Giannis Fetfatzidis (Greek: Γιάννης Φετφατζίδης; born 21 December 1990) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a winger for Super League club Aris. He can also play as an attacking midfielder.
 Fetfatzidis in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ioannis Fetfatzidis | ||
| Date of birth | 21 December 1990 | ||
| Place of birth | Drama, Greece | ||
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Aris | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2003–2009 | Olympiacos | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2009–2013 | Olympiacos | 53 | (5) |
| 2013–2015 | Genoa | 36 | (4) |
| 2015 | → Chievo Verona (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2015–2018 | Al-Ahli | 67 | (15) |
| 2018–2019 | Olympiacos | 9 | (1) |
| 2019–2020 | Aris | 45 | (7) |
| 2020–2022 | Al-Khor | 34 | (9) |
| 2022–2023 | Al-Sailiya | 7 | (1) |
| 2023 | SPAL | 13 | (1) |
| 2023–2024 | APOEL | 6 | (0) |
| 2024– | Aris | 23 | (3) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2010–2011 | Greece U21 | 3 | (0) |
| 2010–2019 | Greece | 27 | (3) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 October 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:27, 18 November 2019 (UTC) | |||
Early years
editFetfatzidis began playing football in the Vouliagmeni academies at the age of six, at Sourmena FC s academy and senior (amateur) team. Aged 12 he was spotted by coach Kostas Arzenis of the Olympiacos Academies. Although there was competition from AEK Athens and Panathinaikos, he finally joined Olympiacos who helped him with his growth hormone treatment.[1]
Club career
editOlympiacos
editFetfatzidis made his debut with Olympiacos in the Greek championship during the 2009–10 season, participating in the win against Atromitos on 31 October 2009. Manager Zico gave him his Champions League debut against Standard Liège on 4 November 2009 in Liège, Belgium, substituting Luciano Galletti in the 39th minute of play.
On 15 July 2010, in Tirana, Albania, he made his first appearance in the Europa League against Besa Kavajë, replacing Jaouad Zairi in the 75th minute. Fetfatzidis scored his first European goal in the home match against Besa Kavajë in G. Karaiskakis Stadium in a high-scoring victory for Olympiacos. The match ended 6–1. Fetfatzidis scored his first goal in the Greek Super League against Skoda Xanthi on 16 October 2010, replacing Dennis Rommedahl in the match. The match ended in a 0–3 victory for Olympiacos. His second goal was scored against Larissa in the last match of the season.
In early September 2010, Olympiacos extended his contract until 2015, increasing his wages and putting a €12.5 million release clause on his contract.[2] On 23 November 2011, Fetfatzidis gave Olympiacos a 1–0 victory over Olympique de Marseille in the Champions League by scoring in the 82nd minute at the Stade Vélodrome, placing them in third place in Group F.[3]
Controversy followed the player in 2012. To everyone's surprise, despite helping Greece qualify for UEFA Euro 2012 with matching-winning qualifying goals, Fetfatzidis was quickly dropped from the first team when the tournament finally arrived and spent the whole competition on the bench. Bizarrely at Olympiacos during the same season, despite having better goal/minute and assist/minute ratios than first team wingers like Djamel Abdoun, Fetfatzidis found himself planted to the bench for most of the 2011–12 season.
To further confuse the issue, from the start of the 2012–13 season, despite an excellent 2012 pre-season, Fetfatzidis was again largely ignored at Olympiacos. The 2012–13 season proved a major disappointment as he was left out of Olympiacos' line-up regularly, clocking up just 12 league appearances. Despite that, the 22-year-old scored a sublime goal against Panthrakikos in the Greek Cup semi-finals, dribbling past five opponents along the way.[4] This prompted questions from the media about why he was abandoned as a player, with Sakis Tsiolis and other competing clubs' managers openly questioning why he is not being played despite outshining his peers and drawing comparisons to Kyriakos Papadopoulos's treatment at Olympiacos years previous.[5] Under Spanish coach Míchel, Fetfatzidis received more playing time at the club.
