John Paul Hutchinson (born 29 December 1979) is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager and former player who is the head coach of

J2 League The or simply J2 is the second division of the and the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The top tier is represented by the J1 League. It (along with the rest of the J.League) is currently sponsored by Meiji Yasud ...

club

Júbilo Iwata is a Japanese professional association football, football team based in Iwata, Shizuoka, Iwata, located in Shizuoka Prefecture. The club competes in J2 League following relegation from J1 League in 2024 J1 League, 2024. Etymology The team's ...

. He played as a

central midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for Eastern Pride, Northern Spirit,

Manly United Manly United Football Club is an Australian soccer club based in the Northern Beaches area of Sydney. The club competes in the National Premier Leagues NSW and their home ground is Cromer Park, in the suburb of Dee Why, approximately 15 minute ...

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 ...

and

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 Mar ...

, for whom he served as captain. Born in Australia, he represented the Malta national team. Hutchinson was born in

Morwell, Victoria Morwell is a town in the Latrobe Valley area of Gippsland, in South-Eastern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia approximately 152 km (94 mi) east of Melbourne. Morwell has a population of 14,389 people at the . It is both the ...

and made his senior debut for Eastern Pride in the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its ...

in 1997. Hutchinson went on to play for Northern Spirit and Manly United before joining Central Coast Mariners in 2005. Hutchinson is the all-time most-capped Mariners player. He also spent time on loan at Chinese club Chengdu Blades. Hutchinson won 11

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. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

s with Malta.

Early life

Hutchinson was born in Morwell, and played youth football from age three for Morwell Pegasus, going on to play for the side in the Gippsland Soccer League. He has Maltese ancestry through his mother.

Club career

Gippsland Falcons (Eastern Pride)

Hutchinson is one of the most highly lauded prospects to emerge from the

Gippsland Falcons Falcons 2000 Soccer Club (formerly Morwell Falcons, Gippsland Falcons and Eastern Pride) is an Australian semi-professional association football, soccer club based in the regional Victoria, Australia, Victorian city of Morwell in Latrobe Valley, G ...

youth setup. Huthcinson signed with the Falcons as a youth by coach Harry Bingham. He made his

debut for the club in February 1997, coming on as a substitute in a loss to Marconi-Fairfield. On 2 January 2000 he scored his first league goal, the opener in a 1–1 draw with Adelaide Force. Despite the limited success of the final seasons of the Falcons, who were subsequently renamed Eastern Pride, Hutchinson received positive reviews for his performances for the club at a young age.

Northern Spirit

In June 2001, Hutchinson moved to Sydney-based

side Northern Spirit following the dissolution of Eastern Pride. Hutchinson was one of several players unpaid during the financial decline of the Spirit, and eventually was left clubless when the club folded in 2004.

Manly United

Hutchinson next played for

in the

NSW Premier League The National Premier Leagues NSW is a semi-professional soccer competition in New South Wales, Australia. The competition is conducted by Football NSW, one of the two organising bodies in New South Wales (the other being the National Premier Lea ...

, where he was club captain.

Central Coast Mariners

Hutchinson made his competitive debut for the Mariners in qualifying competition for the

2005 OFC Club Championship The 2005 OFC Club Championship was the 4th edition of the top-level Oceania, Oceanic club Association football, football tournament organized by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), and the 1st since 2001. The tournament was held in Papeete ...

, coming on at half-time 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 Australi ...

in a match the Mariners eventually won in a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

. Hutchinson came on in the final minutes of the 2005 A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup final against

Perth Glory Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional Association football, soccer club based in Perth, Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under Professional sports league organi ...

as the Mariners won their first ever piece of silverware in August 2005. He was also a last-minute substitute in his

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 ...

debut, again a 1–0 win over Perth in what was the second-ever A-League match. His first Mariners goal came in a 5–1 loss to

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, ...

on 5 November 2005. Around this time, Hutchinson began to be used as a forward, a role which saw him score six goals from six games, including a brace against

in the

F3 derby The F3 Derby is a soccer rivalry between Central Coast Mariners and Newcastle Jets. It is the longest standing derby in the A-League Men. The rivalry originated due to the team's relative geographical proximity, with the Mariners located on the ...

