Stelios Manolas

Stelios Manolas

Personal information
Full name	Stylianos Manolas
Date of birth	(1961-07-13) 13 July 1961
Place of birth	Naxos, Greece
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s)	Center back
Youth career
1974–1978	AEK Athens
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1978–1998	AEK Athens	447	(34)
Total		447	(34)
International career
1982–1995	Greece	71	(6)
Managerial career
2004	Greece U21
2012–2013	Niki Volos
2014–2016	AEK Athens U20
2015	AEK Athens (caretaker)
2016	AEK Athens
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Stelios Manolas (Greek: Στέλιος Μανωλάς, born 13 July 1961) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a centre back. Arguably the best Greek defender of his era and a Greece international, as well as being one of the few Greek footballers to have played his entire professional career for a single club, AEK Athens.

Club career

Stelios Manolas was born on the island of Naxos in 1961. He was started football from a young age, playing on the streets and vacant lots in and around the Athens suburb of Galatsi, where he lived during his childhood. In his early teens he, alongside his friend Kostas Antoniou, played for the small amateur club, Aetos Galatsi, where he was discovered by scouts and brought to the attention of AEK Athens. At the age of 15, he was playing for the AEK Youth teams. Over time, he was noticed for his technical skill, intelligence and tactical mind. In January 1980, he signed his first professional contract with the club.

As a young player, his solid technical training, dynamism and perception and a winning spirit, were shown in his efforts on the pitch for team defense and attack. He was a mastermind of the defense, influenced his team mates and boosted their confidence. He was a "stopper" and a "libero", although he was first recognised as a right-back, a position assigned to him by Miltos Papapostolou.

He made his debut appearance in a 1–1 draw against Kastoria in 3 February 1978 and became a regular in AEK Athens' defense until his retirement. His last match was against Skoda Xanthi and earned him his 700th cap. He was AEK Athens' captain for 19 years. Manolas had been targeted by Porto and Monaco, but as he stated:I will never leave the club I love and I want to retire at AEK.

A top moment in his career, among the thousands, was when he head blocked a shot by Lajos Détári in front of AEK's goal line in the crucial game against Olympiacos at the Olympic Stadium, that brought to AEK the 1989 league title.

Stelios Manolas ended his career having played 447 matches in the Greek Championship, ranking second in terms of appearances behind Mimis Papaioannou and 12th in the history of the respective division, achieving a total of 34 goals. With AEK, he won the league 4 times, the Cup 3 times, the Super Cup 2 times and the only League Cup title ever played in 1990.

International career

Manolas played for Greece in 71 matches from 1982 to 1994 and scored 6 goals. In 1994, he made his debut World Cup appearance, in the US.

Coaching career

After his retirement, Manolas became a certified coach and worked for many clubs, particularly the Greece national under-21 football team. In 2008-09 he held the post of technical director in AEK. Later, he remained as the coach of AEK's U-20 team. In 2015, he was called from AEK as a temporary coach to replace Traianos Dellas, and was then called again at the same position to replace Gus Poyet. During his second managerial period, he won the Cup in 2016.

Personal life

Stelios is the uncle of Olympiacos and Greece national team defender Kostas Manolas. His son, Konstantinos, was also a footballer who played for AEK.

Honours

Player

AEK Athens

• Alpha Ethniki: 1988–89, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94
• Greek Cup: 1982–83, 1995–96, 1996–97
• Greek Super Cup: 1989, 1996
• Greek League Cup: 1990

Manager

AEK Athens

• Greek Cup: 2015–16

See also

• List of one-club men in association football

External links

• Stelios Manolas at National-Football-Teams.com