User:Konstantine Sports/sandbox/Evangelo Spartiatis

= Evangelo Spartiatis =

Evangelo Spartiatis (Greek: Ευάγγελος Σπαρτιάτης (Βαγγέλης); born 17 January 2001)   is a Greek-American footballer who plays as a striker for the academy of Greek club Paok FC. He has been described by many as a young talented striker whose main attributes are his physicality, goalscoring and ability to keep possession on the football pitch.

He began his youth career with a small club by the name of FC Drive in Uptown Chicago where he was coached by Frank Klopas, Denis Hamlett and Pascal Bedrossian. The young player caught the eyes of many clubs around the Chicagoland area such as the Chicago Fire Academy where he traveled to Abano Terme, Italy to compete in one of the top youth tournaments in Europe. Former Chicago Fire player Sergi Daniv had Evangelo at Raiders FC from 2012-2014 where he was able to develop as striker under the Ukrainian coach. He spent his 2014-2015 season playing for Paris Saint-Germain F.C.’s Chicago academy scoring 13 goals in 18 matches. Spartiatis later returned to Raiders FC for 2 more outstanding seasons. Summer of 2017 Spartiatis was rumored to be signing with U.C. Sampdoria academy for the upcoming season but ended up signing with Paok FC (U-17) for the 2017-2018 season.

Early Life
Spartiatis was born in Chicago, IL, United States, to parents Harris and Niki. Both of his parents are Greek. His father was a basketball player in Greece but also played in the United States for college. As a young boy he also played basketball and hockey. His idol growing up was Ronaldinho and has also said he models his game after Radamel Falcao and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Spartiatis is a big fan of the Chicago Fire and Paok FC.

He attended Stone Academy (Chicago) for primary school. In 2011 Spartiatis scored the winning goal to give Stone Academy (Chicago) their first ever Chicago Public Schools city championship. Spartiatis later Lincoln Park High School. Playing with the varsity boys soccer team he won two conference titles. At the age of 17 he moved to Thessaloniki, Greece to play with Paok FC Academy so he could pursue his dream of becoming a professional footballer.

Youth Career
Raiders F.C.  (2015-2016)

The 2015-2016 season was a big year for Spartiatis as a 15 year old he was getting a lot of recognition from many Universities and clubs around Europe. That season the Raiders qualified for the United States Youth Soccer Association National League. The Raiders won the National League that year going 7 matches undefeated. Spartiatis was the top scorer that year he found the back of the net 11 times -- a goal rate which made him a player to keep an eye on as they advanced to the United States Youth Soccer Association finals in Frisco, Texas. Spartiatis had a phenomenal season that year with 28 goals in 17 matches. The same year in Regional Competitions Spartiatis scored 14 goals during the five matches, tallying at least two in each contest, including five in the semifinal and a hat trick in the final. The Raiders ended up losing the national final against Mclean. Spartiatis won the top 11 trophy and was also awarded the golden ball award by the United States Youth Soccer Association. The golden ball award is where 33 coaches and scouts vote for the best player of the season. This was the first year that all 33 votes went to one player.

Raider F.C. (2016-2017)

The Raiders returned to the National league in the 2016/2017 season. The Raiders won the National League again undefeated becoming the first ever team in United States Youth Soccer history to win 2 National League titles undefeated. Spartiatis was the leading scorer again making 9 goals in 7 matches. During the NISL competition he scored 5 goals in 4 matches. Spartiatis also had the record for the fastest goal in the National League scoring in only 10 seconds! The 2016-2017 season was Spartiatis’s last season playing in the United States.

Paok FC Academy  (2017-2018)

Evangelo Spartiatis came to Paok to reinforce its offensive line. They took him because he is a classic striker that is very strong and well-balanced. Spartiatis had 13 appearances in the U17 super league. He played 750 minutes and scored 7 goals. In the Macedonia Football Clubs Association (EPSM competition) Spartiatis had 4 goals in 4 matches. One of Spartiatis’s most notable matches of the season was against AEL Larissa where he opened up the score in Larissa during the 25th minute. Paok was later down 2-1 in the second half but Spartiatis tied things up for the double headed eagles in the 75th minute with an incredible diving header.