 Manolas playing for AEK Athens in 2011 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Konstantinos Manolas | ||
| Date of birth | 14 June 1991 | ||
| Place of birth | Naxos, Greece | ||
| Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 2 1⁄2 in) [1] | ||
| Playing position | Centre back | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Olympiacos | ||
| Number | 24 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Pannaxiakos Naxos | |||
| 2005–2009 | Thrasyvoulos | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2009 | Thrasyvoulos | 6 | (0) |
| 2009–2012 | AEK Athens | 66 | (3) |
| 2012– | Olympiacos | 35 | (2) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2009–2011 | Greece U21 | 5 | (0) |
| 2013– | Greece | 5 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 December 2013.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19 November 2013 | |||
Konstantinos "Kostas" Manolas (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος "Κώστας" Μανωλάς, born 14 June 1991) is a Greek footballer who plays for Olympiacos and the Greek national team. He is a nephew of Greek football and AEK legend Stelios Manolas.
Club career
AEK Athens
2009-10 season
Kostas Manolas started his youth career at Thrasyvoulos in 2005. In 2009, Stelios Manolas, who was the AEK Technical Director was scouting his nephew at a youth match with AEK manager Dusan Bajevic and was impressed with his performance.
On 16 June 2009, Manolas signed a three-year deal with AEK Athens.[2]
After signing for AEK, Manolas stated: I am very happy signing for the team I support, hopefully I can be a legend at the club like my uncle and end my career at AEK.
Manolas made his debut against AO Kavala and was rewarded the MVP award. After the match he stated, "It's a dream to play for the club I love". Manolas was also rewarded the MVP the following week playing against PAOK. On his first 7 matches, Manolas was rewarded the MVP award 5 times.
Manolas scored his first professional goal against arch rivals Olympiacos F.C. on 19 May 2010. Although he was playing with a broken jugal since the 1st minute of the match after a dangerous nudge by Kostas Mitroglou, he scored on the 6th minute, ignoring all pains. However, he left the pitch on the 15th in a bad situation. He refused to be taken to the hospital before the match was over, despite being urged by his uncle Stelios Manolas. The next day, he underwent a successful three-hour surgery and has recovered and has attended to his training sessions.
2010-11 season
Manolas was a key figure for AEK Athens in the season 2010-11, playing very impressive performances in the Superleague Greece but also in the Europa League which drew interest to many European teams such as Genoa, Udinese, Getafe and Schalke. Manolas scored a very important goal for AEK Athens against HNK Hajduk Split securing the win for AEK Athens. The following week, Manolas found the back of the net again against Larissa in the Greek Cup(which later on AEK Athens went on to win the Greek cup). His impressive performances convinced former AEK Athens coach Manolo Jimenez and earned him a spot in the starting line-up forcing David Mateos on the bench who joined AEK Athens on loan from Real Madrid.
Manolas has developed massively while playing alongside AEK Athens icon and Euro 2004 winner Traianos Dellas and has stated to the press, "It is an honour to play alongside such a great player like Dellas, I have developed and become a better player. His experience has helped me become confident on the ball and the decisions I make in the game. I have learned a lot from him and he is basically like a teacher to me who I look up to"
On April 30, 2011, Manolas won his first trophy in his career winning the Greek Cup with AEK Athens and played a massive role on winning the trophy and played a solid game all throughout the match. Manolas also cleared a shot off the line which was a crucial chance for the opponents Atromitos who have never won a trophy in their history. Manolas was also received the MVP due to his outstanding display. After the match Manolas stated, "It is a dream for me to win a trophy with my childhood club AEK, and I hope there's many more to come in the future". Manolas finished the 2010/11 season playing 36 matches scoring 3 goals.
2011-12 season
On July 11, 2011 Manolas signed a new 3-year deal with AEK Athens keeping him at the club until 2014.[3] Manolas' contract is worth €900K earning €300K per-season including bonuses that can reach up to €1.4M. Manolas renewed his contract despite interested from big European outfits Werder Bremen, Sevilla, VfL Wolfsburg and Hamburger SV.[4] Manolas agreed with AEK Athens on €4.M buy-out clause for foreign teams and a €10.M buy-out clause for Greek teams.[5]
Shortly after signing a new 3-year contract with AEK Athens, Manolas stated to the press, "I am extremely happy that I am going to continue playing for the team of my heart and it is an honour to wear the AEK Jersey for the next three years with my childhood club. I applaud AEK president Stavros Adamidis who believes in me and declined great offers from European teams to keep me at the club despite the huge economical problems the club is suffering. My dream now is to become the team's captain and win the league just like my uncle Stelios Manolas, who achieved this when he joined AEK."[6]
Manolas started of the season very positively playing his first competitive match of the 2011/12 season against Georgian side Dinamo Tbilisi in a Europa League qualifier where he played extremely well playing a very solid game helping AEK Athens win 1-0. Manolas was also given the most praise from AEK Athens coach Manolo Jimenez.[7] Manolas scored his first goal of the season in an away match against Panionios, Manolas also scored the only goal of the match and finished in a 0-1 victory for AEK. Manolas also dedicated he's goal to his manager Manolo Jimenez who has been taking criticism in recent weeks.[8] Manolas also scored the first goal for AEK Athens in a 1-3 away win against SK Sturm Graz in the Europa League. During the January transfer period, Everton showed massive interest in the young centre back and manager David Moyes stated "Manolas has huge talent and is a player for the future ".[9]On 30/1/12, it was said that AEK Athens and Everton agreed on terms to sell Manolas to Everton.[10] However Manolas declined the offer as he felt the club was in a bad situation as the club would have only had three centre back in the squad, 36 year old Traianos Dellas and two youth players Mavroudis Bougaidis and Elfar Freyr Helgason after the departure of former team-mate Cala. AEK Athens chairman Stavros Adamidis, stated "It was Manolas who declined the offer, not AEK".[11]
Olympiacos Piraeus
2012-2013 season
On 1 July 2012, Manolas joined Olympiacos on a free transfer until 30 June 2016 after his contract with AEK Athens has expired. He made his debut against PAS Giannina F.C. in a 1-2 away win. He scored his first goal for Olympiacos against Skoda Xanthi F.C. in a 4-0 home win.
International career
Because of his very good appearances with AEK, former Greek national manager Otto Rehhagel called him up for the 30 man provisional World Cup squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but failed to make the final 23 man squad. Manolas would have to wait three years before eventually making his interntional debut against Lithuania, as part of Greece's 2014 World Cup qualifiing campaign.
