Konstantinos "Kosta" Barbarouses (, ; born 19 February 1990) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a winger for NPL Victoria club South Melbourne and the New Zealand national team.
As of June 2026, Barbarouses has played 372 A-League matches, the most of any active player in the A-League, the most of any forward in the competition's history, and the third-most of any player overall behind Leigh Broxham and Nikolai Topor-Stanley.
Club career Kosta was born in New Zealand and is of Greek descent. Before turning professional Barbarouses played for St. Patrick's College and for local clubs Wellington Olympic and Miramar Rangers in New Zealand's Central Premier League.
Wellington Phoenix
Barbarouses played 21 matches during his first stint with Wellington Phoenix in three seasons and scored two goals. The Phoenix club officially signed Barbarouses as one of its foundation players on 4 May 2007. Seventeen years old and still at school, he started as the club's youngest player. He made his professional debut on 21 October 2007 against Central Coast Mariners, coming on as a substitute in the 86th minute. He played his first full professional game when he fronted against Central Coast Mariners on 19 January 2008.
Barbarouses scored his first professional goal on 18 January 2009 – an equaliser against Adelaide United. He scored his second A-League goal against Sydney FC on 1 November 2009 after coming off the bench to replace Leo Bertos. He scored the goal off a volley which bounced over Clint Bolton. Barbarouses played his first match starting in the first team line-up against Newcastle Jets on 4 November 2009, assisting Chris Greenacre's goal with a back-heel pass.
Brisbane Roar Barbarouses turned down a two-year contract extension with Wellington Phoenix in February 2010 for a three-year contract with A-League side Brisbane Roar. Brisbane Roar play an attractive brand of football and Barbarouses wanted the opportunity to play more regular football. In the 2009–10 season, which took the Phoenix into the finals, Barbarouses had had only three starts, and ten appearances off the bench.
Barbarouses made his debut for the Roar in Round 1 of the 2010–11 season, starting against Gold Coast United in a 0–0 draw on 8 August 2010. Barbarouses continued to start for the Brisbane team and played against his old club Wellington Phoenix, on 27 August 2010 at Suncorp Stadium. In the 73rd minute, he received a through-ball from team-mate Matt McKay and slotted home his first A-League goal for the Brisbane Roar. Barbarouses was named in the 2010–11 A-League All-Star Team after 12 goals in 33 appearances.
Alania Vladikavkaz On 18 July 2011, Fairfax News NZ announced that Barbarouses had signed a three-year contract with Russian side Alania Vladikavkaz. Brisbane Roar received $600,000 as a transfer fee.http://au.fourfourtwo.com/News/209360,kosta-pens-russian-deal.aspx Kosta Pens Russian Deal Barbarouses made his debut for Vladikavkaz on 9 August 2011, in a First Division league match against Torpedo Vladimir. He played the full 90 minutes and scored the sole goal of the match, allowing Alania to win 1–0.
Loan to Panathinaikos On 27 June 2012, Barbarouses signed a one-year loan contract with Greek giants Panathinaikos, with option to buy him in the next summer. Barbarouses only played 11 games and scored no goals during his one-year loan spell in his ancestral country. His stand out moment was when he played against rivals Olympiacos in a league match in Piraeus in a 1–1 draw.
Melbourne Victory On 7 August 2013, Kosta signed a three-year deal at Melbourne Victory under Ange Postecoglou for the second time. The first time was at rival team Brisbane Roar, following a successful career start at home town team Wellington Phoenix.
Kosta debuted for Melbourne Victory in round 2 of the 2013–14 season in the 2–2 away draw with Adelaide United.
Return to Wellington Phoenix On 8 March 2016, it was announced that Barbarouses would leave Melbourne Victory at the end of the season to rejoin his hometown club Wellington Phoenix on a three-year contract. On 5 June 2017, Phoenix announced they would be releasing Barbarouses following his request to leave for non-footballing reasons.
Return to Melbourne Victory Following his release from Wellington Phoenix, Barbarouses rejoined former club Melbourne Victory on a two-year deal in June 2017. In June 2019 Melbourne Victory announced that his contract ended and he declined an extension.
Sydney FC On 7 June 2019, Barbarouses signed on a multi-year contract deal with Sydney FC.
Third stint at Wellington Phoenix Having missed the majority of the 2021–22 season at Sydney FC due to an ankle fracture, Barbarouses returned to his hometown club for a third stint, signing a two-year contract. On 20 January 2025, Barbarouses scored his 100th A-League Men goal in a 2–1 away win against Macarthur FC at Campbelltown Sports Stadium, Sydney.
Barbarouses left Wellington once again at the end of the 2024–25 season, after a three season stint at the club.
Western Sydney Wanderers Barbarouses joined the Western Sydney Wanderers for the 2025–26 season, his fifth A-League club and the bitter Sydney Derby rivals of his former club, Sydney FC.
International career
New Zealand U-17
Barbarouses captained New Zealand at the 2007 U-17 World Cup in Korea. He scored five goals, including a hat-trick, during the team's qualifying campaign to ensure progression to the finals.
