Bruce José Djité (French pronunciation: ; born 25 March 1987) is an Australian executive and former

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

(soccer) player. As a player, Djite is known for his

speed In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quanti ...

strength Strength may refer to: Physical strength *Physical strength, as in people or animals * Hysterical strength, extreme strength occurring when people are in life-and-death situations *Superhuman strength, great physical strength far above human c ...

and good height with ball heading skills and previously played in Turkey for professional

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

, Gençlerbirliği S.K. of the

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

. Djite plays internationally for the Australia national team, debuting in 2008, and played in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification followed by the 2011 AFC Cup qualification as Australia qualified for their third

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

and second consecutive

AFC Cup The AFC Cup is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Under its current rules, the competition is played primarily between clubs from nations that did not receive direct qualifying s ...

. Djite was named Australia League Young Footballer of the Year for 2008, scoring 10 goals in 22 matches. Djite made a name for himself playing in the AFC Champions League, reaching the 2008 AFC Champions League final. Djite is the

Gold Coast United Gold Coast United Football Club is an Australian soccer club based in Gold Coast, Queensland. The earliest incarnation of the club formed in 1966 and its home ground was at Nikiforides Family Park in Broadbeach. The first era of Gold Coast Unit ...

all-time second highest goal scorer and

Adelaide United Adelaide United Football Club is a professional Association Football, soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under North American professional sports league organization#Systems ar ...

all-time highest goal scorer. Djite scored an important equalizer for

club and 2008

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup ( Turkish: ''Türkiye Kupası'') is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası ...

finalist Gençlerbirliği S.K. in the 90th minute of the match against

Denizlispor Denizlispor, due to current sponsorship Altaş Denizlispor, is a Turkish sports club based in Denizli. It is known by its distinct green and black colors. The club's branches include football, volleyball, basketball, table tennis, and gymnastics. ...

, which ended in a 2–2 draw, and assisted an important goal in the 90th minute of the match against

Kocaelispor Kocaelispor is a Turkish football club based in İzmit. They were founded in 1966 and played in the top level between 1980–1988 and 1992–2003. Their best finish was in 1992–93 season, where they finished fourth. They have won the Turkish C ...

in a 1–1 draw during the 2008–09 season. Djite was bought by

business magnate A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

and

owner

Clive Palmer Clive Frederick Palmer (born 26 March 1954) is an Australian businessman and politician. He has iron ore, nickel, and coal holdings. Palmer owns many businesses such as Mineralogy, Waratah Coal, Queensland Nickel at Townsville, the Palmer C ...

from Turkish

club Gençlerbirliği to re-play in the

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

in 2010–11 season, Djite had scored 10 goals and registered three assists in 23 matches for

. During the 2012 AFC Champions League, Djite scored an important headed

goal A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ai ...

and last-gasp winner in the 90th minute of the match for

against the South Korea

K-League K League (Hangul: K리그) is South Korea's professional football league. It includes first division K League 1 and second division K League 2. History Until the 1970s, South Korean football operated two major football leagues, the National S ...

three-time AFC Champions League title holder

Pohang Steelers The Pohang Steelers (Hangul: 포항 스틸러스) are a South Korean professional football club based in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province that compete in the K League 1, the top flight of South Korean football. The Steelers were founded on 1 A ...

, which ended in a 1–0 victory sending Adelaide United to the top of the 2012 AFC Champions League Group E and into the last round of 16 of the 2012 AFC Champions League knockout stage, Djite helped Adelaide United defeat Japan J.League club

Nagoya Grampus (formerly known as ) is a Japanese association football club that plays in the J1 League, following promotion from the J2 League in 2017. Based in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture and founded as the company team of the Toyota, Toyota Motor Corp. in 1939 ...

1–0 to advance to the

quarter-final A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

of the AFC Champions League.

Early life

Djite was born in

Arlington County, Virginia Arlington County is a County (United States), county in the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the Washington, D.C., District of Co ...

