Can this latest crop of starlets help Greek football ascend past its previous peaks?
Cast your minds back, if you will, to the year 2004. Everyone’s wearing Ugg boots, everyone’s listening to Eminem and a little fella called Mark is releasing something he calls “The Facebook”… I wonder what happened to that guy? But most importantly, on the 4th of July, Angelos Charisteas headed home the only goal in the European Championships final. Portuguese hearts were broken on home soil and Greece lifted their first, and so far only, international trophy against all odds.
Just over 20 years later, Greek football has been unable to recreate the highs of 2004, qualifying for the subsequent two European Championships and World Cups but never getting further than the first knockout round. The last major tournament that featured Greece on the wall-chart was the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and they’ll have to navigate a tough group featuring Denmark and Scotland to make an appearance in North America for the 2026 World Cup.
So why am I talking about a side that had a one-in-a-million miracle run through the Euros 20-odd years ago and have barely done anything since?
Well, there is a generation of Greek wonderkids bubbling away in some of Europe’s periphery leagues that are really quite exciting. It’s a lot of pressure to lump onto a few teenagers, but I think they could be at the heart of a change in fortunes for the national team through the next few tournament cycles.
So much of international football, particularly for the nations not blessed with endless talent factories like Brazil and France, is getting fortunate with the right players in the right positions coming through at the right time. And I think Greece might just have that exact combination. Of course they’re still young; injuries, form and all manner of variables can drastically alter the trajectory of a young player’s career, but why can’t we dream?
Are they up to the Herculean task of restoring Greek football to it’s former glory? Will Greece’s golden generation have the Midas touch?
Strap in, it’s going to be a nerdy one. Here are the players I think can make it happen.
CHRISTOS MOUZAKITIS:
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Mouzakitis, as with the other two players I’m going to mention, wasn’t born when Greece won the Euros. He’s an 18 year old holding-midfielder playing in his native Greece with giants Olympiacos and has already attracted attention from some elite clubs across Europe, namely Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan. In the age of YouTube and a limitless access to every minute statistic in a player’s game, it doesn’t take many appearances for the bright stars to be noticed and for the sharks to start circling.
Mouzakitis has quickly risen through the age groups, making his Olympiacos debut in September 2024 at just 17 and earning his first senior Greece cap just two months later. He made 36 appearances in all competitions for Olympiacos last season on their way to a convincing league title win and managed 2 goals and 5 assists from defensive midfield, including 3 assists in 9 games in the Europa League.
Play-style:
What impresses me most about Mouzakitis when you watch him is that he doesn’t look like he’s trying that hard. His ability to read the game is so far beyond his years that he seems to glide across the pitch to exactly where he needs to be to intercept a crucial pass, block a cross or make some room to play a killer ball. He is a midfielder perfectly suited to modern football; entirely press-resistant, excellent on and off the ball and physical enough to handle himself while showcasing his technical prowess.
And yes, it’s just the Greek Super League. And if Mouzakitis wants to develop into the player I think he can become he will probably be looking to find a move to a higher level sooner rather than later. But he’s only 18. It’s a big, physical league with intense atmospheres and an immense amount of pressure – particularly when playing for a team the size of Olympiacos – and Mouzakitis hasn’t even blinked at the bright lights. It seems that football is just football to him. On the park with his friends, playing in age-group leagues of playing in major European competitions and for his country. It’s just football. And it’s easy.
Greece aren’t exactly spoiled for choice in his position, and they won’t have to look anywhere else to fill that role at the base of midfield if he keeps developing as he is doing. His natural ability to break up play and distribute the ball makes him the sort of player you’d want in any team. If they reach the latter stages of tournaments, it’s unlikely Greece will be dominating teams. A player like Mouzakitis who can slow play down, play through pressure and win the ball back if needed is ideal for gaining the upper hand in matches where you might be beat man-to-man.
The Stats:
Now for the nerdy bit. Against other midfielders in the Europa League last year, Mouzakitis ranked in the 86th percentile for interceptions per 90, 79th for progressive passes and 81st for shot creating actions. When Olympiacos are playing significantly harder opposition than they would domestically, Mouzakitis steps up. He regularly drives the transition by cutting out a loose pass, looking up and finding and teammate in a dangerous position.
Mouzakitis only ranked in the 12th percentile for pass completion with 76.3% of his passes reaching their target, which shows he’s aiming for riskier passes more often as opposed to playing it sideways and simple. While great to watch, when he makes a step up to a higher quality league this wastefulness is less likely to go unpunished so he may have to tidy his game up a little as he develops. Again, he’s just 18.
He also ranks just in the 5th percentile for progressive carries, indicating his desire to release the ball as opposed to running with it. I actually don’t mind this trait in a defensive midfielder, he often shimmies his way into a pocket of space and lets the faster forwards do the running as he finds them with a trademark looped pass over the top.
Sensible Transfers:
As mentioned earlier, Mouzakitis has suitors all over Europe frothing at the mouth to sign him after his performances for Greece and Olympiacos over the last year. The Arsenal links confuse me a little, they’re flush with a group of fairly young holding midfielders at the moment and Arteta’s style of play demands a player much more physically and aerially adept than Mouzakitis is as of yet.
