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John Aloisi

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John Aloisi
Aloisi signing for Sydney FC in 2008
Personal information
Full name John Aloisi[1]
Date of birth (1976-02-05) 5 February 1976 (age 48)
Place of birth Adelaide, South Australia
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Western United (head coach)
Youth career
AIS, Rostrevor College[2]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991–1992 Adelaide City 1 (0)
1992–1993 Standard Liège 0 (0)
1993–1995 Antwerp 35 (7)
1995–1997 Cremonese 48 (4)
1997–1998 Portsmouth 60 (26)
1998–2001 Coventry City 41 (10)
2001–2005 Osasuna 121 (29)
2005–2007 Alavés 58 (16)
2007–2008 Central Coast Mariners 15 (7)
2008–2010 Sydney FC 40 (12)
2010–2011 Melbourne Heart 20 (8)
Total 439 (119)
International career
1992 Australia U20 6 (1)
2004 Australia Olympic (O.P.) 7 (3)
1997–2008 Australia 55 (27)
Managerial career
2011–2012 Melbourne Heart (youth)
2012–2013 Melbourne Heart
2015 Melbourne Victory (youth assistant)
2015–2018 Brisbane Roar
2021– Western United
Medal record
Representing  Australia
Men's Association football
FIFA Confederations Cup
Runner-up 1997 Saudi Arabia
Third place 2001 South Korea-Japan
OFC Nations Cup
Winner 2004 Australia
AFC–OFC Challenge Cup
Runner-up 2001 Japan
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

John Aloisi (/ˌæloʊˈiːsiː/; born 5 February 1976) is an Australian former soccer player and current head coach of A-League club Western United. In a professional career that spanned 20 seasons, with league totals of 459 games and 127 goals, he was the first Australian ever to play and score in La Liga, the Premier League and Serie A.

He returned to Australia in 2007, with four seasons in the A-League. Aloisi was an integral member of the Australia national team for more than a decade, and represented the nation at the 2006 World Cup, being an essential figure in the qualifying stages.[3] He also appeared for the Socceroos in two Confederations Cups. A former striker, Aloisi was described as a goal poacher who was able to "hold the ball up well and create opportunities for his teammates."[4]

Club career

[edit]

Early years and England

[edit]

Born in Adelaide, South Australia, Aloisi attended Rostrevor College (92').[2] Aloisi arrived from Adelaide City in Europe aged 16. He signed with Standard Liège. He did not appear in any official games for the club, and played sparingly for his next team, fellow top division outfit Royal Antwerp F.C.

Then in November 1995, Aloisi signed for Italian side US Cremonese and on the 25th, after two minutes on the pitch, he scored in a 2–1 home win against Calcio Padova, becoming the youngest foreign player ever to score in a Serie A match.[5] By the time he departed Lombardy, they suffered two consecutive relegations.

Aloisi arrived in English football early in the 1997–98 season, signing for Portsmouth in the Division One, under the chairmanship of Australia national football team manager Terry Venables. He scored 12 goals in his first season in England as Portsmouth narrowly avoided relegation, bettering that total to 13 in the following campaign.

On 17 December 1998, Aloisi moved to the Premier League with Coventry City, who paid £650,000 for his services. He made his Sky Blues debut in a 1–1 home draw against Derby County, appearing as a late substitute; also coming from the bench, he netted in the next match, 1–1 against Tottenham Hotspur.

Aloisi scored twice in a 4–1 win against Aston Villa at Villa Park, which was Coventry's first ever away victory in the league against their Midlands rivals. Starting in the next game, against Charlton Athletic, he was sent off for punching Danny Mills, receiving a considerable ban.[clarification needed]. For Portsmouth and Coventry combined, he finished the season with 18 goals.

Coventry were constantly threatened with relegation during Aloisi's time at the club, and finally went down at the end of the 2000–01 season after a 34-year top flight stay, with Aloisi scoring just three times. He scored a hat-trick against Preston North End in the season's Football League Cup – 4–1 home win, 7–2 on aggregate[6]). In June, he was allowed to leave Highfield Road, and came close to signing for Crystal Palace,[7] but nothing came of it.

