Haris Stamboulidis Explained

Haris Stamboulidis
Fullname:Charalampos Stamboulidis[1]
Birth Date:22 June 1996
Birth Place:Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Height:1.86 m
Position:Midfielder, defender
Currentclub:Sabah
Clubnumber:19
Youthyears1:2005–2006
Youthclubs1:Diego Forlan Academy
Youthclubs2:Heidelberg United
Youthclubs3:Essendon Royals
Youthclubs4:Northcote City
Youthclubs5:Heidelberg United
Youthyears6:2014–2015
Youthclubs6:Melbourne City
Youthyears7:2016
Youthclubs7:New York Red Bulls
Collegeyears1:2015–2017
College1:Columbia Lions
Collegecaps1:40
Collegegoals1:0
Years1:2013–2014
Clubs1:Heidelberg United
Caps1:14
Goals1:0
Years2:2014-2015
Clubs2:Melbourne City NPL
Caps2:11
Goals2:0
Years3:2017–2018
Clubs3:Colorado Rapids U-23
Caps3:14
Goals3:0
Years4:2018–2019
Clubs4:Aris
Caps4:0
Goals4:0
Years5:2019–2020
Clubs5:Extremadura
Caps5:0
Goals5:0
Years6:2020–2021
Clubs6:Langreo
Caps6:6
Goals6:0
Years7:2021–2022
Clubs7:Almopos Aridea
Caps7:2
Goals7:0
Years8:2022
Clubs8:Irodotos
Caps8:5
Goals8:0
Years9:2022–2024
Clubs9:Veria
Caps9:0
Goals9:0
Years10:2024–
Clubs10:Sabah
Nationalyears1:2014
Nationalteam1:Australia U19 Schoolboys[2]
Nationalcaps1:10
Nationalgoals1:0
Nationalyears2:2015
Nationalteam2:Greece U19
Nationalcaps2:2
Nationalgoals2:0
Club-Update:01:33, 24 January 2022 (UTC)

Charalampos "Haris" Stamboulidis (Χαράλαμπος Σταμπουλίδης; born 22 June 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or defender for Malaysia Super League club Sabah. A versatile player, he plays as either a central defender, a full back on either side or a defensive midfielder.

Born in Australia, Stamboulidis represented Greece internationally at under-19 level.

Early life

Born in Melbourne, Victoria, Stamboulidis lived for an extended period in Uruguay in 2005/2006 between the age of 9 to 10, where he trained at Diego Forlán's football academy in Montevideo.[3] Upon returning to Australia, he progressed through the youth systems of Heidelberg United, Essendon Royals, Northcote City, before returning to Heidelberg.[4]

Club career

Early career

Stamboulidis captained the U13 and U14 Victorian State teams and earned a spot in the U13 Qantas Socceroos 30-man squad.[5] In 2007, he won the Victorian State School Championship amongst a participation of 1,600 schools with Ivanhoe East Primary School.

In 2013, aged 16, Stamboulidis was part of the senior squad at Heidelberg United FC which won the year's Victorian State League 1.[6] [7] [8] In 2014, he joined A-League side Melbourne City FC, and was a part of both their National Youth League Premiership team (NYL) and their senior National Premier Leagues Victoria 2 team (NPL).[9] [10] [11]

College career

In 2015, after graduating high school, Stamboulidis enrolled at Columbia University, and played three seasons with Columbia Lions men's soccer team.[12] [13] In 2016, he helped Columbia win their first Ivy League title since 1993.[14] He also trained with New York Red Bulls' under-23 team for a brief period in 2015.[15]

Stamboulidis spent three-and-a-half-years at Columbia University, graduating from the prestigious Ivy League University with a degree in Economics and playing 40 matches for the Lions.[16]

Colorado Rapids

In 2017, Stamboulidis joined Colorado Rapids U-23 in the Premier Development League,[17] playing ten matches in 2017[18] and another four matches in the 2018 season.[19]

Aris

On 25 July 2018, Super League Greece side Aris Thessaloniki announced the signing of Stamboulidis on a one-year contract,[20] after Paco Herrera trialled Stamboulidis during preseason in Greece and the club’s preseason tour in the Netherlands. Despite featuring for the Greek giants in preseason friendlies in the Netherlands against Den Haag and Willem II, Stamboulidis only featured twice as an unused substitute in January 2019.

