F.C. players Cagliari Calcio players Olympiacos F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players U.S. Lecce players Al-Fayha FC players Khor Fakkan Sports Club players Super League Greece players Serie A players Serie B players Saudi Professional League players UAE Pro League players Greek expatriate footballers Greek expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate footballers in Italy Greek expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in England Greek expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Expatriate footballers in Saudi Arabia Greek expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate footballers in the United Arab Emirates 2014 FIFA World Cup players