Christopher James Ikonomidis ( ; born 4 May 1995) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as an attacking midfielder or as a winger for Indian Super League club East Bengal.
He is notable in being capped by his senior national team despite not yet having played a single senior game at club level at the time.Socceroos squad to face Germany FourFourTwo
Club career
Early career Ikonomidis came from a family who had always played football, started playing himself when he was four years old in Sydney at local team Cronulla RSL.Interview: Chris Ikonomidis Talks to Young Roos Young Roos He played youth football for NPL NSW side Sutherland Sharks. In 2010, he was part of the team that won the Oceania zone of the Manchester United Premier Cup, qualifying for the finals in England. His performance in England, including four goals in a 7–0 defeat of a Wigan Athletic youth side.Sutherland Sharks ready for Manchester United Premier Cup in England Football NSW
After scoring several goals on trial with Italian club Atalanta, including one against Chelsea, Ikonomidis was offered a youth contract on his 16th birthday.
Lazio In 2013, after 18 months at Atalanta, Ikonomidis was offered a three-year youth contract by Lazio.Unknown teenager Chris Ikonomidis on verge of breakthrough in Italy The Australian 3 August 2013 After strong performances with Lazio's Primavera squad, Ikonomidis made his senior debut for Lazio on 10 December 2015 starting in the final Group Stage match of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League against AS Saint-Étienne.#Starting11 Berisha; Basta, Mauricio, Hoedt, Konko; FAnderson, Cataldi, Parolo, Oikonomidis; Matri, Djordjevic. S.S. Lazio Official Twitter, 9 December 2015 Ikonomidis signed a new contract on 5 June 2015.
Loan to Salernitana For the second half of the 2015–16 season, Lazio loaned Ikonomidis to Salernitana from the Serie B. He made his Serie B debut for Salernitana on 22 January 2016, playing the full match at home to Brescia, where his cross led to a Brescia own goal.
Loan to AGF On 31 August 2016, Ikonomidis joined AGF in the Danish Superliga on a season-long loan in a bid for regular game time. He made his debut on 12 September 2016, coming on as a 66th minute substitute in a 3–1 victory over Nordsjælland. He had a good season at AGF, but AGF announced that Ikonomidis was one out of five players that wouldn't continue at the club for the 2017–18 season.AGF siger farvel til fem spillere‚ bold.dk, 31 May 2017
Loan to Western Sydney Wanderers On 31 January 2018, Ikonomidis joined A-League club Western Sydney Wanderers on loan until the end of the season. At the end of the season he returned to Lazio.
Perth Glory On 11 September 2018, Ikonomidis signed a three-year contract with Perth Glory.
Melbourne Victory On 21 July 2021, Ikonmoidis signed a three-year marquee contract with Melbourne Victory.
International career Ikonomidis is of Greek heritage and was eligible for senior call-ups to both the Australia national team and the Greece national team. He turned down Greece in favour of Australia, being quoted in 2013 saying "I was approached by the Greek federation 12 months ago, but I said no. I am 100 per cent playing for Australia if given the chance".
In 2013, he was called up by Paul Okon to the Australian U20s for the COTIF Tournament in Valencia, and again in the 2014 AFC U-19 Championship, where he played one game against the UAE.Australia v UAE AFC Match Report He was also called up to the Olyroos for the 2013 AFC U-22 Championship in Oman (which was actually held in 2014), where he played against KuwaitAustralia v Kuwait AFC Match Report and Japan.Australia v Japan AFC Match Report
On 11 March 2015, Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou named Ikonomidis in the senior squad for friendlies against reigning World Champion Germany and Macedonia to be held that month. He was substituted on replacing Nathan Burns in the game against Macedonia in Skopje on 30 March to earn his first senior Socceroos cap.Socceroos Stalemate in Skopje SBS, 31 March 2015 His competitive debut for the Socceroos came on 3 September 2015 during 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, when he was substituted on in the 61st minute during Australia's 5–0 win over Bangladesh at Perth Oval.Australia v Bangladesh AFC Match Report
Ikonomidis was named in the Olyroos squad for the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship,Olyroos squad: Aurelio Vidmar confirms squad for AFC Under 23s Championship Tom Smithies, Fox Sports, 23 December 2015 although he was recalled later from the camp by Lazio for his loan to Salernitana.
On 30 December 2018, Ikonomidis scored his first international goal for Australia against Oman in an international friendly in the UAE. Ikonomidis scored off a cross by Awer Mabil from within the box.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupContinentalTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsLazio2015–16Serie A00001010Salernitana (loan)2015–16Serie B1410000141AGF (loan)2016–17Danish Superliga1612100182Western Sydney Wanderers (loan)2017–18A-League1030000103Perth Glory2018–19A-League20900002092019–2012300001232020–2194000094Total411600004116Melbourne Victory2021–22A-League Men23021102612022–2323210002422023–242920000292Total7543110795Macarthur FC2024–25A-League Men13200001322025–261413251224Total2733251356Career total18328847116327
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsAustralia201420201540201600201700201811201951202120Total142
Scores and results list Australia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ikonomidis goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Chris IkonomidisNo.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 30 December 2018 Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 7 2–0 5–0 Friendly2 15 January 2019 Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates 10 2–1 3–2 2019 AFC Asian Cup
Honours Lazio Coppa Italia Primavera: 2013–14, 2014–15 Supercoppa Primavera: 2014
Perth Glory A-League Premiership: 2018–19
Melbourne Victory FFA Cup: 2021
Individual A-League Young Footballer of the Year: 2018–19 PFA A-League Team of the Season: 2018–19
References
External links