Name: Stylianos "Stelios" Manolas
Country:
GreeceClub: AEK Athens
Position: *CB
Side: RF/BS
Age: 28-33 years (13/7/1961)
Height: 190 cm
Weight: 82 kg
Attack: 65
Defence: 87
Balance: 86
Stamina: 81
Top Speed: 78
Acceleration: 74
Response: 85
Agility: 72
Dribble Accuracy: 78
Dribble Speed: 73
Short Pass Accuracy: 75
Short Pass Speed: 76
Long Pass Accuracy: 79
Long Pass Speed: 77
Shot Accuracy: 64
Shot Power: 82
Shot Technique: 62
Free Kick Accuracy: 66
Curling: 64
Header: 85
Jump: 81
Technique: 75
Aggression: 69
Mentality: 83
Goalkeeper Skills: 50
Team Work: 79
Injury Tolerance: B
Condition/Fitness: 6
Weak Foot Accuracy: 5
Weak Foot Frequency: 5
Consistency: 6
Growth type: Late/Lasting
CARDS:
S07 - Man Marking
S09 - Covering
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Marking - Covering
Attack/Defence Awareness Card: Defence Minded
INFO:
IMO, probably the best Greek defender ever. Stelios Manolas was a one club man with AEK and holds their appearance record with 593 games over 20 years. Manolas was a mixture of skill on the ball and aggressive defending. He was tall and elegant and liked to carry the ball out of the back with powerful runs or distribute with his good long passing ability. He always seemed to be in the right place to cut out loose balls, and his interceptions were always well timed. Due to his height he was also excellent in aerial battles and was a huge presence in the box at both ends of the pitch, scoring 53 goals in his career. His only real weaknesses when defending were his lack of agility and often overly aggressive tackles that meant he gave away quite a lot of fouls and got a lot of cards (117 yellows and 15 reds for AEK alone). But in general he was an excellent defender and in fact was even nominated for the Ballon d'Or in 1993. At his absolute peak in the early 90s he was surely one of the best defenders outside of the top European leagues, and dominated Greek football winning three consecutive league titles. With the international team he also won 71 caps and played at the 1994 World Cup. His nephew Kostas Manolas also became one of the best Greek defenders and had a successful career in Italy.