Genoa
editIn September 2013, Fetfatzidis joined Serie A club Genoa for a reported €4 million transfer fee which made him the most expensive Greek player to move out of the Super League.[6][7] As part of deal Olympiacos secured a 25% sell-on clause while Fetfatzidis contract amounted to €400,000 per year.[6]
He made his first appearance with the club on 21 September 2013 in a home 0–0 draw against Livorno as a substitute. On 26 March 2014, he scored his first goal with the club in 2–0 home win against Lazio.[8] On 18 May 2014, Genoa have recorded a 1–0 win over Roma in last season's game for Serie A at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris. The Giallorossi got a number of chances to open the scoring, but were made to pay for their profligacy in front of goal by Giannis Fetfatzidis' winner. Genoa then went 1–0 up in the closing stages of the game against the run of play when Fetfatzidis found the goal with a calm finish.[9]
On 15 January 2015, Fetfatzidis rescued Genoa by scoring two goals in a thriller game with Sassuolo as his club came from behind three times to deny Sassuolo a victory as their Serie A clash ended in a thrilling 3–3 draw.[10][11]
On 31 January 2015, Chievo Verona took Fetfatzidis on loan from Genoa for the rest of the season.[12]
Al-Ahli
editOn 30 July 2015, Fetfatzidis joined to Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli signing a three-year contract.[13] On 12 September 2015, Fetfatzidis playing against Hajer for the last 16 of the Crown Prince Cup he managed to score his first goal with the club, three minutes after his entrance in the 78th minute.[14] At the end of the season he celebrated the Saudi Professional League. On 8 August was a starter in a 5–3 on penalties after a 1–1 draw in London Fulham's stadium Craven Cottage against Al-Hilal winning the Saudi Super Cup.[15]
On 6 November 2016, Fetfatzidis scored his first goal of the 2016–17 season in a 4–0 home win against Al-Wehda.[16] On 13 March 2017, he scored the second goal of his club giving a lead for a final 2–2 home draw against Al Ain in the AFC Champions League. On 12 May 2017, one month after the renewal of the contract with Al-Ahli, Fetfatzidis scored a goal which paved the way to qualifying for the final of the King Cup in a glorious 3–0 win against Al-Faisaly.[17] On 17 August 2017, he scored his first goal for the 2017–18 season with a penalty kick in a 4–0 home win against Al-Fateh. He did not play in the quarter final of the AFC Champions League because his name was not included by the coach. Under Serhii Rebrov in 2017–18, he appeared in all 20 games of the league and scored 8 goals.
With Al-Ahli, Fetfatzidis scored 21 goals in 100 appearances in all competitions, adding also 29 assists to his name[citation needed]. In May 2018, it was announced Fetfatzidis would leave the club after his three-year contract expired.[18]
Return to Olympiacos
editOn 30 May 2018, Fetfatzidis is set to make a return to Olympiacos after a five-year absence from the club. The Greek winger has agreed to terms with the Greek giants and is expected to put pen to paper in the next days on a new deal. Fetfatzidis will sign a three-year contract with annual earnings of €500,000.[19] On 16 December 2018, Fetfatzidis netting in the first minute after half-time after Miguel Ángel Guerrero had flicked on a Kostas Fortounis cross. It was his first goal with the club in all competitions for the 2018–19 season, helping his club to acquire a 3–0 home win against Lamia.[20]
Aris
editOn 2 February 2019, Aris announced the signing of the international winger on a contract until the end of the 2018–19 season for an undisclosed fee.[21] On 18 March 2019, he scored his first goal sealing an emphatic 5–0 home win against Apollon Smyrnis.[22]
On 1 July 2019, he signed a two-year contract renewal.[23]
On 15 September 2019, in a home match against Panathinaikos, Fetfatzidis made his best performance as an Aris player, scoring one goal and giving 2 assists, helping to a stunning 4–0 win.[24] On 8 December 2019, Fetfatzidis, who was arguably the game's best player, scored an added time equaliser to cap a fine individual performance and secure a valuable 2–2 away draw for Aris against Atromitos.[25]
