Goal stopper: Q&A with NM United's Alex Tambakis

Alex Tambakis is a long way from home these days, but he’s carved out a noisy comfort zone at Isotopes Park.

New Mexico United’s fifth-year goalkeeper hails from Athens, Greece, where his wife and daughter still live. It makes for an extreme long-distance relationship during USL Championship soccer season, but Tambakis is making the most of his time in Albuquerque and at age 32 is playing some of his best soccer.

Tambakis posted 1-0 shutouts in United’s two most recent matches and earned a spot on the USL Championship Team of the Week after making several dazzling saves in NMU’s road win at Miami FC on March 29.

It’s not exactly new territory for a player who has secured his place among the USLC’s all-time best goalkeepers. The “Greek Goal-Stopper” or “Tambi” as he’s known by fans and teammates, already holds the league record for career saves (631) and ranks second all-time with 54 clean sheets to his credit.

He recently became the 13th player in USL Championship history to reach 20,000 minutes played, but Tambakis says he’s still having fun and remains energized to help New Mexico chase down its first league championship in 2025.

Tambakis will look to extend his recent hot streak Saturday when NMU hosts North Carolina FC — a club he spent three seasons with before landing in Albuquerque.

You kind of established yourself in the U.S. with North Carolina. What was it like making the transition to New Mexico?

Yeah, it was different. I actually thought I’d be here one or two years and then go somewhere else. But people told me, ‘You’re gonna stay here. This place keeps you,’ and they were right. I still can’t believe this is my fifth season here, but I definitely love it. I love the fans, love the community and love this club. It’s like home.

Fans here have only seen you as a soccer goalkeeper. Did you play other sports growing up?

Oh, definitely. I played basketball, volleyball, ping pong, tennis, everything. Whatever I could play. My dad, my uncle and my older brother played soccer, though, so going to all the matches and watching it every day made me a fan. I wanted to play soccer as well.

Have you always played goalkeeper?

No, I was a field player also but I always kind of liked diving around. Just playing with my brother in my room, I was diving, trying to make saves, grabbing the ball. I always liked that part, so I got into goalkeeping.

You grew up playing in Greece, competed for the (U-19) national program and started your pro career there. How hard was it to move to the United States?

Not too hard. My mother’s American, she’s from California, so it was like my second home anyway. I was playing in Greece and a scout for Atlanta United saw me and asked me if I wanted to go to the U.S. It was a good opportunity so I thought, ‘Why not try it?’

You’ve put up some pretty impressive career numbers in the USL Championship and have set some major records. What do those mean to you?

Every record means a lot. It means I’m putting in the work. Every day of training shows on the field, so I’m really happy with those.

Is there one career record you really want?

I kind of want the clean sheet record. Saves are cool, but I feel like that one’s important. I guess the record you don’t have yet is always the one you want.

United is off to another good start (3-1-0) this season. What’s your early impression of this year’s team?

Amazing, man. It gets better every season, I feel like bringing in (head coach Dennis Sanchez and goalkeepers coach Armando Quezada), keeping our same core together and adding a few good new players, we’re in a great spot. We just have to keep working hard, be the best we can be and we can win a championship.