Christos Albanis

Christos Albanis (Greek: Χρήστος Αλμπάνης; born 5 November 1994) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a winger for AEK Athens.

For the Asteras Tripolis player, see Christos Albanis (footballer, born 1999).
Christos Albanis
Albanis with AEK Athens in August 2018
Personal information
Date of birth (1994-11-05) 5 November 1994
Place of birth Kalabaka, Thessaly, Greece
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position(s) Winger
Club information
Current team
 AEK Athens
Number 14
Youth career
–2005 Meteora
2005–2010 AO Dimitra Apollon 2005
2010–2013 Werder Bremen II
2013–2014 Eintracht Frankfurt II
2014–2015 SC Freiburg II
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2018 Apollon Smyrnis 64 (18)
2018– AEK Athens 31 (3)
National team
2011 Greece U18 2 (0)
2014–2015 Greece U20 4 (0)
2015 Greece U21 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 February 2020

Club career

Early career

Born in Kalabaka, Trikala, Greece, Albanis started his career at Meteora, the team of his native town. At the age of 16 he moved to Germany, joining Werder Bremen's U17 team. He later went on to play for the club's U19 team before playing for Eintracht Frankfurt II and SC Freiburg II.[1]

Apollon Smyrnis

On 31 August 2015, Apollon Smyrnis announced the signing of Albanis on a two-year deal. During the first season he did not get much first team action. In the 2016–17 season he was one of the most important players, as his team won the league title and gained promotion to the Super League. He scored 9 goals and provided his teammates with 6 assists. His performances attracted the interest of Super League side, Panionios, but Apollon Smyrnis' administration moved quickly and extended his contract by two additional years.[2]

On 22 October 2017, he scored his first Super League goal in a 2–0 home win against Xanthi, which was also his first for the 2017–18 season.[3] A week later, he scored the equalizer in a 1–1 away draw against Panetolikos.[4] A further week later, he scored in a third successive match, a 4–3 home win against PAS Giannina.[5] On 10 December 2017 he scored in the early minutes of the second half, but Apollon didn't avoid a 3–1 home loss.[6] On 1 April 2018, he scored a brace in a 3–0 home win game against AEL in his club's effort to avoid relegation.[7] On 22 April 2018, Albanis’ strike in the opening minute of a tense match at the Georgios Kamaras Stadium against champions Olympiacos was enough to seal three vital points for the home side, and are now assured of Super League next season as a result.[8]

AEK Athens

In May 2018, Apollon Smyrnis announced the transfer of Albanis to AEK Athens. Apollon Smyrnis secured a resale rate of 20%.[9] On 14 August 2018, he made his international debut in a 2–1 home win UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round, 2nd leg game against Celtic as a late substitute.[10] On 17 March 2019, came off the bench to score a superb late goal which earned AEK Athens a narrow 1–0 away win over rivals Atromitos as AEK Athens cemented their grip on third place. It was his first goal with the club in all competitions.[11]

On 22 January 2020, he scored his first goal for the season, by collecting a stray pass from an opponent in the area, and slid his effort under the goalkeeper in a 3–1 away win against Volos.[12] On 16 February 2020, Albanis scored the only goal of the game as AEK Athens triumphed 1–0 against Aris at the Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium in Thessaloniki,[13] and three days later he scored in a 4–0 home Greek Cup win game against Panetolikos.[14]

Career statistics

Club
As of 19 February 2020
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Apollon Smyrnis 2015–16 Superleague Greece 2 7110——81
2016–17 27920——299
2017–18 Superleague Greece 29820——318
Total 631850——6818
AEK Athens 2018–19 Superleague Greece 1313010—171
2019–20 1823200—214
Total 3136210—385
Career total 9421112100010623

References
  1. "Ο Καλαμπακιώτης άσσος της Φράϊμπουργκ Χρήστος Αλμπάνης μιλά αποκλειστικά στο 'ΣταγώνSports' – Αποστολή στο Φράϊμπουργκ Πάνος Παπαγεωργίου". Stagonnews (in Greek). 10 October 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  2. "Ανανέωσε ο Αλμπάνης!" (in Greek). Retrieved 2017-05-28.
  3. "Πρώτη νίκη για τον Απόλλωνα!" (in Greek). Retrieved 2017-10-22.
  4. "Ισοπαλία στο Αγρίνιο!" (in Greek). Retrieved 2017-10-29.
  5. "Ματσάρα στη Ριζούπολη με νικητή τον Απόλλωνα, 4-3 τον ΠΑΣ Γιάννινα". www.sport24.gr. 29 October 2017.
  6. "Απόλλων Σμύρνης - Αστέρας Τρίπολης 1-3!" (in Greek). Retrieved 2017-12-11.
  7. "Απόλλων-Λάρισα 3-0: Ο Αλμπάνης τον κρατά στην Super League". www.protothema.gr. 1 April 2018.
  8. "Απόλλων Σμύρνης - Ολυμπιακός 1-0". www.gazzetta.gr. 22 April 2018.
  9. "Επίσημο: Στην ΑΕΚ ο Αλμπάνης". www.sport24.gr. 23 May 2018.
  10. "AEK Athens vs Celtic 2-1". www.skysports.com. 14 August 2018.
  11. "Ατρόμητος - ΑΕΚ 0-1: Άλμα τρίτης θέσης με Αλμπάνη στο 85'". www.sport24.gr. 17 March 2019.
  12. "Βόλος - ΑΕΚ 1-3: Οι εκπλήξεις του Καρέρα έκαναν τη δουλειά τους". www.sport24.gr. 22 January 2020.
  13. "Άρης - ΑΕΚ 0-1: Με Αλμπάνη και άμυνα α λα ιταλικά". www.sport24.gr. 16 February 2020.
  14. "ΑΕΚ - Παναιτωλικός 4-0: "Σβηστά" στα ημιτελικά του Κυπέλλου". www.sport24.gr. 19 February 2020.
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