Spain

[edit]

In 2001, Aloisi moved to Spain, joining Pamplona's CA Osasuna. He scored nine goals in 30 games in his first season in La Liga, being regularly used during his four-year spell in Navarre. On 11 April 2004, he played the full 90 minutes in a 3–0 away win against Real Madrid[8][9] and, on 11 June of the following year, he netted in the Copa del Rey final, equalising in an eventual 1–2 extra time loss against Real Betis.

After a move to Panathinaikos F.C. collapsed,[10] Aloisi signed for another Spanish outfit, Deportivo Alavés, on a free transfer. He scored ten goals in 2005–06, his best Spanish total, but the Basque team suffered top flight relegation.

Return to Australia

[edit]

On 20 October 2007, it was announced that Aloisi had signed with the Central Coast Mariners FC for the remainder of the season.[11] The team was able to not include his wages in the salary cap due to a loop hole relating to injured players.[12] He made his debut in the A-League on the 28th against Sydney FC, in a 2–3 defeat.[13]

On 3 March 2008, after failing to re-sign with the Mariners, Aloisi penned a two-year deal with Sydney FC, for an undisclosed fee reported to be $1.4 million a season,[14] making him the highest-paid player based in Australia in any of the four football codes. He made his debut as a second-half substitute against Perth Glory FC at the Sydney Football Stadium, and scored his first goal for Sydney in a 2–0 upset win over archrivals Melbourne Victory FC.

On 18 February 2009, 33-year-old Aloisi was linked with a loan move to Shanghai Shenhua F.C. in China. He soon decided against the deal, opting instead to spend the entire pre-season with Sydney FC, under the club's new coach Vítězslav Lavička.[15] He scored twice in a friendly with the Newcastle United Jets FC,[16] and eventually started repaying the faith the team had in him by scoring a double in a 3–2 win against North Queensland Fury FC in Townsville, in the first game of the season; he finished the campaign – winning both the minor and the major championships – as the first Sydney player ever to reach double digits in a single season.

On 29 March 2010, Melbourne Heart FC signed Aloisi on a free transfer.[17] He impressed at the new club and scored eight goals, including three against rivals Melbourne Victory, both the first goal ever in a Melbourne derby, and a brace which equalised the game at 2–2 after the Heart had been 2–0 down. On 12 February 2011, he played the final game of his career against former team Sydney FC, in the last round of the A-League season, scoring and being replaced by in the 83rd minute by Kristian Sarkies, to a standing ovation from the home crowd.[18]

International career

[edit]
Aloisi taking the penalty that secured the victory over Uruguay and Australia's place in the 2006 World Cup.

Aloisi made his debut for the Australian national team in 1997. Also in that year, he was selected to the FIFA Confederations Cup, scoring in a 3–1 group stage win against Mexico for the eventual runners-up.

After representing Australia at the 2004 Summer Olympics as one of the three overage players, scoring three goals in an eventual quarterfinal exit,[19] Aloisi finished second in the scoring charts at the 2005 Confederations Cup, netting braces against Germany and Argentina as the Socceroos did not manage one single point in three games.

On 16 November 2005, Aloisi scored the decisive penalty against Uruguay in the 2006 FIFA World Cup playoffs, after a 1–1 aggregate tie. That goal meant Australia qualified to the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1974.[3] He was selected in the squad for the final stages in Germany and, on 12 June, came off the bench to score the third goal in a 3–1 group stage victory against Japan, thus becoming only the second Australian to score a goal at the World Cup finals, after teammate Tim Cahill.[20]

On 21 July 2007, Aloisi scored in the 2007 AFC Asian Cup's quarterfinal match against Japan (1–1), in an eventual penalty shootout exit in Australia's first ever participation in that tournament.[21] It would be the last of his 27 international goals, second-best behind Damian Mori at the time of his retirement.

