Ranking Roma's Greek Players: From Early Strugglers to Manolas' Legacy

Roma has signed its tenth Greek defender, Konstantinos Koulierakis, prompting a look back at the club's previous Greek players and their varying impacts.

AS Roma's latest acquisition, centre-back Konstantinos Koulierakis, marks the club's tenth Greek player and reignites discussion of the Hellenic legacy in the Eternal City. The author ranks previous Greeks, starting with a barely-used Empoli youth who made a single minute for Roma and now plays in Poland, and moving through goalkeeper Dimitrios Eleftheropoulos, forward Lampros Choutos, and left-wingback Kostas Tsimikas, whose loan from Liverpool yielded limited fan approval.

Mid-fielder Panagiotis "Taxi" Tachtsidis and versatile right-back Jose Holebas are also evaluated, the latter remembered for a spectacular goal against Inter in 2014 before moving to Watford. The list highlights Traianos Dellas, a key defender of Greece's Euro 2004 triumph who logged 67 appearances for Roma, and places Konstantinos Manolas at the top for his over 200 games, eight goals, and iconic header versus Barcelona. The article ends by questioning whether Koulierakis will become another disappointment or surpass Manolas in the years ahead.