Frank Farina
Frank Farina OAM is an Australian football coach and former player who played as a forward. His playing career spanned Australia, France and England, was a major player for the Australian National Team in the late 1980s and 1990s, as well as managing the national team in the early 2000s. Born in Darwin, Northern Territory, Farina spent part of his childhood in Papua New Guinea and grew up in Cairns, north Queensland and went to school at St Augustine's College, he won a prestigious position and scholarship at the Australian Institute of Sport in 1982 and played in the National Soccer League for the Canberra Arrows the following year. Farina's early playing career was spent in Australia, he played for Sydney City and Marconi-Fairfield. His early seasons were solid, scoring just under 10 goals a season for Canberra in the 1983 and 1984 season, he earned the Most Entertaining Player award for the National Soccer League from SBS-TV in 1984. He made his full international debut as a substitute in Australia's 2–3 loss in China in 1984.
Farina moved to Sydney City in 1985, that season City made the 1985 NSL Grand Final, losing 2–0 over two legs to Brunswick, as well as winning the 1986 National Cup. With the demise of Sydney City a few weeks into the 1987 season when owner Frank Lowy pulled out of funding the team, Farina moved to Marconi Fairfield for 1987 and 1988, his form and ability flourished, scoring 17 goals respectively. In both years he won the Golden Boot Award, the Players' Player Medal and, in 1988, the Most Entertaining Player award again from SBS-TV and the 1988 Oceania Player of the Year awards, he cemented his place in the Australian national team, the Socceroos, until his retirement from international competition in 1995, as well as attracting overseas interest. This interest led to him leaving Australia, for Belgium, Club Brugge in the latter half of 1988, his finishing ability was well regarded, he played over 70 games for Brugge, scoring 43 goals for the club, playing a major role in Club Brugge winning the Belgian First Division title in 1989/90 as well as the Belgian Cup in 1990/91 and Belgian Supercup in 1990 and 1991.
Farina won the Belgian Golden Boot and Best Foreign Player awards in Club Brugge's successful 1989/90 season. For Farina, his Belgian success was the high point of his European Playing Career, he subsequently transferring to Bari in Italy in 1991/1992, where he became the first Australian to play in Serie A on a record transfer fee for an Australian player of more than AUD$3m. However, with a change of coach nine games into the season and not in the same scoring form, he was considered one foreigner too many and dropped from the squad, he had a brief loan period at Notts County in England in 1991/1992 until another change of manager, transferred to RC Strasbourg in France in 1992/1993 where he had 2 solid seasons in French First Division, scoring 8 goals from 24 appearances in 1992/1993 6 goals from 23 appearances in 1993/1994. His final season playing in Europe was for Lille OSC who finished 14th in the French First Division, Farina scoring 6 Goals from 27 appearances. Farina's return to Australia was with the Brisbane Strikers, for the 1995/1996 Season, scoring 20 goals from 20 matches, coming 2nd in the Golden Boot awards behind Damien Mori.
Brisbane finished 5th in 1995/96. In 1996/1997, the Strikers needed a new Coach, Farina stepped up to the position as the new Player/Coach. Farina led the Strikers to their first NSL title that year, as they defeated Sydney United 2–0 in the Grand Final at Lang Park in front of a capacity crowd of a little over 40,000 fans, he was named the Coach of the Year in 1997. The Strikers could not back their title win however. Farina only managed a solitary goal in 18 appearances, with long-term injury and age getting the better of him, he left the Strikers, joined Marconi as a player/coach for a final season, with coaching being dominant, Farina only made 2 appearances for the Stallions, without scoring. However, he did coach the team to the Minor-Semi final place, eliminating the Northern Spirit losing 0–1 away to Perth Glory in the minor semi-final, he retired from playing that year. Farina was appointed the Australian National Coach in 1999, chosen over many candidates including the current caretaker coach Raul Blanco.
