Dimitris Siovas

Dimitris Siovas (Greek: Δημήτρης Σιόβας; born 16 September 1988) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Spanish club Leganés and the Greece national team.

Dimitris Siovas

Siovas with Leganés in 2018
Personal information
Full name	Dimitrios Siovas
Date of birth	(1988-09-16) 16 September 1988
Place of birth	Drama, Greece
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position(s)	Centre-back
Club information
Current team	Leganés
Number	22
Youth career
	Skoda Xanthi
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2008–2012	Panionios	72	(2)
2009	→ Ionikos (loan)	11	(0)
2012–2017	Olympiacos	68	(2)
2017	→ Leganés (loan)	16	(1)
2017–	Leganés	82	(2)
National team^‡
2006–2008	Greece U19	9	(1)
2008–2010	Greece U21	14	(1)
2012–	Greece	18	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 01:48, 19 July 2020 (UTC). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:45, 12 October 2019 (UTC).

Club career

Early career & Panionios

He was born and raised in Drama, Greece and played in the local teams before he was scouted from Skoda Xanthi. He started his career at the youth team of Skoda Xanthi, from where he moved to Panionios in 2008.[1] He spend the second half of the 2008–09 season on loan to Ionikos, where he made 11 league appearances.[1] Since 2009 he became a regular central defender for Panionios, making a total of 33 appearances and scoring 2 goals during his last season with Neosmyrniotes.[2]

Olympiacos

On 15 June 2012, it was announced that Siovas signed a four-year contract for Olympiacos,[3] having agreed with the club since January of the same year.[4] He scored his first goal against Levadiakos in a 4–0 home win.[5] On 11 January 2014, Siovas during the daily training suffered a severe injury and Olympiacos are likely to be without Siovas for the rest of the season after the central defender underwent surgery on a broken right ankle. The player will be out of the club for the next four months according to doctors' estimations.[6] Siovas, did not miss a minute of his side's UEFA Champions League group stage campaign. W"e are very sad with what happened to Dimitris because apart from his abilities on the pitch, we also like him very much as a person," said coach Míchel. "We will deal with the issue next week and check out if we need to make a signing to cover for his absence. We hope that he will make it in time for the World Cup but we probably won't be able to count on him for the remainder of the season." [7]

In his debut season after his injury he helped his club to its 41st league title, the championship being sealed with five matches to go.[8] Siovas began the 2015–16 campaign as the de facto leader of the Olympiakos defence. On 9 February 2016, Siovas in a winning 1–0 matchday against fierce rivals PAOK, reached 100 appearances with the club's jersey in all competitions, having the amazing undefeated percentage of 89%, one of the largest among Olympiacos players.[9]

Leganés

On 23 December 2016, after a frustrating half season, Olympiacos defender is close to move to CD Leganés on loan until the end of the season, with a buyout clause of €4 million. Siovas had dropped down the pecking order at Olympiacos and the Greek giants were looking to offload him in the upcoming January transfer window. The Greek defender is very close to join Leganes on loan and the deal will be finalised imminently.[10] On 29 December 2016, CD Leganés officially announced the signing of Greek international till the end of 2016–17 season. On 4 February 2017, he made as a starter his debut with the club in a 2–0 away loss against Atlético Madrid. On 9 April 2016, he scored his first goal in La Liga in a 2–1 away loss against rivals CA Osasuna.[11]

On 19 June 2017, Siovas signed a permanent four-year deal with Lega, for a fee believed in the region of €3 million, whereas Olympiacos keep a 15% resale percentage.[12] On 15 September 2017, he made his debut for the 2017-18 season. On 4 October 2017, in a 0–0 away draw against Atlético Madrid, the Greek international was selected among the best XI of the matchday, due to his outstanding performance.[13] A week later helped his club to escape with a 2–0 win against Málaga CF and the Greek international was selected for a consecutive week among the best XI of the matchday.[14]

