Kostantinos Manolas

Kostantinos Manolas
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Konstantinos Manolas





Current Club: AS Roma.

Previous Clubs: Olympiacos, AEK Athens, Thrasyvoulos.

Loan Clubs: N/A.





International: Greece 40 caps 1 goal.

Trophies Won: Greek League 2013, 2014. Greek Cup 2011, 2013.





An extremely physical, overphysical at times, centre-back with a tendency towards rash tackles, which have seen him pick up far too many cards in his career. Though, to be fair to him, he has improved this aspect of his game over time, and is much less prone to picking up a card than he was.



A right-sided centre-back whose physical game is somewhat of a throwback to the older days of defenders being stronger and tougher than their opponents and bullying them into submission, rather than the more refined play of a van Dijk (though he also has those same advantages). Manolas is not the best on the ball, he keeps it simple with short passes and that does seem to be his limit.



He is very good at attacking the ball in the air, which makes him a good aerial presence on set plays, both defensively and offensively, but again he can be a bit rash with his challenges, trying to win headers he simply is not going to win without committing a foul. In one-on-ones, when an attacker is running at him with the ball at his feet, his decision making tends to be good, he knows when to drop off and when to close down.



However, when he closes down the rash challenge can come out and ruin the good work he has done by closing off the attacker's options. Manolas also has decent pace, which allows him to keep pace with most forwards or get across on the cover when it is called for. He is not lightning quick, but he is quick enough.



There is little doubt over his commitment, he is not someone who rolls over and gives in easily, he will give his all, throwing his body in time and time again to cut out crosses or stop shots. More of a stopper than a ball-playing centre-half, Manolas is becoming a better player as age and experience mellows his rashness. However, that physical edge is part of what makes him such a good defender, so he needs to be careful not to lose it entirely.





Requested by - Deependra