Panayotis Alexander Lalas (Greek: Αλέξης Λάλας; born June 1, 1970) is an American former soccer player who played mostly as a defender.

[2][3] Lalas would later return to the United States in 1996 to take part in the newly formed Major League Soccer, as a member of New England Revolution.

[5] Following his playing career, Lalas served as general manager of the San Jose Earthquakes, New York Red Bulls, and Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer.

In addition to playing soccer, he was a member and captain of his high school hockey team, which won the state championship.

In 1991, he gained first-team All-American recognition and was selected for both the Hermann Trophy and the Missouri Athletic Club Player of the Year award.

He resumed his education in 2013, when Rutgers began offering enough online classes to fulfill what Lalas required to graduate.

Lalas took 12 classes and 36 credits over 10 months to finish what he jokingly called "a 26-year plan", earning a bachelor's degree in English with a minor in music in May 2014.

[11] Lalas then returned home to Detroit and spent a month reluctant about his future in soccer before coach Bora Milutinovic invited him for the United States tryouts in Mission Viejo, California.

While Lalas anchored the team's defense and scored three goals off set pieces (including against A.C. Milan and Internazionale), Padova finished the 1994–95 season 14th in the table.

[15] Tensions arose after Lalas' Revolution teammate (and friend from his time in Padova) Giuseppe Galderisi was traded after only four games.

[1] He spent the 1998 season with the MetroStars before being traded, along with Tony Meola, to the Kansas City Wizards for Mark Chung and Mike Ammann on January 28, 1999.

He went on to start and play all ninety minutes in the four U.S. games of the 1994 FIFA World Cup and was named an honorable mention All-Star.

On June 11, 1995, Lalas flew directly from a relegation playoff game with his club team, Padova, in order to appear in the second half of a 1995 U.S. Cup victory over Nigeria.

[30] Following his time at the Galaxy, Lalas spent six years as a commentator for ESPN before signing a commentary deal with Fox Sports.

Currently Lalas, alongside pundit David Mosse, hosts the podcast State of the Union, dedicated to discussing American soccer.

[36][37] Lalas has released eight solo albums over the past three decades: Far from Close (1996), Ginger (1998), So It Goes (2010), Infinity Spaces (2014), Shots (2016), Sunshine (2018), Look at You (2019) and Melt Away (2022).

With a noted affinity for rock music since college, Lalas played in a band named The Gypsies, opening for Hootie & The Blowfish during a European tour in 1998.