During the 2017–18 season was the de facto leader of the Leganes defence, helping his club to make the best starting in the last decade. As a result of his outstanding performance was voted by the fans as a member of the best XI that ever wear the jersey of the club.[15] On 1 February 2018, after the epic Copa del Rey qualification against giants Real Madrid Leganes scraped a 1–1 draw at home to Sevilla FC in their first leg semi-final matchup with the Greek defender scoring the only goal for his club. The Greek defender took full advantage of poor goalkeeping from the Sevilla custodian to head home from close range in the 56th minute canceling out Luis Muriel’s early goal.[16] On 19 May 2018, in the last matchday of the season, he scored by cleverly controlled possession and slotted beyond stranded goalkeeper Pedro López, after an assist from Ezequiel Muñoz in a 3–2 home win game against Real Betis.[17]

On 1 December 2018, he scored his first goal for the 2018–19 season, with a header after a corner from Óscar Rodríguez Arnaiz, giving the lead in a 4–2 away win game against Real Valladolid.[18] On 17 April 2019, Siovas is ranked among Europe’s best centre backs this season for aerial duels won, with an 82% success rate according to CIES. The study by CIES pertained to Europe’s top five domestic leagues specifically and Siovas has won a whopping 105 aerial duels, losing just 23. This gives an 82% success rate, comfortably putting him in the top 10 in this category and the most efficient in La Liga. [19] With one game remaining for the end of the season, Siovas was voted Leganes’ MVP for the 2018–19 season by the club's fans. This is yet another distinct honor for Siovas after being named to Leganes’ All-time Best XI last season. Siovas also ranked among Europe's best centre-backs this season in aerial duels won, with an 82% success rate according to CIES.[20] Siovas began the 2019–20 season as the de facto leader of the Leganés defence. On 1 December 2019, Siovas suffers a severe bruise with hyperextensin in his left knee in the 5th minute of an away La Liga game against Sevilla FC.[21]

Ιnternational career

Siovas was a member of the Greek under-19 team who reached the final of the 2007 European under-19 championship, losing 1–0 to Spain under-19.[1][22] Since 2008, he was also a member of Greece under-21.[1]

He was called by Greece's national manager Fernando Santos for a friendly match against Austria on 17 November 2010, but he remained on the bench.[1][23]

He made his debut for the senior national team on 15 August 2012 in a friendly match against Norway.[24] He is credited for being an aggressive yet skillful defender leading to a lot of praise by the Greek press.[25]

He made his competitive debut for the senior national team on 16 October 2012 during Greece's 1–0 away win in Slovakia during the World Cup 2014 qualifying campaign.[26]

Career statistics

Club

As of 10 July 2020[1][27]

Club	Season	League			Cup		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Panionios	2008–09	Superleague Greece	1	0	–		–		1	0
	2009–10	Superleague Greece	15	0	–		–		15	0
	2010–11	Superleague Greece	29	2	1	0	–		30	2
	2011–12	Superleague Greece	27	0	6	2	–		33	2
	Total		72	2	7	2	0	0	79	4
Ionikos (loan)	2008–09	Football league	11	0	–		–		11	0
	Total		11	0	–		–		11	0
Olympiacos	2012–13	Superleague Greece	15	2	6	1	4	0	25	3
	2013–14	Superleague Greece	11	0	1	0	6	0	18	0
	2014–15	Superleague Greece	20	0	8	0	3	0	31	0
	2015–16	Superleague Greece	22	0	3	0	6	0	31	0
	2016–17	Superleague Greece	0	0	1	0	1	0	2	0
	Total		68	2	19	1	20	0	107	3
Leganés	2016–17 (loan)	La Liga	16	1	0	0	0	0	16	1
	2017–18	La Liga	24	1	6	1	0	0	30	2
	2018–19	La Liga	34	1	3	0	0	0	37	1
	2019–20	La Liga	21	0	1	0	0	0	22	0
	Total		95	3	10	1	0	0	105	4
Career total			246	7	36	4	20	0	302	11