After his return to the A-League, Aloisi ceased to be recalled by the national team. In early 2008, his penalty kick against Uruguay which took the Socceroos to the 2006 World Cup was voted by the Sport Australia Hall of Fame as one of three greatest moments in Australian sporting history.[22]

Coaching career

[edit]

Melbourne Heart

[edit]

After retiring, Aloisi started a coaching career, being appointed youth manager at Melbourne Heart.[23] On 8 May 2012, it was announced that he had accepted a three-year contract to be the manager of Melbourne Heart.[24] On 5 October 2012, he got his first win as manager as Melbourne Heart beat rivals Melbourne Victory 2–1. Aloisi struggled in his first season as head coach, with Melbourne Heart coming ninth in the 2012–13 season and winning only one away game all season. The 2013–14 season did not start any better with the Heart managing 0 wins, 4 draws and 6 losses from 10 starts. On 28 December 2013, Aloisi was sacked as the manager of Melbourne Heart following the club's seventeenth competitive match without a win.

Melbourne Victory

[edit]

On 9 February 2015, Aloisi joined Melbourne Victory FC as the development coach of its National Youth League and National Premier League sides.[25][26]

Brisbane Roar

[edit]

On 26 May 2015, Aloisi was named manager of Brisbane Roar.[27] In both of his first two seasons at the club, the Roar achieved a top 4 finish in the league, and made it to the semi-finals.

In May 2017, Aloisi signed a new three-year contract to stay on as manager of Brisbane.[28]

On 28 December 2018, Aloisi resigned as manager of Brisbane Roar following the club's poor start to the season, with the Roar second-last on the A-League ladder with just 1 win in 9 matches at the time of his departure.[29][30] He left as Brisbane Roar's longest serving manager.[31]

Western United

[edit]

In July 2021, Aloisi was appointed as head coach of Western United, signing a two-year contract.[32]

In May 2022, Aloisi guided Western United to the A-League Championship, with a 2–0 win over defending champions Melbourne City. The championship win saw Western United became just the second expansion side ever to win the A-League Championship, the quickest expansion side to win the championship, the first team since to triumph in their first grand final appearance since Brisbane Roar in 2011, and one of just two teams to have won the championship after finishing outside the top two, with Melbourne Victory first achieving this feat in 2018.[33] Aloisi has been credited for overhauling the club's culture, which saw the club go from 10th place the previous season to champions the next season.[34]

Personal life

[edit]

Aloisi is of Italian descent through his grandparents, who are from Calabria. His older brother Ross, was also a professional footballer, and has served under him as an assistant coach.

A devout Catholic,[35] Aloisi is married to Angela and has daughters: Alisia, Katia and Amaya.[36]

Aloisi appeared on the cover of the Australian version of Pro Evolution Soccer 6.

In addition to his native English, Aloisi also speaks Italian and Spanish.[37]

In 2020, Aloisi successfully underwent surgery to fix a tear in his mitral valve.[38]

Career statistics

[edit]

Club

[edit]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[39]
Club Season League National cup[a] Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Adelaide City 1991–92 National Soccer League 20 8 – – 20 8
1 0 – – 1 0
Total 21 8 – – 21 8
Standard Liège 1992–93 Belgian Pro League 0 0 1 0 1[b] 0 2 0
Antwerp 1993–94 Belgian Pro League 10 1 1 0 – 11 1
1994–95 25 6 2 2 – 27 8
Total 35 7 3 2 – 38 9
Cremonese 1995–96 Serie A 22 2 0 0 – 22 2
1996–97 Serie B 26 2 3 1 – 29 3
Total 48 4 3 1 – 51 5
Portsmouth 1997–98 First Division 38 12 3 0 – 41 12
1998–99 22 14 4 3 – 26 17
Total 60 26 7 3 – 67 29
Coventry City 1998–99 Premier League 16 5 2 0 – 18 5
1999–2000 7 2 0 0 – 7 2
2000–01 19 3 3 3 – 22 6
Total 42 10 5 3 – 47 13
Osasuna 2001–02 La Liga 30 9 0 0 – 30 9
2002–03 32 8 2 1 – 34 9
2003–04 33 5 3 2 – 36 7
2004–05 26 6 6 2 – 32 8
Total 121 28 11 5 – 132 33
Alavés 2005–06 La Liga 33 10 1 0 – 34 10
2006–07 Segunda División 25 6 1 0 – 26 6
Total 58 16 2 0 – 60 16
CC Mariners 2007–08 A-League 15 7 0 0 – 15 7
Sydney 2008–09 A-League 16 2 3 2 – 19 4
2009–10 24 10 0 0 – 24 10
Total 40 12 3 2 – 43 14
Melbourne Heart 2010–11 A-League 20 8 – – 20 8
Career total 462 126 37 17 1 0 499 143
  1. ^ Includes Belgian Cup, Coppa Italia, FA Cup, Copa del Rey
  2. ^ Appearance in UEFA Cup

