| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Stylianos Kitsiou[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1993-09-28)28 September 1993 (age 31) | ||
| Place of birth | Thessaloniki,Greece | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Right-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Pendikspor | ||
| Number | 15 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2007–2012 | PAOK | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2019 | PAOK | 103 | (2) |
| 2017–2018 | →Sint-Truiden (loan) | 34 | (0) |
| 2019 | →Ankaragücü (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| 2019–2021 | Ankaragücü | 61 | (3) |
| 2021–2023 | Gaziantep | 52 | (1) |
| 2023–2025 | Ankaragücü | 53 | (2) |
| 2025– | Pendikspor | 1 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2011 | Greece U19 | 2 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | Greece U21 | 6 | (1) |
| 2015 | Greece | 2 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 7 March 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11 October 2015 | |||
Stelios Kitsiou (Greek:Στέλιος Κίτσιου; born 28 September 1993) is a Greek professionalfootballer who plays as aright-back for Turkish clubPendikspor.
Born inThessaloniki, Kitsiou started out playing for local teams and he joined Pavlos Melas at the age of 14. Having had trials with PAOK andAris, he chose to join PAOK U20s, being discreetly influenced by his family. In PAOK U20s he got to feature in all positions except for goalkeeper and central defender. His adjustment skills were remarkable but he seemed more at ease at midfield.
Kitsiou signed his first professional contract withPAOK in 2012 and took part in the seniors’ preseason in the summer 2012. Not 20 yet, he believed that he could help the team further.[2]Kitsiou made his debut with PAOK in the Greek championship, participating in the win againstAEK on 20 October 2012. He got to play in some matches, but not as many as he expected. However he made it to the deciding play-offs and was introduced in the right side of the defense, (filling the void of injuredDimitris Konstantinidis) in the crucial last encounter againstPAS Giannina. His performance along with his personality became his calling card asHuub Stevens was checking out his upgraded roster for2013–14 season. In the preseason, he snatched the opportunity and Stevens rewarded him. He became the starting right full back for the2013–14 season.[3]
In the2013–14 season, Kitsiou scored his first goal with the club in a 4–1 home victory againstPanionios.[4]On 22 November 2013,PAOK announced its agreement with Stelios Kitsiou to extend his contract until 2018.Four days later he netted his first European goal againstShakhter Karagandy when substituteSalpingidis played a square pass for him to rifle high into the net from an angle.[5][6] In the2014–15 season Kitsiou playing in a mediocre, for him and the club, period 30 games in all competitions.He started the2015–16 season as a starter. On 12 October 2015, he had a calf injury and will be out of action for three weeks, according to the club's medical team. He started the2016–17 season not as a first choice for the starting XI. On 11 January 2017 he scored in a 2–0 awayGreek Cup win againstPanetolikos He also scored in theSuperleague Greece after almost three years in a 2–0 home win game againstAEL.[7]
On 26 June 2017, the details of Kitsiou borrowing to Belgian clubSint-Truiden are of interest as they prove that the deal is identical to what was done forCharis Charisis. The borrowing comes with a €1.2 million purchase option and 20% resale. Moreover, because Kitsiou contract is concluded in the summer of 2018, before the signing of the loan documents his contract withPAOK will be extended till the summer of 2019.[8]
On 31 January 2019,Ankaragücü officially announced the signing of the Greek defender on a five-month loan deal.[9]On 24 July 2019, Kitsiou made his move to Ankaragucu permanent after spending the second half of the season on loan in Turkey from PAOK. PAOK released an official statement announcing Kitsiou's move. Kitsiou, who was on the books for PAOK for 12 seasons (including his time in the club's academies), signed a three-year contract with the Turkish club for an undisclosed fee. PAOK will receive a reported €200,000 for Kitsiou's transfer.[10] On 14 December 2019, in a 2–2 away draw game against giantsGalatasaray he scored a late goal sealing a vital draw in his club effort to avoid relegation. It was his first goal with the club in all competitions.[11]
On 12 August 2021, Stelios Kitsiou has officially announced by Turkish clubGaziantep, signing a two years(with additional one) contract, for an undisclosed fee. The former right back-half international, after Ankaragutsu, with whom he had 77 matches with three goals and 12 assists, will continue inSüper Lig.[12]
On 28 August 2015, Kitsiou was among the calls of theGreek national football team's coachKostas Tsanas for qualifying matches ofEuro 2016 againstFinland andRomania.[13] On 7 September 2015, he made his debut withGreece in an away 0–0 againstRomania.By making his debut, as a player ofPAOK, with the national emblem at the age of 21, Kitsiou wrote his name in another list as he overpassed for two days theAlexander the Great of Greek football, one of the best Greeks ever to play the gameGiorgos Koudas.[14]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| PAOK | 2012–13 | Superleague Greece | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | 30 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 1 | — | 46 | 2 | |||
| 2014–15 | 24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 30 | 0 | |||
| 2015–16 | 22 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 1 | — | 33 | 1 | |||
| 2016–17 | 16 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 27 | 2 | |||
| 2018–19 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| Total | 103 | 2 | 25 | 1 | 25 | 2 | — | 153 | 5 | |||
| Sint-Truiden (loan) | 2017–18 | Belgian First Division A | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 0 | ||
| Ankaragücü (loan) | 2018–19 | Süper Lig | 14 | 0 | — | — | — | 14 | 0 | |||
| Ankaragücü | 2019–20 | 31 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 2 | |||
| 2020-21 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 1 | ||||
| 2022-23 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 | ||||
| 2023-24 | 18 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 91 | 4 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 96 | 4 | ||||
| Gaziantep | 2021–22 | Süper Lig | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 0 | ||
| 2022-23 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 52 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 54 | 1 | ||||
| Career total | 294 | 7 | 33 | 1 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 352 | 10 | ||