Jonathan Aspropotamitis

Jonathan Aspropotamitis

Aspropotamitis pictured playing for Western Sydney Wanderers
Personal information
Full name	Jonathan Aspropotamitis
Date of birth	(1996-06-07) 7 June 1996 (age 27)
Place of birth	Paddington, Sydney, Australia
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Central defender
Team information
Current team	Pohang Steelers
Youth career
	Queens Park
2009–2011	Sydney University
2012	Parramatta FC
2013	APIA Leichhardt
2014	Sydney Olympic
2014–2015	Western Sydney Wanderers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2015–2018	Western Sydney Wanderers	43	(0)
2016	Western Sydney Wanderers NPL	5	(0)
2018–2019	Central Coast Mariners	13	(0)
2019–2020	Western United	9	(0)
2020–2022	Perth Glory	31	(0)
2022–2023	Macarthur FC	31	(1)
2024–	Pohang Steelers	0	(0)
International career‡
2015	Australia U-20	2	(0)
2017–2018	Australia U-23	4	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2 January 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 30 July 2020

Jonathan Aspropotamitis (born 7 June 1996) is an Australian professional footballer who plays for the Pohang Steelers. ^{[1] [2]}

Career

Western Sydney Wanderers

Aspropotamitis made his professional debut on 11 March 2015 vs Melbourne City FC in a 3–2 victory for the Western Sydney Wanderers at Pirtek Stadium. He also made his Asian Champions League debut on 7 April 2015 vs FC Seoul in a 1–1 draw at Pirtek Stadium.

Aspropotamitis signed his 1st professional senior contract with the Western Sydney Wanderers on 31 May 2015.

Early in the 2015–16 season Aspropotamitis got the opportunity to fill in for the experienced Alberto Aguilar who sustained an injury in the round 4 encounter v Perth Glory. An assured display from the young centre back, coupled with the Wanderers first win of the season, lead to his selection over the following weeks.

A string of solid performances lead the Wanderers to move quickly and extend the young centre backs contract for a further 2 seasons, Wanderers CEO said of the signing “We think he will continue to develop here and really go to the next level as a centre back. He has the maturity, the composure and the determination to become a very important player for this club and we are delighted to have him sign for an additional two years.” ^[3]

Central Coast Mariners

On 14 May 2018, the Western Sydney Wanderers announced the departure of Aspropotamitis, who was then signed by the Central Coast Mariners on a one-year deal. ^[4]

Western United

On 15 April 2019, Aspropotamitis signed a 2-year deal for new A-League side Western United. ^[5]

Perth Glory

In November 2020, Aspropotamitis was selected as part of the 2020 AFC Asian Champions League squad which played out the remaining games, which were originally postponed due the COVID-19 pandemic, in Qatar. ^[6] He scored Perth Glory's first ever goal in continental competition in a 1–2 loss against Shanghai Shenhua. ^[7]

Macarthur FC

Aspropotamitis joined Macarthur FC ahead of the 2022-23 season. ^[8]

On 28 February 2023, Macarthur announced that a transfer had been agreed with a club based in Asia, pending a medical evaluation from his future club. ^[9]

International career

In 2017 Aspropotamitis was part of the Australia men's national under-23 soccer team squad which competed in the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship qualification tournament. ^[10] He played in all three games as captain, while being voted Man of the Match in the first match ^[11] and scoring a goal in the final match.

Personal life

Educated at Newington College. ^[12] He is of Greek ancestry.

Honours

Western Sydney Wanderers

• Y-League: 2017–18

Macarthur

• Australia Cup: 2022 ^[13]

References

1. Macarthur FC [@mfcbulls] (28 December 2023). "The club has reached an agreement with an overseas club in Asia for the transfer of Jonathan Aspropotamitis, pending a medical evaluation" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
2. Lewis, Dave (28 December 2023). "Aussie's China move creates new Korea opportunity for Aspro". FTBL.
3. "Aspro inks two year extension in Red & Black". 15 December 2015. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
4. "Mariners sign defender Aspropotamitis". The World Game . SBS. 14 May 2018.
5. "Signing news: Western United nab young Mariners defender". Hyundai A-League. 15 April 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
6. "Garcia names squad for AFC Champions League". Perth Glory FC. 11 November 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
7. "Gallant Glory fall just short against Shanghai". Perth Glory FC. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
8. "Bulls boost defence with the signing of Aspropotamitis". Macarthur FC. 5 July 2022.
9. "Macarthur reach agreement with overseas club for transfer of experienced defender". aleagues.com.au. 28 December 2023.
10. "Australia U-23 News". 21 August 2017.
11. "The AFC".
12. Newington College Sporting Blogs
13. Gibson, Timothy (2 October 2022). "Macarthur prevail in Australia cup final against Sydney United". The Football Sack. Retrieved 4 October 2022.

External links

• Jonathan Aspropotamitis at Soccerway
• Jonathan Aspropotamitis | Post Match Press Conference March 11, 2015 Western Sydney Wanderers March 12, 2015
• Jonathan Aspropotamitis the silver lining to Western Sydney Wanderers' injury clouds SMH Online March 31, 2015
• Jonathan Aspropotamitis Signs 1st Professional Contract Western Sydney Wanderers May 31, 2015
• Aspro Inks Two Year Extension in Red & Black Archived 22 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine Western Sydney Wanderers December 15, 2015