Panagiotis Tachtsidis (; 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 lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Liga I Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...

club

CFR Cluj Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj, commonly known as CFR Cluj ( or ) or simply CFR, is a Romanian professional association football, football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, that competes in the Liga I. Founded as ''Kolozsvári Vasut ...

Club career

AEK Athens

Tachtsidis was scouted by

Toni Savevski Toni Savevski (; born 14 June 1963) is a Macedonian former professional footballer 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 retiring from as a ...

, the head of

AEK Athens A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens. Establishe ...

'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 (), 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 ...

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 Taxiarchis Fountas (; born 4 September 1995) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a forward for Super League club OFI and the Greece national team. After beginning his career at AEK Athens, he went on to play in the Austrian Bundes ...

, 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 ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

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 (; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy; and - with Forlì - is the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena. Served by Autostrada A14 (Italy), Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine M ...

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 a ''comune'' in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the province of Grosseto and the main city of the Maremma region. The city lies from the Tyrrhenian Sea, at the centre of an alluvial plain on the ...

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

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

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

Roma

On 19 July 2012, Tachtsidis signed a five-year contract with

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

for a fee of €2.5 million in co-ownership deal (€1.5 million plus 50% registration rights of

Andrea Bertolacci Andrea Bertolacci (; born 11 January 1991) is an Italian professional association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder. Bertolacci began his career at A.S. Roma, Roma, and was signed by A.C. Milan, AC Milan in 2015. Following loans to ...

). 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 B side Reggiana. 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 Serie D club NovaRomentin. Club career Genoa As a graduate of Roma reserve team, Piscitella signed a new five-year contract in May 2012. ...

and

Valerio Verre Valerio Verre (born 11 January 1994) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for club Palermo. Club career Roma, Genoa & Siena As a graduate of the reserve team, Verre signed a five-year contract in May 2012 ...

, 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 Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

in exchange for the co-ownership of

Francesco Lodi Francesco Lodi (born 23 March 1984) is an Italian retired footballer who played as a midfielder. He usually played as a deep lying playmaker, and was known for his passing qualities and free-kick skills. Club career Empoli Lodi started his ca ...

. 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 ( , ; ; , then ) 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. The city is main ...

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 (; ) 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 for being the centre of the Ita ...

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

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

. 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 Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

, as a 68th minute replacement for

Diego Capel Diego Ángel Capel Trinidad (; born 16 February 1988) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played 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 ...

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

Chievo Verona Associazione Calcio ChievoVerona, commonly referred to as ChievoVerona or simply Chievo (, ), is an Italian football club named after and representing Chievo, a suburb of 4,500 inhabitants in Verona, Veneto. It is owned since 2024 by the team' ...

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 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 ...

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 (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...

. 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 (), 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 ...

. 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 A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens. Established ...

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 The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

side

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

on a two-year deal. In December 2018, Tachtsidis completed a loan move to Italian club

Lecce Lecce (; ) is a city in southern Italy and capital of the province of Lecce. It is on the Salentine Peninsula, at the heel of the Italian Peninsula, and is over two thousand years old. Because of its rich Baroque architecture, Lecce is n ...

. 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. Save for a brief spell in the United States at age 32, Karanka played solely in Spain for Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid, appearing ...

'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 (), officially known as 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 b ...

side

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 Benevento ( ; , ; ) is a city and (municipality) of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the Sabato (r ...

in the

. On 11 May 2019, he helped his club in a 2–1 home win against

Spezia Calcio Spezia Calcio is an Italian professional Association football, football club based in La Spezia, Liguria, currently competing in the Serie B. Spezia Calcio was founded in 1906 by the Swiss banker Hermann Hurni (or Hurny in some documents), who ...

and Lecce secured automatic promotion to

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

. 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), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

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 may refer to: Sports Football Men Teams * Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia * Al Ittihad SCSC (Tripoli), Tripoli, Libya * Al Ittihad Gheryan, Gharyan, Libya * Al Ittihad Misurata SC, Misurata, Libya * Al Ittihad SC ...

. 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 (), also known as the ADNOC Pro League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the highest level of the Emirati football league system. The first team to w ...

side

Khor Fakkan Khor Fakkan () is a city and an 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 Fujairah. The city, the second largest on ...

CFR Cluj

On 21 July 2023, Tachtsidis joined

side

International career

Tachtsidis' exceptional season with both

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 The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

. On 30 March 2015, Tachtsidis and

Vangelis Moras Evangelos "Vangelis" Moras (; born 26 August 1981) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a centre back and currently a manager. Club career Early years Moras started his football Ampelokipoi Larissa playing as a striker hav ...

as well Giannis Fetfatzidis 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, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

in a 4–3 home win against

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much 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 south, Croatia and ...

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 was married to Zeta Theodoropoulou, with whom he has three children. They recently had a divorce.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''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 (), 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 ...

runner-up: 2008–09 Roma *

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

runner-up:

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

Al-Fayha *

King Cup The King Cup (sometimes spelled King's Cup) (), officially known as The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques' Cup (), is the Saudi Arabian football knockout cup competition. The King's Cup is the second-oldest knockout competition in Saudi Arabian ...

: 2021–22 CFR Cluj *

Cupa României The Cupa României () is a Association football, football cup competition for List of football clubs in Romania, Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34 Cupa României, 1933–34, except during World War II. It is the Romania ...

: 2024–25

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tachsidis, Panaglotis 1991 births Living people Greek men's footballers Footballers from Nafplion Greece men's youth international footballers Greece men's under-21 international footballers Greece men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders AEK Athens F.C. players Genoa CFC players AC Cesena players US Grosseto 1912 players Hellas Verona FC players AS Roma players Catania FC players Torino FC players Cagliari Calcio players Olympiacos F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players US Lecce players Al-Fayha FC players Khor Fakkan Club players CFR Cluj players Super League Greece players Serie A players Serie B players Saudi Pro League players UAE Pro League players Greek expatriate men's footballers Greek expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Greek expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England Greek expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Greek expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate men's footballers in the United Arab Emirates Greek expatriate sportspeople in Romania Expatriate men's footballers in Romania 2014 FIFA World Cup players 21st-century Greek sportsmen