Panagiotis Tachtsidis

1.1. Youth career

Tachtsidis started his youth career at the AEK Athens youth team from 2005 to 2007. During this period, he honed his skills and progressed through the ranks, eventually signing his first professional contract with AEK on 1 November 2007, having been scouted by Toni Savevski, then head of the club's youth academy.

2.1. AEK Athens

Shortly after signing his professional contract, Tachtsidis made his debut for AEK in the Greek Cup against Fostiras. On 27 January 2009, he made history by becoming the youngest player to have ever played for AEK in the Super League Greece at 16 years and 348 days old, during a match against Thrasyvoulos. In that same match, he scored the winning goal in the 92nd minute, securing three points for his team. This record was later surpassed by Taxiarchis Fountas, also for AEK.

2.2. Genoa

On 21 April 2010, Tachtsidis completed his transfer to the Italian club Genoa, a move that had been previously agreed upon in January 2010.

2.3. Roma

On 19 July 2012, Tachtsidis signed a five-year contract with Roma. The transfer involved a co-ownership deal with Genoa, costing Roma €2.50 M EUR (comprising €1.50 M EUR in cash plus 50% of Andrea Bertolacci's registration rights). During the 2012-13 season, he made 21 appearances for the club, scoring one goal. His time at Roma concluded as part of a complex deal on 20 June 2013, where Mattia Destro was signed outright by Roma for a pre-agreed figure of €4.50 M EUR. As part of this arrangement, Giammario Piscitella and Valerio Verre returned to Roma from Genoa for a total of €4.00 M EUR, and Tachtsidis returned to Genoa for €3.00 M EUR.

2.4. Catania

Following his return to Genoa on 20 June 2013, Tachtsidis was sold less than a month later in a co-ownership deal to Catania, in exchange for the co-ownership of Francesco Lodi. He remained with Catania for six months before temporarily leaving the club, and definitively departed in June 2014.

2.5. Genoa and second loan to Verona

Genoa reacquired Tachtsidis on 13 June 2014. On 18 July 2014, he was once again loaned to Verona, this time with a buyout option at the end of the season, which Verona did not exercise. Tachtsidis subsequently returned to Genoa and made his second debut for the club on 23 August 2015, coming on as a 68th-minute substitute for Diego Capel in an away match against Palermo. He scored his first goal for Genoa in a 3-2 victory against Chievo Verona on 18 October 2015.

2.6. Return to Torino and loan to Cagliari

On 5 August 2016, Tachtsidis signed a contract with Torino for a reported fee of €1.30 M EUR. However, the club's 2016 financial filing indicated that the deal was initially a loan. Less than a month after joining Torino, Tachtsidis was signed by Cagliari on a temporary deal on 31 August 2016. On 15 November 2016, he sustained an injury while on international duty, sidelining him for at least two weeks.

2.7. Olympiacos

On 30 June 2017, Tachtsidis was signed by Olympiacos. He made his debut for the club on 19 September 2017 in a 2-1 home win against Asteras Tripolis in the Greek Football Cup. On 7 February 2018, Tachtsidis scored his first goal for Olympiacos from a set-piece against AEK Athens in the Greek Cup semifinals, although Olympiacos ultimately lost the tie 2-1 on aggregate.

2.8. Nottingham Forest

On 5 September 2018, Tachtsidis signed a two-year deal with EFL Championship side Nottingham Forest. However, he found his opportunities severely limited due to fierce competition for places in the squad, often featuring on the bench but without playing any minutes. In December 2018, he completed a loan move to Italian club Lecce, with a clause to make the transfer permanent the following summer. Following his loan spell at Lecce, Tachtsidis was released by Forest.

2.9. Lecce

On 3 January 2019, Tachtsidis officially joined Serie B side Lecce on loan, with the option for a permanent transfer. He made his debut for the giallorossi on 19 January in a 1-1 home draw against Benevento in the Serie B. On 11 May 2019, he played a crucial role in Lecce's 2-1 home win against Spezia Calcio, which secured the club's automatic promotion to Serie A. Following this success, Lecce triggered the buying option at the end of the season, making his move permanent. He continued to play for Lecce in Serie A and Serie B.

2.10. Al-Fayha

On 16 July 2021, Tachtsidis moved to Saudi Professional League side Al-Fayha. He marked his first appearance for the club on 11 August 2021 by scoring the only goal in a 1-0 home win against Al-Ittihad. A significant achievement came on 19 May 2022 when he scored the winning penalty in the shootout (3-1) for Al-Fayha against Al Hilal in the 2022 King Cup Final, helping his team claim their first-ever major trophy.

2.11. Khor Fakkan

On 30 September 2022, Tachtsidis joined UAE Pro League side Khor Fakkan. He appeared in 9 league matches and 4 UAE League Cup matches during his tenure.

2.12. CFR Cluj

On 21 July 2023, Tachtsidis transferred to Liga I side CFR Cluj in Romania, where he continues to contribute to the team.

3.1. Early international career and World Cup participation

Tachtsidis played for the Greece U-20 team, making 6 appearances and scoring 2 goals. He then progressed to the Greece U-21 team, where he earned 10 caps. His exceptional performance with both Catania and Torino earned him a call-up from Greek national manager Fernando Santos to the 30-man provisional squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He was subsequently included in the final 23-man squad for the tournament. Although Greece reached the Round of 16 for the first time in their history, Tachtsidis did not make any appearances during the competition.

3.2. Senior national team activities

Tachtsidis made his debut for the Greece senior national team on 14 November 2012 in a friendly match against Ireland. On 11 October 2015, he scored his first international goal for Greece with a powerful shot in a 4-3 home victory against Hungary during the UEFA Euro 2016 qualification campaign. His last appearance for the national team was in May 2018.

3.3. Noteworthy incidents

On 30 March 2015, Tachtsidis, along with fellow Greek internationals Vangelis Moras and Giannis Fetfatzidis, was involved in a car crash. The three players were traveling by taxi to Budapest Airport in Hungary following a Euro 2016 qualifier. One person was killed in the collision, and three others were seriously injured. The Greek Football Federation confirmed that the three players did not sustain serious injuries.

6.1. Club statistics

6.2. International statistics

Scores and results list Greece's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Tachtsidis goal.