, United States and moved to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Australia, with his parents when he was three years old. Djite's father, Paulin Djite is a professor at the

University of Western Sydney Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, Australia. The university in its current form was founded in 1989 as a federated network u ...

.Djite strikes out on his own and kicks career goal – Bruce Djite is a Young Socceroo with a difference, as Ray Gatt explain
''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

'' Djite's father was born in Ivory Coast and his mother was born in Togo and has two brothers. Djite is a

multilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...

, speaking French, English and Turkish. Djite joined the

Marconi Stallions Marconi Stallions Football Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in Fairfield, Sydney, New South Wales. The club has been crowned Australian champion four times. The Stallions are the soccer team of Club Marconi, a social ...

in 2004 at the age of 16, after the demise of

Northern Spirit FC North West Sydney Spirit FC is an Australian soccer club. It was the successor of the defunct Northern Spirit FC, a professional soccer club based in North Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales. Northern Spirit entered the National Soccer League in t ...

whom Djite signed for in 2002–03 National Soccer League season and continued to play with Marconi Stallions until the end of the 2005–06 season (August 2006). Djite had also trained at the

NSW Institute of Sport The New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) is a high performance sports training institute located in New South Wales, Australia. The New South Wales government agency provides world leading coaching, performance support and daily training e ...

in Sydney. In 2006, Djite attended the

AIS AIS may refer to: Medicine * Abbreviated Injury Scale, an anatomical-based coding system to classify and describe the severity of injuries * Acute ischemic stroke, the thromboembolic type of stroke * Androgen insensitivity syndrome, an intersex ...

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

on a

football scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United Stat ...

with

Nikita Rukavytsya Nikita Vadymovych Rukavytsya ( ; uk, Микита Вадимович Рукавиця, translit=Mykyta Vadymovych Rukavytsya; born 22 June 1987) is a professional footballer who plays for Israeli Premier League club Maccabi Haifa. Born in Ukrai ...

Club career

Adelaide United

2006–07 season

In November 2006 at age 19 years old, Djite unsuccessfully trialled for two weeks at

SV Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen (), Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen, Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are be ...

of the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

in Germany. Upon his return to Australia, Djite signed for

for the remainder of the 2006–07 A-League season, scoring three goals with an

assist Assist or ASSIST may refer to: Sports Several sports have a statistic known as an "assist", generally relating to action by a player leading to a score by another player on their team: *Assist (basketball), a pass by a player that facilitates a ba ...

in thirteen matches.

2007–08 season

Djite signed a three-year

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

with Adelaide United in March 2007 and Djite scored his first

for

in a competitive fixture on 11 April 2007 in AFC Champions League against South Korea

champions Seongnam Ilhwa, deftly controlling the ball in the

penalty box The penalty box or sin bin (sometimes called the bad box, or simply bin or box) is the area in ice hockey, rugby union, rugby league, roller derby and some other sports where a player sits to serve the time of a given penalty, for an offence not ...

to volley it into the back of the goal net. Djite scored his first goal in the

for Adelaide United against

Brisbane Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat. Brisba ...

in a 2–2 draw on 25 August 2007 at

Suncorp Stadium Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...

in 2007–2008 A-League followed by Adelaide United reaching 2008 AFC Champions League final and Djite scoring an increased strike ratio of 10 goals in 22 matches.

