Adelaide United centre-back Panagiotis Kikianis tells aleagues.com.au how one night in 2016 inspired his dream to play for his boyhood club, and how the Young Socceroos’ historic Asian Cup triumph can inspire the next generation.
Panagiotis Kikianis had never taken a penalty in a competitive match before stepping up to the spot for the Young Socceroos in the Under-20 Asian Cup Final.
Australia had taken Saudi Arabia all the way in the final of the tournament in March, and after 120 minutes it was 1-1 in Shenzhen, China, a penalty shootout beckoned.
Both sides scored their first four penalties in the shootout. Then, it was the Adelaide United centre-back’s turn to make the long walk to the spot.
“We’d practised penalties the whole time we were away, but I wasn’t sure if I’d take one or not. I’d never taken a penalty before that,” Kikianis told aleagues.com.au.
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“But once the full-time whistle went, Liam Reddy, the goalkeeping coach, came up to me and asked if I was alright to take a penalty – and I was always going to say yes.
“It’s a nerve-wracking moment but you just have to trust yourself and pick a spot. For me, once I walked up to the ball, I felt fine, to be honest.
“All of the nerves were on the halfway line. But once I saw the ball go into the back of the net, it was a massive relief.”
Kikianis dispatched his penalty with aplomb, making it 5-4 to Australia in the shootout.
What happened next cemented the Young Socceroos squad in Australian football history.
The outstretched glove of Steven Hall pushed Bassam Hazazi’s penalty off target, and the Young Socceroos were the champions of Asia.
A squad built around Isuzu UTE A-League talent, made up of 23 of Australia’s brightest young footballers, went unbeaten through the tournament to seal the nation’s first-ever Under-20 Asian Cup title.
There wasn’t a dry eye in the changerooms as the Young Socceroos celebrated a tournament win that will bond the squad and its staff for life.
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“I saw tears in people’s eyes I never thought I’d see,” Kikianis said. “And it wasn’t just the players; everyone played a massive role in it.
“Just thinking about it now, it’s crazy what we did. It was so good because the group of boys we had there were so hard-working and humble. We got along really well, and the coaching staff were amazing, from the team manager to the physios and strength and conditioning were some of the best people I’ve ever met in football.
“The way we did it, we didn’t lose a game, we performed really well and I never thought I’d be in such a situation. It was a dream come true.”
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Kikianis turned 20 one week after making history in Asia. As one of four current Adelaide United players in the Young Socceroos squad, the talented centre-back signed to a five-year deal – the longest contract signed by a player in Isuzu UTE A-League history – went to the tournament off the back of consistent minutes at club level and returned a champion.
Of the 23 players who won the Under-20 Asian Cup for Australia, 17 currently play in the Isuzu UTE A-League. The 2024-25 league campaign has been a season of emergence for young talent, and Kikianis believes the tournament triumph will breed confidence in the teenagers rising through the ranks at their respective clubs and making an impact at senior level.
“All it does is breed more confidence,” he said.
“So many players younger than me are playing every week in the A-League, which is crazy, and they’re performing to a really good level. They’re not kids, they’re really mature footballers.
“It’s great that we’re finally seeing this in Australia, because you see it everywhere else in the world. 17, 18, and 19-year-olds playing for big clubs. Now, slowly, we’re seeing this crop of 17 and even 16-year-olds playing in the A-League, which is amazing for football in Australia.
“It shows that there is a genuine pathway if you believe in yourself and you work hard, that once you get to this level and perform, you can end up anywhere. It’s the crazy but good thing about football: play a few good games and you don’t know what’s going to happen.
“As long as myself and these other players in the A-League stay humble and work really hard, the sky is the limit.”
Kikianis returned from Asian Cup duty alongside his three Adelaide teammates to refocus on the domestic campaign, where the Reds are fighting for a spot in the top six.
Jonny Yull, Luka Jovanovic and Fabian Talladira lifted the Asian Cup trophy alongside Kikianis on a night in which all six South Australian players in the squad, including former United talents Hall and Musa Toure, featured in the final.
Adelaide is a club synonymous with nurturing young, local players and unleashing them in the senior squad and for Kikianis, securing a place in the club’s starting line-up has been the goal since the age of 11 when he was sat in the stands at Adelaide Oval to witness the Reds become Isuzu UTE A-League Champions for the very first time.
“It’s a massive honour,” he said. “It’s something you dream of as a kid going to Hindmarsh (Coopers Stadium) and watching Adelaide United play in the A-League.
“Once I started playing school soccer, probably in year two or year three, that’s when I started going to games. I remember finishing school on a Friday afternoon and asking my dad straight away whether he’d got tickets for the game on the weekend or not. I was hoping for a good response and if not, I would definitely come down in tears.
“When they won the Grand Final at Adelaide Oval against Western Sydney, it was a massive turning point for me, where I realised I wanted to be a footballer from that moment onwards.
