Christos Sielis (Greek: Χρίστος Σιέλης; born 2 February 2000) is a Cypriot professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Greek Super League club Panetolikos and the Cyprus national team.

Christos Sielis
Personal information
Full name Christos Sielis[1]
Date of birth (2000-02-02) 2 February 2000 (age 24)[2]
Place of birth Paphos, Cyprus[3]
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
Panetolikos
Number 16
Youth career
Arsenal
−2017 Grimsby Town
2017−2019 Shrewsbury Town
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2019 Shrewsbury Town 0 (0)
2018Halesowen Town (loan) 2 (0)
2019–2021 APOEL 29 (0)
2021 Levski Sofia 11 (0)
2022–2024 Volos 58 (2)
2024– Panetolikos 11 (0)
International career
2016–2017 Cyprus U17 10 (0)
2018–2019 Cyprus U19 12 (0)
2019–2022 Cyprus U21 13 (1)
2020– Cyprus 4 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 30 November 2024

Early career

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Sielis was born in Paphos, Cyprus. He joined the Arsenal academy in Greece as a youngster, before moving to London and subsequently joining the youth set-up at Grimsby Town.[4] He was signed to the Shrewsbury Town youth academy towards the end of the 2016–17 season on the recommendation of former Grimsby manager Paul Hurst.[4]

Club career

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Shrewsbury Town

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Sielis travelled with the Shrewsbury Town first-team squad to a training camp in Portugal, and featured regularly during the 2017–18 pre-season.[4] Whilst still a second year scholar, he signed a two-year professional contract with the club on 3 October 2017,[5] and made his professional debut on the same day against West Bromwich Albion U21s in an EFL Trophy group-stage match.[6] In the same competition on 7 November at home to local rivals Walsall, he made a last-minute error that allowed the opponents to score the only goal of the game. He was supported by captain Mat Sadler in the aftermath.[7]

Halesowen Town

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On 21 September 2018, Sielis was loaned for a month to Halesowen Town in the Southern Football League Premier Division Central.[8] He played five total games during his time in Worcestershire, and scored his first career goal from a long-distance run in a 3–0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Birmingham Senior Cup.[9]

APOEL

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Sielis was released by Shrewsbury in May 2019.[10] On 5 June, he signed for APOEL back in his native Cyprus, on a three-year contract.[11]

Levski Sofia

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After rescinding his contract with APOEL, Sielis signed a two-year deal with Bulgarian powerhouse Levski Sofia.[12]

Volos

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Following a managerial change at Levski Sofia, Sielis rescinded his contract with the Bulgarian club in January 2022. He then joined the Greek side Volos

International career

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Sielis has represented Cyprus at under-17, under-19 and under-21 level.[13] He made his senior debut in a friendly against the Czech Republic on 7 October 2020.[14]

Personal life

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Sielis has two older brothers, Giorgos and Valentinos, who are also footballers.[citation needed]

Career statistics

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As of match played 8 July 2023
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Shrewsbury Town 2017–18[15] League One 0 0 0 0 0 0 2[a] 0 2 0
2018–19[15] 0 0 0 0 0 0 1[a] 0 1 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 0
Halesowen Town (loan) 2018–19 SFL Premier Division Central 2 0 1 0 0 0 2[b] 1 5 1
APOEL 2019–20[16] Cypriot First Division 3 0 2 0 5 0
2020–21[17] 26 0 1 0 3 0 30 0
Total 29 0 3 0 3 0 35 0
Levski Sofia 2021–22 Bulgarian First League 11 0 2 0 13 0
Volos 2021–22 Superleague Greece 7 0 7 0
2022–23 28 0 2 0 30 0
Total 35 0 2 0 0 0 37 0
Career total 76 0 8 0 0 0 8 1 93 1
  1. ^ a b Appearances in the EFL Trophy
  2. ^ One appearance in the FA Trophy; one appearance and one goal in the Birmingham Senior Cup

International

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As of match played 7 October 2020[18]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Cyprus 2020 1 0
Total 1 0

References

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  1. ^ "EFL Released and Retained list 2016/17" (PDF). English Football League. 13 June 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  2. ^ "Christos Shelis player Football Stats". Soccerbase. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  3. ^ "Χρήστος Σιέλης [Christos Shelis]". APOEL FC official site (in Greek). Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "Christos Shelis signs two-year Shrewsbury Town contract". Shropshire Star. 3 October 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  5. ^ "Shelis signs pro-deal". Shrewsweb. 3 October 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  6. ^ "Town 3 West Brom U21s 0". Shrewsweb. 3 October 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  7. ^ Cox, Lewis (10 November 2017). "Mat Sadler's support for Shrewsbury Town prospect Christos Shelis". Shropshire Star. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  8. ^ "Shelis Joins Halesowen On Loan". Shrewsbury Town F.C. 21 September 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  9. ^ Cox, Lewis (4 October 2018). "Shrewsbury Town starlet Christos Shelis nets stunner for Halesowen Town – WATCH". Shropshire Star. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  10. ^ Hillback, Ryan (8 May 2019). "Shrewsbury Town confirm Mat Sadler and Doug Loft departure". Shropshire Live. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  11. ^ "Συμφωνία τριετίας με τον Σιέλη" [Three-year deal with Shelis] (in Greek). APOEL FC. 4 June 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  12. ^ "Левски подписа с Христос Шелис" [Levski sign Christos Shelis]. levski.bg (in Bulgarian). 20 July 2021.
  13. ^ "Christos Shelis player profile". Shrewsweb. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  14. ^ Cyprus vs. Czech Republic
  15. ^ a b "Games played by Christos Sielis in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  16. ^ "Κυπριακή Ομοσπονδία Ποδοσφαίρου - Επίσημη Ιστοσελίδα".
  17. ^ "Cyprus Football Association - Official Website".
  18. ^ "Cyprus - C. Shelis - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway".
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