Decade All Stars 2010-20: Defensive Midfielder
We’re moving into the midfield now in our Decade All Stars and it’s time to find the best defensive midfielder of the last 10 years. Cast your vote now via paokfc.gr.
It’s a position which has a clear favorite, since included in the three candidates is Pablo Garcia. A bohemian type who arrived in Thessaloniki having excelled in La Liga and representing clubs such as Real Madrid and AC Milan. Then there’s Jose Alberto Canas, the smiling Spaniard who gave everything for the team for three years and managed to celebrate four trophies. Lastly there’s Alexandros Tziolis, who provided confidence and composure to the Dikefalos tou Vorra during a tricky period for a PAOK team that was in a transition phase.
Pablo Garcia
His arrival was undoubtedly a coup for the club. It’s no mean feat to bring to Thessaloniki a player from Real Madrid. In the summer of 2008, the Airport of Makedonia was flooded with PAOK fans to greet the newcomer. From then on, history began to write itself.
Pablo Garcia become one with PAOK, was loved like few other players have been, played amazing football for a five-year spell and left a significant mark on the club’s history. He continues to serve PAOK brilliantly as the coach of the Under-19 side.
His tally reads 153 appearances, six goals, 15 assists and endless passion!
Jose Canas
He arrived in the summer of 2016 having played in La Liga and the Premier League. A quiet worker whose efforts were perhaps not always easily apparent to the naked eye, but in his three years with the team up until the summer of 2019, he managed to make it clear how important his ‘dirty work’ was.
Jose Canas was one of the important factors in the club’s rise to prominence over the past three seasons. Mr Good Crazy, as he was known, showed with intensity and passion his qualities as a midfielder and became a precious tool for the coach.
He played 91 times for PAOK and scored four goals, his first in professional football.
Alexandros Tziolis
Alexandros Tziolis signed for PAOK in July 2013 having already achieved much in his career, both in Greece and abroad, while he was also a regular fixture in the Greece team. He remaind at PAOK for four years, with a couple of loan spells in between and also managed to wear the captain’s armband during his time here.
Always consistent, a pivotal player in the midfield, he made 111 appearances, scored four goals and provided five assists.
Which of these three players will make it into the starting lineup of the best PAOK XI of the decade? Vote note via paokfc.gr!
