Xanthi: Technical director and… Kehagias unpaid!

An old acquaintance of Xanthi, Nikos Kechagias, returns to the critical group in its attempt to return to… normality, as it became known today (26/05)…

With Xanthi announcing the recruitment of the 54-year-old agent as the technical director of the competitive departments, a position for which he will not be paid!

The relevant announcement in detail:

“Xanthi Sports Club is pleased to announce that Nikos Kehagias has taken over as technical director of the club’s competitive departments.

A person who is a whole story for our city’s football as he has served the association since 1988 in every position.

He holds the record for appearances in all competitions reaching an astonishing 437, wore the armband for a number of years and celebrated the club’s promotion to A! National in 1989, being also international. As the culmination of his 15-year presence in Xanthi as a football player, his participation in the 2002 match against Lazio is considered the first European participation of our team.

Subsequently, in 2005 he participated as an assistant coach to Yiannis Mantzourakis and in February 2007 he replaced Savvas Kofidis in the technical leadership taking over as the first technician. This would be the beginning as he was on the bench a total of five times as a first coach in Super League 1 but later also in Super League 2 which was also his last in the 2021-2022 season. A landmark for our team was the huge effort he put in during the 2009-2010 and 2013-2014 seasons when he was called upon mid-season to save the club from relegation by literally pulling it off at the last minute with a run of wins.

At the same time, his contribution to the club was also important in the field of infrastructure, either as the technical director of our academies or as a technician of the U-20 team, highlighting numerous footballers who are currently starring in major Greek and international clubs.

However, he left an indelible “stamp” on the Greek representative teams as well, as from 2018 he coached the National Children’s National Team, with which he managed to qualify for the final phase of the EURO U17 and in the two years 2019-2021 he took over the National Youth Team.

In the summer of 2021, he returned to Xanthi, assuming the position of technical director of academies until the summer of 2022, when PAE announced its inability to participate in the next championship.

The vision of AOX for the creation of a modern and competitive team that will be based on the academies and the children of our region, is embodied in the person of Nikos Kehagias who with his experience and knowledge is called to lead the effort to regenerate the organization. Our common goal is for the team to return to its European operating standards and the repositioning of the academies on the Greek football map.

Instead of an epilogue, we feel the need to thank Nikos Kehagias and to praise his ethos and personality as an organization as he undertakes to offer his services without pay, highlighting once again his dedication and selfless contribution to the team. As management, we feel honored that he is taking on this specific position at this historic and critical moment for our team.”