Failed Wonderkid #10- Sotiris Ninis

Biodata

Full Name: Sotiris Ninis

Nationality: Greek

Date of Birth: 3 April 1990

Position: Attacking Midfielder/ Right Winger

Current Club: Free Agent

Current Market Price: 200k Euro (Updated on Jun 2019)

Highest Market Price: 7.50mil Euro (Oct 2009)

Former Clubs:

2006- 2012 Panathinaikos

2012- 2014 Parma

2013- 2014 PAOK (loan)

2014- 2015 Panathinaikos

2016- 2017 Charleroi

2017 Mechelen

2017- 2018 Maccabi Petah Tikva

2018- 2019 Hapoel Ashkelon

International Career:

2008- Greece

Achievement:

Panathinaikos

2009- 2010 Superleague Greece

2009- 2010 Greek Cup

Career

Since the unbelievable achievement in Euro 2004, Greek football had come into the vision of most of the football fans. More and more Greek football players had successfully entered the European top leagues. The emergence of Greek football players such as Georgios Samaras and Kostas Manolas had proved that they are able to fit into the European top league out of the Balkan area. However, there was one highly-rated Greek player who disastrously failed to live up his high potential. How does his football career fade away from the limelight?

Sotiris Ninis started his footballing career in 2004 as a youngster in the Panathinaikos’ football academies. At the age of 16, Ninis offered him a five-year contract and was selected in the main squad of Panathinaikos just two weeks after. Ninis was the second-youngest player ever to play on the official Panathinaikos game. On the same year, Ninis is the youngest player to participate with a Greek football team in a European Cup match against Lens in France. After a string of strong performance in his debut campaign, Ninis has rewarded a professional contract with Panathinaikos. At that time, Ninis was tipped as the player who will be representing the future of the Greek football for upcoming years. Especially his performance at the 2007 UEFA Euro Under-19 tournament that saw him named as the MVP of this tournament.

The second season of his senior career was hampered by injuries and lack of playing time. The lack of playing time had caused the Panathinaikos manager at that time, Jose Peseiro heavily criticised by his own fans. The lack of playing time has caused Ninis was omitted from Otto Rehhagel’s Greece 23 men squad to Euro 2008 despite making his national team debut earlier that year. However, things were getting better in the next season. Ninis was heavily featured under the new manager, Henk ten Cate and had selected as one of the captains of Panathinaikos. Ninis is also the youngest ever player to be chosen as captain of the club. His performance had earned him a contract extension that saw his buyout clause increased.

After almost seven years in Panathinaikos, Ninis was announced that he had signed for the Italian side Parma in March 2012. He left the club with the high reputation to carry the name of Greek football. However, his spell in Parma in the 2012-2013 season was very disappointing. He only featured 15 times and registered only 2 assists in all competition in that season. Ninis was subsequently loaned out to his homeland, PAOK to rediscover the form that saw him signed by Parma. However, his performance was also disappointing too. Only scored and assisted once in all competition.

Parma decided to give up on Ninis and sold him back to Panathinaikos in November 2014. Even returned to his boyhood club, his form was way too inconsistent. Ninis never had a total of 5 goals contribution (goals + assists) per season since he returned to Greece. This is a far cry for his highly-rated talent back in his teenage years. He left Panathinaikos once more on January 2016.

Since he left Panathinaikos, Ninis had joined four clubs in just three years. He then signed for Charleroi and Mechelen in Belgium and Maccabi Petah Tikva and Hapoel Ashkelon in Israel. Despite Ninis had registered his highest goal contributions in Hapoel Ashkelon ( 4 goals and 9 assists), he is still could not lock down a contract with the club. At the age of 29, Ninis still has the chance to regain some attention from the top major leagues in Europe. However, his time is running out in order for him to revive his footballing career. Right now, Ninis was just living in his past shadow. Currently as a free agent since July 2019, Ninis is nowhere to fulfil the promising potential that saw him caught tons of attention from Europe top clubs in his teenage years.

Verdict

Disappointment Rate: 8.5/10. Ninis career was started in a high note and currently last stalled in the second division of Israel football league. His injury track record was the main cause that cost him his footballing career. Ninis will was always to be remembered as the young Greek player whose career does not take off as he expected back in those days.