Nikos Karelis

Nikolaos Karelis
Personal information
Full name Nikolaos Karelis
Date of birth (1992-02-24) 24 February 1992
Place of birth Heraklion, Greece
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position Forward
Club information
Current team
Genk
Number 7
Youth career
Ergotelis
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2012 Ergotelis 30 (1)
2013–2016 Panathinaikos 84 (29)
2016– Genk 13 (6)
National team
2009–2010 Greece U17 5 (3)
2008–2011 Greece U19 19 (3)
2010–2014 Greece U21 18 (9)
2014– Greece 12 (2)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 May 2016.
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 30 March 2016

Nikolaos Karelis (Greek: Νικόλαος Καρέλης; born 24 February 1992 in Heraklion) is a Greek professional footballer who plays for Genk.[1] Karelis is a left-footed forward.

Club career

Ergotelis

Born in Arkalochori, Heraklion, Karelis began playing football at the age of 6, when his father, who was also a footballer, signed him up at the infrastructure segments of Ergotelis. Karelis would already start training with the men's team at the age of 14, and signed his first professional contract with the club at the age of 15.[2] He made his debut on 20 April 2008, during the last fixture (30th) of the 2007–2008 Greek Super League, entering as a second-half substitute (78 minute) in Ergotelis' 2–0 victory over Skoda Xanthi, thus becoming the youngest player to have ever been fielded for Ergotelis in a Superleague match.[3]

Karelis soon drew the attention of Premier League club Arsenal, and was invited to London to take part in a 10-Day trial.[4] He joined Arsenal’s under 16s and traveled with them to Italy to take part in the Atalanta U-16 Cup Tournament. Karelis scored 2 goals for the Gunners and left overall very good impressions after helping Arsenal win the cup, beating Juventus in the final on penalties.[5] Karelis was determined to show his quality to the Gunners, but as he had already signed a new contract with Ergotelis, a possible transfer move to the Premier League side was postponed, and eventually never completed.

In the 2008–09 season, Karelis was sidelined, and thus made only two senior appearances summing up a total of 17 minutes of play. His determination and hard work to earn more playing time however eventually paid off and in August 2009 he was offered a new three-year contract.[6] He received substantially more playing time in the 2009–10 season featuring in a total of 6 fixtures, still coming in as a substitute as the club featured a roster of veteran strikers like Māris Verpakovskis and Sergio Leal. He also scored a goal during a friendly game vs. Olympiacos held on September 6, 2009 commemorating Ergotelis' 80th anniversary, netting in the fifth from close range to complete his club's triumph over the reigning champions in a memorable 5–0 victory.[7]

Karelis had his best season for Ergotelis in the 2010–11 Superleague, where he summed up a total of 13 appearances, two of which as a starter. He also scored his first Superleague goal in the final fixture with a penalty kick in a 4-0 away win vs. Panserraikos.[8] He added another 9 appearances in the 2011–12 season, in which the club was eventually relegated to the Football League. Karelis decided to move on, and despite reported interest from other Superleague clubs, he signed with Russian Premier League side Amkar Perm.[9]

Amkar Perm

On July 2012 he signed with Russian Premier League side Amkar Perm. Karelis spent most of the season playing as a substitute.

Panathinaikos

On 30 July 2013 Karelis signed for Panathinaikos a three-year contract, with Amkar Perm keeping a 20% resale rate. He made his debut with the club on 18 August 2013 in a 2-0 home win against Panetolikos and on 24 November 2013, he scored his first out of two goals with the club in a 3-1 home win against PAS Giannena. On 26 April 2014, he scored the third goal in his first title of his career in a 4-1 win against PAOK in the Greek Cup final.[10][11] On 15 February 2015 in a match with OFI Crete he scored 2 goals and helped the club win the match with 2-3. After Nano, Abdul Jeleel Ajagun and Thanasis Dinas Nikos Karelis, extended his contract with Panathinaikos until the summer of 2018 with increased earnings and expressed his satisfaction.[12]