New Zealand U-20
As a member of the national Under-20 side he played an integral part in the 2008 OFC U-20 Championship qualification tournament for the 2009 Under-20 World Cup, scoring two goals in the three pool matches. New Zealand did not qualify for the final tournament.
Beijing 2008
Barbarouses played for New Zealand at the 2008 OFC Men's Olympic Football Tournament. Although he scored four goals in the five pool matches at this 2008 Beijing Olympics qualifying tournament, Barbarouses was not selected for the final squad to travel to the Games.
2010 World Cup
Barbarouses made his senior debut in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Fiji on 19 November 2008. He trained with the national team before its World Cup qualifying play-off against Bahrain. Barbarouses attended a 12-day All Whites training camp in Auckland in April–May 2010 as a member of a 15-man squad of Australasian-based players. He was one of two forwards on the squad.
Barbarouses had stated that he would like to make the New Zealand 2010 FIFA World Cup squad. Although widely tipped to make the final 23-man squad travel to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Barbarouses' name was missing when NZFA chairman Frank van Hattum read out the names at Auckland's Sky City on 10 May 2010. He was, however, named as one of seven non-travelling reserves.
2011–current
A standout first season with then newly crowned A-League champions Brisbane Roar saw the 21-year-old striker included in the New Zealand squad for a friendly against China in Wuhan on 25 March 2011.
Barbarouses made the 23-man All Whites squad, where played against Mexico at altitude in Denver on 2 June and against Australia in Adelaide on 5 June.
Barbarouses formed part of an 18-man All Whites squad that played Jamaica in an international friendly at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand, on 29 February 2012.
On 23 May 2012, Barbarouses scored his first goal for the All Whites in a friendly match against El Salvador. His 64th-minute half-volley from close range levelled the scores and the match resulted in a 2–2 draw.
He played for New Zealand at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Barbarouses was also selected as a member of the All Whites squad for the June 2017 friendly vs Japan.
Barbarouses was a member of New Zealands Qualification campaign for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. He played in both the home and away matches vs Peru in November 2017 as New Zealand ultimately were unsuccessful in their qualification bid.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueCupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsTeam Wellington2006–07NZ Premiership143———143Wellington Phoenix2007–08A-League30———302008–0951———512009–10131———131Total212———212Macarthur Rams (loan)2008NSW Premier League91———91Brisbane Roar2010–11A-League3011——313312Alania Vladikavkaz2011–12Russian FNL132—10—142Panathinaikos (loan)2012–1311040——150Melbourne Victory2013–14A-League224—62203062014–1523531—222882015–162364381103610Total681574143529424Wellington Phoenix2016–17A-League25511—10276Melbourne Victory2017–18A-League22820523232122018–1927142140113416Total49224192436628Sydney FC2019–20A-League268106020358279——2129102021–22A-League Men1111030—151Total64182090417919Wellington Phoenix2022–23A-League Men24231—002742023–24261320—2030132024–25251021——2711Total752572—2084272025–26A-League Men 22421——245South Melbourne2026NPL Victoria———0000Career total335105258335197412125
International As of match played 6 June 2026. New Zealand score listed first, score column indicates score after each Barbarouses goal.
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsNew Zealand U17200765New Zealand U20200832New Zealand U23200854201230Total84New Zealand200810200900201000201130201213220137020144020151020168020171012018002019002020002021002022502023202024113202572202641Total7610Career total9321
+ List of international goals scored by Kosta BarbarousesNo.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition123 May 2012BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston, United States62–2align=center Friendly211 September 2012North Harbour Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand142–0align=center 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification331 May 2016Sir John Guise Stadium, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea305–0align=center 2016 OFC Nations Cup41 September 2017North Harbour Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand433–0align=center 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification518 June 2024VFF Freshwater Stadium, Port Vila, Vanuatu573–0align=center 2024 OFC Nations Cup627 June 2024VFF Freshwater Stadium, Port Vila, Vanuatu 59 3–0 rowspan=2 align=center 75–0821 March 2025Sky Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand667–0align=center 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification924 March 2025 Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand672–0align=center 1030 March 2026Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand741–0align=center 2026 FIFA Series
Honours Brisbane Roar A-League Premiership: 2010–11 A-League Championship: 2010–11
Melbourne Victory A-League Premiership: 2014–15 A-League Championship: 2014–15, 2017–18 FFA Cup: 2015
Sydney FC A-League Premiership: 2019–20 A-League Championship: 2019–20
New Zealand OFC Nations Cup: 2008, 2016, 2024
New Zealand U17 OFC U-17 Championship: 2007
Individual PFA A-League Team of the Season: 2010–11, 2015–16, 2023–24 Mark Viduka Medal: 2015 Wellington Phoenix Player of the Year: 2016–17, 2023–24, 2024–25 A-League Men Player of the Month: December 2023, January 2024 OFC Men's Nations Cup Silver Ball: 2024 OFC Men's Nations Cup Bronze Boot: 2024
References
External links