Stan Lazaridis

Stan is a true gentleman of the game and a fantastic ambassador for Australia on the international football stage. A proud Western Australian, Stan played his youth football with Olympic Kingsway in Perth and later for Floreat Athena before heading to South Australia in 1992 to join West Adelaide in the former National Soccer League (NSL). After making his Socceroos debut against Kuwait in 1993, and then a string of impressive performances against top quality opposition, Lazaridis moved to England to join West Ham in 1995 where he made 69 league appearances scoring 3 goals. In 1999 Stan moved to Birmingham City where he became a fan favourite during his 191 appearances for the Blues. Lazaridis returned to Australia in 2006 to play with Perth Glory in the Hyundai A-League and retired from professional football at the end of the 2008 season. In total, Lazaridis played 72 matches for the Socceroos, including 60 'A-internationals', and was a member of the Socceroos squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.

Throughout his club career in England, Stan Lazaridis was one of the best known Australian professional football players in the English Premier League and Championship League. He acted as a mentor to countless young Australian players who travelled to England to pursue professional football careers and was a respected leader within the national team set-up. Since his retirement in 2008, Lazaridis has continued to contribute to the development and promotion of football in Australia through his regular newspaper column.