Honours

Club

Olympiacos

• Superleague: 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16
• Greek Cup: 2012–13, 2014–15

Individual 

• Superleague Team of the Year: 2014–15

International

Greece

• UEFA European Under-19 Championship Runner-up: 2007

References

1. "Ο Δημήτρης Σιόβας στον Ολυμπιακό (Dimitris Siovas to Olympiacos)" (in Greek). Skai TV. 15 June 2012.
2. "Η Γκενκ θέλει Σιόβα και θα καταθέσει πρόταση στον Πανιώνιο (Genk wants Siovas and will negotiate with Panionios)" (in Greek). Athens: In.gr. 23 January 2012.
3. "Dimitris Siovas joins Olympiacos". Olympiacos.org. 15 June 2012.
4. Georgakis, Giannis (15 June 2012). "Ερυθρόλευκος και ο Σιόβας (Siovas a red-white)". To Vima (in Greek).
5. ΟΣΦΠ-ΛΕΒΑΔΕΙΑΚΟΣ 4-0
6. "Σοβαρός ο τραυματισμός του Σιόβα, 3-4 μήνες εκτός". nooz.gr. 11 January 2014.
7. Olympiacos' Siovas likely to miss rest of season Retrieved 13 January 2014
8. "Olympiacos wrap up 41st Greek title". UEFA.com. 15 March 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
9. "Σιόβας 77% νικητής!". www.redking.gr. 9 February 2016.
10. "Επιβεβαιώνει η "AS" για Σιόβα και Λεγκανές". www.sport24.gr. 23 December 2016.
11. "Osasuna Leganes 2-1". www.eurosport.com. 9 April 2017.
12. "Siovas será pepinero las próximas cuatro temporadas" (in Spanish). CD Leganés. 19 June 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
13. "Στην καλύτερη 11άδα της Primera Division ο Σιόβας". www.sport24.gr. 4 October 2017.
14. "Στην καλύτερη 11άδα της Primera Division ο Σιόβας για δεύτερη φορά". www.sport24.gr. 17 October 2017.
15. "Στην καλύτερη ενδεκάδα όλων των εποχών της Λεγανές ο Σιόβας!". www.gazzetta.gr. 3 November 2017.
16. "Leganes 1 Sevilla 1: Siovas strike keeps giant killers on course". www.goal.com. 1 February 2018.
17. "Leganes defeats Real Betis 3-2 in La Liga". www.efe.com. 19 May 2018.
18. "Gol de Siovas (0-1) en el Real Valladolid 2 - 4 Leganés". www.elcorreo.com. 1 December 2018.
19. "Δημήτρης Σιόβας: Πρώτος στην Ισπανία, έβδομος στην Ευρώπη!". www.gazzetta.gr. 17 April 2019.
20. "Ο κόσμος της Λεγανές ψήφισε MVP τον Σιόβα". www.gazzetta.gr. 17 May 2019.
21. "Información médica de Dimitrios Siovas". www.cdleganes.com. 1 December 2019.
22. Πρωταθλήτρια της καρδιάς μας η Εθνική Νέων, δεύτερη στο Ευρωπαϊκό πρωτάθλημα [Greece U19 champions of our hearts, second in the European Championship)] (in Greek). Linz: In.gr. 27 July 2007.
23. "Πέταξε" για Βιέννη η εθνική ποδοσφαίρου [The national team "flew" to Vienna] (in Greek). Athens: In.gr. 16 November 2010.
24. Norway vs Greece 2-3
25. Νορβηγία - Ελλάδα 2-3
26. Slovakia vs Greece 0-1
27. "D. Siovas". Soccerway. Retrieved 23 June 2018.

External links

• Dimitris Siovas at BDFutbol
• Dimitris Siovas – FIFA competition record
• Dimitris Siovas – UEFA competition record
• Dimitris Siovas at ESPN FC