Melbourne City signing Alexia Apostolakis said she has joined the Liberty A-League premiers because “I want to be the best”.
The highly-rated 18-year-old centre-back has 42 Liberty A-League appearances to her name, accrued across three seasons with the Wanderers.
Preparing for the CommBank Young Matildas’ upcoming FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Colombia, she explained the reason for moving to the 2023-24 Grand Finalists – who are also gearing up for the inaugural AFC Women’s Champions League.
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“City has such a unique style of football, it has a European edge to it and I really love that it’s possession-based,” Apostolakis told City’s media.
“The people are so hard working here and they have goals to be the best, so that’s also why I wanted to come here, because I want to be the best as well.”
It has been a busy off-season for reigning premiers City.
City found their Dario Vidosic replacement after the head coach was headhunted by Women’s Super League (WSL) side Brighton and Hove Albion, appointing Michael Matricciani.
Drawn in Group B, City will travel to Thailand to face hosts College of Asian Scholars, Filipino champions Kaya FC and the Winner of Group D of the Preliminary Stage, for the inaugural 2024-25 Champions League beginning in October.
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City, meanwhile, have signed Apostolakis, Mariana Speckmaier, Malena Mieres and Emilia Murray while retaining Taylor Otto, Bryleeh Henry, Laura Hughes, Karly Roestbakken and Shelby McMahon.
The reigning premiers have farewelled Hannah Wilkinson, Emina Ekić, Bárbara, Naomi Chinnama, Julia Grosso, Daniela Galic, Leia Varley and Tijan McKenna.
Apostolakis added: “Every season I come into I just want to be better than I was in the one before, and I want to take on new learning experiences and play my best football.
“I want to develop technically as well as tactically and reading the game, but also on a team level, I want to continue that success that has been shown in the previous seasons.
“I’d say I’m a smart player, I like to think a lot about the game and see what’s in front of me. I’m very versatile, I can play centre-back and I’ve played in the midfield a lot last season [alongside fullback], so I’d say I’m a versatile player and a hard-working one.”
