Alexandros Paschalakis

Alexandros Paschalakis (; born 28 July 1989) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Super League club Olympiacos and the Greece national team.

Club career

Early career

Paschalakis started playing football in Terpsithea. He was at the youth team of AEK for a year and then at the youth team of Olympiakos for two years (2003–2005). He then moved to the team of Ilioupoli. At the age of 17 he transferred to the youth team of Galatasaray but could not sign a contract due to restrictions on the number of foreign players.

He signed for Levadiakos in the summer of 2008. He signed for PAEEK in the summer of 2012. Akhisar was interested in Paschalakis but he did not want to move there. After returning to Greece and spending six months in limbo, he signed for Panthrakikos in January 2014, but played just 13 matches until January 2016.

PAS Giannina

Paschalakis signed for PAS Giannina on 26 January 2016, to replace Markos Vellidis' transfer to PAOK. He did not play at all in his first six months in Ioannina. On 25 July 2017, the 28-year-old goalkeeper that was bound by a contract to the club until the summer of 2018, had made an appeal due to a delay in his annual salary. The Athenian goalie had an outstanding season playing in 27 games, four of which were in the UEFA Europa League. PAOK, along with Asteras Tripoli and Panathinaikos expressed interest in his acquisition, having nine clean sheets. On 1 August, Paschalakis was released from PAS Giannina.

PAOK

On 7 August 2017, he signed a year contract with PAOK for an undisclosed fee. On 2 December 2017, he made his debut in a 3–0 away win against Xanthi. A day later he renewed his contract with the club till the summer of 2020. The 28-year-old goalkeeper increased his earnings and the release clause would be set in the region of €5 million.

It was initially planned that he would be back-up to Argentinian Rodrigo Rey, but since head coach Răzvan Lucescu gave him a chance, Paschalakis made himself PAOK's starter. As of 4 February 2018, Paschalakis holds PAOK's record for most consecutive minutes without conceding, with 971 excluding stoppage time (1008 in total), before conceding in a 1–3 away win over PAS Giannina, to surpass current runner-up Kostas Chalkias with 859 min. Unsurprisingly, PAOK boast the Superleague's tightest defence with seven goals conceded in nineteen matches, a statistic which is largely down to Paschalakis' superb performances between the sticks.

On 8 August 2018, Paschalakis saved second-half Quincy Promes's penalty in a 3–2 home win in the UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round, 1st leg against Spartak Moscow, helping his team to maintain the win.
At the first half of the 2018–19 season Paschalakis played every minute of domestic championship action, conceding a mere six goals in 15 matches while tallying an impressive nine clean sheets. On 17 January 2019, Paschalakis was awarded a new contract with PAOK through to 2022.

On 25 April 2019, he made a number of saves in a semifinal second leg Greek Cup game against Asteras Tripolis, helping PAOK's title defence of the Greek Cup, as the newly crowned Super League champions secured a 0–0 draw in Tripoli to progress 2–0 on aggregate. PAOK, for the third consecutive season, would meet AEK Athens in the Greek Cup final.

Olympiacos

On 29 September 2022, Paschalakis signed for Olympiacos for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut on 13 October 2022 in the Europa League against Qarabag FK keeping a clean sheet in a 0–0 draw. On 27 October he made another appearance against SC Freiburg making a number of crucial saves resulting in a 1–1 draw

International career

On 5 October 2018 Greece coach Michael Skibbe called up Paschalakis for upcoming 2018–19 UEFA Nations League matches against Hungary and Finland in the UEFA Nations League. ''"''All players dream of someday representing their country and I am happy for this opportunity. I waited for a long time for this call'',"'' said Paschalakis. On 30 May 2019, he made his debut in a 2–1 friendly game away loss against Turkey.

Personal life

Paschalakis hails from Serres. He was in a relationship with Greek singer from 2019 to 2023.

Career statistics

Honours

Club

PAOK
*Super League Greece: 2018–19
*Greek Football Cup: 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21; runner-up: 2021–22

Olympiacos
*UEFA Europa Conference League: 2023–24
*Super League Greece: 2024–25
*Greek Football Cup: 2024–25

Individual

* Super League Greece Goalkeeper of the Season: 2018–19
* Super League Greece Team of the Season: 2018–19

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Paschalakis, Alexandros
1989 births
Living people
Greece men's international footballers
Gamma Ethniki players
Football League (Greece) players
Super League Greece players
Levadiakos F.C. players
PAEEK FC players
Panthrakikos F.C. players
PAS Giannina F.C. players
PAOK FC players
Olympiacos F.C. players
Men's association football goalkeepers
Footballers from Athens
Greek men's footballers
Cypriot Second Division players
Greek expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus
Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus
Greek expatriate men's footballers
UEFA Conference League–winning players
21st-century Greek sportsmen