Of course, what counts are the conclusions drawn by the coaches and technical directors of the Super League clubs we contacted, as the U19 is the vestibule of the first team.
There may have been for the last three years the institution of B’ teams for the so-called “big” PAE, but we see that more and more people “skip” this step and are promoted directly to the big ones, with the most typical and recent cases of Constantelia, Jima and Doi.
As for the remaining 12 clubs in the League, that is, those who do not have a group in Super League 2, the Youth team is the most valuable investment. Through this, footballers can emerge who will be able to directly help the big team, but at the same time will be assets with a high resale value.
Let’s look at some of these guys who have stood out in these 16 games. All of them have been in the past and in the “matchday XI” established by APE.
OLYMPIC
The champion relies mainly on two “big ones”, i.e. born in 2004. One is the striker Giorgos Charalamboglou who has scored a total of 24 goals since January 2023 when he arrived in Piraeus. The other, captain Thanos Koutsogoulas, who is used both as a wing back and as a central midfielder and is playing for the third season in the U19.
It goes without saying that these guys are ready for the next step, they have no business in an infrastructure league anymore. Christos Darviras, one of the few born in 2007 who have participated at the K19 level, is doing exceptionally well from there, as are Stavros Pneumonidis (2006), Christos Karanatsios (2004). It is worth noting that from the team that has reached the “4” of the Youth League, several compete only in Olympiacos B and not in the U19 championship, such as B. Kostoulas, Mouzakitis, Koutsidis, Papakanellos.
PAOK
In his quest to return to the top, the “Biceps of the North” relies on a mixture of experienced and younger.
For example, until now Kalogiros and Babouras (both 2004) have had a decisive contribution, but the scoring is “pulled” by three youngsters: Tsobanis (2006), Kalaitsidis (2006) and Anestis Mythou (2007) who made his debut in the category with a hat-trick -trick in top derby with Asteras Tripoli. Gitersos is always reliable (8 goals in 10 matches). The focal points are Max Schnautschner (2006) in the center and Taxiarchis Filon (2005) in defense. The last two, however, have already taken the path of the B group.
ASTERAS TRIPOLIS
The Arcadia team presents its well-known consistency and continuity in the field of academies. Midfielder Angelos Papadopoulos (2005) has emerged as a leader with 10 goals this year, center back Dimitris Laskaris (2005) provides a defensive guarantee, goalkeeper Theofilos Kakadiaris (2007) has made several appearances.
In the first phase of the championship, he relied on an “arrived” player, born in 2003, Dominico Pruntzos, who went on loan to Panachaki where he already showed that he can make a difference. And this applies to all the players who stand out in the U19 league: they can easily cope at Super League 2 level and it is surprising why the players in the second division haven’t realized it yet.
PANATHINAIKOS
With a new coach (Drenova instead of Samiou) but the same philosophy that governs the “green” academies, Panathinaikos plays attractive and aggressive football. In addition to Thiago Romanos (2006) who is considered a project, players who are essentially emerging this year have a leading role: Giorgos Katris (2005) is a center back ready for the B team, Markos Spatharis (2005) stands out in creation as well as execution, Odysseas Lazaris (2005) is with 14 goals, winger Georgoulakis (2006) and staff midfielder Bregou (2006) are constantly on the rise. Let’s not forget that PAO is in a transitional phase, as all the members of the “championship” team (2003, 2004) that won the title in 2022 left development football.
AEK
Armed with homogeneity, pressure throughout the field and a good atmosphere in the locker room, K19 is a “clone” of Almeida’s team! And if he doesn’t reach impressive levels of performance, it’s because he suffers from… lepsandria. The Union is still paying the “broken” costs of the disastrous decision of 2021 (dissolution of the then K19) but it succeeds, thanks to players like Loukas Maroutsis, Andreas Hatzinikolaou and Petros Svigos (all from 2006).
Center back Antonopoulos (2004), who in a few days turns 20, therefore signing a professional contract is a one-way street for PAE AEK. The difference is made when Kontorouhas, Kosidis, Andrikopoulos “come down” from the B team.
MARBLE
Daylani (forward, 2004), Legisi (winger, 2006) of Albanian origin have a pivotal role, as does midfielder Theoharis (2006). “Pillar” in the defense is the expatriate from Melbourne, Steven Havales, who, however, has already turned 21 (16/2/2003), so his participation in a youth organization is of no use to anyone.
PANAETOLIKOS
The same applies to Volos. Organization, consistency and commitment to the goal of the academies which is to produce players for the first team. This is what the Agrinio team did in the past (Liavas, Belevonis, Bakadimas, Konstantopoulos), this is what they will do with the current excellent team. Especially the two midfielders Sotiris Kontouris (2005), Vangelis Nikolaou (2004) are professionals and potential members of the first team, while the winger Lambros Kavallaris (2005) also presents an excellent perspective.
OFI
After Apostolakis and Theodosoulakis (both 2004) who have been promoted to the first team since last year, the Cretans’ project is the left back Ilias Simantirakis (2005), a professional who also participated in the training sessions of the seniors. From there, the midfielder Faitakis (2005, 7 goals) and the forward Pistikos (2005, 6 goals) show a great improvement, the goalkeeper Manolis Kalafatis (2005) remains stable.
MARS
Aris’ team does not have the potential it had in other years. Although it lacks “depth”, it nevertheless manages to be competitive. The mentality of the coach Kostas Kazanas (he was removed a few weeks ago) played a role in this, as well as some executives of the great team of 2005 that had reached the final of the U17 championship, such as the midfielder Almyras (11 goals), the staff member Stavropoulos (7 goal) and the stopper Kranias.
From the remaining groups, we can highlight the following:
* Leaders of PAS K19 in the first half of the season were Leonidas Mina (2004, 7 goals) and midfielder Nikos Lolis. The first was “searched” to play at men’s level in January but did not find a team, while the second was transferred to Olympiakos B΄.
* Atromitos’ top players were midfielder Spyros Ambartzidis (2005, 5 goals) and forward Panos Tsantilas (2004). Both were seriously injured and miss the season, which justifies the team’s poor position in the standings. In fact, Ambartzidis remains the top scorer even though he has been off since November!
* Kifissia appears to be competitive, from the moment it found “chemistry”. The striker Antonis Flokos (2004) is an exceptional case and one of the first scorers of the Super League K19 with 9 goals, while the midfielder Katopodis (2005) and the goalkeeper Zapartas (2006) are of interest.
* The two Lamia professionals easily stand out in the U19: winger Vassilis Kontonikos (2005) and stopper Kostas Lambropoulos (2003)
* Finally, Panserraikos has the smallest roster in the division, relying on 13-14 players and goalkeeper Tsombanidis (2004, professional) and former PAOK player Aliferopoulos (midfielder, 2005) stand out, while Mavropoulos is an important January addition (formerly Olympiacos).
Source: RES
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