Andreas Bouchalakis

Andreas Bouchalakis (Greek: Ανδρέας Μπουχαλάκης, born 5 April 1993) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Olympiacos and the Greece national team.

Andreas Bouchalakis
Personal information
Date of birth (1993-04-05) 5 April 1993
Place of birth Heraklion, Crete, Greece
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Central midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Olympiacos
Number 5
Youth career
2008–2011 Ergotelis
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2014 Ergotelis 71 (7)
2014–2017 Olympiacos 22 (2)
2017–2018 Nottingham Forest 21 (2)
2018– Olympiacos 67 (5)
National team‡
2012–2013 Greece U19 9 (0)
2013–2014 Greece U20 7 (1)
2013–2016 Greece U21 9 (1)
2017– Greece 15 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:20, 31 January 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 02:58, 16 November 2020 (UTC).

Club career

Ergotelis

Bouchalakis started his football career attending the Ergotelis Football Academy, the youth system of his local Superleague club Ergotelis. His performances with the club's youth teams in the Greek Superleague Youth Leagues led the club's board of directors to promote him to the first team on 19 May 2011, when he signed his first professional contract with the club at the age of 18.[1] He eventually made his debut on 11 December 2011, in a game against Doxa Drama.[2]

During the summer of 2012, Bouchalakis earned the trust of manager Siniša Gogić and became a regular starter for the club during their short tenure in the Greek Football League. His good performances reportedly drew the attention of many clubs, both in Greece and abroad. Eventually, Greek giants Olympiacos acquired his rights from Ergotelis on 22 March 2013 for a reported €150K, following up on the acquisition of Bouchalakis' fellow Ergotelis teammate Manolis Tzanakakis.[3][4] As part of the deal, both players were allowed to finish the season with Ergotelis, who also acquired the right re-sign both players on loan in the following season. Bouchalakis was instrumental in helping the club return to the Superleague at the end of the 2012–13 season, summing up 40 caps in both the Football League and Greek Cup competitions and managing to score 6 goals while dishing out two assists.

After Bouchalakis' and Tzanakakis' transfers were announced by Olympiacos, the club's board of directors decided to green-light the loan deal with Ergotelis, who added both players to their roster for the 2013–14 Superleague season in order for them to receive substantial playing time in top-flight in a familiar environment.[5] Bouchalakis contributed to Ergotelis' all-time best (at the time) 7th place finish with 30 caps and 2 goals. He returned to Olympiacos in the summer of 2014 to earn a spot in the champions' roster for next season.

Olympiacos

Bouchalakis scored from long distance in a 3–0 win against Milan in the 2014 International Champions Cup.[6]

On the beginning of the 2015–16 season, Bouchalakis tried his best to convince his coach Marco Silva to stay in the club.[7] His contract was extended in 2016 until the summer of 2020.[8]

Nottingham Forest

After a trial in pre-season, Bouchalakis signed a 3-year contract with EFL Championship club Nottingham Forest in July 2017. As Forest and Olympiacos had the same owner, there was no transfer fee.[9] He scored twice on his league debut as Forest won 4–3 away to Brentford on 12 August.[10] He played regularly in the first half of the season but lost his place under new manager Aitor Karanka.[11]

Return to Olympiacos

Bouchalakis rejoined Olympiacos in July 2018. On 23 August 2018, he scored with a header from Kostas Fortounis' free kick to help Olympiacos beat Burnley 3–1 at home in the first leg of the 2018–19 Europa League play-off round; it was his first goal in UEFA competitions.[12][13] On 31 March 2019, he scored his first goal of the 2018–19 Super League season to beat Atromitos 2–1.[13] On 1 March 2020, Bouchalakis latched on to the second Mathieu Valbuena's assist in the game, to score a second for Olympiacos in a 2–0 home game against Panetolikos, head into the 2019–20 playoffs with an undefeated 26 matches' record. It was his first goal for the season.[14]

Career statistics
As of match played 4 February 2021 [15][16]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Ergotelis 2011–12 Super League Greece 2000— — 2 0
2012–13 Football League 39610——406
2013–14 Super League Greece 30210——312
Total 71720——738
Olympiacos 2014–15 Super League Greece 9161—1[lower-alpha 1]0162
2015–16 Super League Greece 5110—0061
2016–17 Super League Greece 8050—4[lower-alpha 2]0170
Total 222121—50393
Nottingham Forest 2017–18 Championship 2121030–252
Olympiacos 2018–19 Super League Greece 18130—9[lower-alpha 3]1302
2019–20 Super League Greece 33130—160521
2020–21 Super League Greece 16320—80263
Total 67580—3311086
Career total 181162313038124619
  1. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  2. Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, two in UEFA Europa League
  3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Club

Olympiacos

Individual

References
  1. Επαγγελματίας ο Μπουχαλάκης [Bouchalakis a professional] (in Greek). Athletic Radio 104.2. 19 May 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  2. "Ο ΑΝΔΡΕΑΣ ΜΠΟΥΧΑΛΑΚΗΣ ΣΤΟ ERGOTELIS.GR" [Andreas Bouchalakis] (in Greek). ergotelis.gr. 12 December 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  3. "Υπογράφει στον Ολυμπιακό ο Μπουχαλάκης". www.sport24.gr. 22 March 2013.
  4. "Ολυμπιακός: Επένδυση με Μπουχαλάκη στο λιμάνι". www.betarades.gr. 22 March 2013. Archived from the original on 19 October 2014.
  5. "Εργοτέλης: Επιστροφή για Μπουχαλάκη, Τζανακάκη". www.onsports.gr. 10 July 2013.
  6. "International... legendary goal!". www.olympiacos.org. 4 August 2014.
  7. "Μπουχαλάκης: "Προσπαθώ να τον κερδίσω"". www.sportbet24.gr. 20 July 2015.
  8. "Fortounis and Bouchalakis extend their contracts with Olympiakos". www.sdna.gr. 3 June 2016.
  9. Taylor, Paul (27 July 2017). "Andreas Bouchalakis completes permanent move to Nottingham Forest from Olympiacos". Nottingham Post. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  10. "Brentford 3–4 Nottingham Forest". BBC Sport. 12 August 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  11. Clapson, Sarah (20 June 2018). "Midfielder Andreas Bouchalakis set to leave Nottingham Forest". Nottingham Post. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  12. "Burnley on the back foot after tough night in Greece". Irish Times. 23 August 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  13. "A. Bouchalakis". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  14. "Ολυμπιακός - Παναιτωλικός 2-0". www.gazzetta.gr (in Greek). 1 March 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  15. "Andreas Bouchalakis profile". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  16. "Andreas Bouchalakis". superleaguegreece.net. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
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