Jason Culina (born 5 August 1980) is a former Australian

soccer 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 ...

player and coach.

Club career

Culina began his career with Sydney United 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 in ...

, before moving to Ajax, 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 Germ ...

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 Steve Pantelidis (born 17 August 1983) is a former Australian football (soccer) player who plays as a central defender. Club career Early career Pantelidis was reportedly a keen football player who showed plenty of potential competing agains ...

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. 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 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 ...

club

Sydney FC Sydney Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was fo ...

. 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. Culina announced his retirement on 18 June 2013 at a Football Federation Australia 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 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 it ...

under 12's.

International career

Culina made his debut for the

Australia national team Sport is an important part of Australia that dates back to the early colonial period. Australian rules football, rugby league, rugby union, association football, cricket and tennis are among the earliest organised sports in Australia. Sport ha ...

against

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

in 2005. He became a regular starter for ''the Socceroos'' under head coach

Guus Hiddink Guus Hiddink (; born 8 November 1946) is a Dutch former football manager and professional player. He enjoyed a long career playing as a midfielder in his native Netherlands. Retired as player in 1982, Hiddink went into management, leading both c ...

, 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 capita ...

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 ...

. 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 The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest cont ...

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 Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

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 The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...

: 2001–02 *

Johan Cruyff Shield The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national footbal ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

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 Russian Railways Cup (russian: Кубок РЖД) was an annual pre-season football tournament, held in Moscow and hosted by FC Lokomotiv Moscow. The first edition of the tournament took place in 2007. Dutch club PSV Eindhoven won the title afte ...

: 2007 *

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