. Hutchinson's season ended prematurely after picking up an injury in a match against Sydney FC. Hutchinson came on in

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

in the 2006 A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup final against

Adelaide United Adelaide United Football Club is a professional men's soccer club located in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club was one of the eight founding members of the A-League Men and have competed in it concurrently since its formation, u ...

and converted his

penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...

in the 5–4 loss in a

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

. Hutchinson's only goal of the 2006–07 season was the Mariners' first in the 2006–07 A-League, the opening goal in a 1-all draw with

. After recovering from a knee injury, Hutchinson became a key player for the

, playing in central midfield with the likes of

Mile Jedinak Michael John "Mile" Jedinak (; ; born 3 August 1984) is an Australian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. He was until recently an assistant coach at Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur. Jedin ...

and Tom Pondeljak in Version 3 of the A-League. This form led him to be named one of the most influential players in the A-League. On 28 October 2007, Hutchinson scored a double against

, with two strikes off either foot from outside the box, but was unable to prevent the Mariners suffering a 3–2 loss. The Mariners won the

2007–08 A-League The 2007–08 A-League was the 31st season of top-flight soccer in Australia, and the third season of the A-League competition since its establishment in 2004. Football Federation Australia hoped to build on the success of the previous two seas ...

Premiership, and came within one game of the Championship, losing to the Jets in the 2008 A-League Grand Final, with Hutchinson playing a full match. Hutchinson played his 100th A-League match in August 2009 - a 1–1 draw against Newcastle Jets - becoming just the second Mariner to achieve this milestone after

Alex Wilkinson Alexander William Wilkinson (born 13 August 1984) is a retired Australian professional soccer player who is currently the Head of Football Operations at Sydney FC. Wilkinson was born and raised in Sydney and made his senior debut for Northern ...

. In 2011, Hutchinson was loaned to

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Super League (), commonly known as the Chinese Super League or the CSL (), also known as the China Resources Beverage Chinese Football Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Ch ...

side

, under former Mariners coach

Lawrie McKinna Lawrie McKinna (born 8 July 1961) is a Scottish-Australian politician and former soccer player and coach. He is currently serving as Mayor for the Central Coast Council and is serving for the East Gosford Ward, heaving led "Team Central Coast" ...

and alongside fellow Mariner Adam Kwasnik. Hutchinson scored his first goal for the side in a 2-all draw with

Changchun Yatai Changchun Yatai Football Club () is a Chinese professional football club based in Changchun, Jilin, that competes in . Changchun Yatai plays its home matches at the Changchun Stadium, located within Nanguan District. The club's founder and main ...

on 31 July 2011, having made his debut three weeks prior in a loss to

Shandong Luneng Shandong Taishan Football Club () is a Chinese professional football club based in Jinan, Shandong, that competes in . Shandong Taishan plays its home matches at the Jinan Olympic Sports Center Stadium, located within Lixia District. Their c ...

. Hutchinson came on as a substitute for

Mustafa Amini Mohammad Mustafa Amini Castillo (Dari: محمد مصطفی امينى كاستيلو, born 20 April 1993), known as Mustafa Amini, is an Australian professional soccer player who is currently a free agent, having most recently played for Perth ...

in the 2011 A-League Grand Final and scored a

in the shoot-out but it was not enough as the Mariners lost 4–2. Hutchinson was part of the Mariners side which won 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 we ...

Premiership. Hutchinson has most recently played an important role in the strong A-League performance of the Central Coast Mariners over recent years and was named club captain after long-serving captain

departed the club before the 2012–2013 season. He captained the side to its first ever A-League Championship, beating

Western Sydney Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that ...

in the 2013 A-League Grand Final. Hutchinson played his 200th A-League match on 5 April 2014 - a loss away to Perth. The 2014–15 season is Hutchinson's tenth with the Mariners. In November 2014, Hutchinson scored a goal in the 94th minute from outside the box to secure a 2-all draw for the Mariners with Melbourne City, breaking a run of four consecutive losses. Hutchinson concluded his 10-year professional career with a 3–1 loss to

Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory ...

in the final round of the 2014/15 A-League season, capping of his 226th league appearance for the Central Coast. A testimonial match was held to conclude John's career on 23 May, attracting a crowd of over two thousand as to watch "Hutch's XI" versus the Mariners. The match yielded 17 goals, with "Hutch's XI" netting a dozen of those to win the match 12–5. He is currently the most capped Central Coast Mariners player, with over 200 appearances for the Gosford side.

International career

Australia

Following a strong 2007–08 A-League season, Hutchinson was called up to a

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

training squad for

players by

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 ...

in early 2008. He appeared for the side in a training match against the Australia under-23 side, coming on as a substitute in a 2–1 loss.

