Tall, strong, consistent, and explosive. A player full of confidence, concentration and patience, Konstantinos Balomenos is ready to seize the moment. A goalkeeper who grew from a boy into a man at PAOK, he is a footballer who has never thought of anything else as an alternative in the case that he may not achieve his goals. «I was and am determined to achieve every goal,» he emphasizes.

He was five years old when his father, a goalkeeper himself, took him to the academy of Alexander Kilkis. Clearly there was no question of trying for any other position. In 2011 the people of PAOK liked the look of him, and he immediately came to Thessaloniki, although in the first years of course, he traveled between Kilkis and Thessaloniki for training. At the age of 14 he decided to move into the PAOK Academy House. «Of course I missed my family and friends very much, but there was no other way,» he recalls.

In the PAOK Academy he grew up, made friends, gained valuable experiences, and won tournaments and championships. He vividly remembers the Lokoball tournament in Russia – being in the Under-11 side at the time he emerged as the tournament’s best goalkeeper. Konstantinos Balomenos belongs to the 2002 generation of the PAOK Academy, those we will always remember as the children who beat Barcelona. Balomenos, however, was unlucky then. He was injured, did not travel to Barcelona and his place between the posts was taken by Christos Talichmanidis.

He has enjoyed a lot of championships of course. One with the Under-15s and three (in the first year he was one of the youngest squad members) with the Under-19s, of which he was the main pillar of the impressive undefeated side. One of his best seasons was in 2018-19 for the Under-17s, when he was a key player in all 19 games.

In 2020 he started training with the men’s team and in the summer of 2021 he took part in pre-season preparations. He now belongs to the men’s senior squad and is more determined than ever to achieve his goals.