As we struggled to get used to life playing in the GM Vauxhall Conference, one man we turned to for a lift was Vasili Kalogeracos. At the time, Boro’ had been unable to build on a 3-0 win away to Stafford Rangers on the opening day of the 1994-5 season. So, we needed a spark; a bit of magic that would kick-start our campaign. Apart from a 4-1 FA Cup win over Saffron Walden Town, our form was poor; five league games without a win sending us hurtling down the table. To stop the rot, we turned to Birmingham City – who sent us one of their young talents on loan.
Vasili Kalogeracos: Who Is He?
From what we know, Kalogeracos graduated from the Australian Institute of Sport in 1993. He’d also turned out for the Aussie U17s by this point too. A fresh-faced 18-years-old, the pacy striker arrived at St Andrews with hopes of making his name in English football.
When did he sign and who from?
Did we not mention this? Kalogeracos arrived in September 1994 on loan from Birmingham City.
Did he play often?
The player was thrust straight into the action by boss Paul Fairclough. Or so we think. Any news of new arrivals didn’t always seem to make the pages of the matchday programmes at the time. Kalogeracos made his debut against Macclesfield Town – and there was no mention of his name in that programme. But the impact was instant nonetheless; the Australian scoring our goal in a 1-1 draw with the Silkmen. Was this the Antipodean saviour that we’d been crying out for?
Well, not quite.
Much like Boro’s season up to that point, Kalogeracos couldn’t make good on his debut promise. It tailed off pretty quickly; the pacy frontman earning a place in our starting XI for the next three games, before a fifth appearance came from the subs bench at home to Northwich Victoria on 1 October. He was actually named as a sub on the back of the programme for our home clash with Dagenham & Redbridge on 10 October. But he was absent completely from the squad.
So, we can only assume he had made the move back to the Midlands.
Where is Vasili Kalogeracos now?
In the first instance, a weird slice of misfortune saw Boro’s form improve after Kalogeracos went back to Birmingham; recording back-to-back league wins in mid-October. Not that our problems had been solved, of course. For Kalogeracos, however, opportunities didn’t present themselves at St Andrews and he departed English football in 1995. His path took him back to his homeland, albeit with a prolonged layover in Malaysia while playing for Kuala Lumpur FA.
That came after a trial at Exeter City, if you care.
Back in Oz, he first played for Floreat Athena in his hometown Perth. Next, Perth Glory took him on; a move that seemed to suit both parties as he scored a reported 22 goals in 39 starts and 20 sub outings over a four-season period. He even found time to return to England for a brief spell with Stockport County in the middle of that. But his time with the Hatters didn’t reignite a love affair with the English game – and he’d see out the rest of his footballing days Down Under.
Perth Glory V Sydney United, 1997. Vas Kalogeracos on 🔥 pic.twitter.com/m6gW71rmLj
— Death To The NSL (@DeathNsl) May 13, 2019
As far as we know, Kalogeracos finally hung up his boots for good in 2008; most recently turning out for Western Suburbs SC in Melbourne. For us, he’ll also always have the honour of bagging a goal on his debut. And not a lot of lads can say that.