Gençlerbirliği

2008–09 season

On 15 May 2008, it was reported that Djite had been released from his

with Adelaide United to sign for an unnamed European club. On 21 May 2008, Djite agreed to a three-year

with

club Gençlerbirliği in Turkey for the 2008–09 season. Djite made his debut in the Süper Lig on 24 August 2008 in a 1–1 draw with

. Djite scored his first league goal for Gençlerbirliği in the 45th minute against

on 25 October 2008. Fellow Australian

James Troisi James Troisi ( ; born 3 July 1988) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Western United. Early life Troisi was born in Rose Park, a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, to Greek parent ...

also got off the mark in a game which ended in a 2–2 draw. Djite consistently displayed his lethal acceleration,

footspeed 200px, Sprinting is a sport that requires development of footspeed Footspeed, or sprint speed, is the maximum speed at which a human can run. It is affected by many factors, varies greatly throughout the population, and is important in athletics ...

and

in the

penalty area The penalty area or 18-yard box (also known less formally as the penalty box or simply box) is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends 16.5m (18 yd) to each side of the goal and 16.5m (18 yd) in front of it. Wit ...

and finished 2008–2009

season with 6 goals and two assists in twenty-eight matches played.

2009–10 season

In the 2009–10 Süper Lig

off-season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...

, Djite revealed in an interview with

FourFourTwo ''FourFourTwo'' is a football magazine published by Future. Issued monthly, it published its 300th edition in May 2019. It takes its name from the football formation of the same name, 4-4-2. In 2008, it was announced that ''FourFourTwo'' had ...

reporter Ben Somerford, the club

Hajduk Split Hrvatski nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split () or simply Hajduk, is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, t ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

were interested in his services but he rejected the move. Djite appeared on nine occasions on

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

to Turkish club

Diyarbakırspor Diyarbakırspor is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Diyarbakır. Formed in 1968, they are nicknamed ''Diyar'' ("land"). Their colours are red and green, and they play their home matches at Diyarbakır Stadium. Diyarb ...

and on five occasions for Gençlerbirliği with an

in 2009–10 Süper Lig.

Gold Coast United

2010–11 season

On 28 August 2010, it was announced by billionaire tycoon

that Djite would return home to Australia to play in the 2010–2011 A-League with

for 3 years, replacing

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

striker

Shane Smeltz Shane Edward Smeltz (born 29 September 1981) is a New Zealand Australian footballer. He plays as a striker for Guiseley AFC in the Northern Premier League, the 7th tier of English football. Smeltz had spent much of his early career playing in ...

who had joined Gençlerbirliği. Djite was given the

squad number In team sports, the number, often referred to as the uniform number, squad number, jersey number, shirt number, sweater number, or similar (with such naming differences varying by sport and region) is the number worn on a player's uniform, to ...

11 and Djite would unanimously be key to the success of

's attack utilizing his lightning

physical strength Physical strength is the measure of a human's exertion of force on physical objects. Increasing physical strength is the goal of strength training. Overview An individual's physical strength is determined by two factors: the cross-sectional are ...

and aerial ability in the last third of the

football pitch A football pitch (also known as soccer field) is the playing surface for the game of association football. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play". The pitch is typically made of natural tu ...

to score 10 goals and 3 assists in 23 matches including a fine

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in the 37th, 80th and 87th minutes of Gold Coast's 5–1 win and 24th match of the 2010–2011 season at Skilled Park Stadium in

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

against

Newcastle Jets Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from The Australia ...

on 22 January 2011.

Adelaide United return

2011–12 season

On 23 March 2011, it was announced that Djite had signed a two-year

until April 2013 for two

seasons A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

, the 2011–12 and the 2012–13 seasons with the club that gave him his first

contract,

.Prodigal son Djite returns to Reds
'' The Advertiser'' Djite was given the

11 and scored his first goal for Adelaide United in the 2011–12 A-League on 19 November 2011 by showing his exceptional

and

in the

before sharply

shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles can ...

past the

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

Tony Warner Anthony Randolph Warner (born 11 May 1974) is a football coach and former professional footballer who is the goalkeeping coach at Reading. Warner notably played in the Premier League for Fulham, having also being contracted to Liverpool and Hul ...

and into the back of the goal net in the 44th minute of the 1–1 match draw against

Wellington Phoenix Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the ...

