Giannis Maniatis facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Giannis Maniatis

Maniatis in 2013
Personal information
Full name	Ioannis Maniatis
Date of birth	(1986-10-12) 12 October 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth	Livadeia, Greece
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Right back Defensive midfielder
Youth career
2001–2002	Parnassos Arachova
2002–2003	AO Thiva
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2004–2011	Panionios	142	(6)
2011–2016	Olympiacos	102	(8)
2016	→ Standard Liège (loan)	8	(2)
2017	Atromitos	11	(0)
2017–2019	Alanyaspor	34	(1)
2019	Panionios	11	(0)
Total		308	(17)
International career‡
2006–2007	Greece U21	14	(1)
2010–2017	Greece	50	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 27 October 2019 (UTC). ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 24 November 2017

Giannis Maniatis (Greek: Γιάννης Μανιάτης Greek pronunciation: [ˈʝa.nis maˈɲa.tis]; born 12 October 1986) is a Greek former professional footballer. He played as a right back or a defensive midfielder.

Club Career Highlights

Starting at Panionios

Giannis Maniatis was first noticed when he was 16 years old. He was playing for a youth team called A.A. Arachova Parnassos in 2002. Scouts quickly saw his talent while he was playing for AO Thiva. In late 2003, he joined Panionios.

He played his first game for Panionios in 2004. He quickly became a very important player for the team. In the 2006-07 season, he played 27 league games. His team finished fifth and got to play in European competitions.

Maniatis helped Panionios reach the group stage of the UEFA Cup. This was a big achievement for the club. He scored his first goal in the Super League against Aris in October 2008. He kept his place in the team for two more years.

Many big Greek clubs, like AEK Athens and Olympiacos, were interested in him. But in June 2009, Maniatis decided to stay. He signed a new four-year contract with Panionios.

Moving to Olympiacos

In January 2011, Olympiacos signed Maniatis. He was first brought in as a right-back. He was meant to be a backup player for the team captain. However, things changed, and Maniatis found a new role.

He had played as a defensive midfielder for Panionios. This is a player who helps protect the defense. At Olympiacos, he became very good in this position. When Olympiacos had many injuries, their coach decided to play Maniatis as a defensive midfielder. This was for a very important UEFA Champions League game.

Maniatis played incredibly well in that game. He became a key player in midfield for Olympiacos. He showed great tackling skills and had excellent stamina. He also had a surprisingly good ability to pass the ball. He once said: "I used to play in front of 10 people in the village of Arahova and a few years later I played in front of 40.000 fans in the Karaiskakis stadium."

He scored his first goal for Olympiacos in a 4–0 win against Levadiakos. In December 2012, he scored his first goal in the Champions League. This was in a 2–1 home win against Arsenal.

Challenges and Success at Olympiacos

In 2014, during a Greek Cup semi-final, there was a disagreement between Maniatis and a teammate. This teammate was Kostas Katsouranis, who also played for the Greek national team. Katsouranis later said he made a mistake and that they had talked it over. He said, "I was wrong, I explained to Maniatis many times and he understood it and we'll continue as usual to reach our targets."

Maniatis was one of Olympiacos' most important players. He signed a new four-year contract in 2013, keeping him at the club until 2017. He said, "I am proud that I am playing in this team... I will give all of my strength to achieve the team's goals."

In 2015, Maniatis extended his contract with Olympiacos until 2019. This happened even though he had a serious knee injury. He was expected to be out of action for several months. After a long recovery, Maniatis returned to play in January 2016. He even scored a goal in a Greek Cup game.

However, in the 2016-17 season, the new coach did not include Maniatis in his main plans. After a difficult period, Maniatis and Olympiacos agreed to end his contract in February 2017.

Loan to Standard Liège

In February 2016, Maniatis joined Standard Liège in Belgium on a six-month loan. Olympiacos included a clause in the deal. This meant Standard Liège could buy him permanently for about €2 million.

He played his first game for Standard Liège in February 2016. In April 2016, he scored his first goal for the club.

Playing for Atromitos

After leaving Olympiacos, Maniatis joined Atromitos in Greece. He signed a contract for the rest of the season. However, he did not continue with the club after May 2017.

Time at Alanyaspor

In June 2017, Maniatis signed a two-year contract with Alanyaspor, a club in Turkey. He was happy to join the team. He said, "I will do what is best in the direction of our goals, I hope that I will be useful to Alanyaspor."

He played alongside his Greek national team friend, Georgios Tzavellas. In early 2018, Maniatis got injured. He returned to the team in April 2018. In September 2018, he scored his first goal for Alanyaspor.

Returning to Panionios

In February 2019, Giannis Maniatis returned to Panionios. This was eight years after he first left the club. In June 2019, he renewed his contract with Panionios until 2021. However, in November 2019, his contract was ended by agreement. This followed a difficult season for him and a disagreement with the team manager.

International Career

Maniatis' strong performances for Panionios led to him being called up to the national team. He made his debut for Greece in August 2010. He played as a substitute in a 1–0 win against Serbia.

He also played in all four games of Greece's UEFA Euro 2012 campaign. Greece reached the quarter-finals of that tournament. Maniatis' excellent season with Olympiacos helped him get selected for the 2014 FIFA World Cup squad.

After a game in the FIFA World Cup 2014, Maniatis had a disagreement with his teammate Georgios Tzavellas. Maniatis was very upset and almost left the team. However, he was persuaded to stay with the squad.

Maniatis scored his first goal for Greece in June 2016. It was a spectacular long-range shot against Australia. Greece won that game 2–1.

International Goals

As of match played 7 June 2016. Greece score listed first, score column indicates score after each Maniatis goal.

International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	7 June 2016	Docklands Stadium, Melbourne, Australia	40	Australia	2–0	2–1	Friendly

Career Statistics

A.  Includes appearances in the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Intertoto Cup.

Honours

Olympiacos

• Super League Greece: 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16
• Greek Cup: 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15

Standard Liège

• Belgian Cup: 2015–16

See also

In Spanish: Giannis Maniatis para niños