Western Sydney Wanderers have re-signed Anthony Pantazopoulos heading into the 2024-25 Isuzu UTE A-League season.
Pantazopoulos has penned a one-year scholarship contract at Wanderland, where he arrived at the start of last season.
The talented 21-year-old defender started Western Sydney’s Australia Cup Round-of-32 win over Brisbane City last month after making two A-Leagues appearances in his debut season with the Wanderers.
Pantazopoulos was also involved in a stunning goalkeeper emergency at Western Sydney last season. After Jack Gibson tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the warm-up prior to January’s showdown against Central Coast Mariners, the former Oakleigh Cannons defender stepped up in as a makeshift back-up shot-stopper after initially being left out of the squad.
In fact, Pantazopoulos was pictured in the stands before chaos ensued.
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“I think my personal goal is to get more minutes, and bring a lot more happiness to the members and fans, and that involves winning silverware,” said Pantazopoulos.
“But I think one of the main things for me is I’ve always loved, wherever I’m playing, if there’s fans getting around me it definitely boosts me. Seeing if I can do something that brings enjoyment to other people, it’s really important.
“We are trying to build an energetic squad that can play attractive football – free flowing, attacking, confident football that will bring us goals, wins, and hopefully silverware that we are all aiming for. We definitely have a young squad with a good core of experienced boys that will help us along the way.”
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In 2024, Pantazopoulos has scored two goals 13 appearances for the Wanderers in NPLM NSW.
“It’s great that Panta (Pantazopoulous) has re-signed with the club, demonstrating a belief in his ability to grow and develop in an A-League environment and our belief that we have a core group of young players that will be a driving force behind this team in the years to come,” said Western Sydney head coach Alen Stajcic.