Malta

Due to his Maltese descent, he earned a call-up by Malta coach

Dušan Fitzel Dušan Fitzel (born 15 April 1963) is a Czech football coach and a former player. He is an assistant coach with FC Viktoria Plzeň. He managed the Malta national team from 2006 to 2009. Playing career For the most part of his career Fitzel p ...

, and he made his international debut for the

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

in a friendly against the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, where he was employed in centre midfield. On 10 June 2009, Hutchinson played his first competitive match for Malta in the 2010 World Cup qualifier loss to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

at the

Ullevi Stadium Ullevi, sometimes known as Nya Ullevi (, ''New Ullevi''), is a multi-purpose stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was built for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, but since then has also hosted the World Allround Speed Skating Championships six times; the ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

. Hutchinson's best result with the side came in a 1–1 draw at home against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. Hutchinson's opportunities to play at international level were at times limited by club commitments and the considerable travel involved in flying between Australia and Europe for games. Hutchinson made eleven appearances for Malta.

Coaching career

From 2015 to 2016, Hutchinson served as assistant coach at the Mariners, before parting ways in August 2016. On 1 March 2017, Hutchinson was appointed assistant coach for

Seattle Sounders FC 2 The Tacoma Defiance, formerly Seattle Sounders FC 2, are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in the Puget Sound region in Tukwila, Washington, United States. The team competes in MLS Next Pro, a league in the third ...

, the reserve team of

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

. He became head coach of the team on 30 January 2018 to replace Ezra Hendrickson. On 23 January 2019, the Sounders announced that Hutchinson would be departing the club to return to coach in Australia. On the same day, he was announced as the assistant manager of

Western United Western United Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club. The club is based in the western Melbourne suburb of Tarneit, the club aims to represent western Victoria, incorporating the western suburbs of Melbourne; the regional ci ...

. Hutchinson was appointed head coach and technical director of

El Paso Locomotive FC El Paso Locomotive FC is an American professional soccer team based in El Paso, Texas. Founded in 2018, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. History First season In February 2018, the United Soccer League announced that El P ...

on 9 December 2021. On 15 November 2022, Hutchinson left El Paso to return home to Australia. He spent the 2023 season as assistant at

Yokohama FC is a Japanese professional football club based in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club was formed by fans of Yokohama Flügels as a protest against Flügels' merger with Yokohama Marinos in 1999, becoming th ...

, and joined

Harry Kewell Harry Kewell (born 22 September 1978) is an Australian soccer coach, manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Yokohama F. Marinos in the J1 League. As a player, Kewell represented Leeds United F.C., Leeds United, Liverpool ...

's staff as head coach of Yokohama F. Marinos for 2024. Hutchinson became interim head coach on 15 July 2024 after Kewell's contract was released by the club. John was appointed as manager of

on 14 December 2024.

Career statistics

Club

International

Managerial statistics

Honours

Manly United *

NSW Super League The Football NSW League is an Australian soccer league based in New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It b ...

: 2004 Central Coast Mariners *

Championship:

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

Premiership: 2006–07, 2011–12 * A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup:

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

Records * Most appearances for

: 271 games

References

External links

* *
John Hutchinson profile
at SoundersFC.com

at OzFootball.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Hutchinson, John 1979 births Living people People from the City of Latrobe Australian people of Maltese descent Naturalised citizens of Malta Men's association football midfielders Australian men's soccer players A-League Men players Chinese Super League players National Soccer League (Australia) players Central Coast Mariners FC players Chengdu Tiancheng F.C. players Falcons 2000 SC players Manly United FC players North West Sydney Spirit FC players Central Coast Mariners FC non-playing staff Seattle Sounders FC non-playing staff Maltese men's footballers Malta men's international footballers Expatriate men's footballers in China Australian expatriate men's soccer players Maltese expatriate men's footballers Sportsmen from Victoria (state) People from Morwell, Victoria Tacoma Defiance coaches Australian soccer managers El Paso Locomotive FC coaches J1 League managers J2 League managers Yokohama F. Marinos managers Júbilo Iwata managers Maltese football managers Maltese expatriate football managers Australian expatriate soccer managers Australian expatriate sportspeople in China Maltese expatriate sportspeople in China Expatriate soccer coaches in the United States Australian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Maltese expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate football managers in Japan Australian expatriate sportspeople in Japan Maltese expatriate sportspeople in Japan Soccer players from Victoria (state)