Terry Antonis

Terry Antonis

File:Terry Antonis.jpg Antonis training with Sydney FC in 2010
Personal information
Date of birth	(1993-11-26) 26 November 1993
Place of birth	Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia
Height
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	PAOK
Number	93
Youth career
	St Christopher’s
	Sydney Olympic
	Marconi Stallions
2007–2009	NSWIS
2009–2010	AIS
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2015	Sydney FC	69	(5)
2015–	PAOK	4	(0)
International career‡
2008–2010	Australia U-17	11	(3)
2010–2013	Australia U-20	19	(2)
2016–	Australia U-23	3	(0)
2012–	Australia	3	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 27 February 2016 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20 January 2016

Lefteris "Terry" Antonis (Greek: Λευτέρης "Τέρι" Αντόνης, born 26 November 1993) is an Australian football (soccer) player who plays for PAOK in Greece as a midfielder.

Born in Sydney, Antonis played youth football at the Australian Institute of Sport before making his professional debut for Sydney FC, aged sixteen. In 2015, he moved to Greece to play for PAOK.

Antonis has played for Australia on three occasions and was a member of the squad which won the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. He previously represented Australia frequently at youth level, including at the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Early life

Antonis was born in the suburb of Bankstown, Sydney of Greek descent. He first received media attention in Australia when he was 10 years old when he won a football talent competition on Channel 7 television show, Today Tonight, winning a trip to Madrid to make a training skills DVD with David Beckham. Frank Farina, former Socceroos coach and judge of the Channel 7 competition said: "His juggling is very good, he pulled out a squash ball and started juggling that and didn't drop it once, he is very impressive." He also obtained a sponsorship from Adidas because of his exceptional juggling skills.

Former Australian international Alex Tobin described him as "one of the most outstanding young players that I have seen" and "of immense talent without a doubt." He has also been touted as natural successor to Tim Cahill and Brett Holman in the Australian national team.

In addition to holding an Australian passport, Antonis also holds a Greek passport.

Early career

Antonis began his football career at St Christopher’s Soccer Club in Bankstown before moving to Sydney Olympic and Marconi.

Antonis signed a five-year contract with Everton at just 14 years of age, but his contract was terminated due to FFA's implementation of FIFA's rule prohibiting the overseas transfers of players under the age of 18. However, since signing with Sydney FC he has been linked with a move back to Everton once he turns 18 along with clubs such as Inter Milan and Marseille. Much of the speculation was based on his close personal ties with Everton and Socceroo star Tim Cahill, and further sparked by a 25-minute cameo in a friendly match for Sydney FC against Everton at ANZ Stadium on 10 July 2010. As recently as February 2012, however, Antonis has reiterated his commitment to Sydney FC and the remainder of his three-year contract, stating that he is more than happy being at the club. In April 2012, Antonis travelled to Germany to trial with Bundesliga club Borussia Monchengladbach as a potential replacement for Roman Neustadter.

Club career

Sydney FC

On 22 June 2010, he made his debut for Sydney in a friendly game against Macarthur Rams at Campbelltown Stadium. Then on 5 July 2010, he was officially signed to a 3-year contract by Sydney FC. Antonis made his competitive debut for Sydney FC against Wellington Phoenix on 11 September 2010. The game ended with a 2-1 loss. Antonis scored his first goal for Sydney FC on 16 February 2013 against Adelaide United.

After rupturing a muscle in his thigh, Antonis was out for 9 months which denied his move overseas. He finally returned to the senior squad in February 2014, the game of his return against Perth Glory, he scored his first goal since returning from injury.

Speculation with Utrecht and Parma

At the conclusion of the 2012-13 season, Antonis was approached by Dutch club FC Utrecht for a trial only for Sydney FC to accept an undisclosed bid from Italian Serie A club, Parma. He signed a four-year deal after Parma triggered a release clause in his two-year deal.

Speculation has emerged that his transfer to Parma has gone awry. The deal never went through and Antonis returned to Sydney FC.

PAOK

Sydney FC midfield general Terry Antonis is on the verge of joining Greek Super League club PAOK, with negotiations between the two clubs reportedly at an advanced stage. The 21-year-old has returned to Sydney from the Sky Blues' preseason camp on the Gold Coast to contemplate his next career move, with News Corp reporting a $500,000 bid for the midfielder is on the table.

Greek sources stated that Antonis, will sign a three-year contract after completing formalities, spoke at length with former Danish international and Technical Director of PAOK Frank Arnesen on the prospects of PAOK's title aspirations this season, ahead of his $500,000 move. It has been reported that the gifted Sydney FC star will immediately be loaned out to battling Greek Super League outfit Veria FC on completion of the PAOK deal. Veria F.C. are coached by Georgios Georgiadis, a former PAOK favourite as a player and twice the club’s interim coach before being appointed to their neighbours at the end of last season. Terry Antonis made his debut for PAOK in the Greek Cup match away to Chania on 3 December 2015, coming on as a 64th-minute substitute for Eyal Golasa. Terry Antonis made his Greek Super League debut on 21 February 2016 away to Panathinaikos as a 84th minute replacement for Giannis Mystakidis.

International career

File:Terry Antonis in 2013.jpg

Terry Antonis playing for the Young Socceroos in 2013.

Antonis was part of the final squad for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup but he did not get any actual game time during the tournament. On 23 December 2015, Antonis was included to Australia U-23 national team manager's Aurelio Vidmar selections for Olympic Games 2016 qualifiers, which took place in Doha.

Career statistics

As of 1 June 2016

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Sydney FC	2010–11	A-League	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
	2011–12		19	0	0	0	0	0	19	0
	2012–13		16	1	0	0	0	0	16	1
	2013–14		10	2	0	0	0	0	10	2
	2014–15		19	2	3	0	0	0	22	2
	Sydney FC Total		69	5	3	0	0	0	72	5
PAOK	2015–16	Superleague Greece	4	0	2	0	0	0	6	0
Career total			73	5	5	0	0	0	78	5

Honours

Country

Australia

• AFC Asian Cup: 2015

External links

• Terry Antonis at Soccerway
• Terry Antonis – FIFA competition record
• Terry Antonis – UEFA competition record