Jason Culina
Encyclopedia
Jason Culina is an Australia
n footballer (soccer) who plays for the Australia national football team.
Culina started off with Sydney United
under his father, Branko, before moving on to Ajax where he struggled in the reserves. Only after moving to FC Twente
did Culina begin to shine at the top level in club football. This was proved by his moving to another top Dutch club, PSV Eindhoven. Whilst originally an attack minded midfielder with Twente, at PSV Culina played more in a disciplined defensive role for the club with immediate success. In his final year at PSV, Culina was mainly deployed at Right Back with further success thus attributing to Culina's versatility and utility value.
On 9 January 2009 Culina announced his intention to return to Australia after turning down a contract extension from PSV as he sought a new challenge and a fresh start in Australia.
On 14 January 2009 he was signed by Gold Coast United on a three year deal becoming the club's first marquee player. On 1 July 2009 he made his Gold Coast debut in a friendly in Singapore
against a Singapore Olympic Selection, coming on as a substitute for Steve Pantelidis
and scoring in the 88th minute from 25 yards out. On 22 February 2011 it was revealed Culina would join his father Branko Culina
at the Newcastle Jets. Culina is currently injured and it has been reported that he will miss the 2011/2012 season. Culina was also sensationally sacked from his role, only days after his father - who was also his coach at the Newcastle Jets - was sacked.
Culina made his debut for the Australian national team against South Africa
in 2005. He became a regular starter in the Socceroos matches under coach Guus Hiddink
, who was also his club coach at PSV Eindhoven. His first international goal came in September 2005, against the Solomon Islands
in Sydney. Culina played in both legs of the World Cup play-off against Uruguay
where Australia qualified for the 2006 World Cup, following a dramatic penalty shoot-out. He was selected in the Australian squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup
in Germany
and started in all four of Australia's games. On 3 March 2010, Culina was named captain of Australia for the first time, in an AFC Asian Cup
qualifier against Indonesia
, a game which Australia won 1-0.
manager Branko Čulina
who now coaches fellow A-League
club, Newcastle United Jets FC, and is of Croatian descent
. On 5 February 2007, Culina and his wife, Terri, welcomed their first child, a boy named Roman.
International Goals
PSV Eindhoven
Personal Honours
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n footballer (soccer) who plays for the Australia national football team.
Club career
Sydney United
Sydney United Football Club are an Australian football club from Sydney, Australia, established in 1957 by Croatian Australians in the area...
under his father, Branko, before moving on to Ajax where he struggled in the reserves. Only after moving to FC Twente
FC Twente
FC Twente is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, playing in the Eredivisie. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Eredivisie Champions, Sportclub Enschede and Enschedese Boys...
did Culina begin to shine at the top level in club football. This was proved by his moving to another top Dutch club, PSV Eindhoven. Whilst originally an attack minded midfielder with Twente, at PSV Culina played more in a disciplined defensive role for the club with immediate success. In his final year at PSV, Culina was mainly deployed at Right Back with further success thus attributing to Culina's versatility and utility value.
On 9 January 2009 Culina announced his intention to return to Australia after turning down a contract extension from PSV as he sought a new challenge and a fresh start in Australia.
"I want to make a fresh start and I am ready for a new challenge. I am the first international who returns to Australia and I am keen to promote the national competition and raise the standard."
On 14 January 2009 he was signed by Gold Coast United on a three year deal becoming the club's first marquee player. On 1 July 2009 he made his Gold Coast debut in a friendly in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
against a Singapore Olympic Selection, coming on as a substitute for Steve Pantelidis
Steve Pantelidis
Steven Pantelidis is an Australian football player of Greek descent, who currently plays as a central midfielder for Perth Glory in the Australian A-League.- Club career :...
and scoring in the 88th minute from 25 yards out. On 22 February 2011 it was revealed Culina would join his father Branko Culina
Branko Culina
Branko Čulina is a football coach and former player. He is currently without a club after being sacked by Newcastle Jets.-Club career:...
at the Newcastle Jets. Culina is currently injured and it has been reported that he will miss the 2011/2012 season. Culina was also sensationally sacked from his role, only days after his father - who was also his coach at the Newcastle Jets - was sacked.
International career
South Africa national football team
The South Africa national football team represents South Africa in association football and is controlled by the South African Football Association, the governing body for football in South Africa. South Africa's home ground is Soccer City, known as FNB Stadium due to a naming rights deal, in...
in 2005. He became a regular starter in the Socceroos matches under coach Guus Hiddink
Guus Hiddink
Guus Hiddink is a Dutch football manager and former player. He was the most recently manager of the Turkish national football team. He is considered to be one of the best managers of his generation and was the best-paid coach in international football in 2009...
