Vasilios Pliatsikas (; born 14 April 1988) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a centre-back. Club career AEK Athens Pliatsikas began his AEK career in 2005, making his way up from the reserve team, he ended up making 37 league appearances for AEK. Schalke On 30 June 2009, Pliatsikas signed a four-year contract with German club Schalke 04 for an undisclosed fee. The beginning of 2010 was not good as Pliatsikas tore his knee ligaments during a training session. This was a major blow as he was beginning to get consistent game time with his club and was in the reckoning for a starting place with his national team. He missed the rest of Schalke's season and also the FIFA World Cup with Greece. After a very difficult year for the defender marred by injury (149 days to be exact), Pliatsikas returned to action. Loan to Duisburg On 1 June 2011, it was announced that Pliatsikas will be loaned to MSV Duisburg for the upcoming season. In 2010–11, he could play only one match for Schalke because of his injury problems and so he should gain playing experiences in the 2. Bundesliga. In 2011, he agreed to be loaned from Schalke for a year to the second division MSV Duisburg. "I wanted to play. After the long period of injury, the season in Duisburg was a very good opportunity to stabilize and find myself playfully." Pliatsikas, was meanwhile converted by MSV coach Oliver Reck to a left-wing defender. He made his debut in the opening game against Karlsruhe on 17 August, being in the starting line-up in Duisburg's 2–3 defeat. After several fouls, he was forced to leave the field with a yellow-red card in the 76th minute. In his fourth league match for Duisburg against St. Pauli, he was sent off with a yellow-red card again. Metalurh Donetsk Pliatsikas participated in the preparation of the club in Turkey, leaving a positive impression and convinced the technical staff to offer him a contract. Pliatsikas, who had become free since last summer from Schalke 04, signed a contract until the end of the season 2013/14 with a renewal option for three more years. Astra Giurgiu On 23 July 2014, Pliatsikas signed a 2-year contract with Astra Giurgiu. On 25 July 2014, he made his debut with a club in a 2–0 away win against Concordia Chiajna. Second spell in