Charles Petro
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John Charles Petro | ||
| Date of birth | 8 February 2001 | ||
| Place of birth | Blantyre, Malawi | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Botoșani | ||
| Number | 28 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2018 | PremierBet Wizards | ||
| 2018–2019 | Big Bullets | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2018 | PremierBet Wizards | ||
| 2018–2019 | Big Bullets Reserves | ||
| 2019–2020 | Big Bullets | ||
| 2020–2022 | Sheriff Tiraspol | 43 | (2) |
| 2023– | Botoșani | 34 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017–2018 | Malawi U20 | ||
| 2019– | Malawi | 31 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 December 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18 November 2024 | |||
John Charles Petro (born 8 February 2001) is a Malawian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Liga I club Botoșani and the Malawi national team.
Club career
[edit]Petro joined Big Bullets in 2018, initially playing with their reserve squad in the second-tier Southern Region Football League before being promoted to the first team ahead of the 2019 season, making an instant impact and playing an instrumental role in their second consecutive Super League championship win.[1] For his performance filling in the gap left by injured team captain John Lanjesi,[2] he was named Defender of the Year while also being nominated for the Player of the Year award at the annual league awards ceremony.[3]
After rejecting a trial with South African side Polokwane City, Petro instead underwent a month-long trial at Moldovan side Sheriff Tiraspol in early 2020.[1] He officially made the move to the club by signing a three-year deal in February.[4]
On 7 March 2023, Petro signed with Romanian Liga I club Botoșani on a two-year deal.[5][6] At the time, he was one of only two Malawian footballers playing in Europe, along with Kieran Ngwenya.[6] Petro made his debut for Botoșani in a 1–1 league draw against Mioveni on 10 March.[6]
International career
[edit]Petro represented the Malawi national under-20 football team at the 2017 COSAFA U-20 Cup and during the 2019 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations qualifiers.[7][8]
He made his senior international debut on 20 April 2019, replacing Gomezgani Chirwa during a 0–0 draw against Eswatini in the 2020 African Nations Championship qualifiers.[9] He also played for Malawi at the 2019 COSAFA Cup and 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification.[10][11]
Career statistics
[edit]International
[edit]- As of match played 18 November 2024[9]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malawi | |||
| 2019 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 32 | 0 | |
Honours
[edit]Club
[edit]Big Bullets
Sheriff Tiraspol
- Divizia Națională: 2020–21, 2021–22
- Moldovan Cup: 2021–22
- Moldovan Super Cup runner-up: 2021
Individual
- Super League of Malawi Defender of the Year: 2019
References
[edit]- ^ a b Fote, Peter (14 January 2020). "Charles Petro heads to Moldova". The Daily Times. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- ^ Mpando, Blessings. "Charles Petro to have Moldova trials". malawichampion.com. Retrieved 14 March 2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Manda, Solomon (19 January 2020). "Bullets dominate TNM Super League awards". The Nation. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- ^ Gondwa, Williams (13 February 2020). "Petro ignites fire". The Daily Times. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
- ^ Grigore, Daniel (7 March 2023). "De la o campioană din Europa direct în SuperLigă! Au prezentat astăzi jucătorul cu 27 de meciuri în națională". Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). Retrieved 25 November 2024.
- ^ a b c "Debut delight for Petro". The Nation. 14 March 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
- ^ "Malawi U-20 off to Zambia for COSAFA tournament". Nyasa Times. 2 December 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- ^ "25 players make U-20 final squad". Malawi24. 13 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- ^ a b Charles Petro at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ Tembo, Arkangel (24 May 2019). "Mwase names Flames final squad for Cosafa". Malawi News Agency. Retrieved 14 March 2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Chilapondwa, Andrew Cane (11 September 2019). "Future looks bright: Malawi to use young squad in qualifiers". Malawi24. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
External links
[edit]- Charles Petro at Global Sports Archive
- Charles Petro at National-Football-Teams.com
- Charles Petro at Soccerway
|  | |
- Living people
- 2001 births
- Malawian men's footballers
- Malawi men's international footballers
- Malawi men's under-20 international footballers
- Men's association football defenders
- Nyasa Big Bullets FC players
- FC Sheriff Tiraspol players
- FC Botoșani players
- Moldovan Super Liga players
- Liga I players
- Malawian expatriate men's footballers
- Malawian expatriate sportspeople in Moldova
- Malawian expatriate sportspeople in Romania
- Expatriate men's footballers in Moldova
- Expatriate men's footballers in Romania
- Sportspeople from Blantyre
- 2021 Africa Cup of Nations players