Georgios Giakoumakis: The Unknown Striker Taking The Eredivisie By Storm

Tucked away in rustic Limburg Province, a mere stone’s throw away from the German border, is the quaint Dutch city of Venlo. An area more commonly known for its Gothic style buildings and soothing, lazy river tours along the Maas, it may come as a surprise to many, then, that it is also the home to the third highest goalscorer in domestic European football this season. The very same, seemingly prolific, striker who was struggling to find any sort of form with Polish Ekstraklasa side Gornik Zabrze last year. Well, that is the story of one Georgios Giakoumakis, the mysterious Greek who has found the net on 22 occasions in as many games this season for struggling Eredivisie side VVV-Venlo.

That is far from an understatement, either, as The Good Old, as referred to by many, currently stands just one place above the formidable relegation zone. With 22 points from their opening 22 games, there is a curious realisation that Giakoumakis’ side have as many points as he has goals. Where would they be without him? Certainly not just eight points above the drop-zone, that is for sure. What is for certain, however, is the undeniable importance that the Greek brings to a side who have failed to finish higher than 12th since they were promoted back into the Dutch top-flight league in 2017. But first, let us start at the beginning; Platanias. Not quite the start of time, but for Giakoumakis, the start of a fairly underwhelming fledgling career that began as a reserve for the then top-flight Greek outfit. 14 goalless appearances spread across his first two seasons was to begin proceedings, as he was swiftly whisked away to his home island of Crete to spend a short period on loan with Episkopi. Who? Yes, the very same third-tier side that welcome fewer than 100 fans on any given match day. It must be remembered, however, that the story of this forward is far from glamorous and, even today, is only starting to brew. After all, few outside of the Netherlands and Greece have heard the name Giakoumakis.

Digression very much over, and eleven Episkopi appearances later, a return to the Superleague with Platanias was met with richer success. A goal? Yes, absolutely. One goal in his first season back became two in his second. The third season, though, would earn the then 22 year old a move to AEK Athens, the rearmost of the Greek ‘Big Three’, on a four-year contract that would see him managed by Sevilla great, Manolo Jiménez. With much gratitude to the power of hindsight, it was not to be a mesmerising career for the, still relatively sprightly, Heraklion native. Scoring an extra-time winner over bitter rivals Olympicacos in the league with the scores locked at 1-1 may sound hard to better but, in reality, that was to be the only goal recorded in his three-year Superleague stint with AEK, as it ‘earned’ a six-month loan move to fellow league rivals (and strugglers), OFI Crete at the beginning of 2019. Twelve appearances spawning three goals does not, at first glance, appear to be overly eye-catching and, as it turned out, was not for AEK either who, after thirteen more appearances following his return, sent the forward even further afield, this time to the chillier climates of South Poland, where our story begins to mould.

So yes, as previously mentioned, ’struggling to find any sort of form with Polish Ekstraklasa side Gornik Zabrze last year’, brings us almost up to date. A meagre three, although important, strikes for the Zabrze based club in twelve appearances was to be the final straw for AEK, as they called it quits on the now 25 year old, striking a deal with Venlo worth €600,000 on August 11, 2020. With a goalscoring record as substandard as Giakoumakis’, a sprinkling of those who call Venlo home would have, undoubtedly, questioned the transfer. Not that they would be questioning it anymore. Just six months after his signature was scribbled on a neat slice of A4, Giakoumakis has become one of the leading goalscorers in world football, the very same striker who failed to make an impact at a mid-table Polish side only the season prior. A quite staggering transformation, and an immediate impact, too, as the 6ft 1in forward struck three times on his Eredivisie debut away at FC Emmen in a 3-5 winning effort. The goals continued to flow, with the occasional brace lurking in and amongst the single goal games. It appeared that his capabilities increased further, with a four-goal effort first against Den Haag and then, more recently, against current fifth-placed Vitesse, earning the Greek the title of the IFFHS World’s Best Goalscorer in January of this year, after an eleven-goal month reinforced his offensive prowess, having scored the most goals in the Netherlands in a calendar month since 1985, and the second-most of all time to Marco Van Basten's 12 with Ajax. Now, with 22 goals, he is eight goals clear of the second highest top scorer; PSV’s Donyell Malen.

Giakoumakis’ scintillating form has continued throughout his short spell in the Eredivisie and, unsurprisingly, has raised the attention of a number of clubs, with lowly Championship side Birmingham City reportedly making a £4 million bid for the Greek international in January. Arguably more importantly for Giakoumakis, his impressive record certainly caught the eye of Greece’s national team selectors, as he marked his international debut with a goal in a 2-1 win over Cyprus. The story, then, has become one of hope and ambition. The dusty fields of Episkopi will feel a world away for the rapidly improving, potent finisher who, as he continues to light up one of the more competitive European leagues, could be looking at a future at one of the more prolific sides in world football. For the time being, however, Giakoumakis’ main priority lies with the quiet city of Venlo, as they look to maintain their top-flight status for the seasons to come. And, as for AEK Athens, the less said the better…