Alexandros Tziolis

Panionios

Tziolis began his playing career as a teenager in a local team called Apollon Litochorou. He played there for about seven years and in 1995, a Panionios scouter spotted his talent and brought him to Athens. He was an integral part of Panionios team for three seasons, playing 61 matches and scoring three goals. As a result, Panathinaikos offered Panionios €650,000 and signed him.

Panathinaikos

Tziolis initially established himself as a first-team player for Panathinaikos ahead of Igor Biscan during the 2006–07 season. In April 2007, he scored a goal helping his club break Skoda Xanthi's unbeaten home run in the Super League Greece and secure a place in the Greek Cup final against AEL. By the end of 2007–08 season Tziolis was close to his exit from Panathinaikos but new manager Henk Ten Cate chose to keep him. After being mostly left out of the starting lineup in the beginning of 2008–09 season, he was included in the team in November and was voted "Man of the Match" in a 3–0 win in Germany against Werder Bremen in the UEFA Champions League, where he scored the third goal for Panathinaikos. He went on to again established himself, linking well with teammates Gilberto Silva and Simao Mate Junior. In his time at Panathinaikos, he made in all his competitions 113 appearances (six goals, eight assists) with the club.

Loan to Werder Bremen

On 7 January 2009, joined Bundesliga side Werder Bremen on a half-season loan, for a fee of €300,000.…

After representing his country 13 times for the U21 side, Tziolis made his international debut for Greece on 21 January 2006 in a friendly match against South Korea. He was included in the team that defending their UEFA Euro 2008 European championship. He played once, when he came on as a substitute in a 2-1 loss to Spain in the group-stage. He made four appearances in qualifying, including as a substitute in the play-off win away with Ukraine. He was included in the squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He played every minute of the tournament for his country, including their debut World Cup win over Nigeria on 17 June 2010. He would be included in the team for two major events, but Greece coach Fernando Santos dropped Tziolis from his final 23-player squad for the UEFA Euro 2012. Tziolis had a poor season and would not get a regular spot in the Monaco team, in Ligue 2, while his performance in the last friendlies did little to change Santos's mind. Two years later, Tziolis had an exceptional season in PAOK and Kayserispor which resulted in being called by Santos for the World Cup 30-man provisional team, and the final 23-man squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Tziolis is a tall defensive midfielder, good in air, with powerful long shots. He plays a "silent" role in the game, and he tends to occupy the role of a deep-lying playmaker more than a defensive stopper.

Club

International

Scores and results list Greece's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Tziolis goal.