Christos Albanis (footballer, born 1994)

Not to be confused with Christos Albanis (footballer, born 1999).

Christos Albanis
Albanis with AEK Athens in 2018
Personal information
Date of birth (1994-11-05) 5 November 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth Kalabaka, Greece
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Winger
Team information
Current team
 Andorra
Number 19
Youth career
0000–2005 Meteora
2005–2010 AO Dimitra Apollon 2005
2010–2013 Werder Bremen
2013–2014 Eintracht Frankfurt
2014–2015 Freiburg
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2014 Eintracht Frankfurt II 20 (4)
2014–2015 SC Freiburg II 20 (4)
2015–2018 Apollon Smyrnis 63 (18)
2018–2023 AEK Athens 62 (5)
2021–2022 → Apollon Limassol (loan) 25 (5)
2022–2023 → Andorra (loan) 31 (4)
2023– Andorra 13 (0)
International career
2011 Greece U18 2 (0)
2014–2015 Greece U20 4 (0)
2015 Greece U21 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 November 2024

Christos Albanis (Greek: Χρήστος Αλμπάνης; born 5 November 1994) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a winger for Segunda División club FC Andorra.

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]

On 7 January 2021, he signed a contract extension, until the summer of 2024.[15] On 15 February 2021, he scored in a 4–2 away win against AEL. It was his first of the season.[16] On 18 April 2021, Albanis sealed a 3–1 home win against Asteras Tripolis.[17]

On 1 September 2021, Apollon Limassol announces the agreement with AEK for the transfer on a long-season loan until May 2022.[18] Exactly one year later, he switched teams and countries again after agreeing to a one-year loan deal with Segunda División side FC Andorra.[19]

On 3 February 2023, Albanis joined FC Andorra on permanent basis.

Career statistics

As of 27 May 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Eintracht Frankfurt II 2013–14 Regionalliga Südwest 20 4 — — 20 4
SC Freiburg II 2014–15 Regionalliga Südwest 20 4 — — 0 4
Apollon Smyrnis 2015–16 Super League Greece 2 7 1 1 0 — 8 1
2016–17 27 9 2 0 — 29 9
2017–18 Super League Greece 29 8 2 0 — 31 8
Total 63 18 5 0 — 68 18
AEK Athens 2018–19 Super League Greece 13 1 3 0 1 0 17 1
2019–20 26 2 6 2 0 0 32 4
2020–21 22 2 5 0 2 0 29 2
2021–22 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 0
2022–23 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Total 62 5 14 2 5 0 81 7
Apollon Limassol (loan) 2021–22 Cypriot First Division 25 5 2 0 — 27 5
Andorra (loan) 2022–23 Segunda División 31 4 1 0 — 32 4
Andorra 2023–24 Segunda División 2 0 0 0 — 2 0
Career total 223 40 22 2 5 0 249 42
  1. ^ Includes Greek Cup, Cypriot Cup, Copa del Rey

Honours

Apollon Limassol

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 28 May 2017.
  3. ^ "Πρώτη νίκη για τον Απόλλωνα!" (in Greek). Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  4. ^ "Ισοπαλία στο Αγρίνιο!" (in Greek). Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  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 11 December 2017.
  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.
  15. ^ "ΑΕΚ: Αλμπάνης μέχρι το 2024". www.sport24.gr. 19 February 2020.
  16. ^ "ΑΕΛ - ΑΕΚ 2-4: Ο από μηχανής Αθανασιάδης της έδωσε το τρίποντο σε ματς-θρίλερ". www.sport24.gr. 15 February 2021.
  17. ^ "ΑΕΚ - Αστέρας Τρίπολης 3-1: Καθάρισε στο τέλος". www.sport24.gr. 18 April 2021.
  18. ^ "Ο Απόλλων Λεμεσού ανακοίνωσε τον δανεισμό του Αλμπάνη από την ΑΕΚ". remonews.com. 1 September 2021.
  19. ^ "Christos Albanis, reforç per a l'atac tricolor" [Christos Albanis, addition for the tricolour attack] (in Catalan). FC Andorra. 1 September 2022. Archived from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.