Westpac Stadium Wellington Regional Stadium (known commercially as Sky Stadium through naming rights) is a major sporting venue in Wellington, New Zealand. The stadium's bowl site size is . The stadium was built in 1999 by Fletcher Construction and is situa ...

in New Zealand. Djite's five goals and two assists in twenty-four matches helped

in qualifying for the 2012 AFC Champions League with the fifth and final

being on 12 February 2012 at Skilled Park Stadium in the 42nd minute of Adelaide United's 20th 2011–12 season match and 2–1 win over

Loan to Jiangsu Sainty

In March 2011, due to the long 2011–2012 A-League off season Adelaide United agreed for Djite to be loaned to

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional association ...

club Jiangsu Sainty. Djite was given the

19 and debuted for Jiangsu Sainty in the 2011–2012 Chinese Super League season on 3 April 2011 in the match against

Beijing Guoan Beijing Guoan Football Club () is a professional football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in the Chaoyang District in Beijing and their ho ...

and Djite scored his first goal in the 18th minute of the match, an equalizer for Jiangsu Sainty in a 1–1 draw against

Henan Jianye Henan Songshan Longmen Football Club (), previously known as Henan Jianye Football Club (), is a professional football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team ...

on 30 April 2011, followed by the winning goal in the 55th minute of the match for Jiangsu Sainty with Djite's speed and strength proving too much for Chinese Super League

defenders Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to: *Defense (military) *Defense (sports) **Defender (association football) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary * ''The Defender'' (1994 f ...

in a 1–0 win against

Chengdu Blades Chengdu Tiancheng F.C. () was a Chinese professional football club based in Chengdu, China who last played in the 26,000 seater Shuangliu Sports Center in the China League One division. The club was founded on 26 February 1996 and was formerly ...

on 18 June 2011 at Nanjing Olympic Sports Stadium. Djite scored 4 goals with an

in thirteen

matches and helped Jiangsu Sainty to 4th place in the Chinese Super League, scoring the fourth goal for Jiangsu Sainty in the 53rd minute of a 4–0 win against

Dalian Shide Dalian Shide was a professional Chinese football club based in Dalian, Liaoning province, China who played in China's football league system between 1955 and 2012. Their home stadiums were the 55,843 capacity Dalian People's Stadium and then late ...

on 2 July 2011, and played his fourteenth and last Chinese Super League match in Jiangsu Sainty's 15th 2011–12 Chinese Super League match and 1–0 win against

Shanghai Shenxin Shanghai Shenxin Football Club () was a professional football club that participated in China's football league system between 2003 and 2019 under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team was based in Jinshan District, Shangha ...

on 6 July 2011.

2012–13 season

Djite decisively scored a headed

in the 90th minute and 1–0 match winner in the 2012 AFC Champions League for

against South Korea

club and three-time AFC Champions League winners

showing his great aerial ability and

in the

to out-muscle two Pohang Steelers

then powerfully heading the

ball A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but can sometimes be ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used f ...

past the

goalkeeper Shin Hwa-Yong, the

helped Adelaide United to top of 2012 AFC Champions League Group E on 4 April 2012 and into the 2012 AFC Champions League Round of 16 where Djite led the

attack to defeat Japan J.League club

1–0 on 29 May 2012, and into 2012 AFC Champions League Quarter-finals on 3 October 2012. On 1 December 2012, Djite scored for

to lead 1–0 against reigning

champions

Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The Ma ...

in the 17th minute by a spectacular and unstoppable left-footed

shot Shot may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Shot'' (album), by The Jesus Lizard *''Shot, Illusion, New God'', an EP by Gruntruck *'' Shot Rev 2.0'', a video album by The Sisters of Mercy * "Shot" (song), by The Rasmus * ''Shot'' (2017 f ...

from 51.5 metres distance past the Central Coast Mariners goalkeeper

Justin Pasfield Justin Pasfield (born 30 May 1985) is an Australian professional goalkeeper who last played for Wollongong Wolves in the National Premier Leagues NSW. He was part of the Joeys squad for the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherland ...

and into the left-hand corner of the goal net at

Central Coast Stadium Central Coast Stadium (known originally as Grahame Park), known commercially as Industree Group Stadium is a sports venue in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. The stadium is home to the Central Coast Mariners asso ...

