Pantelis Chatzidiakos (also Hatzidiakos, , born 18 January 1997) 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 lea ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga (, ) is a professional association football league in Denmark and the highest level of the Danish football league system. The league is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams relegated. It is the current ...

club

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, on loan from Italian club

Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...

, and the Greece national team.

Club career

AZ

In January 2015, Chatzidiakos, who moved from Panathinaikos to AZ as a youth in 2011, signed a three-year professional contract with the Dutch team. He made his debut with the club in both the Champions League and the Europa League matches. In the past, he was crowned Dutch champion with the AZ U16. In 2017 he helped Jong AZ win the title in

Tweede Divisie Tweede Divisie (; ) is the highest amateur (and historically the lowest professional) football league in the Netherlands. It was established in 1956, together with the Eredivisie and the Eerste Divisie. Between 1956 and 1960 and between 1962 and 19 ...

and achieve promotion to

Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (; ) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the Keuken Kampioen Divisie due to sponsorship reasons, while ...

. He made his debut in the club, along with his first appearance in

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

in a 2–1 away loss against

PEC Zwolle Prins Hendrik Ende Desespereert Nimmer Combinatie Zwolle, commonly known as PEC Zwolle, is a Dutch professional football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football. They have played in the Ered ...

as a substitute in the second half. On 3 December 2017, the 20-year-old Greek international central defender, scored his first goal in the

, in a 2–0 away win against

VVV-Venlo VVV-Venlo (, ''VVV'' stands for ''Venlose Voetbal Vereniging'' meaning "Venlo Football Club") is a Dutch association football, football club from Venlo, a city on the border with Germany. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutc ...

. He sealed the win in the 84th minute "With an excellent shot at the height of the area, and this is not the first goal of his career, as he scored in the

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...

against

MVV Maastricht Maatschappelijke Voetbal Vereniging Maastricht (), commonly known as MVV Maastricht (, ) or simply as MVV, is a Dutch professional Association football, football club from the city of Maastricht. Founded on 2 April 1902, MVV Maastricht currently ...

in September." With this victory, Alkmaar reached 6 consecutive wins in the League. He started the 2018–19 season as the undisputed leader of the AZ's defence. On 12 August 2018, he scored his first goal for the season, with a right footed shot from very close range to the top left corner, after

Oussama Idrissi Oussama Idrissi (; born 26 February 1996) is a professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Midfielder#Winger, winger for Liga MX club C.F. Pachuca, Pachuca. Born in the Netherlands, he represents Morocco national football team, ...

's assist in a 5–0 home win game against NAC Breda. On 2 November 2019, he scored his first goal for the 2019–20 season with a right footed after an assist from

Owen Wijndal Owen Wijndal (born 28 November 1999) is a Dutch professional association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football)#Full-back, left-back for club AFC Ajax, Ajax. He also plays for the Netherlands national football team, ...

in a triumphic 3–0 home win game against

FC Twente Football Club Twente (), sometimes known internationally as FC Twente Enschede, is a Dutch professional Association football, football club from the city of Enschede. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Dutch champions Sportclub E ...

. On 7 November 2019, he lashed a thunderous effort high into the left corner, scoring his first goal in the

UEFA 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 ...

in a hammering 5–0 away win against

FC Astana Astana Football Club () is a professional Association football, football club based in Astana. They play in the Kazakhstan Premier League, the highest level of Football in Kazakhstan, Kazakh football. The club's home ground is the 30,000-seat As ...

. On 28 November 2019, Chatzidiakos suffered the dreaded anterior cruciate ligament injury while on

game for AZ Alkmaar, medical tests have confirmed. Chatzidiakos was included in the AZ starting line-up to face Partizan Belgrade at home in the Europa League, but he was forced off in the 53rd minute with a knee injury. Subsequent medical tests this morning confirmed that the talented 22-year-old defender suffered the anterior cruciate ligament injury and will return to action after a period of at least six months. On 7 February 2020, Alkmaar announced the extension of the contract with the Greek international until the summer of 2024.

Cagliari

On 1 September 2023, Chatzidiakos signed a four-year contract with

in Italy. Cagliari officially purchased the defender for €2m, effectively activating his release clause. On 2 September 2024, he moved on a season-long loan to

in Denmark.

International career

As the son of a Greek father and a Dutch mother, Chatzidiakos was eligible to play for both Greece and the Netherlands. He played for the Netherlands under-16 team, but switched to Greece. As a result of his exceptional performances he was called in the Greece U-21 team from Antonis Nikopolidis for the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification match against San Marino and Czech Republic on 22 and 27 March 2018 respectively. Chatzidiakos made his first appearance with the Greece senior national team on 12 October 2019, in the game against Italy in Rome, for the Euro 2020 Qualifiers. The young defender was a starter for Greece and played the whole 90 minutes in his debut for the team.

Personal life

Chatzidiakos was born in

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

to a Greek father and a Dutch mother.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Copenhagen *

: 2024–25 *

Danish Cup The Danish Cup (; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official "single-elimination tournament, knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955. The winner will ...

: 2024–25

References

External links

Career stats
- Voetbal International * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chatzidiakos, Pantelis 1997 births Living people Sportspeople from Rhodes Men's association football midfielders Greek men's footballers Greece men's youth international footballers Greece men's under-21 international footballers Greece men's international footballers Dutch men's footballers Netherlands men's youth international footballers Greek emigrants to the Netherlands Greek people of Dutch descent Dutch people of Greek descent Eredivisie players Serie A players AZ Alkmaar players Cagliari Calcio players F.C. Copenhagen players Greek expatriate men's footballers Dutch expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Greek expatriate sportspeople in Italy Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Greek expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Denmark 21st-century Dutch sportsmen 21st-century Greek sportsmen