His first match was a 0–2 Loss against a second string Brazilian team in Sydney, followed by a 2–2 draw with Brazil in Melbourne 3 days later. The team under Farina won its first match in February 2000, with the majority of the European-based players in the side, they demolished Hungary 3–0 in Budapest. In 2000 Australia played in, won, the Oceania Nations Cup, subsequently qualified for the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup. Australia impressed at the 2001 Confederations Cup, qualifying as runners up from Group A on goal difference thanks to a memorable 1–0 win over reigning world champions France, before triumphing by the same scoreline in the 3rd place playoff vs Brazil In 2001, Australia began its quest to qualify for the World Cup for a 2nd time, Farina led the team to huge victories over Tonga, a record breaking 31–0 win against American Samoa, Archie Thompson breaking the record for most goals in a single international with 13. Australia defeated Tonga 2–0 to win their group New Zealand 6–1 on Aggregate to Qualify for a World Cup Playoff against Uruguay.
In between these matches, Australia defeated Mexico and France during the Confederation Cup group stage defeated Brazil 1–0 win claim
London
London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south-east of England, at the head of its 50-mile estuary leading to the North Sea, London has been a major settlement for two millennia. Londinium was founded by the Romans; the City of London, London's ancient core − an area of just 1.12 square miles and colloquially known as the Square Mile − retains boundaries that follow its medieval limits. The City of Westminster is an Inner London borough holding city status. Greater London is governed by the Mayor of the London Assembly. London is considered to be one of the world's most important global cities and has been termed the world's most powerful, most desirable, most influential, most visited, most expensive, sustainable, most investment friendly, most popular for work, the most vegetarian friendly city in the world. London exerts a considerable impact upon the arts, education, fashion, healthcare, professional services and development, tourism and transportation.
London ranks 26 out of 300 major cities for economic performance. It is one of the largest financial centres and has either the fifth or sixth largest metropolitan area GDP, it is the most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the busiest city airport system as measured by passenger traffic. It is the leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. London's universities form the largest concentration of higher education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted three modern Summer Olympic Games. London has a diverse range of people and cultures, more than 300 languages are spoken in the region, its estimated mid-2016 municipal population was 8,787,892, the most populous of any city in the European Union and accounting for 13.4% of the UK population. London's urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census.
The population within the London commuter belt is the most populous in the EU with 14,040,163 inhabitants in 2016. London was the world's most populous city from c. 1831 to 1925. London contains four World Heritage Sites: the Tower of London. Other landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square and The Shard. London has numerous museums, galleries and sporting events; these include the British Museum, National Gallery, Natural History Museum, Tate Modern, British Library and West End theatres. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world. "London" is an ancient name, attested in the first century AD in the Latinised form Londinium. Over the years, the name has attracted many mythicising explanations; the earliest attested appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written around 1136. This had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had taken over the city and named it Kaerlud.
Modern scientific analyses of the name must account for the origins of the different forms found in early sources Latin, Old English, Welsh, with reference to the known developments over time of sounds in those different languages. It is agreed; this was adapted into Latin as Londinium and borrowed into Old English, the ancestor-language of English. The toponymy of the Common Brythonic form is much debated. A prominent explanation was Richard Coates's 1998 argument that the name derived from pre-Celtic Old European *lowonida, meaning "river too wide to ford". Coates suggested that this was a name given to the part of the River Thames which flows through London. However, most work has accepted a Celtic origin for the name, recent studies have favoured an explanation along the lines of a Celtic derivative of a proto-Indo-European root *lendh-, combined with the Celtic suffix *-injo- or *-onjo-. Peter Schrijver has suggested, on these grounds, that the name meant'place that floods'; until 1889, the name "London" applied to the City of London, but since it has referred to the County of London and Greater London.
"London" is sometimes written informally as "LDN". In 1993, the remains of a Bronze Age bridge were found on the south foreshore, upstream of Vauxhall Bridge; this bridge either reached a now lost island in it. Two of those timbers were radiocarbon dated to between 1750 BC and 1285 BC. In 2010 the foundations of a large timber structure, dated to between 4800 BC and 4500 BC, were found on the Thames's south foreshore, downstream of Vauxhall Bridge; the function of the mesolithic structure is not known. Both structures are on the south bank. Although there is evidence of scattered Brythonic settlements in the area, the first major settlement was founded by the Romans about four years after the invasion
Central Coast Mariners FC
Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes under licence from Football Federation Australia; the Mariners are one of the eight original A-League teams. It is the first professional sports club from the Gosford region to compete in a national competition. Despite being considered one of the smallest-market clubs in the league, the Central Coast Mariners have claimed one A-League Championship from four Grand Final appearances and topped the table to win the A-League Premiership twice; the club has appeared in the AFC Champions League four times. The club plays matches at a 20,059-seat stadium in Gosford; the facility is home to a youth team that competes in the National Youth League. The English EFL Championship team Sheffield United has invested in the Central Coast-based club, the Mariners has affiliation agreements with several international clubs; the Mariners' main supporters' group is known as the Yellow Army, for the colour of the club's home kit.
