Who needs Bojan? We’ve got Ninis!

Panathinaikos youngster has finally got the call from Greece Coach National Team coach, Otto Rehagel. The Greek coach announced today which players were included in Greece’s roster for their friendly with Cyprus on Monday (May 19th). It came as a bit of a surprise, a pleasant one at that, for many Greek fans and the 18 year-old himself.

Limited to only a handful of players, Rehagel’s squad includes many inexperienced players. Usual call ups, including Theofanis Gekas, Sotiris Kyrgiakos, Giourkas Seitairidis, and Aggelos Charisteas, were left out of the squad set to face the Cypriots in Patras, Greece. Additional absences include, Olympiacos quartet, Vassilis Torosidis, Antonis Nikopolidis, Paraskevas Antzas, and Christos Patsazoglou, whome will be active in the Greek Cup Final this Saturday. Aris has reached the finals as well but it is uncertain if Kostas Chalkias will get the start for the Thessaloniki club; no matter the case he is expected to be in Patras on Monday. The squad chosen is rather youthful compared to its usual core, but it fields many of Greece’s rising stars with many who have reached that success on this level already.

Goalkeepers: Konstantinos Chalkias (Aris Thessaloniki FC), Alexandros Tzorvas (OFI Crete FC).

Defenders: Nikolaos Spyropoulos (Panathinaikos FC), Loukas Vintra (Panathinaikos FC), Traianos Dellas (AEK Athens FC), Ioannis Goumas (Panathinaikos FC), Christos Melissis (PAOK FC), Socratis Papastathopoulos (AEK Athens FC).

Midfielders: Georgios Karagounis (Panathinaikos FC), Stelios Giannakopoulos (Bolton Wanderers FC), Alexandros Tziolis (Panathinaikos FC), Konstantinos Katsouranis (SL Benfica), Sotiris Ninis (Panathinaikos FC), Grigorios Makos (Panionios GSS).

Forwards: Dimitrios Salpingidis (Panathinaikos FC), Nikolaos Lyberopoulos (AEK Athens FC), Lazaros Christodoulopoulos (PAOK FC).