Extremadura

On 8 August 2019, Stamboulidis signed a one-year deal with Spanish Segunda División side Extremadura UD, being the first Australian player of the club's history.[21] However, he spent the campaign unregistered, being unable to feature for the first team or the reserve team.

Langreo

On 8 October 2020, after a successful trial at Cultural Leonesa,[22] terms could not be agreed upon and Stamboulidis signed for Segunda División B side UP Langreo.[23] He featured in a total of six matches for the side before departing.

Almopos Aridea

On 26 August 2021, Almopos Aridea announced the signing of Stamboulidis.[24] He made his debut with the newly promoted team on 28 November, replacing Dimitris Aslabaloglou in a 2–0 away loss against Xanthi for the Super League Greece 2 championship.[25]

Irodotos

On 21 January 2022, Stamboulidis moved to fellow-second division side Irodotos.[26]

International career

Born in Australia, Stamboulidis is of Greek descent; he is eligible to play for both Australia and Greece.[27]

Australia

Subsequent to a successful national championship with the Victorian State Team in 2009, Stamboulidis was selected to form the 30 man squad for the U13 Qantas Socceroos.

In 2015, Stamboulidis played for the Australia U19 Schoolboys.

During a youth game between Melbourne City FC and Melbourne Victory FC, Stamboulidis was identified by Paul Okon, the Australia U20 coach, during his scouting visit to the Melbourne Derby. Josep Gombau in his role as Australia U23 coach, also had discussions with Stamboulidis regarding him joining the Olyroos.[28]

Greece

In March 2015, Stamboulidis was invited to take part in the Greece national under-19 team national team, following his tour with the Australia U19 Schoolboys tour in the United Kingdom in January. Late in the month, he featured in two friendlies against Ukraine U19 in Tripoli, Greece.[29] [30]

While preparing for the Greece national U19 team friendlies against Ukraine, Stamboulidis trained with U20 AEK and was asked to join them by Stelios Manolas. Stamboulidis however decided to accept a scholarship offered to him by Columbia University in New York City.

In June 2015, Stamboulidis noted he wanted to play for Australia.