The club shares a rivalry with Newcastle Jets, known as the F3 Derby, after the previous name of the motorway that connects the cities of the teams. Matt Simon is the Mariners' all-time leading goalscorer as of December 2014, with 49 goals in all competitions; the team record for matches played is held by John Hutchinson, who has appeared in 263 games for the Mariners. Central Coast Mariners' bid for a franchise in the Football Federation Australia's new A-League competition was aimed at filling the one spot for a regional team, designated by the FFA. Media speculation prior to the announcement of the franchises in the new league suggested that the Mariners' bid may be favourable due to its new blood. Backing from former Australian international player and club technical director Alex Tobin, as well as Clean Up Australia personality Ian Kiernan—who would act as inaugural club chairman—also strengthened its proposal; as the only regional bidder, Central Coast was expected to make it into the league by default.
Following a reported signed deal with the FFA, the club signed former Northern Spirit coach Lawrie McKinna as manager and Ian Ferguson, a former Rangers and Northern Spirit player, as coach. To aid the FFA's goals of building the profile of the sport, the Mariners created formal links with local state league team Central Coast United. On 1 November 2004, after much expectation, the club was announced as one of eight teams to become part of FFA's domestic competition, the A-League; the decision made Central Coast Mariners the first Gosford-based professional sports team to play in a national competition. At the time of the formation of the new league in 2004, the club was owned by Spirits Sports and Leisure Group; the club announced its search for a star player under the league's allowance for one star player outside of the $1.5 million salary cap, insisting that the player should not look at the position as a retirement fund. Coach Lawrie McKinna sought interest from Australia national football team players Ante Milicic and Simon Colosimo, announced that he may sign more than the three under-20 players required by league rules.
Early concerns for the club focussed on concerns over financial stability, but after forming a partnership with technology company Toshiba and a cash injection from local businessman John Singleton, the club's financial worries were eased. McKinna was keen to sign local player Damien Brown of Bateau Bay of the Newcastle Jets. In a decision which prompted the player to declare that he was "over the moon", Brown became the first player to sign with the club. Club chairman Lyall Gorman was pleased that a local had become a "foundation player" and part of Brown's role would be to assist with selection of younger players from the local area. By early December 2004, the club had created a steady foundation of player signings and began negotiations with former Perth Glory striker Nik Mrdja, signing him in the month as its star attacker. Mrjda was one of the most prominent players in the last season of the National Soccer League, scoring the final goal to secure Perth Glory's finals win; the club's management was reluctant to sign a star player outside of the $1.5 million salary cap, stipulating that they "would have to contribute on the pitch and get people to come to the ground."
The Mariners' inaugural season was considered a resounding success by most. Central Coast was defeated by Sydney FC 1–0 in front of a crowd of 41,689—a competition record at the time; the Mariners won the 2005 Pre-Season Cup, defeating Perth Glory in the final 1–0. Before the 2006–07 A-League season, the Mariners secured the services of then-Australian international Tony Vidmar from NAC Breda for two years; this was the club's first marquee signing, following the lead of Adelaide United. Central Coast again reached the grand final in the 2006 Pre-Season Cup, losing to Adelaide United 5–4 on penalties after the score was tied 1–1 after extra time; the Mariners participated in the 2006–07 A-League season, but was unable to gain a spot in the final series, finishing sixth after the regular season. Club captain Noel Spencer was released by the Mariners signed to participate in the Asian Champions League by Sydney FC after the 2006–07 season, Alex Wilkinson was appointed the new captain. Only 22 years of age at the time, Wilkinson had played every possible competitive match for the Mariners up to his appointment.
