Alexander Stavrinou (born 13 September 1990) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

, who most recently played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Aveley Aveley is a village and former civil parish in the unitary authority of Thurrock in Essex, England, and forms one of the traditional Church of England parishes. Aveley is 16 miles (26.2 km) east of Charing Cross. In the 2021 United King ...

. Being of Cypriot heritage, he has represented

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

youth at international level.

Career

Club career

Stavrinou started his career in the Charlton Athletic Youth Academy from the age of 13, rising through into the Reserves. In the 2008–09 season, he made 23 appearances for the under-18 team scoring once, and a further 12 appearances in the reserves. He signed his first professional contract for

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

in June 2009. Stavrinou made his first-team debut for Charlton in their 1–0 away against Herford United in the League Cup on 11 August. Charlton manager,

Phil Parkinson Philip John Parkinson (born 1 December 1967) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the manager of club Wrexham. Parkinson acquired a Social Science degree early into his career as a man ...

praised Stavrinou saying; "Alex Stavrinou came in for his debut and I thought it was an absolutely terrific performance". Stavrinou signed for

Conference National The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National League (English football), National Le ...

club

Ebbsfleet United Ebbsfleet United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Northfleet, Kent, England. The club compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1946 from the merger ...

on a one-month loan in November 2009, which was then extended to a season long loan where he won 'young player of the year' . In October 2010, Stavrinou joined

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...

on a one-month loan deal. His loan was later extended until 9 January 2011. In May 2011, Stavrinou played for

Aldershot Town Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. The club was founded in the spr ...

in a reserve game against

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

, losing 4–1. On 12 August 2011, Stavrinou signed for his former loan club

following a vote by members of My Football Club, which owned Ebbsfleet United, to increase the playing budget. After finishing the 2013–14 season as player of the year at

Cray Wanderers Cray Wanderers Football Club is an English semi-professional association football, football club based in Chislehurst, London. Based on later reports, the club has a claim to have been established some time in 1860 in the twin villages of St ...

, he started the following season at

. After a brief spell back with Cray Wanderers at the end of the year, he returned to Aveley in January 2015.

International career

Although born in England, Stavrinou has represented Cyprus under-17, qualifying through his father's Cypriot heritage. Stravrinou was also approached to feature for Cyprus under-21, but stated at the time that he'd like to concentrate on his career with

. He said; "They've spoken to my parents about possibly featuring for the U21s but as I've only got a year here I really need to be pushing on and focusing all my efforts on Charlton."

Style of play

As a youth player, Stavrinou played as a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

, before his under-16 manager Steve Avory converted him into a

Martin Ling Martin Ling (born 15 July 1966) is an English Association football, football manager and former player currently director of football for Leyton Orient F.C., Leyton Orient. He played in over 100 The Football League, Football League matches for ...

described him as; "tenacious but also technical central midfielder who can do both sides of the game".

Personal life

As a young man, he attended

St Bonaventure's Catholic School St Bonaventure's is a Roman Catholic boys' secondary school and sixth form in Forest Gate, London, England. The school was founded in 1875. History St Bonaventure's was founded as a private Roman Catholic school in 1855, by members of the F ...

Forest Gate Forest Gate is a district of West Ham in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England. It is located northeast of Charing Cross. The area's name relates to its position adjacent to Wanstead Flats, the southernmost part of Epping Forest. ...

. After he was done with his job at Charlton Athletic he set up a sports company called Sporting4Schools. He is known for teaching PE lessons across London and Essex.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stavrinou, Alex 1990 births Living people People educated at St Bonaventure's Catholic School Footballers from Harlow English people of Greek Cypriot descent English men's footballers Cypriot men's footballers 21st-century Cypriot sportsmen Charlton Athletic F.C. players Ebbsfleet United F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Lewes F.C. players Cray Wanderers F.C. players National League (English football) players Men's association football midfielders 21st-century English sportsmen