19 Facts About Giannis Maniatis

Giannis Maniatis quickly caught the eye of scouts while finishing his youth career while playing with AO Thiva, and was then snapped up by Panionios in late 2003.

Giannis Maniatis made his debut for the 'Kyanerythri' in 2004 and has since become integral part of the first team.

Giannis Maniatis has attracted interest from the big Greek clubs, AEK Athens, Olympiacos and Panathinaikos.

However, on 22 June 2009, Giannis Maniatis ended speculation over his future by signing a new four-year deal with Panionios.

Giannis Maniatis had been acquired as a right-back, where he would be a back-up to the first-choice in that position, team captain Vasilis Torosidis; however, later events would see Giannis Maniatis flourish in a new position.

Giannis Maniatis's versatility allowed him to play many games for Panionios as a defensive midfielder, a position he would cement himself in at Olympiacos.

Giannis Maniatis put in a man-of-the-match performance and has since established himself as a key, first-choice player in midfield for Olympiacos.

Giannis Maniatis has proven to be more effective in midfield than in what was thought to be his best position at right-back.

Giannis Maniatis has proven to be a revelation at Olympiacos where he has shown great tackling skills, superb stamina and a surprisingly good passing range with impressive vision.

Giannis Maniatis has overcome a lot of obstacles during his professional career and once said: "I used to play in front of 10 people in the village of Arahova and a few years later I played in front of 40.000 fans in the Karaiskakis stadium".

Giannis Maniatis injured his knee in Olympiakos' midweek Greek Cup quarter-final second leg win over AEK Athens which was abandoned in the 89th minute after a pitch invasion by AEK fans.

Giannis Maniatis will be out of action for six months, according to the club's medical team.

On 18 December 2015, almost nine months since his severe injury Giannis Maniatis, has fully recovered but he could not be able take playing time and according to Greek newspaper Fos, Olympiakos manager Marco Silva will possibly make roster cuts in January and he is in danger.

On 1 September 2016, Giannis Maniatis was excluded from Olympiakos's UEFA Europa League squad.

On 21 September 2016, Giannis Maniatis returned to training however he is still not considered among Paulo Bento's plans.

On 29 June 2017, Giannis Maniatis signed a 2-year contract with Turkish Super Lig club Alanyaspor for an undisclosed fee.

Giannis Maniatis argued, in his official club presentation, that he was happy to have come to Alanyaspor and he said, "I will do what is best in the direction of our goals, I hope that I will be useful to Alanyaspor".

On 8 February 2019, after eight years away, Giannis Maniatis returned to Panionios, signing a contract with the Nea Smyrni club after being released from Alanyaspor over the winter transfer window.

Giannis Maniatis made his second cap for Greece in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier against Israel.