Christos "Chris" Kalantzis (Greek: Χρήστος "Κρις" Καλαντζής; born 27 July 1967) is an Australian former soccer player who played at the highest level of domestic football in Greece and Australia. He played at international level for Australia.

Chris Kalantzis
Personal information
Full name Christos Kalantzis
Date of birth (1967-07-27) 27 July 1967 (age 57)
Place of birth Sydney, Australia
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1983–1987 Sydney Olympic 94 (28)
1987–1992 Panathinaikos 118 (11)
1992–1997 Olympiacos 81 (7)
1997–2000 Sydney Olympic 56 (12)
International career
1985 Australia B 2 (0)
1986–1987 Australia 7 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

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Club career

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Born in Sydney to Greek immigrants. His father came from the village of Loukas in Arcadia region of the Peloponnese, Greece and his mother came from the village of Managouli in Aetolia-Acarnania, Greece, he began his career with Sydney Olympic, First Grade, at the age of 15. He was then signed by the Greek team Panathinaikos, where he played for five years. Olympiacos, a rival Greek club, then signed him.[1] On his debut against his former team he scored with his famous bicycle kick from outside the box.

He played for Olympiacos another five years before returning to Sydney Olympic to finish his career, playing two years before retiring.

International career

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Kalantzis played seven matches in full international matches for Australia.[2]

Post-football career

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In February 2011, Olympiacos announced the establishment of its first Olympiacos Academy outside of Greece in Sydney, Australia.[3] The Australian academy is managed by Kalantzis and Kyriakos Tohouroglou, both former Olympiacos players.[3]

Honours

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References

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  1. ^ "Kalantzis, Chris". Australian Player Database. OzFootball. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  2. ^ Howe, Andrew (2008). The Australian National Men's Football Team: Caps and Captains. Football Federation Australia.
  3. ^ a b Olympiakos keen on local talent Archived 19 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine neokosmos.com. 13 February 2011.
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