In February 2008, Central Coast Mariners signed an arrangem
Australia
Australia the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area; the neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea and East Timor to the north. The population of 25 million is urbanised and concentrated on the eastern seaboard. Australia's capital is Canberra, its largest city is Sydney; the country's other major metropolitan areas are Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide. Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians for about 60,000 years before the first British settlement in the late 18th century, it is documented. After the European exploration of the continent by Dutch explorers in 1606, who named it New Holland, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain in 1770 and settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January 1788, a date which became Australia's national day; the population grew in subsequent decades, by the 1850s most of the continent had been explored and an additional five self-governing crown colonies established.
On 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated. Australia has since maintained a stable liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy, comprising six states and ten territories. Being the oldest and driest inhabited continent, with the least fertile soils, Australia has a landmass of 7,617,930 square kilometres. A megadiverse country, its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes, with deserts in the centre, tropical rainforests in the north-east and mountain ranges in the south-east. A gold rush began in Australia in the early 1850s, its population density, 2.8 inhabitants per square kilometre, remains among the lowest in the world. Australia generates its income from various sources including mining-related exports, telecommunications and manufacturing. Indigenous Australian rock art is the oldest and richest in the world, dating as far back as 60,000 years and spread across hundreds of thousands of sites. Australia is a developed country, with the world's 14th-largest economy.
It has a high-income economy, with the world's tenth-highest per capita income. It is a regional power, has the world's 13th-highest military expenditure. Australia has the world's ninth-largest immigrant population, with immigrants accounting for 26% of the population. Having the third-highest human development index and the eighth-highest ranked democracy globally, the country ranks in quality of life, education, economic freedom, civil liberties and political rights, with all its major cities faring well in global comparative livability surveys. Australia is a member of the United Nations, G20, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, World Trade Organization, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Pacific Islands Forum and the ASEAN Plus Six mechanism; the name Australia is derived from the Latin Terra Australis, a name used for a hypothetical continent in the Southern Hemisphere since ancient times. When Europeans first began visiting and mapping Australia in the 17th century, the name Terra Australis was applied to the new territories.
Until the early 19th century, Australia was best known as "New Holland", a name first applied by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1644 and subsequently anglicised. Terra Australis still saw occasional usage, such as in scientific texts; the name Australia was popularised by the explorer Matthew Flinders, who said it was "more agreeable to the ear, an assimilation to the names of the other great portions of the earth". The first time that Australia appears to have been used was in April 1817, when Governor Lachlan Macquarie acknowledged the receipt of Flinders' charts of Australia from Lord Bathurst. In December 1817, Macquarie recommended to the Colonial Office. In 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known by that name; the first official published use of the new name came with the publication in 1830 of The Australia Directory by the Hydrographic Office. Colloquial names for Australia include "Oz" and "the Land Down Under". Other epithets include "the Great Southern Land", "the Lucky Country", "the Sunburnt Country", "the Wide Brown Land".
The latter two both derive from Dorothea Mackellar's 1908 poem "My Country". Human habitation of the Australian continent is estimated to have begun around 65,000 to 70,000 years ago, with the migration of people by land bridges and short sea-crossings from what is now Southeast Asia; these first inhabitants were the ancestors of modern Indigenous Australians. Aboriginal Australian culture is one of the oldest continual civilisations on earth. At the time of first European contact, most Indigenous Australians were hunter-gatherers with complex economies and societies. Recent archaeological finds suggest. Indigenous Australians have an oral culture with spiritual values based on reverence for the land and a belief in the Dreamtime; the Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, obtained their livelihood from seasonal horticulture and the resources of their reefs and seas. The northern coasts and waters of Australia were visited s
Aurelio Vidmar
Aurelio Vidmar is an Australian football coach and former player. He is a former captain of the Australian national team and former coach of the Olyroos. In recognition of decorated national team career, his service to Adelaide United, the southern end of Hindmarsh Stadium is named the Vidmar End. Aurelio started his professional career with local Adelaide team Adelaide City before moving to Europe in the mid-1990s to Belgium, where he was the league's top scorer in the 1994-95 season, he played in Spain, the Netherlands and in Japan before returning to Australia in 1999 to rejoin City. Vidmar signed with Adelaide United when they took Adelaide City's spot in the National Soccer League and was awarded the captaincy by coach John Kosmina. Despite plans to play in the inaugural A-League season he retired in 2005 bringing an end to a 20-year playing career in which time he played 517 games scoring 127 goals, he is the older brother of Tony Vidmar. Vidmar was a member of the Socceroos team for 12 years and was a member of three unsuccessful FIFA World Cup qualification campaigns.
