2022-2023 Season

Start of the Career

Starting unemployed, I join Chania on 15 August 2022 with a 2-years deal for 64K € per year.

We play in the South group of Super League 2 (second tier of the Greek professional football system), with a few B teams from big Greek clubs and a lot of teams from the Athens area.

The club was established in 2017, after the merger between PGS Kissamikos (founded in 1926, playing in regional competitions for a long time) and AO Chania (founded in 1945 and with 14 appearances in the second tier). Best result is a third position in Super League 2.

Chania, nestled along the coast of Crete, enchants with its Venetian architecture and historic harbor, offering a unique fusion of historical allure and modern living, with its bustling markets and inviting eateries reflecting a harmonious blend of cultures.

With a population of around 90,000, the city is served by Chania International Airport and by Souda port, with daily ferries to Piraeus, and enjoys a hot-summer Mediterranean climate, with sunny dry summers and mild rainy winters, never going below zero degrees.

From serene beaches to rugged mountains, the city's diverse landscape provides a dynamic backdrop to merge tradition with the present.

Looks pristine, and relaxing! Would love to sit with an ice cold pint of Mythos watching the mighty Chania play!

Best of luck here buddy!

Summer Transfer Window

We buy Randy Mavinga for 3.6K € (4.7K € with bonuses) from Kalamata, since we needed a new starting right defender.

We sign on loan Frederico Duarte from Panetolikos for just 9.25K € per year.

We sign on loan Imanuel Bonsu as a reserve midfielder, a great opportunity since Vitesse will pay his entire wage during the loan.

We sell Angjelo Kola (AMR) to KF Skënderbeu (Albania) for 16.25K € (25.5 K € with bonuses) and Franc Ymeralilaj (DR) to Flamurtari (Albania) for 2.5K € (3.1K € with bonuses).

We also give on loan 9 players from the U19 team and a few reserves that would not play in Super League 2.

First XI

We are going to play with a 4-3-3 wide with a defensive midfielder and two central midfielders, trying to control the ball possession.

During the summer preparation our two best players get injured: Cédric Yambéré (DC) will be out for 2-3 months with a hip injury, Khassa Camara (DM), will be out for 6-7 weeks for a hamstring strain.

Good effort!

September – October (1/2)

Debut in the Greek Cup with an easy win against a lower league team with two goals for Iatroudis and a goal for the new signing Duarte.

First game in the Super League 2 against Diagoras with another win and again Iatroudis and Duarte scoring.

Iatroudis suffered a foot injury and unfortunately will be out for 2-3 weeks.

We travel to Rethymno, in Crete, only 65 Km away from Chania and very nice during this time of the year.

Round win against Episkopi, with Manalis replacing Iatroudis very well at the center of the attack and scoring two goals.

With Duarte also out for 4-5 weeks due to a sprained ankle, we choose for some turnover ahead of the Cup game.

Sarris scores a header from a free kick and Tselios closes the match.

Pretty perfect start to the season here! Look to be in good form, with plenty of the squad chipping in with goals too!

I love the fact you post photos of the areas you're playing in. Keep that going!

Thanks!

I plan of using this career to explore and document about the places and people I'm going to see!

September – October (2/2)

In the Greek cup 4th round at home against Asteras Tripolis, a mid-table team from Super League 1, we have the odds against us.

Our playmaker Tselios and Bourselis, with opponents stopped at zero shots on target, give us an “historic win” according to the media.

Against Apollon Smyrnis we play in the Rizoupoli neighborhood in the northern part of Athens, famous only for the stadium.

We suffer a bit in a balanced match but get the 6th win in 6 games, thanks to the first goals for our winger Manousakis.

Against Ilioupoli the top scorer Iatroudis is back with two goals that put us at the top of the table after 5 games.

November

We visit Piraeus, a port city within the Greater Athens urban area, 8 kilometres southwest of the city centre of Athens.

Yambéré is back from the injury and Iatroudis scores other two goals against Olympiacos B playing with 10 men since the fifth minute.

A start of the season simply magnificent.

In the game of penalties against Kallithea, we score one with Nazim, and Katsimitros saves one, again with them one man down for most of the match.

At the end it’s another perfect 2-0 at home in a difficult and balanced game.

