Today at footytube

Player Spotlight: Sotiris Ninis

Sotiris Ninis



Sotiris Ninis was born in April 1990 in Southern Albania although he has opted to play out both his domestic and international career in neighbouring Greece.

Ninis started his youth career at Apollon Smyrnis at the age of 11. This historic club are famed for their prestigious youth academy, having produced talents such as Demis Nikolaidis and current Greek international Giorgos Karagounis.

He played with the lower-league outfit for 2 years and after displaying an array of talents disproportionate to his age, was picked up by Panathinaikos and subsequently enrolled in their youth academy.

Ninis accelerated through the ranks of the Panathinaikos youth system, amazing the coaching staff at the Apostolos Nikolaidis with his mazy dribbling and intelligence on the field. He was called up into the main squad in 2006 and played his first professional match against Egaleo in January 2007 at the age of 16, in which he was awarded MoM.

The following month, Ninis scored twice and provided assists for two goals in an emphatic 4-1 drubbing of city rivals AEK Athens. The right-winger evidently ran the show and this was the point at which Ninis crossed over from prospect into superstar.

The success at domestic level was to be soundly reflected on the international stage. After refusing the offer to play for the Albanian U-21 squad, Ninis was called up to the Greek U-21 squad, believing a more fulfilling career was to be found.

Ninis played in the 2007 UEFA U-19 Championships, helping the team reach the final. He was featured in the team of the tournament after a string of impressive performances, providing a number of key assists.

---

The youngster is a creative force in the right of midfield, possessing great vision as well as pin-point passing accuracy. He fulfils a playmaker role, and when he is not dictating play from the midfield, he is marauding down the wing and is often known to whip in deceptive crosses. His characteristics on the field have been met with inevitable yet credible comparisons, notably ‘The Greek Messi,’ and ‘The Greek Kaka.’

---

After much media speculation, Ninis was called up to the Greek international side in 2008 and scored on his debut against Cyprus, becoming the youngest ever scorer for Greece. Many considered this a way for coach Otto Rehhagel to gauge whether or not Ninis was at a high enough standard to travel to Euro 2008 and to much disappointment, he failed to feature.

The young starlet was played whenever possible for the rest of the season but this was to come at a price.

Ninis was training with the Panathinaikos main squad and often playing full 90 minute fixtures, at such a young age. This proved detrimental to his muscle development and so the season that followed (07/08) was marred with injuries and disappointment. His fabulous ability to change results and provide a real impact on matches was exploited and overused, apparently blunting his chances of stardom.

The 2008-09 season saw Sotiris pick himself up from injury and get back to winning ways, providing 3 assists and scoring once in a 5-1 victory against Belgian outfit Charleroi in a pre-season friendly. He was subsequently awarded vice-captaincy at the record-breaking age of 18 and featured regularly in the right-midfield role for the Greek powerhouse.

Since then, Ninis has played intermittently for the main squad and picked up more caps for the U-21s, scoring against the England U-21 side in a recent fixture.

He has continued playing for Panathinaikos yet many believe his undeniable talents have been partially spoiled by over-playing. Although his fitness is often brought into question, the creativity and ball skills of the youngster still amaze.

Unsurprisingly, there is intense speculation as to Ninis future with the club. Arsenal, Manchester United and AC Milan are said to be interested and the relatively meagre buy-out clause of 10 million almost brands his departure as inevitable

Andy is a staff member and supports Rangers