He played and scored against Diego Maradona's Argentina in Australia's final qualifying ties in 1993, he played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground against Iran in 1997 when a 2-0 lead slipped from Australia's grasp. He played in the match between Australia and American Samoa in 2001 and scored twice. Aurelio sometimes captained the national team between 1995 and 2001 when he retired for international competition accumulating 44 caps and scoring 17 goals. After his retirement in 2005 he took up a role of assistant coach working under Kosmina, he was appointed as head coach on 2 May 2007; the 2007-2008 A-League season was not successful for Aurelio Vidmar, his side finishing 6th out of 8 teams on the ladder the first time Adelaide failed to make the finals. Calls for his resignation were being made and his unsuccessful Asian Champions League campaign, albeit against talented opposition, only fuelled these accusations, coming 3rd in his group with only the winner progressing to the quarter finals.
Vidmar began to regain the support of the United supporters by securing valuable acquisitions such as Cristiano and Sasa Ognenovski and built up Adelaide's defence and improved their attacking options. He created history by leading Adelaide to the 2008 Asian Champions League final, becoming the first Australian team to achieve such a feat; this led Adelaide United CEO Sam Ciccarello to re-sign Vidmar and his assistant Phil Stubbins for another 3 years in November 2008. Vidmar was inducted into the Football Federation Australia Football Hall of Fame in the same month, he is in the Football Federation of South Australia Hall of Champions. He made a controversial diatribe after the semi-final against Melbourne Victory, in which Adelaide lost 4-0, 6-0 on aggregate. Post-match, he claimed that Adelaide was a "piss-ant town", that politics within the club was to blame for the loss, he apologised for his remarks. However, with the start of the new season, Vidmar was unable to retain the form from the previous season with a slow start by taking only 5 of the 15 available points.
He has been criticised for his use of playing a lone striker. Adelaide finished last in the 2009-10 season; as a result of comments he made at a media conference in November 2009 about "beheading his players like they would do in Saudi Arabia" if they did not perform well, Adelaide United handed Vidmar a two-match touchline ban. The club issued Vidmar a $10,000 fine. After leaving Adelaide United, Vidmar became the coach of the Young Socceroos. Vidmar was the caretaker coach of the Socceroos team for one match in 2013, after Holger Osieck's contract was terminated, he was appointed in 2018 as Director of Football for Adelaide United FC. As of 31 August 20171 Results from penalty shoot-outs are counted. With Australia: FIFA Confederations Cup: 1997 OFC Nations Cup: 2000With Adelaide City: NSL Championship: 1986Personal honours: Belgian League Top Scorer: 1994-1995 with Standard Liège - 22 goals Oceania Footballer of the Year: 1994 Football Federation of South Australia Hall of Champions: 2008 Football Federation Australia Hall of Fame: 2008 A-League Coach of the Year: 2008-2009 Aurelio Vidmar on Twitter Aurelio Vidmar at National-Football-Teams.com Aurelio Vidmar at J.
League Adelaide United profile
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system, as of the 2018–19 season. Founded in 1899 as Riverside A. F. C; the club changed its name to Cardiff City in 1908 and entered the Southern Football League in 1910 before joining the English Football League in 1920. The club has spent 17 seasons in the top tier of English football since, the longest period being between 1921 and 1929; the team's most recent season in the top flight is the current 2018–19 Premier League season. The club is the only team from outside England to have won the FA Cup, doing so in 1927, they have reached three other cup finals in English competitions, the 1925 FA Cup Final against Sheffield United, the 2008 FA Cup Final against Portsmouth and the 2012 Football League Cup Final against Liverpool, suffering defeat on each occasion. They have won the Welsh Cup on 22 occasions, making them the second most successful team in the competition's history behind Wrexham.