We stay in Crete, traveling to Nea Alikarnassos, suburb of Heraklion. I have time to visit the Koules Fortress, built by the Republic of Venice in 16th century.

A disappointing 0-0 draw against Irodotos who sit at the bottom of the table, but this is still acceptable considering the totally unexpected start.

Another easy victory against Panathinaikos B team and a goal from Iatroudis, the 8th in 6 matches, really making a difference. 90% of completed passes.

At the end of November, we are at the top of the league with 1 match played less of Kalamata, which seem to be our main rivals at this stage.

December

We are back in Athens to play against AEK. They play in the suburban town of Nea Filadelfeia, north of Athens and home of a huge nice park.

First goal with us for central defender Batzios and for the promising left winger Kokkinis in the 2-0 win against AEK B, marking the 10th straight unbeaten game of the season.

Some rotation and first appearance for the reserve goalkeeper Kalogerakis in the win against OF Ierapetras, ahead of an important Greek Cup game a few days later.

In front of over 2,500 fans, we host Olympiacos, currently 3rd in Greek Super League 1, which last won the cup in 2020.

We suffer a lot, but Nazim scores after 10 minutes and we lead the game until a 90’ equalizer.

Another trip to the Athens area to face Aigaleo, in this case 4 Km west of Athens’ centre. I take some pictures of the church at Estavromenou Square.

Some of the starters get some rest after the great Cup game, AO Aigaleo ends up stopping all our sterile attacks and the game ends with a boring but still precious 0-0.

Last game of the year on New Year’s Eve and we leave no chance to PAO Rouf. Sotiris Kokkinis man of the match with a goal and a wonderful assist.

At the end of the year, we sit comfortably at the top of the league, with 11 wins and 2 draws, best attack with 26 goals scored, only 4 against, 8 points ahead of Kalamata.

January

We visit the 2nd most populous city of Peloponnese peninsula, after Patras, famous for Kalamata olives and olive oil, which I end up having too much.

Big match against Kalamata standing in 2nd place, in a balanced game we play well, score again with the usual suspect Iatroudis, and fly to +11 points!

One of the biggest games in our recent history for sure, we appreciate 238K € of gate receipts thanks to this game in front of 27,000 fans, which will help a lot our finances.

We fight all the game, spending several yellow cards, and we are able to resist until the extra time. At minute 104 Olympiacos receives a penalty, and that’s the end of the dream.

We travel to Rhodes, the largest of the Dodecanese islands. Too many things to see, I just spot the Old Town from a distance, but need to come back.

After two important matches we are tired, both physically and mentally. Turnover brings us only a point, but at least the undefeated streak continues.

We are back to dominating our games, and Giannis Iatroudis is back to scoring goals. Our defense recently is allowing more goals than usual though.

At the end of January the league table looks like this, we kept the 8 points advantage we had, now it’s Apollon Smyrnis leading the chase, but our goal differences says it all…

February

We are back to the Athens/Piraeus area, specifically in Korydallos. Not much to see here, the main street Taxiarchon gathers many fashion boutiques.

And finally we lose our first game of the season against Proodeftiki, which simply neutralizes all our attacks and is able to score a goal in one of the few shots on target. 

Another critical game at home vs Apollon Smyrnis, and this time it is a total domination on our side, with 7 shots on target against 1 of the opponents.

Our exploration of the Athens area continues with Ilioupoli, the “Sun City”, which lies 6 km southeast of Athens, at the foot of the Hymettus mountain.

Ups and downs continue with a goalless draw against the inferior Ilioupoli. As the rivals struggle to find consistency, it could be enough, but we need to pay attention.

Against Olympiacos B we aren’t at our best, but Giannis Iatroudis decides the match with an header from a cross by Antonis Bourselis.

March

We visit Kallithea, suburb in south Athens, the eighth largest city in Greece (96,000 inhabitants), and one of the most densely populated cities in the world, with some characteristic churches.

Against Kallithea we play probably our worst match of the year, totally overwhelmed by the opponents and their striker Ioannidis which scores an hattrick. Very bad day.

Against Irodotos, which held us to a draw in November, a stellar Iatroudis reaches 16 goals in the season, he’s really the secret of this magnificent season we are having.

It’s time to visit Panathinaikos and close to their stadium there is Lycabettus Hill, from which you can enjoy a magnificent view of the entire city, plus a free hill training.