On 9 January 2020, Aris turned down a huge offer, a sum believed to be around €2,000,000 from Al Wahda.[26] On 2 February 2020, Fetfatzidis scored in a 2–0 home win game against Panionios, sealing a vital win in his club effort to be promoted for the Championship Round.[27] On 26 June 2020, Al Ain submitted an official offer, around €1,700,000, which Aris accepted.[28] The 30-year-old winger who has emerged as a key player for his team, recording 3 goals and 11 assists, will increase his bank account by €5,000,000 in the next three years.[29] However, due to the terms alteration by Al Ain, concerning the transfer fee and Fetfatzidis' wage, the deal fell off and the Greek winger will remain in Thessaloniki.[30]
In his first two matches, following his return, he scored in a 4–2 home defeat against Olympiacos[31] and in a 1–0 away win against OFI.[32]
Al-Khor SC
editOn 29 September 2020, Fetfatzidis joined Al-Khor SC a Qatari professional sports club for a transfer fee of €1.1 million. His contract, which ran until 2023, was worth €1.5 million per year.[33][34]
SPAL
editOn 22 January 2023, Fetfatzidis signed a 1.5-year contract with SPAL in the Italian Serie B.[35]
APOEL
editOn 26 June 2023, Fetfatzidis will continue his career in Cyprus on behalf of APOEL, signing a two-year contract.[36] On 3 January 2024, Fetfatzidis was officially released from APOEL [37]
Second spell to Aris
editOn 4 January 2024, a day after his release from APOEL, Fetfatzidis signed a 1.5-year contract with Aris. [38]
International career
editFetfatzidis made his debut with Greece in UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying, participating in the 1–0 win over Latvia on 8 October 2010 at the G. Karaiskakis Stadium as an 82nd minute substitution for Sotiris Ninis. In the following game against Israel, he was substituted early for Ninis, who picked up an injury. On 9 February 2011, he scored his first goal for the national team at the AEL FC Arena in Larissa in a friendly match against Canada that Greece won 1–0.
Fetfatzidis scored his second and third goals for his country on 3 June against Malta during a Euro 2012 qualifying game.[39] On 31 March 2015 three Greece players (Fetfatzidis, Moras, Tachtsidis) suffer minor injuries after being involved in fatal car crash following Euro 2016 qualifier 0–0 with Hungary. The crash was on the way to Budapest airport on Monday. Fetfatzidis reportedly received stitches to a head wound.[40]
Style of play
editA skillful attacking midfielder, Fetfatzidis is known for his passing and his ability to score goals. At 5'5" he has a medium build that further facilitates agile mobility, Fetfatzidis possesses great vision that allows him to provide assists to accompanying forwards. Predominantly left-footed, he can play anywhere across midfield or the front-line, both able to create and finish with great aplomb, although many feel his finishing is the weakest part of his game.[41]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of 9 August 2024[42]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Olympiacos | 2009–10 | Super League Greece | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[c] | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | 19 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | 2[d] | 1 | — | 24 | 3 | ||||
| 2011–12 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | 2 | 1 | — | 22 | 4 | ||||
| 2012–13 | 12 | 0 | 8 | 1 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 22 | 1 | ||||
| 2013–14 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 53 | 5 | 14 | 1 | — | 7 | 2 | — | 74 | 8 | ||||
| Genoa | 2013–14 | Serie A | 31 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 32 | 2 | |||
| 2014–15 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 2 | |||||
| Total | 36 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 37 | 4 | |||||
| Chievo (loan) | 2014–15 | Serie A | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| Al-Ahli | 2015–16 | Saudi Pro League | 16 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5[e] | 0 | — | 27 | 4 | |
| 2016–17 | 25 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8[e] | 1 | 1[f] | 0 | 41 | 6 | ||
| 2017–18 | 26 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2[e] | 0 | — | 32 | 11 | |||
| Total | 67 | 15 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 21 | ||
