Alexander Stavrinou (born 13 September 1990) is an English professional
footballer, who most recently played as a
midfielder for
Aveley.
Being of Cypriot heritage, he has represented
Cyprus 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 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 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, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...
club
Ebbsfleet United 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 on a one-month loan deal.
His loan was later extended until 9 January 2011.
In May 2011, Stavrinou played for
Aldershot Town in a reserve game against
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
, losing 4–1.
On 12 August 2011, Stavrinou signed for his former loan club
Ebbsfleet United 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, he started the following season at
Aveley. 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
Charlton Athletic. 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, before his under-16 manager Steve Avory converted him into a
midfielder.
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, known informally as St Bon's, is a voluntary-aided Catholic secondary school for boys aged 11–16 in Forest Gate, London Borough of Newham, England, with a mixed gender sixth form for 16–18-year-old students. It is under t ...
in
Forest Gate. After he was done with his job at Charlton Athletic he went to a sports company called Sports4Schools.
He is known for teaching PE lessons at Essex Primary School in Manor Park.
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
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