Who doesn't love a skilful player with flair and trickery on the ground with a constant smile on his face? In the 4th episode of our #HiHighlander campaign, we invited Panagiotis Triadis to have a little chat with us. Popularly nicknamed as Pana, he represented the Highlanders in the last two seasons of Indian Super League. During that time, he became one of the fan favourites in the NorthEast.
Picture source: NEUFC
The first thing people usually ask a footballer is about his journey to the top and how it all started. We too started by enquiring about the same to Triadis. He said that he grew up in Germany and it being a football crazy nation, he found football everywhere around him. His father also played football. After starting from the Eintracht Frankfurt Academy, Triadis moved to Greece to join Xanthi. As a youth prospect, he also trained with clubs like Chelsea FC and Reading FC.
Triadis was asked to shed some light on the differences in the youth levels of Europe and India, to which he replied by saying that the competition in Europe is out of the roof as compared to India. It is where the best players in the world move to play. However, he also stated that India too has a lot of potentials but all it lacks is infrastructure and opportunities given to the players.
Pana said that he loves the fans in India. Since his first day in India, all the fans here embraced him with open arms and appreciated his game.
Upon being asked how he prepares himself for the matchdays, Triadis answered that he drinks a lot of water the day before and tries to get a good amount of sleep. He doesn't follow a fixed routine and is usually chilled. He is the kind of player who sits down after every game to watch his gameplay and find his mistakes so that he can do better in the next match.
We asked him about his experience playing under two different managers, i.e Eelco Schattorie and Robert Jarni, in NEUFC to which he replied by acknowledging that both of them were poles apart. While the former focused more on tactics like Guardiola the later tried to build his relation with the players just like Liverpool's Jorgen Klopp.
When asked if there are any NEUFC player in whom he finds the potential to do well in Europe, he remarked that young players in NEUFC such as Puitea and Apuia have the potential to give a try in the European Leagues but he also warned that it won't be a walk in the park.
Apart from being a good FIFA player, Pana is also a big Rick and Morty fan. He is spending most of his time in quarantine watching the same.
NorthEast United FC had a killer duo in Triadis and the Ghanaian legend Asamoah Gyan. Both of them were the best of friends on and off the field. The joy of watching the unstoppable duo didn't last much longer as Gyan had an injury that ruled him out for the season. Triadis' time at the club ended when he and the club failed to arrive on a common ground to extend his contract once it ended in mid-season.
We wish the flamboyant midfielder the very best for his future endeavours.
The Rapid Fire Round:
Dream Club: Real Madrid
Idol: No such player, the only person he idolizes is his father. Though he likes to watch Neymar and Mbappe play.
Favourite movies: Coach Carter, Joker and Parasite.
Favourite Indian cuisine: Naan
If he weren't a footballer what would he be: a businessman or a scientist or a basketball player or a tennis player. (quite an all-rounder Pana!)
Favourite jersey from NEUFC: The home jersey
Favourite moment with NEUFC: the banger against Mumbai City FC in the home fixture of ISL 6.
Toughest team to play against in ISL: Bengaluru FC Watch the full video here
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