Sofia Sakalis (born 11 July 2002) is an Australian soccer player who plays for Melbourne Victory in the A-League Women. She has represented Australia in the Australia U-17 and Australia U-20. Sakalis plays in the attacking midfielder position.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sofia Sakalis | ||
| Date of birth | 11 July 2002 | ||
| Place of birth | East Melbourne, Australia | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Melbourne Victory | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2021 | Melbourne City | 5 | (0) |
| 2021–2024 | Perth Glory | 49 | (3) |
| 2024– | Melbourne Victory | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2016–2017 | Australia U-17 | 8 | (12) |
| 2018– | Australia U-20 | 2 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 28 May 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 31 October 2018 | |||
Early life
editSakalis, who is of Greek-Australian background, showed interest in soccer at the age of three and began playing two years later.[1][2] When she first started playing, coaches assigned her to teams with boys her age but advanced her to play with older boys.[1] At age 13, her performance at the National Championships earned her call-ups to three training camps with the Junior Matildas, Australia's under-17 national team.[1]
Club career
editMelbourne City, 2017–2021
editAfter training with Melbourne City in 2015–16, Sakalis signed with the team for the 2017–18 season at the age of 15.[3] She made her debut for the club during the team's 5–2 win over the Newcastle Jets on 12 November.[4][5]
Perth Glory, 2021–2024
editSofia signed a 2-year deal with Perth Glory ahead of the 2021–22 A-League Women season.[6] In August 2024, Sakalis announced that she had left the club.[7]
Melbourne Victory, 2024–
editIn August 2024, Sakalis joined Melbourne Victory.[8]
National Premier League
editSakalis was awarded Football Victoria's Gold Medal Award for the best player of 2022.
International career
editSakalis competed with the Junior Matildas[9][10] at the 2017 AFC U-16 Women's Championship qualification tournament in Vietnam where they finished first in their group with an undefeated record.[11] During the team's first group match against Palestine, Sakalis scored five goals,[12] and scored a total of 11 goals over 5 games.[13] She was the top scorer at the qualifying tournament, helping Australia secure a place at the 2017 AFC U-16 Women's Championship in Thailand.[11][14]
Honours
editSakalis was named 2016 Sport Stars of the Year with Olympic boxer Jason Whateley by the Whitehorse Leader.[15]
References
edit- ^ a b c Komarkowski, Antonia (21 June 2017). "Sofia Sakalis 15-year-old Soccer star". Greek City Times. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
- ^ "City sign trio for Westfield W-League season". W-League. 24 September 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
- ^ "Complete preview for each W-League team for season 2017/18". News.com.au. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
- ^ "S. Sakalis". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
- ^ "A day to remember for Sakalis and Muldeary". Melbourne City FC. 17 November 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
- ^ "Midfield duo board w-league 2021/22 campaign". Perth Glory. 21 July 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
- ^ Sakalis, Sofia (17 August 2024). "For 3 seasons Perth has been my home, a huge thank you to all my teammates, staff and supporters, that have made it so special. @perthgloryfc will always be a club and place I treasure" – via Instagram.
- ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Sofia Sakalis". Melbourne Victory. 29 August 2024.
- ^ Stogiannou, George (5 August 2016). "Sakalis selected for Junior Matildas in AFC qualifying tournament in Vietnam". Neos Kosmos. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
- ^ "Juric names squad for AFC U-16 qualifiers". Westfield Matildas. 3 August 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
- ^ a b "Junior Matildas complete qualifiers with perfect record". The Women's Game. 3 December 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
- ^ "Junior Matildas' easy win in Vietnam". Westfield Matildas. 25 August 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
- ^ Turner, David (25 September 2016). "Vermont South's Sofia Sakalis is a rising soccer star with the world at her feet". Whitehorse Leader. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
- ^ "World champions Korea DPR target Asian treble". FIFA. 8 September 2017. Archived from the original on 9 September 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
- ^ Naughtin, Paddy (22 November 2016). "Soccer star Sofia Sakalis and Olympic boxer Jason Whateley named 2016 Whitehorse Leader Sport Stars". Whitehorse Leader. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
External links
edit- Melbourne City player profile
- Sofia Sakalis at Soccerway