| Olympiacos | 2018–19 | Super League Greece | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 7[d] | 0 | — | 18 | 1 | ||
| Aris | 2018–19 | Super League Greece | 10 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 10 | 1 | ||||
| 2019–20 | 32 | 5 | 6 | 0 | — | 4[d] | 0 | — | 42 | 5 | ||||
| 2020–21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 4 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 45 | 7 | 6 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | — | 56 | 7 | ||||
| Al-Khor SC | 2020–21 | Qatar Stars League | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | — | 0 | 0 | 23 | 5 | |
| 2021–22 | 17 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 1[g] | 1 | 22 | 8 | |||
| Total | 34 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 2 | — | 1 | 1 | 45 | 13 | |||
| Al-Sailiya SC | 2022–23 | Qatar Stars League | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | |
| SPAL | 2022–23 | Serie B | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 1 | ||
| APOEL | 2023–24 | Cypriot First Division | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | ||
| Aris | 2023–24 | Super League Greece | 18 | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 23 | 3 | |||
| Career total | 292 | 45 | 42 | 6 | 18 | 3 | 34 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 388 | 58 | ||
- ^ Includes Greek Football Cup, Coppa Italia, King Cup, Emir Cup
- ^ Includes Saudi Crown Prince Cup, Qatari Stars Cup
- ^ Appearance in UEFA Champions League
- ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ a b c Appearances in AFC Champions League
- ^ Appearance in Saudi Super Cup
- ^ Appearance in Qatar Stars League relegation play-off
International
edit- As of 10 July 2019[43]
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 9 February 2011 | Larissa, Greece |  Canada |
1–0 | 1-0 | Friendly Match |
| 2. | 3 June 2011 | Piraeus, Greece |  Malta |
1-0 | 3-1 | UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifier |
| 3. | 3–1 |
Honours
editOlympiacos
Al-Ahli
Individual
- Super League Greece Young Player of the Season: 2010–11
- Super League Greece Team of the Season: 2019–20[44]
- Aris Thessaloniki Player of the Season: 2019–20[45]
References
edit- ^ "Olympiacos Excited About Greek Messi Fetfatzidis". insidefutbol.com. 15 October 2010. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
- ^ «Κλείδωσε» Φετφατζίδη! ChampionsDay.gr Archived 11 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Marseille 0-1 Olympiakos: Fetfatzidis wins it - Goal.com". Archived from the original on 25 November 2011.
- ^ "The Scouting Report "" the Greek Messi Ioannis Fetfatzidis".
- ^ Τσιώλης: "Δεν καταλαβαίνω γιατί δεν παίζουν" Archived 16 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Georgakopoulos, George (4 September 2013). "Fetfatzidis swaps Olympiakos with Genoa for 4 mln". ekathimerini.com. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- ^ "Penpix of likely Greece squad for World Cup finals". Reuters. 28 April 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- ^ http://www.sport-fm.gr/article/karfwse-ti-latsio-o-fetfatzidis-video/758021 «Κάρφωσε» τη Λάτσιο ο Φετφατζίδης
- ^ Yahoo Sports [permanent dead link] Genoa 1-0 Roma: Fetfatzidis puts Garcia's men to the sword
- ^ http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/genoa/result/result-fetfatzidis-rescues-genoa_199681.html Result: Ioannis Fetfatzidis rescues Genoa in thriller with Sassuolo
- ^ Serie A, Genoa-Sassuolo 3-3: Fetfatzidis saves the Gryphon sportmediaset.mediaset.it
- ^ "Official: Chievo sign Genoa's Fetfatzidis". Football Italia. 31 January 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- ^ "Στην Αλ Αχλί ο Φετφατζίδης". www.contra.gr. 30 July 2015.
- ^ "Γκολάρα Φετφατζίδη με την Αλ-Αχλί!". www.sport24.gr. 12 September 2015.
- ^ "Saudi Super Cup". www.fulhamfc.com. 14 July 2016.
- ^ "Ο Φετφατζίδης πήρε την σκυτάλη απ'τον Καρέλη". www.sport24.gr. 6 November 2016.
- ^ "Έστειλε στον τελικό την Αλ Αχλί ο Φετφατζίδης". www.contra.gr. 12 May 2017.
- ^ Affleck, Kevin (6 July 2018). "Saudi Arabia giants Al-Ahli release four foreign stars". Arab News. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- ^ "Ολυμπιακός: Ανακοινώνεται ο Φετφατζίδης". www.onsports.gr. 30 May 2017.
