Football South Coast In Focus - Lukas Stergiou

Published: May 16, 2017, 6:50 a.m.

b"Wollongong Olympic has had a storming start to the season with a number of marquee victories over some of the Illawarra Premier League\\u2019s big sides. The Olympic' headline grabbers have been the likes of ex-Wollongong United playmaker, Johnny Martinoski and their 2016 top scorer, Yusuke Ueda but the 21-year-old, Lukas Stergiou has proved invaluable for Rob Birkin\\u2019s side.\\n\\nStergiou spent a season in the Sutherland Sharks youth ranks before being signed to the Sydney FC\\u2019s National Youth League side for the 2012/13 season. At the Sky Blues, Stergiou was coached by Brian Dene and played alongside the likes for Aaron Calver, Terry Antonis and club captain Terry McFlynn. \\n\\nDuring this time, he was selected to represent Australia at under 16s level where he was a member of the squad that qualified for the 2012 AFC U-16 Championships in Tehran. Whilst at the tournament, Australia faced Iran in an intimidating quarter-final clash and while they were knocked out at that stage, Stergiou admits he was extremely honoured to have represented his country. \\n\\nStergiou made the move back to Sutherland for the 2014 NPL season where he became a key part of their first grade set up. He spent three seasons at the Sharks before linking up with Olympic. His presence in the number 6 role has been essential for Olympic, being the linchpin between defence and attack."