Panayioti "Panos" Armenakas (Greek: Παναγιώτης "Πάνος" Αρμενάκας; born 5 August 1998) is a professional soccer player who plays as a right winger. Born in the United States, he has most recently represented Australia at youth level.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Panayioti Dimitri Armenakas | ||
| Date of birth | 5 August 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Newport Beach, California, United States | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2002–2010 | Sydney Olympic | ||
| 2011–2012 | Brescia | ||
| 2012–2014 | Watford | ||
| 2014–2017 | Udinese | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2018 | Udinese | 0 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | → Tubize (loan) | 6 | (1) |
| 2019–2020 | Panathinaikos | 3 | (0) |
| 2020 | Roeselare | 0 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | Zulte Waregem | 9 | (2) |
| 2021–2022 | Vendsyssel | 41 | (3) |
| 2023 | Loudoun United | 12 | (1) |
| 2023–2024 | Phoenix Rising | 39 | (5) |
| 2024 | Memphis 901 | 27 | (3) |
| International career | |||
| 2014 | Greece U17 | 2 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | Australia U17 | 7 | (0) |
| 2017–2021 | Australia U23 | 7 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13 November 2024 | |||
Armenakas has played youth football for Sydney Olympic, Watford and Udinese. Originally, Armenakas represented Greece internationally before switching to Australia.
Early life
editArmenakas was born in Newport Beach, California, United States, before moving to Sydney, New South Wales, Australia at a young age.[1] He is of Greek descent.
Club career
editYouth
editArmenakas started his youth career playing for Sydney Olympic, after being scouted in a park by ex-Socceroo Jim Patikas.[1] At the age of six, he was invited to spend three weeks training with FC Barcelona's elite juniors squad.[2] While in Europe, he also spent time with Bolton Wanderers.[3][4] Armenakas trained with the Milan Soccer School in Sydney under Andrea Icardi and Misha Radovic, before trialing with A.C. Milan in early 2010.[5] In late 2010, he moved to Europe, initially joining Brescia before signing with Watford's Youth Academy.[6]
Udinese
editAfter spending two years with Watford, Armenakas signed a three-year deal with Udinese.[7] By signing with the Italian club, Panos became the youngest Australian ever to sign a professional contract in any of the top five leagues in Europe.[8] In November 2015, Armenakas signed a contract extension, keeping him at Udinese until 2018.[9] He was released at the end of the 2017–18 season having made no appearances for the senior team and only featuring in one matchday squad.
Loan to Tubize
editIn July 2017, Armenakas joined Tubize in the Belgian First Division B on a one-year loan to have a chance at first team football.[10] He was mostly an unused substitute during his time in Belgium, making six appearances.
Panathinaikos
editAfter a trial period of three weeks Armenakas signed a 2+1⁄2-year contract with the Greek club at the beginning of January 2019.[11] He left the Greens in January 2020 after only three appearances.
Return to Belgium
editArmenakas joined Roeselare in September 2020 but the club collapsed just ten days later.[12] After this he trained for eight weeks with Zulte Waregem, before signing a contract until the end of the season in November, with an option for a further year. He scored twice in ten games before leaving the club at the end of the season.[13]
Vendsyssel FF
editOn 7 August 2021, Armenakas joined Danish 1st Division club Vendsyssel FF, signing a deal until June 2024.[14]
International career
editHe has triple nationality and he is eligible to play for Greece, the United States and Australia.[15]
Armenakas initially represented Greece at under-17 level, playing in two friendly matches against Turkey in August 2014.[16][17]
In late 2014, Armenakas accepted a call up to the Australian under-17 squad to play in the 2014 Nike International Friendlies tournament in the United States,[15] where he made his debut in a loss to Brazil in November 2014.[18] In October 2015, he was selected in Australia's 21-man squad for the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile.[19] During this time, he was also selected by The Guardian as one of the fifty best young talents in world football.[20]
He progressed onto the under-23 national team, where he was selected for friendly games on multiple occasions but was not included for the final squads for the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship, 2020 AFC U-23 Championship or the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Career statistics
edit- As of 18 April 2021
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Tubize (loan) | 2017–18 | Belgian First Division B | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Panathinaikos | 2018–19 | Super League Greece | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Zulte Waregem | 2020–21 | Belgian First Division A | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 |
| Vendsyssel | 2021–22 | Danish 1st Division | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Career total | 19 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 3 | ||
References
edit- ^ a b Taneka, Taku (16 October 2014). "Panos Armenakas". Inside Sport. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
- ^ "Future star of football". Neos Kosmos English Edition. 2 October 2007. Archived from the original on 2 October 2007. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
- ^ Kay, Oliver (10 November 2005). "Chelsea and United prepare for battle over seven-year-old". The Times.
- ^ "Australian To Experience Bolton Atmosphere". thefootballnetwork.net. 8 November 2005. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
- ^ Ormond, Aidan (25 March 2010). "Aussie tween's AC Milan trial". fourfourtwo.com.au. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
- ^ "Armenakas' astronomical climb". Neos Kosmos English Edition. 13 August 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
- ^ "Armenakas signs to Serie a club Udinese". 5 August 2014.
- ^ Ratcliffe, Joey (3 April 2015). "How will the Socceroos line up in 2018?". theblogfc.com.au. Archived from the original on 8 March 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
- ^ SEG Football [@SEG_Football] (27 November 2015). "Panos Armenakas (@panaldinho10) signed a contract extension with @Udinese_1896 until 2018. Congrats, Panos!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Murray, Les (9 July 2017). "Aussie teen star Armenakas leaves Udinese for Belgium". The World Game. SBS.
- ^ "Παναθηναϊκός: "Πράσινος" για 2,5 χρόνια ο Αρμενάκας". /www.sport24.gr. 23 December 2018.
- ^ "OLYROO'S BRAND NEW BELGIAN CLUB COLLAPSES FINANCIALLY". ftbl.com.au. 13 September 2020.
- ^ "ZULTE WAREGEM GEEFT TRANSFERVRIJE SPELER CONTRACT: MET PANOS EEN AANVALLENDE OPTIE ERBIJ". voetbalkrant.com. 7 November 2020.
- ^ Vendsyssel henter ny offensiv forstærkning, vendsysselff.dk, 7 August 2021
- ^ a b Murray, Les (27 October 2014). "Teenage prodigy Armenakas chooses Australia". The World Game. SBS. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
- ^ "Turkey Greece – National Team Matches Details" (in Turkish). Turkish Football Federation. 26 August 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
- ^ "Turkey Greece – National Team Matches Details" (in Turkish). Turkish Football Federation. 28 August 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
- ^ "Brazil Earns Convincing 4–0 Win against Australia in Nike Friendlies Opener". United States Soccer Federation. 28 November 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
- ^ "Joeys squad named for 2015 U-17 FIFA World Cup Chile". Football Federation Australia. 2 October 2015.
- ^ "Next Generation 2015: 50 of the best young talents in world football". The Guardian. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
External links
edit- Panos Armenakas at Soccerway
- Panos Armenakas – FIFA competition record (archived)