Mohammad Mustafa Castillo Amini, known as Mustafa Amini, ( Dari: محمد مصطفی کاستیلو امینی, born 20 April 1993) is an Australian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays for

Perth Glory Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues. Founded in 19 ...

and the Australian national team. Born in Sydney, Amini played youth football with the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

before starting his professional career with Central Coast Mariners 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 2011, Amini signed for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund. After playing only for their second team, he transferred in 2015 to Randers FC. Amini has appeared numerous times for the Australian U-17, U-20 and U-23 teams. He took part in the

2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 18th FIFA U-20 World Cup. Colombia hosted the tournament between 29 July and 20 August 2011, with matches being played in eight cities. The tournament was won by Brazil who claimed their fifth title. At a FIFA ...

Early life

Born in

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 to an

Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...

father and a

Nicaraguan Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...

mother, Amini grew up in the Western Sydney area. He attended Wentworthville Public School and

Westfields Sports High School , motto_translation = Courage and Valour , established = , location = 406A Hamilton Road, Fairfield West, Western Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , type = Government-funded co-educational comprehensive a ...

until moving to

Lake Ginninderra College University of Canberra Senior Secondary College Lake Ginninderra, formerly known as Lake Ginninderra College until 2011, is a public secondary college for students in Years 11 and 12. It is located in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia, ...

in the ACT while playing for the AIS, earning his Year 12 certificate in March 2010. Amini wears a distinctive ' afro' haircut and is fluent in Dari and Spanish.

Playing career

Club career

Central Coast Mariners

Amini played for

Blacktown City Blacktown City Council is a local government area in Western Sydney, situated on the Cumberland Plain, approximately west of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1906 as the Blacktow ...

before being signed to an AIS scholarship. He was signed by the Central Coast Mariners on a two-year contract in the

. Amini made his debut for the senior team in a friendly against fellow Gosford club

Central Coast Lightning Central Coast United FC, is a semi-professional soccer club, based and located on the Central Coast of New South Wales. As of the 2022 season, the club's senior teams compete in the NSW League One competitions and the clubs youth team compete in ...

which the Mariners won 7–1. Amini made his official A-League debut for the Mariners in a match against Brisbane Roar on 20 October 2010. His first goal came in a 3–1 away win against

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 9 February 2011. Amini's excellent form throughout the 2010–11 A-League season attracted major interest from overseas clubs Borussia Dortmund and

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

. Subsequently it was announced that Amini was to spend two weeks on trial with Borussia Dortmund in preparation for the

in July with a view of signing a long term deal with the Bundesliga club. Only days into his trial Borussia Dortmund publicly announced that the youngster had caught the eye of first team manager Jürgen Klopp stating that "he can definitely play football and is a really great talent."

Borussia Dortmund

On 4 July 2011, it was announced that he had signed with Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund on a four-year contract. However, Amini would initially be loaned to Central Coast Mariners until 31 May 2012, making him eligible to play for the club during the

2011–12 A-League The 2011–12 A-League was the 35th season of top-flight soccer in Australia, and the seventh season of the Australian A-League soccer competition since its establishment in 2004. At the end of the previous season, the North Queensland Fury wer ...

season as well as the group stage of the

Asian Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

. He played outstandingly well as Central Coast marched to the quarter-finals. On 11 July 2012, Amini made his debut for Borussia Dortmund in a friendly against

SV Meppen SV Meppen is a German association football club playing in Meppen, Lower Saxony. The club was founded on 29 November 1912 as ''Amisia Meppen'' and joined ''Männer-Turnverein Meppen'' on 8 February 1920 to form ''TuS Meppen 1912''. The football ...

, scoring a goal in the 63rd minute en route a 2–1 victory for Dortmund. Amini scored his first goal for the second team in a game against

MSV Duisburg Meidericher Spielverein 02 e. V. Duisburg, commonly known as simply MSV Duisburg (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Nicknamed ''Die Zebras'' for their traditional striped jers ...

on matchday 7 of the

2013–14 3. Liga The 2013–14 3. Liga was the sixth season of the 3. Liga, Germany's third-level football league. The league consisted of twenty teams: The teams placed fourth through seventeenth of the 2012–13 season, the worst two teams from the 2012–13 ...

season. In March 2015, Amini announced, that he would leave the club when his contract expired in June, after playing there for three years.

Randers FC

Amini signed a three-year deal with Danish Superliga club Randers FC in June 2015. He scored the opening goal in the club's 3–0 UEFA Europa League qualifying second leg win over Sant Julià.

AGF

In June 2016, Amini moved to Superliga side AGF on a four-year deal. Amini enjoyed a good debut for AGF, with a goal and an assist in a 2–1 win away at

SønderjyskE SønderjyskE is a Danish sport corporation. They have a football team (SønderjyskE Fodbold, based in Haderslev), two handball teams (SønderjyskE Håndbold, one male based in Sønderborg, one female based in Aabenraa) and an ice hockey team (S ...

in the Superliga on 17 July 2016.

