Pantelis Chatzidiakos

Pantelis Chatzidiakos (Greek: Παντελής Χατζηδιάκος; born 18 January 1997) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Dutch club AZ and the Greece national team.

Pantelis Chatzidiakos
Personal information
Full name Panteleimon Chatzidiakos
Date of birth (1997-01-18) 18 January 1997
Place of birth Rhodes, Greece
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position(s) Centre-back
Club information
Current team
 AZ
Number 3
Youth career
2008–2011 Panathinaikos
2011–2015 AZ
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015– AZ 62 (3)
National team‡
2012 Netherlands U16 2 (0)
2014 Greece U17 1 (0)
2018–2019 Greece U21 6 (0)
2019– Greece 4 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13 March 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13:26, 19 November 2019 (UTC).

Club career

AZ

In January 2015, Pantelis Chatzidiakos, who moved from Panathinaikos to AZ as a youth in 2011, signed a three-year professional contract with the Dutch team. Hatzidiakos made his debuts 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 and achieve promotion to Eerste Divisie.[1]

He made his debut in the club, along with his first appearance in Eredivisie in a 2–1 away loss against PEC Zwolle 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 Eredivisie, in a 2–0 away win against VVV-Venlo. 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 against MVV Maastricht in September." With this victory, Alkmaar reached 6 consecutive wins in the League.[2] 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's assist in a 5–0 home win game against NAC Breda. [3]

On 2 November 2019, he scored his first goal for the 2019–20 season with a right footed after an assist from Owen Wijndal in a triumphic 3–0 home win game against FC Twente.[4] On 7 November 2019, he lashed a thunderous effort high into the left corner, scoring his first goal in the UEFA Europa League in a hammering 5–0 away win against FC Astana.[5] On 28 November 2019, Chatzidiakos suffered the dreaded anterior cruciate ligament injury while on UEFA Europa League game for AZ Alkmaar, medical tests have confirmed. Hatzidiakos 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.[6] [7]

On 7 February 2020, Alkmaar announced the extension of the contract with the Greek international until the summer of 2024, being rewarded for his excellent performances despite the serious injury he suffered last November.[8]

International career

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.[9]

Personal life

Chatzidiakos has a Greek father and a Dutch mother. He played a few caps for Netherlands U16 & U17. But later he decided to play for Greece.

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References
  1. "Χατζηδιάκος: Ένας Έλληνας Πρωταθλητής στην Ολλανδία". www.sport24.gr. 15 May 2017.
  2. "Στην 2η θέση με γκολ του Χατζηδιάκου η Άλκμααρ". www.sport24.gr. 3 December 2017.
  3. "AZ Alkmaar vs Breda 5-0". www.skysports.com. 12 August 2018.
  4. "AZ vs Twente 3-0". www.weltfussball.de. 2 November 2019.
  5. "Astana vs AZ Alkmaar 0-5". www.uefa.com. 7 November 2019.
  6. "Ρήξη χιαστού ο Χατζηδιάκος". www.sport24.gr. 29 November 2019.
  7. "AZ suffer Hatzidiakos blow". www.football-oranje.com. 29 November 2019.
  8. "Χατζηδιάκος: Νέο συμβόλαιο μέχρι το 2024 με την Άλκμααρ". www.sport24.gr. 7 February 2020.
  9. "Παντελής Χατζηδιάκος: Το νέο «big thing» του ελληνικού ποδοσφαίρου". youbet.gr. 14 October 2019.
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