“But now, to be able to play on the pitch in front of thousands of loyal fans nearly every week, it’s a crazy feeling.”
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Kikianis was seven years old when his footballing journey began at Fulham United. He progressed to West Adelaide and onto Football SA NTC before joining Adelaide’s academy at the age of 16, when his dream of making it to the club’s first team quite literally came into view.
“Training in the youth team, you look over the fence and it’s literally where the A-League team was training,” he said.
“That’s what every kid dreams of, to be a part of that full-time situation where you’re playing and training with such good talents. That was pretty much the motivation.
“For a footballer, it’s not always easy times, there are definitely times when you think: ‘Is it worth it anymore? Should I stop?’ But that was my motivation, looking over that fence and hoping that one day I’d be a part of that A-League group.”
Four years later, that dream has become a reality for Kikianis, who is one of several academy products thriving in the first-team environment.
Yull, Jovanovic, Talladira and Kikianis were Adelaide’s Under-20 Asian Cup-winning quartet, but the likes of Ethan Cox, Panashe Madanha, Harry Crawford and Ethan Alagich have all followed the same path from the academy to the first team.
Each and every one of Adelaide’s talented homegrown youngsters can look to the club’s recent trend of sealing overseas moves for young players and take inspiration to perform, and to eventually follow suit; think Nestory Irankunda at Bayern Munich, Steven Hall at Brighton & Hove Albion, Joe Gauci at Aston Villa, and brothers Musa and Mohamed Toure at Randers FC in Denmark.
“We were all close with the boys that went to Europe, and they deserved that opportunity to go,” Kikianis said. “Now, it makes it realistic that if you’re working hard and performing, anything can happen.
“But it’s all a process. There’s no rush to make any decisions too early. I’m going to play my football and enjoy it, and whatever happens, happens.
“There are probably a group of six or seven of us who are really close at training, and we just understand each other so well on the pitch. We have so much trust in each other because we’ve known each other for so long, and we know each other’s strengths which helps us perform better on the pitch.
“Jonny Yull and Luka Jovanovic, I’ve been with them since the start of our footballing journeys and it shows now. We’re probably three of the closest people at the club. We’re really close outside of football as well. We do a lot, training and hanging out together, and that’s because we’ve known each other for so long. We get along really well.”
This season, the Isuzu UTE A-League has provided a platform for young players to excel at clubs all around the competition, and Kikianis has been one of the main benefactors of an increase in first-team minutes.
He had played just five games for the Reds prior to signing a record-breaking contract, but head coach Carl Veart had identified his potential and in the off-season, backed up the offering of a fresh deal with the promise of regular game time next to new signing and experienced Dutchman, Bart Vriends.
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Kikianis has started in each of his 17 appearances this season, and has more than tripled his minutes total since breaking into Veart’s starting XI.
“Last year, I don’t think I was physically ready,” he said. “I had a few injuries and didn’t have a full pre-season. I came back into the team a bit later than I wanted to.
“This year, there were a few conversations about Bart coming in to guide me and those conversations are all well and good but there are no guarantees, so you have to always work hard no matter the situation.
“Yes, I’ve started every game I’ve been available for, but it doesn’t mean anything. If you drop your standards, then there’s someone knocking at your door to take the position. For me, it’s all about being humble, enjoying my football and playing the way I always have.
“Bart’s a great character. He’s not only an intelligent footballer, he’s intelligent off the pitch. He’s a very smart guy. He’s a leader, he wouldn’t have played in the top division of Holland for so long if he wasn’t one. I’ve learnt so much from him.
“During training, the conversations we have every day, whether it’s about football or life in general, and I think it’s really good that we can keep that balance. Yes, we want to be the best footballers we can but to have that personal connection on a deeper level is the most important, I think.”
“I definitely wasn’t expecting the contract,” he added.
“It came from nowhere, but once my family and I saw the contract, there was only one answer: it was always going to be me signing it.
“At the time, I wasn’t aware it was the longest in history – but it’s a blessing. I could have never dreamt of it, and now that it’s happened, I just want to repay all the people who put their trust in me and hopefully win something this year.
“It is very rare, but in Adelaide, it isn’t only me they’ve put their trust in. They’re trusting all of the youth products and the way they treat us is amazing. They really do look after us, but they are also hard on us during training, wanting us to push the standards.
“Yes, I may have signed a big contract but now that means nothing. I’ve forgotten about it, I just want to continue working hard because at the end of the day, it’s not where you want to finish your football career, you want to go to the highest level.
“It’s just the beginning, and hopefully, all the hard work will pay off one day.”
Kikianis and Adelaide are next in action against Sydney FC at Coopers Stadium on Saturday night. It’s a game Kikianis describes as an “Elimination Final” as the sixth-placed Reds look to retain their place in the top six, with Sydney FC travelling to Coopers Stadium intent on getting the three points they require to jump ahead of Adelaide and into the finals standings.
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