The 23-year-old international Greek striker has already scored 16 goals this season, prior to Superleague playoffs(13 in the Superleague, 2 in Europa League and 1 in the Greek Cup) and now Torino and Werder Bremen are ready to make a move for him. Karelis' current contract with Panathinaikos expires in the summer of 2018 and the Greens will probably ask at least €3 million for his transfer.[13] On 31 May 2015, Panathinaikos have turned down a Lille bid for Nikos Karelis in the region of €2,8 million, as they keep asking for around €3,5 million.[14][15] The name of Panathinaikos's striker is once again on Anderlecht's radar. The Belgium champions were first interested in Karelis when a scouter watched a game between Panathinaikos and Skoda Xanthi.[16][17][18] On 21 July 2015, Getafe CF are the latest team to be linked with a possible move of the player during the summer transfer window [19] for a bid of €3.5 million, but a day later Getafe CF technical director Toni Munoz deny Karelis bid,as they cannot afford this transfer financially.[20]

On 28 July 2015, a penalty from Karelis clinched a 2-1 win for Panathinaikos against Club Brugge, in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League of the third qualifying round.[21] He started the 2015-16 season by scoring in a 2-1 away win against Panetolikos. On 28 October 2015, despite Karelis lower productivity in the season, is still attracting K.R.C. Genk's interest, for the upcoming transfer window. Genk tried to lure the Greek striker away from Panathinaikos over the summer but the Greens rejected two bids for his services. [22] He left the club as the first scorer of the first half of the 2015-16 season with 9 goals and 5 assists.

Racing Genk

On the 12 January 2016 Nikos Karelis signed a 3,5 years' contract with Racing Genk. [23] He made his debut for Racing Genk on 15 January 2016 at home to Waregem, coming on as a 77th-minute substitute for Alejandro Pozuelo and then scoring the winning goal in the 88th minute to give the 10 men Racing Genk a 2-1 victory over Waregem. [24] [25] The manager of Genk, Peter Maes, after karelis superb debut when he came from the bench to score the winning goal for Genk spoke to SDNA news about the debut of international striker. "We needed a player with Karelis' scoring ability, he proved against Zulte Waregem that he does not need many chances to score. He is fast, strong, clever and despite he had only trained twice with the team, he was ready to play. A quality forward like Nikos can perform in any attacking position, he has the ability to become a starter and make our fans love him. We don't need leaders, but players with teamwork and will to give their best for the team and Karelis is one of them", said the Belgian manager. [26] On 3 February 2016, Karelis scored in the 1-1 draw against Standard Liège but the result was not enough to see them through to the next round of the Belgian Cup. [27] On 13 February 2016, Karelis scored a brace one with a wonderful kick in a 6-1 hammering win against Waasland-Beveren. [28] On 28 February 2016, he opened the score with a penalty kick in a 3-2 home win against Club Brugge KV. [29] On 5 March 2016, he opened the score after an assist from Alejandro Pozuelo in a 2-1 away loss against Standard Liège. [30] On 1 May 2016, he scored the only goal as a substitute, in a 3-1 away loss against Club Brugge KV. [31]

International career

Karelis has represented Greece with the youth teams.

In his full international debut with the Greek national team he scored against Finland in Helsinki during the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying. In that 1-1 away draw, the risk that Greece coach Claudio Ranieri took by introducing a previously unseen forward lineup (Charalampos Mavrias, Nikos Karelis and Stefanos Athanasiadis) seemed to pay off in the first half, but the lack of experience told in the second as the Greeks could not hold on to their lead and risked losing all three points, besides the fact that with 24 minutes on the clock the ball fell to Karelis who unleashed a swerving shot from the left that swung its way to the left corner of the Finnish goal for 1-0.[32]

Honours

Panathinaikos

Career Statistics

As of 1 May 2016

Club Season League Cup Europe* Other** Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Ergotelis 2007–08 1000000010
2008–09 2000000020
2009–10 6000000060
2010–11 121100000131
2011–12 9000000090
Total 301100000311
Amkar Perm 2012–13 90110000100
Total 90100000100
Panathinaikos 2013-14 325930000418
2014-15 36165192005019
2015-16 168304100239
Total 84291741330011436
Genk 2015-16 136210000157
Career totals 136362151330018144

(* includes Europa League, Champions League) (** includes Greek Playoffs)

