Jason Culina (born 5 August 1980) is a former Australian soccer player and coach.

Club career

Culina began his career with

Sydney United Sydney United 58 Football Club is a semi-professional soccer club and current NSW NPL Champions based in Edensor Park, Sydney, New South Wales Australia. The club was formed as Sydney Croatia in 1958, by Croatian Australians in the area, but ...

under his father,

Branko Culina Branko Culina (; born 1 October 1957 in Zadar, Socialist Republic of Croatia, FPR Yugoslavia) is a football (soccer) coach and former player. He previously managed Sydney FC and the Newcastle Jets in the A-League. Club career Culina was born i ...

, before moving to

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...

, where he struggled in the reserves. Only after moving to

Twente Twente ( nl, Twente , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Ge ...

did Culina begin to shine at the top level in club football. This was proved by his moving to another top Dutch club, PSV. While originally an attack-minded midfielder with Twente, at PSV Culina played more in a disciplined defensive role for the club with immediate success. In his final year at PSV, Culina was mainly deployed at right-back with further success, attributing to Culina's versatility and utility value. On 9 January 2009, Culina announced his intention to return to Australia after turning down a contract extension from PSV as he sought a new challenge and a fresh start in Australia.

"I want to make a fresh start and I am ready for a new challenge. I am the first international who returns to Australia and I am keen to promote the national competition and raise the standard."

On 14 January 2009, he was signed by

Gold Coast United 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 ...

on a three-year contract, becoming the club's first marquee player. On 1 July 2009 he made his Gold Coast debut in a friendly in Singapore against a Singapore Olympic Selection, coming on as a substitute for Steve Pantelidis and scoring in the 88th minute from 25 yards out. On 22 February 2011, it was revealed Culina would join his father Branko Culina at

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 Australian ...

. Culina was injured long-term and missed the 2011–12 season. His contract was set aside, but he continued his rehab and training with the club. On 12 October 2012, Culina signed with A-League club Sydney FC. However, he lasted less than a year with the club, parting ways with the club in February 2013 after a disagreement with manager

Frank Farina Frank Farina OAM (born 5 September 1964) is an Australian football (soccer) coach and former player who played as a forward. His playing career spanned Australia, Belgium, France, Italy and England, and was a major player for the Australia ...

. Culina announced his retirement on 18 June 2013 at a

Football Federation Australia Football Australia is the governing body of soccer, futsal, and beach soccer within Australia, headquartered in Sydney. Although the first governing body of the sport was founded in 1911, Football Australia in its current form was only establ ...

function.

Coaching career

In 2015, Culina joined the King's School football coaching staff, helping with the school's first team. In 2016, Culina moved to St Joseph's College, and was the college's technical director of football and coach of the First XI. On 16 August 2017, Culina was appointed head coach of Sydney United 58 after

Mark Rudan Marko Ante "Mark" Rudan (born 27 August 1975) is an Australian soccer manager and former player. He is currently the head coach for A-League Men club Western Sydney Wanderers. Rudan was one of the inaugural inductees into the Sydney FC Hall o ...

resigned Culina announced his resignation from the role eight games into the season, with four wins and four losses to his side's name. Culina is now coach of Sydney United 58 FC under 12's.

International career

Culina made his debut for the Australia national team against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

in 2005. He became a regular starter for ''the Socceroos'' under head coach Guus Hiddink, who was also his club coach at PSV. His first international goal came in September 2005, against the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...

in Sydney. Culina played in both legs of the World Cup play-off against

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

where Australia qualified for the

2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

following a dramatic penalty shoot-out. He was selected in the Australian squad for the World Cup, held in Germany, and started all four of Australia's matches. On 3 March 2010, Culina was named captain of Australia for the first time, in an AFC Asian Cup qualifier against

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, a 1–0 victory. On 18 June 2013, he announced his official international retirement at a function held before Australia's World Cup 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 the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

Personal life

Culina is the youngest son of former Sydney FC and Newcastle Jets coach Branko Culina. He is of

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 ...

n descent. On 5 February 2007, Culina and his wife Terri welcomed their first child, a boy named Roman.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Score and result list Australia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after Culina goal.''

Honours

Ajax * KNVB Cup: 2001–02 * Johan Cruyff Shield: 2002 *

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

: 2003–04 PSV *

: 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08 * Russian Railways Cup: 2007 * Johan Cruyff Shield:

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Individual *

Player of the Year: 2009–10

References

External links

*
Gold Coast United profile

Migration Heritage Centre feature on Culina family
{{DEFAULTSORT:Culina, Jason 1980 births Living people Australian people of Croatian descent Soccer players from Melbourne Australian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Australian expatriate soccer players Australia international soccer players 2006 FIFA World Cup players Olympic soccer players of Australia Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup players Expatriate footballers in Belgium Australian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands National Soccer League (Australia) players Belgian Pro League players Eredivisie players AFC Ajax players De Graafschap players FC Twente players PSV Eindhoven players Beerschot A.C. players Gold Coast United FC players Melbourne Knights FC players Sydney Olympic FC players Sydney United 58 FC players A-League Men players 2007 AFC Asian Cup players 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2011 AFC Asian Cup players Sydney FC players Association football midfielders Sydney United 58 FC managers Marquee players (A-League Men) Australian soccer coaches Australian soccer players