By Five Boro Sports
His professional soccer career hasn’t gone exactly as planned. He still hasn’t played for the Greek team that he supported as a kid two years after signing a four-year contract out of high school, but former Holy Cross standout Andreas Chronis said he is about to embark on what he believes will be the best of his three years in Athens.
“This is probably the biggest year of my career,” Chronis said. “I want to show in preseason and show during the year that I could be a starter on that team and maybe next year start for them. I definitely want to get a couple of games in this year if they keep me.”
Chronis is back home — in Bayside — but only briefly. His off-season is about two weeks this year, as he leaves July 17 to join AEK Athens for the start of preseason. Unlike last year, the 20-year-old left back was invited to join the Greek Super League squad, which will be preparing for the newly formed UEFA Europa League.
And Chronis is hoping he’ll stick with AEK after spending the last two seasons on loan with fourth division side Nea Ionia, located in a northern suburb of Athens.
“I have high expectations, I have goals I want to achieve and I’m not happy just being where I am right now,” Chronis said. “I want to go forward.”
At first, Chronis took being loaned out hard. After all, the level of competition in the fourth division isn’t great. And while he is playing on turf fields in front of sparse crowds, some of his friends were playing in the Greek Super League in front of 71,000 fans at the Olympic Stadium.
He started wondering if he made a mistake by signing out of high school and turning down a chance to play at Columbia University for the dream of professional soccer.
“In the beginning, it was really rough,” he said. “The first year, I thought this isn’t good. It was a really low level, not a lot of people were watching the games and that’s when I was getting a little upset that I was that low. I was always wondering what if I went to Columbia, but in the end I would have wound up doing what I love, which is playing soccer. I don’t regret anything.”
Seeing AEK representatives at games kept Chronis’ spirits up. He knew if he played well, AEK Coach Dusan Bajevic would soon notice. That’s what happened last year, when Chronis played every game for Nea Ionia, albeit at left midfield, scoring 10 goals and setting up 12 others. He was invited to train with the AEK first team late last season and impressed.
“I was kind of upset in the beginning, but at the end I think it was worth it because they acknowledged how good I did,” Chronis said. “It shows, I’m going to preseason with them. Last year, I didn’t go. Chances are if I do, OK, I’ll probably stay on the team.”
Chronis is still getting used to his newfound celebrity. He said he was the center of attention after scoring a critical away goal in a televised match and drew the ire of the home fans. He also has a Wikipedia page that claims he “is dating the famous Greek celebrity Elise Veneris.”
“Everyone keeps telling me about that,” Chronis said. “It is not true that I’m going out with a famous model. I don’t know who wrote that. She’s a pretty girl, the girl I’m going out with, but she’s not a model.”
Chronis said he’s matured in the past two years, learning the harsh reality of professional soccer. He’s also determined not to return to Nea Ionia, a squad that featured a few of AEK’s other younger players, this season.
“That’s not going to happen,” he said. “If they don’t keep me on the first team and want me to go out on loan again, I’m going to find a higher division, maybe a second division team or a lower first division team to get experience at a higher level. That’s out of the question for me staying on that team.”
Chronis is also hoping to get back onto the U.S. National Team radar after playing for several of the youth teams growing up.
“That would be really nice,” Chronis said. “I think I could help out. I think these years that I’ve been away, I’ve gained a lot of experience and I really do want to help out the national team.”
But first Chronis is enjoying a few days at home before returning to Europe where a once bumpy road is looking clearer these days.
“The road is straightening out,” Chronis said. “I’m really anxious to get started, eager to prove that I belong.”