International

As of 29 March 2016.[33]
Season Apps Goals
2014 3 1
2015 7 0
2016 1 1
Total 11 2

International goals

Scores and results list Greece's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 11 October 2014 Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland  Finland 0–1 1–1 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
2 24 March 2016 Karaiskakis Stadium, Pireaus, Greece  Montenegro 2–1 2–1 Friendly

References

  1. "Stats Centre: Nikos Karelis Facts". Guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
  2. "Κασετίνα… Καρέλης! (Greek)". gazzetta.gr. 17 February 2014.
  3. "Διεθνής Ένωσις Εργοτέλης – Skoda Ξάνθη 2–0 (Greek)". Ergotelis FC. 20 April 2008.
  4. "Arsenal hand Greek wonderkid a trial". The Guardian. 30 April 2008.
  5. "Greek wonderkid completes trial with Arsenal scoring two goals in Italian tournament". Arsenal Analysis. 5 May 2008.
  6. "ΑΝΑΚΟΙΝΩΣΗ (Greek)". Ergotelis FC. 6 August 2009.
  7. "ΔΙΕΘΝΗΣ ΕΝΩΣΙΣ ΕΡΓΟΤΕΛΗΣ-ΟΛΥΜΠΙΑΚΟΣ 5-0 (Greek)". Ergotelis FC. 6 September 2009.
  8. "ΠΑΝΣΕΡΡΑΪΚΟΣ - ΔΙΕΘΝΗΣ ΕΝΩΣΙΣ ΕΡΓΟΤΕΛΗΣ 0-4 (Greek)". Ergotelis FC. 17 April 2011.
  9. "Υπέγραψε στην Άμκαρ ο Καρέλης (Greek)". contra.gr. 30 July 2012.
  10. "PAOK-Panathinaikos 1-4". 26 April 2014.
  11. Τα καλύτερα από τον τελικό Κυπέλλου (in Greek). 26 April 2014.
  12. ""Πράσινος" ο Καρέλης έως το 2018" (in Greek). 15 December 2014.
  13. "Torino, Werder interested in acquiring Karelis". 11 May 2015.
  14. ""Όχι" για Καρέλη" (in Greek). 31 May 2015.
  15. "Panathinaikos reject Lille bid for Karelis". 31 May 2015.
  16. "Anderlecht for Karelis and Goutas". sdna.gr. 27 June 2015.
  17. "Anderlecht scoutet in Griechenland". www.anderlecht-online.be. 27 June 2015.
  18. "'Anderlecht wil gaan shoppen in Griekenland en bracht al bod uit'". www.voetbalkrant.com. 27 June 2015.
  19. "Getafe enter Karelis race". www.sdna.gr. 21 July 2015.
  20. "Getafe deny Karelis bid". www.sdna.gr. 22 July 2015.
  21. "Monaco defeat Young Boys, Van Persie can't find Fenerbahce breakthrough". www.espnfc.com. 28 July 2015.
  22. "Karelis remains in Genk shortlist". www.sdna.gr. 28 November 2015.
  23. "Genk announce Karelis' transfer". www.sdna.gr. 12 January 2016.
  24. "Debutant Karelis bezorgt tien Genk-spelers het delirium". sporza.be. 16 January 2016.
  25. "Nikos Karelis Goal Genk 2 1 Zulte Waregem 15 01 2016 HD". www.viralvideos.gr. 16 January 2016.
  26. "Maes at SDNA: "We needed a scorer like Karelis"". www.sdna.gr. 17 January 2016.
  27. "Karelis pleased from his form at Genk". www.sdna.gr. 3 February 2016.
  28. "Racing Genk tankt vertrouwen met ruime zege tegen Waasland-Beveren". sporza.be. 13 February 2016.
  29. "Club gaat met 3-2 onderuit op Genk". clubbrugge.be. 28 February 2016.
  30. "Standard Liege vs Genk". www.eurosport.co.uk. 5 March 2016.
  31. "Ο Διαμαντάκος και οι άλλοι...". www.sport24.gr. 3 May 2016.
  32. "Karelis's goal was not enough for Greece". ekathimerini.com. 12 October 2014.
  33. Nikos Karelis at National-Football-Teams.com

External links

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