I believe his style of play suits playing in a pair at the heart of a 4-2-3-1 or as the pin in the midfield of a 4-3-3 with an energetic box-to-box midfielder to do his running and a more advanced attacking player to benefit from his ball progression abilities.
Honestly, I think his best move at the moment is to stay put. Olympiacos are a Champions League club this season and he’ll get regular game time in that midfield and be able to test himself against some of the best in the world, including the aforementioned Arsenal as well as Barcelona and Real Madrid in this year’s draw. Guaranteed exposure to first-team football domestically, in Europe and internationally is huge for a player’s development at this early stage and I think Olympiacos could nurture him into the star I know he can be.
Of course, the financial demands and constraints of modern football mean he will probably be moved on in the near future as Olympiacos are already valuing him around €20m and that will only rise if he continues his trajectory. If he has to eventually go, I’d like to see Aston Villa pick him up as a potential replacement/understudy for Youri Tielemans.
Tielemans is a more reliable passer, but at 10 years his junior Mouzakitis isn’t far behind. His short-game needs a bit of work but he is already as adept at playing the ball long than notorious Hollywood-pass-fanatic Tielemans at just 18. The Greek is also more successful at taking on his opponent when he is wiggling out of those tight spaces in packed midfields. Selfishly, I’d like to see him in the Premier League so I could watch him play more often and nudge my mates in the pub with this article open on my phone with a big, smug grin on my face every time he does something brilliant.
Overall, Christos Mouzakitis is a raw talent playing far beyond his years who you should expect to see dictating the play from deep in a top league and the latter stages of the Champions League for years to come. Maybe even leading a Greek team on a deep run in an international competition for the first time in a while.
CHARALAMPOS KOSTOULAS:
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Another graduate of the Olympiacos academy, this time a forward, Kostoulas burst onto the scene as a 17 year-old last season and scored 7 times in 35 games for the club, assisting once. Now 18, he made the move to Brighton in the summer for a reported fee of around €35m. He became the second-most expensive signing in their history and they beat off interest from Bayern, Real Madrid and Manchester United to land his signature. So, what’s all the hype?
Kostoulas has football in his blood. He is the son of former Greece international Athanasios Kostoulas and his brother Konstantinos is a pro too, spending last season in the Portuguese top-flight on loan from Olympiacos. Big shoes to fill, but Charalampos shows no sign of struggling with the pressure.
Play-Style:
Originally a striker, Kostoulas has adapted his game to play more like a traditional number 10 behind a target man up top to accommodate Olympiacos’ goalscoring monster Ayoub El Kaabi. Kostoulas was given a lot of faith, trusted to adapt into his new role at just 17 and play a major part for one of the biggest clubs in Greece. And he repaid that faith and then some, his performances shining and earning him a dream Premier League move and his hometown club a record sale for the Greek league.
His versatility and adaptability at such a young age shows just how gifted this young man is. He has all the tools; able to drift wide or stay central, dribble past players or pass his way out of trouble and create chances or put them away himself. He is physically dominant, particularly for his age, able to shield the ball and hold it up for teammates to make runs around him while being agile and athletic enough to quickly shift his body and move away with the ball if needed. Both footed and capable in the air, Brighton and Greece have a unicorn on their hands.
Brighton fans and hierarchy alike will be hoping an uncharacteristically large investment by their standards will pay dividends and his positional adaptability will translate to an ability to adapt to his new environment quickly and thrive.
Stats:
17 years old. 22 league games. 13 starts. 7 goals. Exemplary.
To be thrust into the limelight in a hostile environment at such a young age, playing against grown men and experienced pros old enough to be your dad, and hit the ground running in the way he has is phenomenal. Funnily enough he scored the same amount of goals as Anthony Martial – a cautionary tale to young Kostoulas as to where wasted potential can land you (you could end up a multi-millionaire living in a gorgeous part of the world instead of fighting relegation at United and living in Salford).
Limited data exists on the Greek league – but Kostoulas also made 8 Europa League appearances (4 starts), he failed to find the net but did register an assist. He managed 3.01 shot-creating actions p90 in the competition, more than the 2.01 of winning finalist striker Dominic Solanke, and less than the 4.27 of champion attacking midfielder James Maddison. This places Kostoulas correctly as a hybrid 10/9, Joshua Zirkzee became the butt of the joke last summer when he referred to himself as a “9.5”, and while his United career has been patchy at best, I do think there is a profile of player that fits this role. And it’s Kostoulas.
A creator, a finisher. A dynamic forward that makes things happen on the ball and drifts into spaces causing havoc for defenders off of it. A dream striker.
Sensible Transfers:
3 words: Stay. At. Brighton.
They’ve become a talent churning machine in recent years, signing up players from all over the globe and nurturing them into the next batch of stars. Expect to see Kostoulas holding up a Chelsea shirt in a few years time after a £200m move, they’ll probably be on triple-digit shirt numbers by then.