Personal life

Stamboulidis' younger brother George is also a footballer and student-athlete at Yale University.[31]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Stamboulidis To Forego Senior Year After Signing In Greece. gocolumbialions.com. Columbia Athletics Mens Soccer. August 14, 2018. March 11, 2019.
  2. Web site: ALL AUSTRALIAN BOYS FOOTBALL (SOCCER) TEAM. schoolsportaustralia.edu.au. School Sport Australia. 2014. March 11, 2019.
  3. Web site: 26 August 2019. Meet Australia's talented Haris Stamboulidis. FTBL. 23 January 2022.
  4. Web site: Professional Footballers Australia. 3 November 2017. From Bundoora to the Big Apple. 13 April 2019. www.pfa.net.au.
  5. Web site: FootballNetwork. May 1, 2009. Qantas Australian U13 Boys squad named for training camp. 13 April 2019. www.socceroos.com.au.
  6. Web site: Helen Velissaris. December 16, 2014. Stamboulidis gets international call up. 13 April 2019. www.neoskosmos.com.
  7. Web site: Lucy Callander, Heidelberg Leader. 16 December 2014. Heidelberg's Charalampos Stamboulidis to represent Australia at School Sports Australian National Team Tour in UK and Ireland. 13 April 2019. www.heraldsun.com.au.
  8. Web site: Neos Kosmos. March 30, 2015. Melbourne City's Stamboulidis to represent Greece. April 13, 2019. www.neoskosmos.com.
  9. Web site: Melbourne City FC. 19 November 2014. Youth players selected for U19 SSA National Team. 13 April 2019. www.melbournecityfc.com.au.
  10. Web site: Philip Micallef. 6 August 2016. Student Stamboulidis revels in juggling act. 13 April 2019. SBS.
  11. Web site: Philip Micallef. 4 June 2015. Stamboulidis dreams of playing for Australia... again. 13 April 2019. SBS.
  12. Web site: 17 November 2017. Soccer's man of many talents: Haris Stamboulidis' worldly path to Columbia. Columbia Spectator. 23 January 2022.
  13. Web site: Elias Doodoudes. 25 August 2016. Χάρης Σταμπουλίδης: "Μελβούρνη-Νέα Υόρκη", ένα χρόνο μετά…. Haris Stuboulidis: "Melbourne-New York" a year after. 11 March 2019. Neos Kosmos. el.
  14. Web site: George Stogiannou. 15 August 2016. Stamboulidis pursues academic and football excellence in New York. 11 March 2019. Neos Kosmos.
  15. Web site: 8 August 2016. Haris Stamboulidis' two-pronged approach to a professional career. Goal. 23 January 2022.
  16. Web site: Haris Stamboulidis. Columbia Lions. 23 January 2022.
  17. Web site: 3 November 2017. From Bundoora to the Big Apple. Professional Footballers Australia. 23 January 2022.
  18. Web site: Haralambous Stamboulidis 2017 PDL Stats. USL League Two.
  19. Web site: Haralambous Stamboulidis 2018 PDL Stats. USL League Two. 23 January 2022.
  20. Web site: 25 July 2018. Ο Χαράλαμπος Σταμπουλίδης στον ΑΡΗ. Charalambos Stampoulidis at ARIS. Aris FC. el. 23 January 2022.
  21. Web site: 8 August 2019. Haris Stamboulidis, el primer australiano del Extremadura. Haris Stamboulidis, Extremadura's first Australian. Extremadura UD. es. 23 January 2022. 4 November 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191104214212/https://www.extremaduraud.com/haris-stamboulidis-el-primer-australiano-del-extremadura/. dead.
  22. Web site: 17 September 2020. El central australiano Haris Stamboulidis buscará un hueco en la Cultural. Australian stopper Haris Stamboulidis will search for a place at Cultural. La Nueva Crónica. es. 23 January 2022.
  23. Web site: 8 October 2020. El Langreo confirma el fichaje de Haris Stamboulidis. Langreo confirm the signing of Haris Stamboulidis. Futbol Asturiano. es. 23 January 2022.
  24. Web site: 26 August 2021. Αλμωπός Αριδαίας: Δικός του ο Σταμπουλίδης. Almopos Arideas: Stampoulidis joins. MikrLiga. el. 23 January 2022.
  25. Web site: 28 November 2021. MATCH REPORT: ΑΟ Ξάνθη – Αλμωπός 2-0. MATCH REPORT: Xanthi – Almopos 2-0. Xanthi Sport. el. 23 January 2022.
  26. Web site: 21 January 2022. Στην αποστολή Λέτσο, Σταμπουλίδης. In the Letso mission, Stamboulidis. Football League News. el. 23 January 2022.
  27. Web site: Philip Micallef. June 4, 2015. Stamboulidis dreams of playing for Australia again. October 21, 2021. www.sbs.com.au.
  28. Web site: Dave Lewis. November 16, 2017. Greece bid to poach Aussie youngster Stamboulidis. October 21, 2021. www.sbs.com.au.
  29. Web site: Philip Micallef. June 4, 2015. Melbourne City's rising star Haris Stamboulidis revealed his dream of playing for his country Australia despite serious overtures from Greece. April 13, 2019. www.theworldgame.sbs.com.au.
  30. Web site: Michael Huguenin. November 25, 2017. Haris Stamboulidis' two-pronged approach to a professional career. April 13, 2019. www.goal.com/en-au.
  31. Web site: 16 February 2021. Greek-Australian brothers playing for their home and heritage. Neos Kosmos. 23 January 2022.