., On 3 February 2013, Djite once again scored a miraculous

for Adelaide United against

Western Sydney Wanderers Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, or simply as Wanderers) is an Australian professional soccer club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier ...

on 61 minutes by splendidly

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. A ...

three Western Sydney Wanderers

and then unleashed an unstoppable left-footed

from 60.2 metres distance past the Western Sydney Wanderers goalkeeper

Ante Čović Ante Covic (born 13 June 1975) is an Australian former soccer goalkeeper. Covic is a member of the Australian national team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany and represented Australia on two occasions. Personal life Covic is of Croatian ...

and into the right-hand corner of the goal net., Djite finished two-years and two

playing in Australia for

in 2012–13 season with two

goals A goal is an objective that a person or a system plans or intends to achieve. Goal may also refer to: Sport * Goal (sports), a method of scoring in many sports, or the physical structure or area where scoring occurs ** Goals, the goal frame in ...

, two assists in seventeen 2012–13 A-League appearances and played ten times scoring once with two assists in the 2012 AFC Champions League.

Suwon FC

On 26 July 2016, after showing good form in Adelaide United's championship winning season, Djite signed with Korean club

Suwon FC Suwon FC ( ko, 수원 FC; Hanja: 水原 FC) is a South Korean professional football club based Suwon that competes in the K League 1, the top division of South Korea. They play their home games at Suwon Stadium. History Early years: semi-profe ...

, joining countryman Adrian Leijer.

International career

Djite is an

American Australian American Australians are Australian citizens who are of American descent, including immigrants and residents who are descended from migrants from the United States of America and its territories. This includes people of European, African Amer ...

and chose to play for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, although he would also have been eligible for the

Ivory Coast national football team The Ivory Coast national football team ( French: ''Équipe de football de Côte d'Ivoire'', recognized as the Côte d'Ivoire by FIFA) represents Ivory Coast in men's international football. Nicknamed ''the Elephants'', the team is managed by ...

, United States national football team and

Togo national football team The Togo national football team (French: Équipe nationale de football du Togo) represents Togo in international football and is controlled by the Togolese Football Federation. The national football team of Togo made their debut in the FIFA Worl ...

Australia U20 national team

Djite was a star striker for the Young Socceroos during their 2006 tournament in South America scoring five

in thirteen

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

and was also chosen in the Australia Under-20 squad to compete at the 2006 AFC Youth Championships, in India.Arnie: Burns, Djite 'Too Young'
au.fourfourtwo.com.

Australia Olympic team

Djite was the key striker and a mainstay in the

Australia Olympic football team The Australia national under-23 soccer team represents Australia in international under-23 soccer and at the Olympic Games. The team is controlled by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Australia (FA), which is currently a membe ...

qualification matches for the 2008 Olympics and helped the Australia Olympic football team, the

Olyroos The Australia national under-23 soccer team represents Australia in international under-23 soccer and at the Olympic Games. The team is controlled by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Australia (FA), which is currently a membe ...

squad, to qualify for the Beijing Olympics contributing thirteen

and scoring two

Australia national team

Three days before his 21st birthday, on 22 March 2008, Djite received his first international

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

for the Australia national team, the Socceroos, against

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, courtesy of national coach

Pim Verbeek Peter Tim Dirk "Pim" Verbeek (12 March 1956 – 28 November 2019) was a Dutch football manager who last coached the Oman national football team. Playing career As a player, Verbeek was a defender or a midfielder and spent his entire career at S ...

