Zikos Chua

Vasileios Zikos Chua Ming Xun (born 15 April 2002) is a Singaporean- Greek professional footballer who plays as a forward for Singapore Premier League club Geylang International.

Chua holds the record of being the youngest player to score four goals in a single Singapore Premier League's match history at 20 years and 114 days.

Early life

Chua was born in Greece to a Greek mother and a Chinese Singaporean father and grew up in Kastoria, Macedonia, Greece, with his younger brother, before returning to Singapore when he was 10. He was a student at Tanjong Katong Secondary School when he made his first bow as a professional footballer. Chua studied at Nanyang Junior College.

Club career

Youth

Chua started his career with the National Football Academy before he was signed by former Geylang International head coach Mohd Noor Ali for the club's Under-19 side in 2017. He has also represented Singapore at various levels and was nominated for The New Paper Dollah Kassim Award in 2017.

While playing for the National Football Academy, Chua was also representing his school, Tanjong Katong Secondary School, in the National "C" Division, scoring 26 goals in 2016 to help his school win the title. He was named in Goal Singapore's 2020 NxGn list following his sublime performances for Geylang International.

Geylang International

On 4 July 2018, Chua came on as a late substitute in Geylang International's 3–1 win over Young Lions at Jalan Besar Stadium for his professional debut at the age of 16, Chua eclipsed the previous record set by Hariss Harun as the youngest ever debutant in the Singapore Premier League. He was the youngest player to ever play in the country's top tier of soccer and is the third-youngest scorer in the history of Singapore's professional league.

On 14 April 2019, Chua became the third youngest scorer in Singapore Premier League history, at 16 years and 364 days, after Hariss Harun and Fareez Farhan. He would than scored a brace in a 2–1 win over Warriors FC on 23 June 2019. Chua kept his exploits by becoming the youngest player ever to reach the five-goal mark in league history, at 17 years and 102 days on 27 July 2019. As of April 2020, Chua has scored 5 goals in 13 matches for the Eagles. His talent would not go un-noticed as he was picked up by J.League side Matsumoto Yamaga on a training stint.

However Chua would suffer an ACL injury in 2019, setting him back.

Chua would returned to Geylang International on 14 January 2024 after he completed his National Services. On 14 June 2024, he scored a brace in a 6–2 win over Hougang United.

Young Lions (loan)

In January 2022, Chua joined Young Lions on loan while serving his compulsory National Services with the Singapore Armed Forces. He scored his first goal for the club on 19 March 2022 in a 4–3 lost against Balestier Khalsa. On 7 August 2022, Chua scored a poker in a 4–2 win over Tanjong Pagar United which was also his first career hat-trick. However on 24 August 2022, he suffered a Cruciate ligament injury which ruled him out for a year.

On 29 July 2023, Chua returned to action coming on as a substitution and scoring a goal in a 6–2 lost against Hougang United.

International career

Chua was born in Greece to a Greek mother and a Chinese Singaporean father which make him eligible to represent Greece or Singapore at international level.

Youth

Chua was first called up to the Singapore U22 in 2019 for the 2019 Merlion Cup. He made his debut for the team on 7 June 2019, in a 3–0 win against Philippines U23.

On 31 July 2019, Singapore U18 head coach Fadzuhasny Juraimi named Chua in the Singapore squad for 2019 AFF U18 Youth Championship.

Personal life

Chua younger brother, Christos Chua is also a professional footballer currently playing for Geylang International under-21 side while serving his National Services.

Career statistics

Club

International

U23 International caps

U19 International caps

U16 International caps

U16 International goals

Honours

International

Singapore U22
* Merlion Cup: 2019

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chua, Zikos
2002 births
Living people
Footballers from Kastoria
Singaporean men's footballers
Singapore men's youth international footballers
Greek men's footballers
Singaporean sportspeople of Chinese descent
Singaporean people of Greek descent
Greek people of Singaporean descent
Men's association football midfielders
Singapore Premier League players
Geylang International FC players
Greek Macedonians
Competitors at the 2021 SEA Games
SEA Games competitors for Singapore
Young Lions FC players