- ^ "Ολυμπιακός - Λαμία 3-0". www.gazzetta.gr. 16 December 2017.
- ^ "Φετφατζίδης: Ελεύθερος από τον Ολυμπιακό, συνεχίζει στον Άρη!". www.gazzetta.gr. 1 February 2019.
- ^ "Αρης - Απόλλων 5-0: Έστησε πάρτι Ευρώπης". www.sport24.gr. 18 March 2019.
- ^ "Επίσημο: Φετφατζίδης διετίας στον Άρη". www.sport24.gr. 1 July 2019.
- ^ "Άρης - Παναθηναϊκός 4-0: Κίτρινη τεσσάρα στο πράσινο ναυάγιο". www.sport24.gr. 15 September 2019.
- ^ "Ατρόμητος - Άρης 2-2: Στο τέλος μίλησε ο Φετφατζίδης". www.sport24.gr. 8 December 2019.
- ^ "Άρης: Απέρριψε πρόταση 2 εκατ. ευρώ για Φετφατζίδη". www.sport24.gr. 9 January 2020.
- ^ "Άρης - Πανιώνιος 2-0: Στο ρυθμό των Γκάμα - Φετφατζίδη". www.sport24.gr. 2 February 2020.
- ^ "Άρης: Συμφώνησε με την Αλ Αΐν για την πώληση του Φετφατζίδη". www.sport24.gr. 26 June 2020.
- ^ Αρης: «Μίδας» στην Αλ-Αΐν ο Φετφατζίδης, λεπτομέρειες για την οριστική συμφωνία! (in Greek). Retrieved 26 June 2020.
- ^ "Άρης: Οριστικό "ναυάγιο" στην πώληση του Φετφατζίδη στην Αλ Αΐν". www.gazzetta.gr. 6 July 2020.
- ^ "Άρης - Ολυμπιακός 2-4: Τεσσάρα με Χασάν - Μασούρα". www.sport24.gr. 9 July 2020.
- ^ "ΟΦΗ - Άρης 0-1: "Μπαλωθιά" Φετφατζίδη για πέμπτη θέση". www.sport24.gr. 12 July 2020.
- ^ "Άρης: Ολοκληρώθηκε το deal, πάει Κατάρ ο Φετφατζίδης". www.gazzetta.gr. 29 September 2020.
- ^ "FilGoal | لاعب | جيانيس فيتفاتزيديس". FilGoal.com (in Arabic). Retrieved 8 February 2022.
- ^ "Ioannis Fetfatzidis is biancazzurro!". SPAL. 22 January 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
- ^ "Ο Γιάννης Φετφατζίδης στον ΑΠΟΕΛ για δύο χρόνια". www.sport24.gr. 26 June 2023.
- ^ "Τέλος κι επίσημα από τον ΑΠΟΕΛ ο Φετφατζίδης, ολοκληρώνεται η μεταγραφή του στον Άρη". www.sportal.gr. 3 January 2024.
- ^ "Άρης: Ανακοίνωσε την απόκτηση του Φετφατζίδη". www.sport24.gr. 4 January 2024.
- ^ "Ioannis Fetfatzidis - the 'Greek Messi' is making his first - IMScouting". Archived from the original on 3 March 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
- ^ "3 Greek players hurt in taxi crash". 30 March 2015.
- ^ "Ioannis Fetfatzidis". skysports.com.
- ^ Giannis Fetfatzidis at Soccerway
- ^ Giannis Fetfatzidis at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ "Super League Interwetten: Η καλύτερη ενδεκάδα της σεζόν 2019-20". www.sport24.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 11 January 2022.
- ^ "NIVEA MEN Player of the Club του Άρη ο Φετφατζίδης". Super League (in Greek). 5 June 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
External links
edit
- Ioannis Fetfatzidis at Soccerway
- Ioannis Fetfatzidis – FIFA competition record (archived)
- Giannis Fetfatzidis – UEFA competition record (archive)
- Ioannis Fetfatzidis at ESPN FC