, who was also his club coach at PSV Eindhoven. His first international goal came in September 2005, against the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands national football team
The Solomon Islands national football team is the national team of the Solomon Islands and is controlled by Solomon Islands Football Federation. The team shocked the football world in the 2004 Oceania Nations Cup , tying Australia 2–2 to nip heavily-favored New Zealand for second place and a spot...
in Sydney. Culina played in both legs of the World Cup play-off against Uruguay
Uruguay national football team
The Uruguayan national football team represents Uruguay in international association football and is controlled by the Uruguayan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uruguay. The current head coach is Óscar Tabárez...
where Australia qualified for the 2006 World Cup, following a dramatic penalty shoot-out. He was selected in the Australian squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and started in all four of Australia's games. On 3 March 2010, Culina was named captain of Australia for the first time, in an AFC Asian Cup
AFC Asian Cup
The AFC Asian Cup is an international association football tournament run by the Asian Football Confederation . It is the second oldest continental football championship in the world after Copa América. The winning team becomes the champion of Asia and automatically qualifies for the FIFA...
qualifier against Indonesia
Indonesia national football team
The Indonesia national football team represents Indonesia in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Indonesia . Prior to independence in 1945, the team competed as the Dutch East Indies national football team. Under this name, Indonesia was the first Asian team to...
, a game which Australia won 1-0.
Personal life
Culina is the youngest son of coach and former Sydney FCSydney FC
Sydney FC is a professional football club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and competes in the country's premier football competition, the A-League...
manager Branko Čulina
Branko Culina
Branko Čulina is a football coach and former player. He is currently without a club after being sacked by Newcastle Jets.-Club career:...
who now coaches fellow A-League
A-League
The A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...
club, Newcastle United Jets FC, and is of Croatian descent
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
. On 5 February 2007, Culina and his wife, Terri, welcomed their first child, a boy named Roman.
Career stats
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | |||
| Sydney United Sydney United Sydney United Football Club are an Australian football club from Sydney, Australia, established in 1957 by Croatian Australians in the area... |
1996-97 | 6 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 6 | 0 | |
| 1997-98 | 26 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 26 | 1 | ||
| Total | 32 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 32 | 1 | ||
| Sydney Olympic | 1998-99 | 20 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 20 | 1 | |
| Total | 20 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 20 | 1 | ||
| Ajax Ajax Amsterdam Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax , also referred to as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam or simply Ajax , is a professional football club from Amsterdam, Netherlands... |
1999-00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2001-02 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2003-04 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| Total | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||
| Germinal Beerschot(Loan) | 2000-01 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 2 | - | - | 16 | 3 | |
| Total | 12 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 2 | ||
| De Graafschap De Graafschap De Graafschap is a professional football club from Doetinchem, Netherlands. It was formed on 1 February 1954 and they play their home games at the "De Vijverberg" stadium. Their current home ground stands on where the old pitch used to be located and was opened on 12 August 2000... (Loan) |
2002-03 | 24 | 1 | 4 | 2 | - | - | 28 | 3 | |
| Total | 24 | 1 | 4 | 2 | - | - | 28 | 3 | ||
| Twente FC Twente FC Twente is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, playing in the Eredivisie. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Eredivisie Champions, Sportclub Enschede and Enschedese Boys... |
2004-05 | 32 | 11 | 2 | 0 | - | - | 34 | 11 | |
| 2005-06 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 6 | 1 | ||
| Total | 38 | 12 | 2 | 0 | - | - | 40 | 12 | ||
| PSV | 2005-06 | 23 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 2 | |
| 2006-07 | 28 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 41 | 2 | ||
| 2007-08 | 18 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 25 | 1 | ||
| 2008-09 | 29 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 39 | 1 | ||
| Total | 98 | 3 | 16 | 3 | 20 | 0 | 134 | 6 | ||
| Gold Coast United | 2009-10 | 26 | 3 | - | - | 0 | 0 | 26 | 3 | |
| 2010-11 | 18 | 5 | - | - | 0 | 0 | 18 | 5 | ||
| Career Totals | 271 | 27 | 32 | 7 | 22 | 0 | 328 | 34 | ||
International Goals
| Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Result | Competition | Scored |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3/9/2005 | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney Sydney Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people... |
7-0 | Won | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification A total of 197 teams entered the qualification process for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, competing for a total of 32 spots in the final tournament. Germany, as the host, qualified automatically, leaving 31 spots open for competition... |
1 (1) | |
Honours
Ajax- Winner
- 2001-02 KNVB CupKNVB CupThe KNVB Cup is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association since 1899. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside of the Netherlands, it is often referred to as the Dutch Cup...
- 2002 Dutch Super Cup
- EredivisieEredivisieThe Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
2003-04Eredivisie 2003-04The 2003-2004 season of the Dutch Eredivisie began in August 2003 and ended in May 2004. The title was won by Ajax.- League standings :- Topscorers :- Relegation playoffs :- Match table :- References :* *...
- 2001-02 KNVB Cup
PSV Eindhoven
- Winner
- 2007 Russian Railways CupRussian Railways CupRussian Railways Cup is an annual pre-season football tournament, held in Moscow and hosted by FC Lokomotiv Moscow.The first edition of the tournament took place in 2007. Dutch club PSV Eindhoven won the title after beating Real Madrid 2-1 in the final...
- EredivisieEredivisieThe Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08Eredivisie 2007-08The 2007–08 Eredivisie was the 52nd season of the Eredivisie, the top division of association football in the Netherlands. The season began in August 2007 and ended on 18 May 2008, with defending champions PSV retaining their title with 72 points.... - 2008 Dutch Super Cup
- 2007 Russian Railways Cup
Personal Honours
- Gold Coast United Player of the Year: 2009-2010Gold Coast United season 2009-10The 2009–10 season was 's inaugural season in the A-League, becoming one of two new expansion clubs in the Australian state of Queensland.-First team squad:...