With the exception of a short period this century, the team have played in home colours of blue and white since 1908, which gives them the nickname "The Bluebirds". The club's first permanent ground was Ninian Park opened in 1910. Cardiff have long-standing rivalries with nearby clubs Swansea City, known as the South Wales derby and Bristol City, known as the Severnside derby; the club's record appearance holder is Billy Hardy, who made 590 appearances in a 20-year playing spell with Cardiff, their record goalscorer is Len Davies with 179 goals. Following a meeting at the home of lithographic artist Bartley Wilson in Cardiff, the club was founded in 1899 as Riverside A. F. C. as a way of keeping players from the Riverside Cricket Club together and in shape during the winter months. In their first season, they played friendlies against local sides at their Sophia Gardens ground. In 1900 they joined the District League for their first competitive season; when King Edward VII granted Cardiff city status in 1905, the club put in a request to the South Wales and Monmouthshire Football Association to change their name to Cardiff City.
The request was turned down. To enhance their standing, the team arranged to join the South Wales Amateur League in 1907; the following year they were granted permission to change the name of the club to Cardiff City. Although growing in stature, the club was forced to turn down the opportunity to join the newly formed Second Division of the Southern Football League due to a lack of facilities at their Sophia Gardens ground. Over the next two years, Cardiff played friendlies against some of Britain's top professional sides, including Middlesbrough, Bristol City and Crystal Palace; the matches were played at grounds in Cardiff and nearby towns so as to gauge the level of public interest in the team. The club secured land to build their own stadium, Ninian Park, completed in 1910; the club turned professional the same year. They made their first signing the following year with the acquisition of Jack Evans from fellow Welsh side Cwmparc. With the new grounds in place, Cardiff joined the Southern Football League Second Division and appointed their first manager, Davy McDougall, who became player-manager.
They went on to finish in fourth place in their first year in the league. The board decided to replace McDougall with Fred Stewart, who had previous managerial experience with Stockport County, he set about adopting a more professional approach, signing several players with Football League experience, including brothers John and George Burton and Billy Hardy. Stewart led the team to promotion in his second season by winning the Second Division title, they remained in the First Division for the next decade, finished in the top four on two occasions. In 1920, the club submitted a successful application to join the Football League and were placed into the Second Division for the 1920–21 season. Stewart brought in several players with Football League experience, breaking the club's transfer record on two occasions to sign Jimmy Gill and Jimmy Blair from The Wednesday, they played their first match in the Football League on 28 August 1920, defeating Stockport County 5–2. The side finished the season in second place to win promotion to the First Division.
They finished behind Birmingham City on goal average, reached the semi-final of the FA Cup. In their third season in the top-tier, the team finished runners-up to Huddersfield Town because of a goal average difference of 0.024. Cardiff drew their final match; the following season was the first time Cardiff appeared at Wembley Stadium, having reached their first FA Cup final. The team lost 1–0 to Sheffield United following a goal from England international Fred Tunstall; the 1926–27 season, when they finished in 14th position, was Cardiff's worst performance in the top tier of English Football since winning promotion six seasons before. However, they reached their second FA Cup final in the space of two years. On St George's Day, 23 April 1927, at Wembley Stadium in London, Cardiff became the only non-English side to win the FA Cup by defeating Arsenal 1–0 in the final, he hurried a tame shot toward the goal. Captain Fred Keenor received the FA Cup trophy at the end of the match from King George V only seven years after Cardi
Mark Bresciano
Mark Bresciano is an Australian former professional football player who played as a midfielder. Born in Melbourne, Bresciano played youth football for Bulleen Lions, before moving into the National Soccer League with Carlton. In 1999, he moved to Italian Serie B side Empoli. In 2002, he moved to the Serie A with Parma playing for Palermo and S. S. Lazio. From 2011, he spent the final four years of his career in the Middle East, first with UAE Pro-League side Al Nasr and Qatar Stars League club Al-Gharafa where he last played in 2015. Bresciano had a long career for Australia, scoring 13 goals, he played in two AFC Asian Cups and the 2004 OFC Nations Cup winning team. His goal against Uruguay in the 2006 World Cup qualification play-off sent the match to a penalty shootout which Australia won to qualify for the first time in 32 years, he represented Australia at youth levels, including the 2000 Summer Olympics in Australia and the 1999 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Bresciano grew up in Melbourne, he began playing football locally and progressed to the first team of Victorian Premier League side Bulleen Lions in 1995 at the age of 15.
