PAOK FC wish all the best to Alexandros Tziolis and Hedwiges Maduro who both celebrate their 30th birthday today, Friday 13 February!

Alexandros Tziolis was born in Katerini on 13 February 1985. He took his first steps in football at Apollon Litochoro, before moving to Panionios in 2002 and, three season later, to Panathinaikos.

After three-and-a-half years with the “Greens”, he set out on a career abroad. In January 2009 he was shipped on loan to SV Werder Bremen, twelve months later he was signed by AC Siena and from there he went to Racing Club de Santander (he was on loan in his first spell at the Cantabria club). In January 2012 he was acquired by AS Monaco who transferred him to APOEL FC in the following summer. He celebrated the Cypriot league that season.

The player from Katerini has won two league titles (1 in Greece with Panathinaikos and 1 in Cyprus with APOEL), 1 Greek Cup (Panathinaikos) and 1 German Cup (SV Werder Bremen). The German outfit also made it to the UEFA Cup final of 2008-09, eventually losing to Shakhtar Donetsk after extra time –the Greek international came off the bench in that final.

Alexandros Tziolis has considerable international experience. He has scored three goals in 13 encounters with Greece U21s. He earned his first senior cap three weeks before his 21st birthday, in January 2006, in a friendly encounter against South Korea (1-1). He has a total of 50 appearances and 1 goal for the national team of Greece and was a member of Greece squad at UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 & 2014 FIFA World Cup finals.

When the rest of the talented crop at AFC Ajax youth system were dreaming of a big career and lots of titles at Amsterdam, Hedwiges Maduro had a different vision. He would see himself out of the Netherlands, dreaming of success in the most illustrious football destination: the Primera División.

Three full seasons at Amsterdam Arena helped him make the leap. His transfer to Valencia CF was the first step towards reaching his goal.

In 2006 Marco van Basten called him at the Oranje even before he had established himself at AFC Ajax and included him in the 23-men list for the competition in Germany. Since then, Maduro won the U21 European Championship, participated in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and was being called regularly in the Dutch senior side until 2011, when he suffered an injury that sidelined him for five months. He also missed big part of his last season at Valencia CF.

The “Bats” offered him a contract extension, his former coach Unai Emery tried to lure him to FC Spartak Moscow, but Maduro needed a new challenge without leaving Spanish soil, therefore picking Sevilla FC. The renowned technical director of the Andalusian club, Monchi, along with then coach Míchel travel to Amsterdam to convince him to a three-year deal.

His heart condition

That transfer however wasn’t meant to prosper. He had just been unvealed at Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán when the team doctors detected a heart problem. The first tests showed a rare anomaly of the coronary arteries. The Spaniards sent him immediately to the United States for a detailed medical check-up in order to get the clearest possible picture of his condition.
In the Texas Heart Institute, Maduro went through all clinical tests supervised by a top doctor in cardiovascular anomalies, Paolo Angelini. The prognosis was reassuring for the player and Sevilla FC.

“Mr. Maduro responded successfully to all tests and we believe that, under the pertinent care, he will be able to play football at the highest level”, Angelini stated in a press conference. He also explained that Maduro’s heart condition is due to a congenital status related to premature development of his coronary arteries. For preventive reasons, a special monitor has been implanted in his body to record his heart through electrocardiogram.

Afterwards Maduro returned to action without suffering any problems and established himself in the centre line of the Sevilla side. He went on to play in 30 league and cup matches.

Everything changed however in the summer of 2013. Unai Emery, his former coach at Valencia CF and the one who wanted to take him along in Russia, stopped counting on Maduro. The issue had also financial repercussions and Sevilla FC didn’t register him in their league roster, despite him training normally with his teammates.