International

[edit]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Australia 1997 11 7
1998 1 0
1999 0 0
2000 2 1
2001 10 7
2002 0 0
2003 2 0
2004 5 2
2005 8 5
2006 10 4
2007 5 1
2008 1 0
Total 55 27
Scores and results list Australia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Aloisi goal.
List of international goals scored by John Aloisi
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 11 June 1997 Parramatta Stadium, Sydney, Australia  Solomon Islands 3–0 13–0 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 5–0
3 10–0
4 11–0
5 12–0
6 28 June 1997 North Harbour Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand  New Zealand 1–0 3–0 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
7 12 December 1997 King Fahd II Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia  Mexico 2–0 3–1 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup
8 4 October 2000 Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates  Kuwait 1–0 1–0 2000 Friendship Tournament
9 9 April 2001 Coffs Harbour International Stadium, Coffs Harbour, Australia  Tonga 3–0 22–0 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
10 6–0
11 8–0
12 10–0
13 11–0
14 14–0
15 24 June 2001 Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia  New Zealand 3–1 4–1 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
16 4 June 2004 Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide, Australia  Vanuatu 1–0 3–0 2004 OFC Nations Cup
17 3–0
18 15 June 2005 Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt, Germany  Germany 2–2 3–4 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup
19 3–4
20 18 June 2005 Frankenstadion, Nuremberg, Germany  Argentina 1–3 2–4 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup
21 2–3
22 9 October 2005 Craven Cottage, London England  Jamaica 4–0 5–0 Friendly
23 7 June 2006 Donaustadion, Ulm, Germany  Liechtenstein 3–1 3–1 Friendly
24 12 June 2006 Fritz-Walter-Stadion, Kaiserslautern, Germany  Japan 3–1 3–1 2006 FIFA World Cup
25 11 October 2006 Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, Australia  Bahrain 1–0 2–0 2007 AFC Asian Cup Qualification
26 14 November 2006 Loftus Road, London England  Ghana 1–0 1–1 Friendly
27 21 July 2007 Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hà Nội, Vietnam  Japan 1–0 1–1 2007 AFC Asian Cup

Managerial statistics

[edit]
As of 11 December 2023[40]
Team Nat From To Record
G W D L Win %
Melbourne Heart Youth Australia 23 October 2011 4 March 2012 18 7 5 6 038.89
Melbourne Heart Australia 8 May 2012 28 December 2013 39 8 7 24 020.51
Brisbane Roar Australia 26 May 2015 28 December 2018 108 41 24 43 037.96
Western United Australia July 2021 Present 70 30 11 29 042.86
Total 235 86 47 102 036.60

Honours

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Player

[edit]

Adelaide City

Osasuna

Central Coast Mariners

Sydney FC

Australia

Individual

  • FIFA Confederations Cup Bronze Shoe: 2005

Manager

[edit]

