Christos Tzolis (Greek: Χρήστος Τζόλης; born 30 January 2002) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a winger for Eredivisie club Twente, on loan from Norwich City, and the Greece national team.
![]() Tzolis with PAOK in 2020 | |||
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Christos Tzolis[1] | ||
Date of birth | (2002-01-30) 30 January 2002 (age 20) | ||
Place of birth | Thessaloniki, Greece | ||
Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
Position(s) | Winger | ||
Club information | |||
Current team |
Twente (on loan from Norwich City) | ||
Number | 19 | ||
Youth career | |||
2006–2010 | Doxa Pentalofos | ||
2010–2016 | PAOK | ||
2016–2017 | SG Rosenhöhe Offenbach | ||
2017–2018 | SV Alemannia Königstädten | ||
2018–2020 | PAOK | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2019–2021 | PAOK | 42 | (7) |
2021– | Norwich City | 14 | (0) |
2022– | → Twente (loan) | 6 | (1) |
National team‡ | |||
2018–2019 | Greece U17 | 9 | (6) |
2019–2020 | Greece U19 | 3 | (0) |
2022– | Greece U21 | 2 | (2) |
2020– | Greece | 13 | (1) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11 September 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:30, 29 March 2022 (UTC) |
Tzolis started his first football steps in the academy of his village team, Doxa Pentalofos. He played there from 2006 until 2010, before joining PAOK. In 2015, the then 13-year-old impressed at the Lennart-Johansson-Cup, a tournament for 13 to 14-year-olds. The right-footed winger scored 11 goals in five games and guided his team to the final. Despite losing the final he won the golden boot and was voted the best player of the tournament. In 2018, he returned to PAOK and scored 29 goals in 25 games for the PAOK U17 side, including two goals against Panathinaikos in the championship semi-final.
On 20 June 2020, in only his second senior appearance, the 18-year-old displaying excellent technique to net a crucial equaliser. It’s worth noting that Tzolis managed to score 19 goals in just 23 Super League U19 matches this season. Tzolis became the youngest player to score a Super League goal during the 2019–20 season.
On 25 August 2020, Tzolis scored a brace for 2020–21 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round against Beşiktaş J.K. Tzolis also added an assist for Dimitris Pelkas.[2] On 11 September 2020, he scored the only goal against AEL in the 2020–21 season opener, named MVP of the game. On 17 September 2020, Tzolis renew his contract with the club until 2024 without a buy out clause.[3] On 5 November 2020, he scored in a 4–1 home win 2020–21 UEFA Europa League group stage game against PSV Eindhoven helping PAOK to increase the possibility of qualifying for the next phase of the UEFA Europa League.[4]
On 12 August 2021, Tzolis left PAOK to join Premier League club Norwich City on a five-year deal for an undisclosed fee.[5] He made an impressive debut for the Canaries on 24 August, as he scored a brace and assisted a further two goals, to help his team seal an emphatic 6–0 win over Bournemouth and progress to the third round of the EFL Cup.[6] He was voted man of the match for his performance.[7]
On 22 July 2022, he joined Twente in the Netherlands on a season-long loan.[8]
Tzolis has represented Greece at the under-17 level and under-19 level. At the under-17 level, he appeared in 9 matches and scored 6 goals. On 7 October 2020, Tzolis made his debut for the senior national team in a 2–1 loss to Austria after being substituted on in the 82nd minute for Dimitris Limnios. At the time of his debut, Tzolis became the 7th youngest player in the history of the Greece national team. On 11 November 2020, Tzolis scored his first international goal in a 2–1 victory against Cyprus.[9]
His parents, who hail from Dropull, Albania, belong to the Greek minority in the country.[10]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
PAOK | 2019–20 | Super League Greece | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 10 | 1 | ||
2020–21 | 33 | 6 | 4 | 5 | — | 9[lower-alpha 1] | 5 | — | 46 | 16 | ||||
2021–22 | — | — | — | 1[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||||||
Total | 42 | 7 | 5 | 5 | — | 10 | 5 | — | 57 | 17 | ||||
Norwich City | 2021–22 | Premier League | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | — | — | 17 | 2 | ||
Career total | 56 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 19 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
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Greece | 2020 | 4 | 1 |
2021 | 5 | 0 | |
Total | 9 | 1 |
No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
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1 | 11 November 2020 | Georgios Kamaras Stadium, Athens, Greece | ![]() | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
PAOK
FC Twente – current squad | |
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Awards | |||||||||
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