Cyprus

In June 2021, Amini joined Cypriot First Division side

Apollon Limassol Apollon Limassol FC ( el, Απόλλων Λεμεσού, ''Apollon Lemesou'') is a Cypriot sports club, based in Limassol. It has football, basketball and volleyball teams. Founded in 1954, Apollon FC currently plays in the Cypriot First Divisi ...

on a two-year deal. In September 2021, Amini was loaned out to fellow First Division club

PAEEK PAEEK ( el, ΠΑΕΕΚ; short for Ποδοσφαιρική Αθλητική Ένωση Επαρχίας Κερύνειας, ''Podosfairiki Athlitiki Enosi Eparxeias Kerynias'', translated as "Football and Sport Union of Kyrenia District", lite ...

. In December 2021, he mutually terminated his contract with Apollon Limassol and left both Cypriot clubs.

Sydney FC

On 24 December 2021, Amini signed a six-month deal with

A-League Men 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 ...

as an injury replacement for

Luke Brattan Nathan Luke Brattan (born 8 March 1990) is an Australian professional football player who plays as a defensive midfielder for Sydney FC. Born in England, Brattan moved to Australia at a young age, playing youth football for Rochedale Rovers a ...

Perth Glory

On 10 June 2022, Amini signed a three-year deal with

club

. Amini was announced just hours after the club released a statement advising members and fans that former Glory skipper,

Brandon O'Neill Brandon O'Neill (born 12 April 1994) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a defensive midfielder for Newcastle Jets in the A-League. Club career Perth Glory Born in Perth, Western Australia, O'Neill signed a youth contrac ...

had his request granted for an early release from his deal. Amini was named Perth Glory team captain on 6 October 2022 ahead of the

2022–23 A-League Men The 2022–23 A-League Men, known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is the 46th season of national level men's soccer in Australia, and the 18th since the establishment of the competition as the A-League in 2004. The regular sea ...

season.

International career

Youth

Amini was first selected for Australia under-17 to play Turkey in a two-match series in April 2009 in Turkey. He made his Joeys debut in the first match of the series, a 1–0 loss, starting the match as a defender, but moving into midfield in the second half before being substituted late in the game. He also played a full match in the second leg, a 2–1 defeat. Amini was selected to play for Australia U-20 in a four-match tour of South America against the

Argentina U-20 The Argentina national under-20 football team is the representative of Argentina in FIFA-sponsored tournaments that pertain to that age level. Argentina is the most successful nation in the FIFA U-20 World Cup, winning the competition a record si ...

and Paraguay U-20 teams from 3–19 April. He was then selected for the Australia U-20 again for the

2010 AFF U-19 Youth Championship The 2010 AFF U-19 Youth Championship was held from 24 to 30 July 2010, hosted by Vietnam. Only four teams will be participating, two teams from member associations of the AFF along with associate member Australia, and an invitee team from the Ea ...

. Amini scored his first goal for the Australia U-20 in the

in a 4–1 win over Vietnam U-20.

Senior

On 23 March 2011, after impressing on trial at Borussia Dortmund, Amini was called up to the Australian national side training camp by Head Coach Holger Osieck which was being held in Germany. Amini was named among the 43 players squad to represent Afghanistan for

2014 AFC Challenge Cup The 2014 AFC Challenge Cup was the fifth and the final edition of the AFC Challenge Cup, an international football competition for Asian Football Confederation (AFC) member nations that are mainly categorized as "emerging countries" in the now de ...

preparations camp in Qatar, but he refused the call saying "I only want to play for Australia if I get the chance". Amini was called-up to Australia's senior squad ahead of the

World Cup qualifiers The FIFA World Cup qualification is a competitive match that a national association football team takes in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the (men's) FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments are hel ...

in March 2017. He debuted on 28 March 2017 against the United Arab Emirates at Allianz Stadium in Sydney, when subbed on in the 87th minute. 20 November 2018, Amini made his first starting appearance 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 ...

at Stadium Australia, Sydney in a friendly match against Lebanon in front of a crowd of 33,268 people. Amini played 74 minutes before being replaced by debutant

James Jeggo James Alexander Jeggo ( ; born 12 February 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Belgian club Eupen. Born in Austria, he represents the Australia national team. Jeggo moved to Australia as a child, where he sta ...

with Australia three goals in the lead at the time. Australia went on to win the match 3–0.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Statistics accurate as of match played 15 October 2019.''

Honours

Central Coast Mariners *

Premiership: 2011–12 Australia U19 * AFF U-19 Youth Championship:

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Amini, Mustafa 1993 births Living people Australian expatriate soccer players Australia international soccer players Australia youth international soccer players Australia under-20 international soccer players A-League Men players Australian people of Afghan descent Australian people of Nicaraguan descent Sportspeople of Afghan descent Sportspeople of Nicaraguan descent Sportsmen from New South Wales Blacktown City FC players Central Coast Mariners FC players Borussia Dortmund players Borussia Dortmund II players Randers FC players Aarhus Gymnastikforening players Australian Institute of Sport soccer players 3. Liga players Danish Superliga players Soccer players from Sydney Association football midfielders People educated at Lake Ginninderra College 2019 AFC Asian Cup players Australian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Australian expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Expatriate footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Australian soccer players