Christos Sielis (Greek: Χρίστος Σιέλης; born 2 February 2000) is a Cypriot professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Greek Super League club Panetolikos and the Cyprus national team.

Christos Sielis
Personal information
Full name Christos Sielis[1]
Date of birth (2000-02-02) 2 February 2000 (age 24)[2]
Place of birth Paphos, Cyprus[3]
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
Panetolikos
Number 16
Youth career
Arsenal
−2017 Grimsby Town
2017−2019 Shrewsbury Town
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2019 Shrewsbury Town 0 (0)
2018Halesowen Town (loan) 2 (0)
2019–2021 APOEL 29 (0)
2021 Levski Sofia 11 (0)
2022–2024 Volos 58 (2)
2024– Panetolikos 8 (0)
International career
2016–2017 Cyprus U17 10 (0)
2018–2019 Cyprus U19 12 (0)
2019–2022 Cyprus U21 13 (1)
2020– Cyprus 4 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 26 October 2024

Early career

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Sielis was born in Paphos, Cyprus. He joined the Arsenal academy in Greece as a youngster, before moving to London and subsequently joining the youth set-up at Grimsby Town.[4] He was signed to the Shrewsbury Town youth academy towards the end of the 2016–17 season on the recommendation of former Grimsby manager Paul Hurst.[4]

Club career

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Shrewsbury Town

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Sielis travelled with the Shrewsbury Town first-team squad to a training camp in Portugal, and featured regularly during the 2017–18 pre-season.[4] Whilst still a second year scholar, he signed a two-year professional contract with the club on 3 October 2017,[5] and made his professional debut on the same day against West Bromwich Albion U21s in an EFL Trophy group-stage match.[6] In the same competition on 7 November at home to local rivals Walsall, he made a last-minute error that allowed the opponents to score the only goal of the game. He was supported by captain Mat Sadler in the aftermath.[7]

Halesowen Town

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On 21 September 2018, Sielis was loaned for a month to Halesowen Town in the Southern Football League Premier Division Central.[8] He played five total games during his time in Worcestershire, and scored his first career goal from a long-distance run in a 3–0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Birmingham Senior Cup.[9]

APOEL

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Sielis was released by Shrewsbury in May 2019.[10] On 5 June, he signed for APOEL back in his native Cyprus, on a three-year contract.[11]

Levski Sofia

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After rescinding his contract with APOEL, Sielis signed a two-year deal with Bulgarian powerhouse Levski Sofia.[12]

Volos

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Following a managerial change at Levski Sofia, Sielis rescinded his contract with the Bulgarian club in January 2022. He then joined the Greek side Volos

International career

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Sielis has represented Cyprus at under-17, under-19 and under-21 level.[13] He made his senior debut in a friendly against the Czech Republic on 7 October 2020.[14]

Personal life

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Sielis has two older brothers, Giorgos and Valentinos, who are also footballers.[citation needed]

Career statistics

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As of match played 8 July 2023
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Shrewsbury Town 2017–18[15] League One 0 0 0 0 0 0 2[a] 0 2 0
2018–19[15] 0 0 0 0 0 0 1[a] 0 1 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 0
Halesowen Town (loan) 2018–19 SFL Premier Division Central 2 0 1 0 0 0 2[b] 1 5 1
APOEL 2019–20[16] Cypriot First Division 3 0 2 0 5 0
2020–21[17] 26 0 1 0 3 0 30 0
Total 29 0 3 0 3 0 35 0
Levski Sofia 2021–22 Bulgarian First League 11 0 2 0 13 0
Volos 2021–22 Superleague Greece 7 0 7 0
2022–23 28 0 2 0 30 0
Total 35 0 2 0 0 0 37 0
Career total 76 0 8 0 0 0 8 1 93 1
  1. ^ a b Appearances in the EFL Trophy
  2. ^ One appearance in the FA Trophy; one appearance and one goal in the Birmingham Senior Cup

International

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As of match played 7 October 2020[18]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Cyprus 2020 1 0
Total 1 0

References

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  1. ^ "EFL Released and Retained list 2016/17" (PDF). English Football League. 13 June 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  2. ^ "Christos Shelis player Football Stats". Soccerbase. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  3. ^ "Χρήστος Σιέλης [Christos Shelis]". APOEL FC official site (in Greek). Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "Christos Shelis signs two-year Shrewsbury Town contract". Shropshire Star. 3 October 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  5. ^ "Shelis signs pro-deal". Shrewsweb. 3 October 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  6. ^ "Town 3 West Brom U21s 0". Shrewsweb. 3 October 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  7. ^ Cox, Lewis (10 November 2017). "Mat Sadler's support for Shrewsbury Town prospect Christos Shelis". Shropshire Star. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  8. ^ "Shelis Joins Halesowen On Loan". Shrewsbury Town F.C. 21 September 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  9. ^ Cox, Lewis (4 October 2018). "Shrewsbury Town starlet Christos Shelis nets stunner for Halesowen Town – WATCH". Shropshire Star. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  10. ^ Hillback, Ryan (8 May 2019). "Shrewsbury Town confirm Mat Sadler and Doug Loft departure". Shropshire Live. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  11. ^ "Συμφωνία τριετίας με τον Σιέλη" [Three-year deal with Shelis] (in Greek). APOEL FC. 4 June 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  12. ^ "Левски подписа с Христос Шелис" [Levski sign Christos Shelis]. levski.bg (in Bulgarian). 20 July 2021.
  13. ^ "Christos Shelis player profile". Shrewsweb. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  14. ^ Cyprus vs. Czech Republic
  15. ^ a b "Games played by Christos Sielis in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  16. ^ "Κυπριακή Ομοσπονδία Ποδοσφαίρου - Επίσημη Ιστοσελίδα".
  17. ^ "Cyprus Football Association - Official Website".
  18. ^ "Cyprus - C. Shelis - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway".
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