Tomislav Mrčela (; born 1 October 1990) is an Australian professional

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 who plays as a defender for

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 ...

Club career

Mrcela left Australia at a young age and joined the youth academy of Dalmatian side

RNK Split Radnički nogometni klub Split ("Workers' Football Club of Split") commonly known as RNK Split, is a Croatian professional football club based in the city of Split. History The club had a strong fanbase in the Split's shipyard. The club was fo ...

. He left Split in 2009 to join Jadran Kaštel, a third division side at the time, and later signed for

NK Primorac 1929 Nogometni Klub Primorac 1929 (), commonly referred to as Primorac Stobreč, is a Croatian football club based in the small coastal town of Stobreč near the city of Split in central Dalmatia. They are members of the 3. HNL South, one of five t ...

in 2010. In mid 2011, Tomislav joined

NK Imotski NK Imotski is a Croatian football club based in the town of Imotski, in the region of Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it f ...

. Despite being just 20 years of age, Mrcela was immediately a starter. Missing just one game all season, Mrcela made 29 appearances and scored a further three goals. Mrcela continued his good form into the next season and missed just one further game by January 2013. His good form led to a move to fellow second division side

NK Mosor NK Mosor, also known as HBDNK "Mosor – Sveti Jure", was a Croatian football club from Žrnovnica, settlement which is part of the city of Split on the Croatian coast. The club was founded in 1929. It existed until World War II when most of its ...

where he played out the remainder of the 2012–13 season. After good performances at Mosor, he moved to top division side NK Hrvatski Dragovoljac. Initially Mrcela struggled, making just four appearances in the first twelve rounds but then became a mainstay in the starting XI. Unfortunately his side were relegated by the end of the season but Mrcela did enough to convince ambitious Zagreb side

NK Lokomotiva Nogometni klub Lokomotiva Zagreb (), commonly known as Lokomotiva Zagreb or simply Lokomotiva, is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. It competes in the Croatian First Football League, the country's top division. Founded in 19 ...

to keep him in the first division by signing him on a four-year deal Mrcela scored his first goal for Lokomotiva on debut in a 5–2 loss against

HNK Hajduk Split Hrvatski Nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split (), is a Croatian professional Association football, football Football team, club based in Split, Croatia, Split, that competes in the Croatian First Football League, Cro ...

. On 28 June 2016, Mrcela transferred to South Korean club

Jeonnam Dragons The Jeonnam Dragons () are a South Korean professional football club based in the city of Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province that competes in the K League 2, the second tier of South Korean football. The Dragons play their home matches at the G ...

. On 14 June 2018, Mrcela left Jeonnam Dragons to join Australian

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

on a two-year deal. During his stay at the club, he won the A-League and contributed massively to the team's success. On 14 September 2021, Mrcela joined

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is a professional association football league in India and the highest level of the Indian football league system. Administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner Football Sport ...

club

SC East Bengal East Bengal Football Club, commonly referred to as East Bengal, is an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of the Indian football league system. The clu ...

on a one-year deal. He scored his first goal for the club on 12 December in a 1–1 draw against

Kerala Blasters Kerala Blasters Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Blasters, is an Indian professional football club based in Kochi, Kerala, that competes in the Indian Super League (ISL), the top tier of football in India. The club was esta ...

. He was later replaced by Nepali defender

Ananta Tamang Ananta Tamang (; born 14 January 1998) is a Nepalese professional footballer who plays as a defender. He is also a member of the Nepal national team. He was vice-captain of the national under-19 football team which went on to win the 2015 SAF ...

as their sole AFC Quota. On 17 February 2022, he moved back to Australia signing with

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 ...

until the end of the

2021–22 A-League Men The 2021–22 A-League Men, known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, was the 45th season of national level men's soccer in Australia, and the 17th since the establishment of the competition as the A-League in 2004. Melbourne Cit ...

season as an injury replacement player for captain Rhys Williams. After making 12 appearances, Mrcela signed a two-year contract extension with the club. Mrcela scored his first goal for the Wanderers on 15 October 2022 in a 1-0 win against

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 ...

. After helping the club to their first finals appearance in 6 years, Mrcela left the club to join Uzbek side Neftchi Fergana.

International career

Holding dual citizenship, Mrcela is eligible to play for either

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 ...

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 ...

. On 10 June 2015, he was named in a 23-man squad for Australia before two

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

qualifying matches against

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Perth Glory *

Premiers: 2018–19Perth Glory claim their first Hyundai A-League Premiership
''A-League official''. Retrieved 10 September 2021

References

External links

* *
Tomislav Mrčela
at the official

Croatian Football Federation The Croatian Football Federation (, HNS) is the national governing body of football in Croatia. It was originally formed in 1912 and is based in the capital city of Zagreb. The organisation is a member of both FIFA and UEFA, and is responsible f ...

Semafor site {{DEFAULTSORT:Mrcela, Tomislav 1990 births Living people Soccer players from Perth, Western Australia Australian people of Croatian descent Men's association football central defenders Australian men's soccer players Croatian men's footballers NK Primorac 1929 players NK Imotski players RNK Split players NK Mosor players NK Hrvatski Dragovoljac players NK Lokomotiva Zagreb players Jeonnam Dragons players Perth Glory FC players East Bengal Club players Western Sydney Wanderers FC players FC Neftchi Fergana players First Football League (Croatia) players Croatian Football League players K League 1 players A-League Men players Indian Super League players Croatian expatriate men's footballers Australian expatriate men's soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in South Korea Croatian expatriate sportspeople in South Korea Australian expatriate sportspeople in South Korea Expatriate men's footballers in India Croatian expatriate sportspeople in India Australian expatriate sportspeople in India Australian expatriate sportspeople in Uzbekistan Expatriate men's footballers in Uzbekistan Uzbekistan Super League players 21st-century Australian sportsmen