, as the replacement for, and

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

Mark Viduka Mark Antony Viduka ( ; born 9 October 1975) is an Australian retired football player who played as a centre forward. He captained the Australia national team to the Round of 16 at the 2006 FIFA World Cup which remains their best ever performance ...

for the

Australia national football team Australia national soccer team may refer to: * Australia men's national soccer team ** Australia men's national under-23 soccer team ** Australia men's national under-20 soccer team ** Australia men's national under-17 soccer team ** Australia ...

. Djite was substituted on at half-time and his best chance to score a

for Australia came when he rounded the Singapore

but his

in the

was blocked by

Lionel Lewis Lionel Lewis (born 16 December 1982) is a retired Singaporean footballer who played for Singapore national football team as a goalkeeper. He played for Home United from 2004 to 2012, having played for Geylang United and the Young Lions in his ...

, the

going out for a

corner kick A corner kick is the method of restarting play in a game of association football when the ball goes out of play over the goal line, without a goal being scored and having last been touched by a member of the defending team. The kick is taken ...

. Djite's first

for Australia in a competitive match was when he came on as a substitute for

Harry Kewell Harry Kewell (born 22 September 1978) is an Australian association football coach, manager and former player. His most recent role as a club manager was at English National League side Barnet, and he is currently a first team coach at Celtic F ...

in Australia's

2010 World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

Qualifier against

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

on 1 June 2008. Djite then again appeared in the Socceroos next match on 15 June 2008 against

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

, coming on as a Super-sub for the

Qualifier in

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

, Qatar.

Playing style

Djité is a quick bustling left forward or striker with great

and acceleration who

kicks A kick is a physical Strike (attack), strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee (strike), ...

and

shoots In botany, a plant shoot consists of any plant stem together with its appendages, leaves and lateral buds, flowering stems, and flower buds. The new growth from seed germination that grows upward is a shoot where leaves will develop. In the sp ...

the

well with either foot., , Used his extreme physical strength and footspeed to out-run defenders in an A-League 2007–08 season where Djité was crowned and awarded with the Rising-Star-award, after scoring 10

in his first full

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

and then followed by registering six goals and two assists in his first

2008–09 season in Turkey. In 2011, Djité was among the top-goalscorers in the league, registering 10

and three assists in twenty-three matches.

Post-playing career

On 3 June 2019, Djite returned to his former club,

side

Adelaide United FC Adelaide United Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was founded in 2003 to f ...

taking up the role of Director of Football. He left the role in July 2021 to become the CEO of the Committee for Adelaide. On 30 November 2022, Djite was appointed as executive director of the South Australian Property Council.

Personal life

Bruce is an ambassador for All Together Now, Australia's only national charity with the sole focus of erasing racism. Bruce is also an ambassador for Little Heroes Foundation, a South Australian charity that supports seriously ill children and their families.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Adelaide United *

A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup The A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup competition was an annual soccer tournament held for all A-League clubs in July and August in the lead up to the start of the A-League season. The competition featured a group stage and a knockout stage. ...

: 2007 * FFA Cup: 2014 *

Premiership: 2015–16 * A-League Championship: 2015–16 Individual * A-League Young Footballer of the Year: 2007–08 * Rising Star Award: 2007–08 * Best Team Man Award: 2012–13

References

External links

* * * * *
FFA – Socceroo profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Djite, Bruce 1987 births Living people People from Washington, D.C. Australian soccer players Australian expatriate soccer players Association football forwards Adelaide United FC players A-League Men players American emigrants to Australia Australian people of Ivorian descent Sportspeople of Ivorian descent Australian people of Togolese descent Sportspeople of Togolese descent American people of Ivorian descent American people of Togolese descent Australia international soccer players Gençlerbirliği S.K. footballers Süper Lig players Chinese Super League players Jiangsu F.C. players Expatriate footballers in China Suwon FC players K League 1 players Expatriate footballers in South Korea Australian Institute of Sport soccer players New South Wales Institute of Sport alumni Gold Coast United FC players