If he is to go out on loan as Brighton typically like to do, I’d love to see him play in European competition for someone like Stuttgart. They’re a big side with a recent flair for developing young talent. He’d have a young squad around him and a Nick Woltemade-shaped hole to fill in their forward line.
Kostoulas is the real deal, a modern-day forward with all the tools that can play in any of the front-four positions. Tricky out wide, creative in the hole and a hold-up man up top. Wherever he is, he’s a handful. Seriously one to keep an eye on. Yet to make his senior Greece debut but quickly rising through the age groups, expect to see him wheeling away in celebration at an international tournament in the near future.
KONSTANTINOS KARETSAS:
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I have, in my opinion, saved the best till last in the case of 17 year-old attacking midfielder Konstantinos Karetsas. Eligible to play for Belgium and Greece, he represented both at youth level before committing to his parents’ nation of Greece and subsequently making 5 senior appearances before he has even reached his 18th birthday. Karetsas is a product of the Genk academy in Belgium and has been making waves across the football world after becoming a first team regular for the club at just 16.
Play-style:
Karetsas can play centrally behind the striker or out wide on the right-hand side, cutting inside onto his preferred left foot. He never shies away from the ball and is always trying to make things happen in the final third, often receiving the ball on the turn and taking on a few players before creating a chance for his teammates to put away.
He isn’t an out-and-out goalscoring winger but more a traditional creative midfielder who thrives in tight spaces and drags defenders all over the place to make space for his colleagues to run into and score. Given the room, however, he can punish teams from outside the box with his wand of a left foot.
Karetsas is a brilliant player, demanding attention from defenders and never giving them a moments rest. Paired with the right forward-line, he will be absolutely devastating.
His performances last season helped Genk qualify for the Europa League this time round, giving him even more of a platform to show the world what he can do.
Stats:
Last season Karetsas got 3 goals and 3 assists for Genk in 39 appearances, as well as 2 goals and an assist across his 5 Greece caps. Impressive for his age, but his underlying numbers are staggeringly good for a teenager playing for a side qualifying for Europe.
Compared against all other attacking midfielders and wingers across the top divisions of world football, Karetsas ranks in the 94th percentile for shot-creating actions per 90. He is clearly one of the most adept creative players in the world, and probably should have had significantly more than just the 3 assists last year if his teammates could put more of them away.
He also ranks in the 87th percentile for successful take-ons and 82nd for progressive carries, showing his ability already to beat his man and carry the ball forwards for his team. For a teenager to be this good at moving the attack forwards on the ball in senior men’s football is astounding and there should be a host of elite clubs lining up with blank contracts in hand.
Karetsas only ranks in the 22nd percentile for touches in the opposition box, indicating his preference for the creative aspect of the game and his ability to move into space centrally and out wide to play the ball as opposed to charging into the box to score. This selflessness would lend itself perfectly to working alongside a ruthless finisher at the top level who would make the runs for Karetsas to find him from all over the pitch.
Karetsas is a supremely talented footballer who loves taking risks and playing killer balls from deep as well as receiving the ball in tight spaces and advancing his team up the pitch through tricky dribbling. He would be an asset to anyone and I’m sure the hierarchy at Genk knows what they have and won’t let him go cheap.
Sensible Transfers:
Hear me out. Mohammed Salah is turning 34 next summer, and while it may feel like he’ll go on forever, Liverpool are going to have to look to bring in another right winger to replace him in the long-term.
Obviously, Karetsas is a different kind of player and will not generate the same output that Salah has over his years at Anfield – but could anyone? With the summer arrivals of Isak and Ekitike, along with the continued goalscoring form of Cody Gakpo, Salah’s output can be replicated across the front-line as opposed to trying to find and develop another 40 goal-a-season freak as a direct replacement. The man to facilitate this could absolutely be the young Greek.
His creative prowess and ability to fathom opportunities out of thin air would feed Isak and Ekitike chance after chance – and they’re more than capable of finishing them all. Karetsas is too dangerous to leave unchecked as you focus on the forwards too, as he isn’t against bending one in from the top of the box if given the room.
Expectations would be high for the young man, but he has yet to give any hint that he wouldn’t be able to rise to any challenge put in front of him. If Liverpool are to continue their dominance and create a dynasty, Karetsas is the man.
They’re better off snapping him up now while they can before he goes on to excel at a side like Dortmund for a season or two and ends up with a €150m price tag.
So, will Greece re-emerge as European Championship hopefuls? Only time will tell.
As well as these potential superstars, they have a generally strong core of young players coming through the ranks and plying their trade in top leagues all over Europe. With the right coaching and a bit of good fortune with injuries and group stage draws, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them as regular knockout stage attendees over the next few tournaments. Of course, they’ll have to qualify first.
Perhaps in 5 years time when you’re rattling your hand around in the hat and pulling Greece as your side for the company World Cup sweepstake you will have reason to be optimistic about your chance as an outside bet! Or maybe they’ll be relegated to that side that hipster pundits tell you are the “dark horses this year, mate” only to go 0-0-3 in the groups and crash out. We shall see.
Will Greece’s new kids on the block become world beaters? Or will inexperience be their Achilles heel?
White Noise 