Western United

  • A-League championship: 2022

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players: Australia" (PDF). FIFA. 21 March 2014. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Soccer Program".
  3. ^ a b Australia reach World Cup finals; BBC Sport, 16 November 2005
  4. ^ "Player Profiles". Yahoo!7 Sport. Archived from the original on 28 August 2006. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  5. ^ Dall' Australia con furore: John Aloisi regala i primi 3 punti alla Cremonese (From Australia with furor: John Aloisi gives Cremonese first three points); Corriere della Sera, 27 November 1995 (in Italian)
  6. ^ Coventry 4–1 Preston; BBC Sport, 27 September 2000
  7. ^ Coventry City biography; at FootballHeroes
  8. ^ Real Madrid 0–3 Osasuna Archived 26 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine; ESPNsoccernet, 11 April 2004
  9. ^ Small talk: John Aloisi; The Guardian, 16 April 2004
  10. ^ Aloisi fails Panathinaikos test; BBC Sport, 5 July 2005
  11. ^ Aloisi's A-League adventure Archived 25 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine; ESPNsoccernet, 19 November 2007
  12. ^ Aloisi: Now's the right time Archived 9 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine; Australian FourFourTwo, 20 October 2007
  13. ^ Brosque double sinks Mariners Archived 18 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine; A-League official website, 28 October 2007
  14. ^ Sydney unveil new signings; Fox Sports, 3 March 2008
  15. ^ Aloisi wary of Chinese burn-out; Fox Sports, 25 February 2009
  16. ^ Aloisi double sinks Jets; The World Game, 12 July 2009
  17. ^ Heart signs John Aloisi; The Age, 29 March 2010
  18. ^ John Aloisi on target in Melbourne Heart farewell; Herald Sun, 12 February 2011
  19. ^ John Aloisi – FIFA competition record (archived)
  20. ^ Australia 3–1 Japan; BBC Sport, 12 June 2006
  21. ^ Japan and Iraq reach semi-finals; BBC Sport, 21 July 2007
  22. ^ John Aloisi's shot of confidence; Herald Sun, 2 February 2008
  23. ^ John Aloisi and Josip Skoko look to coaching after ending careers as senior players; The Australian, 14 February 2011
  24. ^ "Heart plumps for Aloisi". The World Game. 8 May 2012. Archived from the original on 5 December 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  25. ^ "Melbourne Victory appoints John Aloisi to new role". Melbourne Victory FC. 9 February 2015. Archived from the original on 9 February 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  26. ^ "Aloisi joins Melbourne Victory as youth coach". FourFourTwo. 9 February 2015. Archived from the original on 9 February 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  27. ^ "John Aloisi Brisbane Roar: former Melbourne Heart boss to take reins of A-League club". foxsports.com.au. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  28. ^ "Aussie Media Watch: Diego Castro signs new Glory deal, Mathew Leckie relegated from Bundesliga". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  29. ^ Bossi, Dominic (27 December 2018). "Whimper: Aloisi quits as Roar manager ahead of Sydney FC clash". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  30. ^ Sport, Guardian; Agencies, Guardian Sport With (27 December 2018). "John Aloisi tenders shock resignation as Brisbane Roar coach". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  31. ^ Monteverde, Marco. "John Aloisi stands down as head coach of the Brisbane Roar". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  32. ^ Monteverde, Marco (15 July 2021). "A-League: John Aloisi signs two-year coaching deal with Western United". News.com.au.
  33. ^ Lynch, Joey (28 May 2022). "Western United's A-League Men title win shocked everyone except coach John Aloisi and his players". ESPN. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  34. ^ Harrington, Anna (29 May 2022). "Western United keen to lock in 'ambitious' coach John Aloisi". The New Daily. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  35. ^ "John Aloisi". Archived from the original on 13 October 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  36. ^ Jenkins, Diana. "Sporting great John Aloisi's lifesaving open heart surgery". The Advertiser. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  37. ^ "John Aloisi returns to Osasuna". beIN SPORTS Australia. Retrieved 26 April 2022 – via YouTube.
  38. ^ Intili, Daniela (20 January 2022). "Western United ALM coach John Aloisi opens up on the heart scare that threatened his life". ABC News. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  39. ^ John Aloisi at National-Football-Teams.com
  40. ^ "John Aloisi". ALeague Stats. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  41. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 18 June 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  42. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 22 January 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  43. ^ "Oceania Nations Cup 2004". Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  44. ^ "AFC–OFC Challenge". Retrieved 14 October 2024.
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