Terrible news for us, we lose the GK Katsimiros and our bomber Iatroudis for 3-4 weeks. Our reserves don’t put up a stellar performance, and we lose to Panathinaikos B.

At the end of March, with only 5 matches left, we lead the table with 52 points, against the 47 points by Kallithea, though they played one game more than us. We can do it.

April-May

Against AEK B we miss a chance to win, anyway on the other grounds the big match Proodeftiki - Kallithea ends with a home win, so we gain a point in the race to the title.

Ierapetra is the last city from Crete to visit, on the southeast coast, winner of the Gold QualityCoast award, and that is something that we had to experiment first hand.

Total control of the match against OF Ierapetras, with two goals from Giorgos Manalis and one from the usual Iatroudis. Kallithea held to a draw, +7 points with 3 games left. 

And that’s it. We seal the title with a win against Aigaleo. Incredible run this season, not predicted by anyone. Now it’s going to be crucial to prepare for the next season.

Rouf is a simple neighborhood of Athens, we enjoy a cocktail in the Treno sto Rouf vintage train, from an original wagon-restaurant from the 1926 Simplon Orient Express.

The game against PAO Rouf counts for nothing, but we still manage to get our 19th win of the season (new team record) with the full reserve team on the pitch.

Kalamata are blown away on the final game of the season. Picture of the season is Iatroudis playing the last 20 minutes and scoring 2 goals, reaching 21 marks in the season.

Final league table. Giannis Iatroudis is the Super League 2 Player of the Year. I’m second for Head Coach of the Year, for some reason this magnificent season is not enough.

Best 11 for the season, with Kokkinis playing more than expected instead of Duarte, who was on a simple loan and made less sense to invest on.

2023-2024 Season

Super League

This is what Super League will look like this year, finally new travels above the Athens area expect us: we will visit Thessaloniki, Volos, Lamia and Agrinio.

Summer Transfer Window

We are going to receive 1.9 M € for Super League 1 TV rights this season, which is a huge boost to our finances and budget on the transfer market.

We give on loan several U19 players, sell the reserve GK Kalogerakis for 20K € and release at the end of the contract the reserves Kacurri, Lemonis and Boutsakis.

We sign the Argentinian as a free transfer, he will be the starting AML and signed a contract until 2026.

Apostolakis is signed as a free transfer, the new starting DR arrives from the Super League team Panetolikos

Another Argentinian winger, the new starting AMR arrives as a free transfer with a one-year contract

Signed as a free transfer, the reserve GK arrives from Volos and counts 8 appearances in Super League.

Plenty of South America in our free transfer signings, Sidney will be the reserve DL coming from last year’s Super League 2 contenders Kalamata

Reserve DM signed as a free transfer, good potential and a two year contract for the Greek that counts 25 appearances in Super League 2 in the last season

A fringe player coming as a free transfer from PAOK B that will play either as a Mezzala or Advanced Playmaker

The Serbian winger that could play as AML was signed as a free transfer and is immediately given out on loan to FK Javor-Matis in Prva Liga in Serbia

First XI

Three new faces in the starting eleven, we are not changing much from the team that dominated the Super League 2 last season.

Best of luck in the Super League this season!

September

We make our debut in Super League at home against Lamia and suffer an unlucky defeat, in a balanced match where we shoot more and control possession much more.

Against Panathinaikos we stand no chance, we lose 2 – 0 and the opponents are able to shoot 14 times against our GK Katsimiros.

We are lucky to gather our first point of the season thanks to a penalty at minute 88 scored by Nazim, after a match dominated by Aris.

Dominant performance by Olympiacos only a few days later, we lose only for 2-1 but expected goals and many other statistics reflect the difference between the two teams.

October

We fight and play in a good draw against Volos. Unfortunately our best signing Andereggen suffers a torn knee ligaments injury in a tackle and will be out for 4 months.

Fans start criticizing our tactics and reluctancy to consider different approaches after another big loss in the 3-0 against AEK.

Change of style, we experiment with a direct counter-attack 4-3-3, but the result is the same and we make it seven without a win, losing at home against Ionikos.

At the end of October the league table already looks pretty desperate. Apart from Lamia, we played against 6 of the first 7 teams, which means we can hope to improve.