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 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player and coach. He played in two

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

and

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 c ...

tournaments for the

Australia national football team Australia national soccer team most commonly refers to: * Australia men's national soccer team * Australia women's national soccer team Australia national soccer team may also refer to: * Australia men's national soccer B team * Australia men's nat ...

. At club level, Culina had a nine-year spell in the Netherlands, winning four

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

titles (one with

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), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

and three with PSV).

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 it ...

under his father,

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

, before moving to

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

Twente 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 Germanic people ...

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 Association football, 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 ...

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 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 against other sch ...

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 Australi ...

. 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, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

club

Sydney FC Sydney Football Club, commonly known as Sydney FC, is a professional association football, soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. They compete in the top-tier men's league in Australia, the A-League Men. Established in 2004, ...

. 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 Order of Australia, OAM (born 5 September 1964) is an Australian Association football, football (soccer) coach and former player who played as a Forward (association football), forward. His playing career spanned Australia, Belg ...

. 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 association football manager and former player, who last managed A-League Men club Western Sydney Wanderers. Rudan was one of the inaugural inductees into the Sydney FC Hall of Fa ...

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. On 10 August 2023 Culina joined

Western Sydney Wanderers Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, Wanderers, or simply as WSW) is an Australian professional association football club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in t ...

as their Head of Academy Coaches.

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. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

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, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

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

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of 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 the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

where Australia qualified for the

2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup 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 event in July 2000. Teams represe ...

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

qualifier against

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, 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, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Personal life

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

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

n descent. On 5 February 2007, Culina and his wife Terri welcomed their first child, a boy named Roman. His son Roman, is also a footballer, who currently plays for the

NPL NSW squad.

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

: 2001–02 *

: 2003–04 PSV *

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

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 ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Australia *

: runner-up

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

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 men's soccer players Australia men's international soccer players 2006 FIFA World Cup players Olympic soccer players for Australia Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup players Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Australian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate men's 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 Men's association football midfielders Sydney United 58 FC managers Marquee players (A-League Men) Australian soccer managers Australian men's soccer players Western Sydney Wanderers FC non-playing staff 21st-century Australian sportsmen