The Greek Aussie stars vying for glory in Australian Championship
Source: NEOS KOSMOS
A major characteristic of the Australian Championship has been its connection to the country’s ethnic communities, particularly the Greek, and the Hellenic presence continues to embody the competition with two Greek clubs making it to the quarter-finals.
The strong sense of Hellenism is felt through not just South Melbourne’s and Heidelberg United’s participation, but through the various Greek Australians plying their trade at the other clubs as well.
Neos Kosmos spoke with six Greek Australians that are featuring in the knockout rounds of the inaugural Australian Championship, who shared their experiences and delved into the journeys they have gone on leading up to the competition.
Heidelberg’s heroes hungry for more honours
“Alexandros” has had an unprecedented season by practically every measure.
The club has not only made the final of every competition they have competed in thus far, including the Australia Cup, but in doing so have surpassed the record for most games played by any Australian team in one season.
The incredible success, as well as the intense workload, has not been lost on its many stars like Anthony Lesiotis, Anthony Theodoropoulos and Johnny Apostolopoulos.
“If you told me the start of November last year that we would be still playing into December 2025, I’d have said there’s no chance,” said Apostolopoulos, whose family hails from Kalamata and a village called Monastiraki (not the one in Athens).
The players stressed that the professional environment of the club and their hunger for football and success is keeping them going in spite of any physical and mental fatigue they are facing.
“I think it didn’t hit us at the start, but now it’s really started to hit us and you can see it with sore bodies and tired legs and not just physically but mentally as well,” said Lesiotis, who has roots to Piraeus, Athens and Florina.
“Honestly, at this point, we have played that many games where we view the next one as just another game. The end goal is to win silverware, and we know we’re only three games away from winning that and the holiday at the end of it.”
Anthony Theodoropoulos, whose family hails from areas near Patra and Sparta, shared his teammates’ sentiments, adding:
“We play football because we love it. So, the more games we can play, the better.”
For Apostolopoulos and Lesiotis, their experiences with “Alexandros” have a distinct personal flavour given most of their respective families are fans of either Heidelberg United or South Melbourne.
“You don’t really think about it as much as a player, but obviously then when you come home and you speak to your parents and your family, it shows how much it sort of means to them,” Apostolopoulos said.
The 2025 season has been a landmark year for Heidelberg and the players, none more so than Lesiotis who described it as the best season of his career.
“I always saw my best year before this year was at Melbourne Victory,” he said, referring to the 2019/20 season when he featured regularly in the A-League and also played in the Asia Champions League.
The midfielder spent further years in the A-League without the game time he craved, which he has now found at “Alexandros”, emerging as one of the core players and leaders of the team.
“I took on a new role and now the team’s made three finals. Unfortunately, we haven’t won them all, but I’d obviously rank this one as my best ever season in terms of performance, consistency, how the team’s performed and above all happiness,” he said.
“I’ve never been so happy to play football since I turned 15.”
Lesiotis noted that the best compliment he can say for his team is this year they have proven that the NPL clubs are not as far off in quality from the A-League as what people may have thought.
Theodoropoulos concurred, adding:
“After the season we’ve had, it’s put us in the spotlight on the national stage, which obviously is a pleasure to be a part of and what every young footballer wants to do.”
Heidelberg’s next assignment will be facing North Eastern Metrostars at the Olympic Village, and the players stressed they are confident while also praising the Australian Championship as an avenue in exposing teams to clubs they have never experienced before.
“You don’t know exactly what to expect, but obviously you get to watch these teams and sort of do a bit of background knowledge, but at the end of the day, we just go in and focus on what we control,” Apostolopoulos said.
From Greece’s academies to Australian Championship Quarters
The other Hellenic side that has made it into the knockouts is South Melbourne, a team decorated with numerous Greek-background players including Andrew Mesourouni.
Despite only being 24 years old, the forward’s career has seen him test his skills not only in Australia but in European countries like Greece and Spain.
Among his experiences, Mesourouni featured in the Under 19s of then-Greek Super League club Lamia, a stint he thoroughly enjoyed.
“It’s not a big town, but it was definitely a well-run club and obviously it did that many years in first division and actually competing and those big games against AEK, PAOK, Panathinaikos, and Olympiacos,” the forward with roots from Kalamata, Kefalonia and near Paphos said.