He made little impact until his third year in the first team, scoring four goals in four league games and helping Bulleen to the 1997 VPL grand final. Bresciano's reputation began to grow and he was selected in an Australian Schoolboys squad that toured the United Kingdom in 1996. In 1997, he featured prominently in Australia's unsuccessful U17 World Cup qualifying campaign, scoring five goals. At the end of the 1997 season and upon completing high school at Marcellin College, he was offered a place at the Australian Institute of Sport, where he reunited with childhood pal Vince Grella; the players' careers would mirror in the coming years as the two supported their footballing endeavours on and off the field. He and Vince Grella signed with new National Soccer League club Carlton for the 1997–98 season, but Bresciano was forced to wait until Round 17 to make his NSL debut, he played every game for the rest of the year, as Carlton finished second with a place in the finals. Bresciano scored in injury time to win the elimination semi-final and put the club into its first grand final, which they lost 2–1.
He stayed with the Blues for the 1998–99 season, scoring four goals in 18 games, but the club finished well outside the top six. In 1998 and 1999, Bresciano made a number of appearances for Australia in various matches at Under-20 and Under-23 level, including the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship, where the Young Socceroos were eliminated in the first round; as for many Australian players, a career in Europe beckoned for Bresciano as he sought to develop his game and further his career. Bresciano and Grella had sights set on a move to Italy, spurred in part by their Italian heritage; the pair joined Empoli in 1999, relegated to Serie B the previous season, became regular selections in the first team. In Bresciano's third year at the club, he scored 10 goals and helped Empoli to a fourth position and promotion back to the top-flight Serie A; the pair appeared several times in the Australian Under-23 team in the lead-up to the 2000 Olympics in friendlies held in Europe. They were both included in the team for the Sydney Olympics, although Bresciano only saw limited action as a substitute.
The following year, his efforts with the Olympic squad were rewarded with a call-up to the "Socceroos." On 1 June 2001, Bresciano received his first cap for Australia in a Confederations Cup match against France, coming on as a substitute in the 78th minute for Josip Skoko. He made a further five appearances that year for the "Socceroos," including another match against France in a friendly at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, again replacing Skoko as a substitute. In the summer of 2002, he joined Parma for €7 million, at the time a record transfer fee for an Australian player. "Moving to Parma was a big change in every way, not just money-wise but it is a big club. The structure of the club, the facilities, its popularity means you are under a lot more pressure to get a result," he said following the close of the season, well aware of his profile. Though he was hampered by a series of injuries, his 24 appearances in 2002–03 helped Parma to fifth and a UEFA Cup place. With Empoli being relegated again, he was reunited with Grella who stayed in Serie A with a transfer to Parma.
Setting himself a target for the 2003–04 season of five goals, Bresciano surpassed that with eight goals from 33 appearances, the most of any midfielder in the Serie A, as Parma finished fifth in the league again. Bresciano had claimed a regular spot in the Socceroos line-up, justifying his selection with a string of goals, including a match-winning free-kick against New Zealand and the only goal in a one-nil victory against South Africa. Parma's fifth place qualified them for the UEFA Cup, where the club advanced through to the semi-finals before being eliminated by eventual winners CSKA Moscow, their league performance that year was in stark contrast to their UEFA Cup form, as they were forced in to a play-off to retain their Serie A status by finishing 18th in the league. Bresciano and Grella were excused from the 2005 Confederations Cup by then-Australian manager Frank Farina to allow them to take part in the play-off against Bologna — Parma went on to win the tie and remained in Serie A for the following season.
Both players returned to the Australian squad in September 2005, now under the direction of Guus Hiddink, for World Cup qualification playoff against the Solomon Islands, followed by a friendly against Jamaica where Bre
Ghana
Tonga
Solomon Islands