Petros Mantalos

Petros Mantalos (Greek: Πέτρος Μάνταλος, born 31 August 1991) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for AEK Athens, for which he is captain, and the Greece national team.

Club Career

Skoda Xanthi

Petros Mantalos began playing professional football for Superleague club Skoda Xanthi. He played a total of 90 games (15 goals, 10 assists) in all competitions and represented his country at under-19 and under-21 levels. His performances attracted the interest of Greek giants Olympiacos, Panathinaikos and AEK Athens, the latter club newly relegated from the Superleague, bankrupt, and making a fresh start in the third-tier Football League 2. In July 2013, Mantalos agreed to join AEK from the 2014–15 season. The fee was reported as around €500,000. He remained with Xanthi for the 2013–14 season, making 30 Superleague appearances as well as playing in the UEFA Europa League.

AEK Athens

By the time Mantalos joined up with AEK, they had been promoted to the second-tier Football League. He made his debut on 12 September in the first round of the Greek Cup, and his first league appearance on 19 October 2014 at home to Apollon Smyrnis: with his team losing 1–0, Mantalos took the free kick from which Alexandre D'Acol equalised and then converted a penalty to complete a 2–1 win. He went on to score 11 goals and provide 15 assists in 22 games in League and Cup combined. Mantalos himself missed the last few weeks of the season, having ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament while playing in a cup derby against Olympiacos in March 2015. He said afterwards that it was his first major injury, he was not going to rush his recovery, and that AEK could manage well enough without him. This they proved, finishing top of the South Group and then winning the play-offs.

After six months out, Mantalos returned to competitive action and continued as a regular in the first team, helping AEK finish third in the 2015–16 Superleague and qual

This page also has a version in other languages :  Петрос Манталос (russian)