“All in all, it was a great experience,” he said, noting he also spent six months playing for second division side Kerkyra.
Mesourouni stated that the Australian Championship has been highly enjoyable for himself and his teammates.
“It’s always good travelling, getting to play other teams across the country and actually feel like professional players, even though it’s not a professional league yet,” he said.
The forward noted that he and the other Greeks in the squad like Thomas Giannakopoulos, Alex Menelaou and Thierry Papadimitriou have taken joy from the Hellenism on display, which was amplified by playing Sydney Olympic.
“It’s definitely brought back the older Greek community to the ground,” he said, praising in particular the first game against Olympic that saw nearly 7000 people at Lakeside Stadium.
“Hellas” will be hoping for a similar success at Lakeside when they face NWS Spirit, a game they are not taking lightly.
“You can see these guys have performed in their group against Avondale, Preston, and Canberra Croatia,” Mesourouni said.
“Going through like video analysis and over the games that they’ve played, I think it’s going to be a really tough game, but it should be an entertaining one too.”
From Canada’s first Aussie player to Marconi’s staunch defender
The Greeks have made their presence known not just at the Hellenic-background clubs but also at other teams, including Marconi via big centre half Tass Mourdoukoutas.
Mourdoukoutas, who has roots to Thessaloniki and Kalamata, has already made history in his young career with his journey seeing him travel to one of the smaller markets in professional football: Canada.
“It was definitely a special time in my life,” the defender said upon reflecting on his two and a half years playing in Canada’s first division with York United and Valour FC.
“I was the first Australian to go to Canada as well when I went in 2022, so I was kind of stepping into the unknown,” he said.
“But I think it made me a lot stronger and more experienced and brought back a lot of amazing, you know, one of the most pivotal and important times of my life, I think, going there.”
One of the big takeaways he had of the league was how much younger and very results-driven it was compared to the A-League (where he spent many years playing for the Wanderers).
“In Canada, it was all about sort of winning at all costs, making the playoffs, like having team success rather than individual brand of football or how things looked,” he said, noting the A-League put a stronger emphasis on tactics.
Mourdoukoutas remarked that the experience helped him grow immensely and is one that he truly appreciates having had.
From making history in Canada, the defender is now doing the same in Australia with Marconi, a team that also has a Hellenic flavour with him and Damien Tsekenis as players and Peter Tsekenis as coach.
Mourdoukoutas admitted that the Championship was a big factor in him joining the Stallions mid-season and the experience is one that has greatly impressed him so far, particularly in seeing the quality of the sides from the other NPL leagues.
Marconi is set for one of the biggest games of the competition yet as they face rivals Wests APIA in one of the most anticipated Derby D’Italia clashes ever.
“I think it’ll be it’ll be hot from the start,” the 26-year-old said.
“We know the history between the two clubs, two massive clubs in Australian football. It is an Italian derby as well, so it means a lot to both organisations, but also both fan bases too…There’s no kind of real bigger stage to play them this year.”
Avondale’s Spartan shot stopper
Thomas Manos stands alone in many respects at the Championship, being not only a goalkeeper (a solitary position by nature) but also the only Greek-background shot stopper playing regularly in the competition.
The Sydneysider, who moved to Victoria back in 2021, did his part to help Avondale top their group and remain unbeaten.
Manos, who has roots from Sparti, noted the Championship has been a great joy, allowing him to experience the benefits of national competition he was deprived of when in the development systems at Sydney FC and the Wanderers.
“I never really got the full experience of the A-League…so in terms of playing at a national stage, this would be the highlight of my career,” he said.
“There is an enjoyment that you get out of knowing most weeks you’re probably going to go in and get a chance to play, and there’s going to be eyes on you, there’s going to be big crowds.”
He highlighted the crowds as something that has particularly enthused him, with greater numbers turning out compared to the NPL and multiple games of the competition even getting numbers that rival (and even eclipse) some A-League attendances.
“That is what’s going to make this a long-lasting competition, if it continues going that way,” the 29-year-old said.
Speaking on Avondale’s quarter-final clash with Moreton, he acknowledged that he could have his work cut out for him given they are a high-scoring side.
“Playing these teams from interstate is always a little bit more difficult because…until you play against them, you don’t really know what they’re about,” he said.
“They are a high-scoring side, so it should be an interesting battle.”
The original article: belongs to NEOS KOSMOS .
