Kosmas Tsilianidis (; born 9 May 1994) is a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

former professional

football player 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 played as a winger.

Club career

Early career

Tsilianidis began playing football for Achilleas Triandria. After a year having scored a number of goals, Tsilianidis was noticed by

Iraklis Thessaloniki Gymnastikos Syllogos Thessalonikis "Iraklis" (), commonly referred to as Iraklis Thessaloniki, is a multi–sporting club based in the city of Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece. G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis was founded on 29 November 1908 and i ...

and in April 2005 was transferred to the youth ranks of the club. He has won many MVP awards in various tournaments. In 2011, he was on trial in

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

Iraklis Thessaloniki

Tsilianidis was a member of the squad of

which took part in the regional championship of

Delta Ethniki Delta Ethniki () was the fourth level of Greek football championship. During the period of its existence, it was the lowest national division of the Greek championship. It was founded in the 1982–83 season and abolished in the 2012–13 season, ...

in the 2011–12 season, after the club was expelled from the professional leagues. He made his first team debut in Iraklis' away draw against Nea Kallikrateia F.C. He has also scored his only goal for the club to date in a home win against Apollon Arnaia. After the merger of the team with Pontioi Katerini, Tsilianidis was introduced in the merged club's squad and made his professional debut for Iraklis in a home win against Aetos Skydra.

Loan to Aiginiakos

Tsilianidis was loaned out to Aiginiakos during the 2013 winter transfer window. He debuted for Aigianiakos in an away draw against Kassiopi and scored his first goal in a home draw against Odysseas Kordelio.

Return to Iraklis

Tsilianidis returned to Iraklis after his loan period ended. For his performance in the 2013–14 season, he was named as Football League North Group's best young player.

Asteras Tripoli

On 28 July 2016, Tsilianidis signed a three-year contract with

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

club

Asteras Tripoli Asteras Tripolis Football Club (), currently known as Asteras AKTOR for sponsorship reasons, commonly referred to as Asteras, is a Greek professional football club based in the city of Tripoli in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. Asteras Tripolis ...

for an undisclosed fee. On 3 February 2018, he opened the score in a 1–1 home draw game against

Xanthi Xanthi is a city in the region of Western Thrace, northeastern Greece. It is the capital of the Xanthi regional unit of the region of East Macedonia and Thrace. Amphitheatrically built on the foot of Rhodope mountain chain, the city is divided ...

. It was his first goal with the club in the

. On 22 April 2018, he scored in a crucial 3–1 away win against

Kerkyra Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is admin ...

, keeping his team alive in the battle for a

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

place. On 2 August 2018, the Greek winger scored his first goal in

UEFA competitions UEFA competitions (), referred improperly by the mass media as European football, are the set of tournaments organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), generally in professional and amateur association football and futsal. Th ...

, equalizing the score in a 1–1 home draw against

Hibernian Hibernian may refer to: * Of Hibernia, Latin name for Ireland; hence ** Irish (disambiguation) Hibernian, Hibernians or The Hibernian may refer to: Sports clubs * Hibernian F.C., a Scottish football club, founded 1875 * Hibernian W.F.C., a Sc ...

. This goal however, was not enough to help the team proceed to the next qualifying round of the

, as the team lost 4–3 on aggregate. On 18 December 2018, he scored in a 4–0 away win against Apollon Paralimnio in the

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

. On 9 January 2019, he scored with a stunning free-kick in a 3–2 away loss against

Larissa Larissa (; , , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 148,562 in the city proper, according to the 2021 census. It is also the capital of the Larissa ...

in the Greek Cup round of 16. On 21 April 2019, he scored with a close header in an important 1–1 away draw against O.F.I., in the battle to avoid relegation. This was also his first league goal for the 2018–19 season.

O.F.I.

On 19 June 2019, Tsilianidis signed a three-year contract with O.F.I. on a free transfer. On 31 August 2019, he scored his first goal for the club in an emphatic 3–1 away win against

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos (, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club based in the City of Athens. Panathinaikos is one of the mos ...

. On 14 September 2019, he scored a brace in a 3–1 home win game against

Panetolikos Panetolikos Football Club (), or with its full name officially romanized as Panaitolikós Gymnastikós Filekpaideftikós Sýllogos (''; Pan- Aetolian Gymnastic and Educational Club''), is a Greek professional football club. It is based in Agrini ...

. On 6 October 2019, Tsilianidis netted another one in a triumphant 4–1 home win against

Panionios Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan-Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis''), ...

. On 3 November 2019, he scored in a 3–2 away defeat against

, despite an early two-goal advantage. On 4 December 2019, he had a goal and an assist in a 4–0 home win against

Kavala Kavala (, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos and on the A2 motorway, a one-and ...

for the

. This win overturned the two-goal disadvantage from the first leg and helped his team qualify for the round of 16. On 18 January 2020, he was the MVP of a 2–1 away win against

, scoring one goal and giving one assist. On 28 May 2020, the 26-year-old player suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament and a partial rupture through a lateral ligament, as it emerged after an imaging test was performed. The Greek striker had an excellent season with the club, having 7 goals and 8 assists in 26 appearances in Super League and the Greek Cup. The rehabilitation period is estimated to six months. After a very difficult period for the striker marred by injury (200 days to be exact), Tsilianidis returned to the squad in a home game against

Aris Thessaloniki Athlitikos Syllogos Aris Thessalonikis, means Athletic Club Aris Thessaloniki (), is a major Greece, Greek multi-sport club founded on 25 March 1914 in Thessaloniki. Nicknamed ''God of War'', Aris was one of the strongest Greek clubs during t ...

on 19 December 2020. On 24 March 2021, Kosmas Tsilianidis underwent diagnostic arthroscopy on the knee of his right foot and is expected to return in 2–4 weeks. In April 2021 he faced a torn meniscus and he would return to action after six months.

International career

Tsilianidis has been capped for Greece U-17. On 29 March 2015, he debuted for Greece U-21 in a 0–2 home defeat against Croatia U-21.

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tsilianidis, Kosmas 1994 births Living people Greek men's footballers Greece men's youth international footballers Greece men's under-21 international footballers Super League Greece players Football League (Greece) players Gamma Ethniki players Iraklis F.C. (Thessaloniki) players Aiginiakos F.C. players Asteras Tripolis F.C. players OFI Crete F.C. players Men's association football forwards Footballers from Thessaloniki 21st-century Greek sportsmen