The script may sound cliché, but it is true. The young kid from the youth academy who has big dreams is forced to leave them aside to follow his family in the battle of economic survival, but he returns and suddenly sees life taking a path that he himself could not have imagined.

In the Play Offs of the 2019-20 season, Christos Tzolis was just another name on the list of talented youngsters in the PAOK Academy. Until he found a way into the first team. And from that moment on, he started doing what he knows best. To score. His weapon? His quality and his instinct.

Again, no one, not even himself, could predict what was to follow. Obviously not Besiktas, whom he destroyed with two goals and an assist in his first European match. This was followed by 14 goals and another nine assists. Top scorer and top creator. From being just a boy, he became The Golden Boy. A beautiful success story that is still in the prologue stage.

In the voting for the BOX MVP of the 2020-21 season, Tzolis faced competition from the excellent Andrija Zivkovic , whom he left in second place after a hard … battle, and won the «Platon Foropoulos» award with 45.21% of the votes from the public.

Zile, however, was content with second place. The Serbian winger fully justified the excitement that his transfer made in his first season in Thessaloniki. He scored 14 goals and contributed eight assists in 48 games.

The podium was completed by Ingi Ingason. The Iceman took on a leading role at PAOK in the 2020-21 season, and was the team’s top defender. He was crucial in both defence and attack with some critical goals. He had the misfortune to be injured at the end of the season, but he is now in the recovery phase after surgery, and everyone is looking forward to him returning stronger and to continue to impress with his performances.