Greek Messi Continues to Make Impression

Vangelis Mitsis

As it stands at present, not too many people outside Greece have heard of Panathinaikos’s Sotiris Ninis. A natural right sided forward thinking midfielder, equally comfortable in the centre, Ninis looks to have bright future ahead of him and has wowed Greek crowds as an integral part of ‘the greens’ for the last year.

Ninis made his debut aged just 16 against Egaelo on the 7th of January 2007 in his side’s 1-0 win. On that first appearance he was voted Super League player of the round, his close control, composure and dribbling skills defying his tender years. He didn’t have to wait too long to chalk up his first goal either, in just his fourth game he ghosted past two opposition players with ease, before firing in a deadly accurate long range shot to help Panathinaikos defeat Panionios 2-0. Notching up that goal made him the youngest ever player to score at the highest level of the Greek league.

Ninis was born in 1990, on the 3rd of April in Himara, Albania. As part of a long established Greek community, he dreamed of playing in the Greek top flight. Upon the fall of the communist order his parents were able to leave Albania and return to Greece. In the capital, Athens, Ninis joined a small academy side, Apollon Smyrnis and soon began to stand out. It was only a matter of time before the scouts of a Super League club side picked up on his skill and sure enough Panathinaikos were the first to come calling.

Ninis made quick progress within the Panathinaikos structure, but even so, credit must be given to their Spanish coach at the time, Victor Munoz, for not being afraid to play the 16 year old. Greek fans can be unforgiving at times, especially those of the bigger clubs, and so it was in everyone’s best interests for Ninis to hit the ground running. Now he’s an idol, and not just for Panathinaikos, but for Greece as whole, who see him as their next great hope.

At international level he has already made an impact too. Featuring for a Greece team that plotted a course to the final of the European Under-19 Championships in Austria this past summer. Ninis was particularly brilliant in Greece’s 3-2 semi-final victory over Germany, scoring once and providing the other two for his team mates. A solitary goal from Real Madrid’s Parejo to give Spain victory in the final was not the way Ninis would have wished the tournament to end. However some consolation arrived in the form of being included in the eleven ‘names to note’ drawn up by UEFA at the end of the competition.

The country of his birth Albania briefly tried to recruit Ninis for their own national side, but Ninis was adamant that he was Greek and would only ever play for Greece.

Ninis is not though letting all the attention go to his head. “My priority is the team and not my personal statistics, I’m not affected by the media hype, I don’t care about it”. If Ninis can stay on track and resist the temptations that derail the careers of many young starlets before they have even begun, then he will have the best possible chance to fulfil his potential.

Whether that will be at Panathinaikos or not, remains to be seen. During the summer the mighty Real Madrid were linked with a move for Ninis and though no approach materialised, the rumours just won’t go away. Madrid are known the be keeping tabs on the boy, believing his progress would be better aided by another year or so with Panathinaikos, rather than their bench of B team.

This season has proved more difficult for Ninis thus far. A bout of injuries has restricted his appearances in the famous green jersey and the feeling is that at just 17 he could well be suffering from the same sort of growing pains that affected Steven Gerrard so badly in the early part of his career. The most important thing for Ninis is to be treated with kid gloves, but the temptation for Panathinaikos will be to rush him back as soon as possible to boost not just their title bid, but attendances too (just 6,000 people turned out for Panathinaikos’ last home game).

Sotiris Ninis has a great future ahead of him, don’t count out the possibility he could even feature for defending champions Greece at this summers Euro 2008 championships. Whether or not he can live up to his nickname of ‘the Greek Messi’ remains to be seen. But you can bet we’ll be hearing much more about Sotiris Ninis.

WONDERKID NINIS OFFICIAL SHIRTS: GREEK ALPHABET LETTERING AVAILABLE!!!