Nik Mrdja
Encyclopedia
Nik Mrdja is an Australia
n football (soccer)
player of Serbian ethnicity
. He currently plays as a striker
for the Australian A-League
club the Central Coast Mariners.
when he scored a golden goal winner in the 2004 Grand Final for Perth Glory
against Parramatta Power
.
He earned the ire of Newcastle United Jets
fans in 2005, when he broke Andrew Durante
's leg in a tackle during the Australian qualifiers for the Oceania Club Championship
. He also scored a hat-trick in the same tournament, as Central Coast defeated Adelaide United 4-0. He later scored a hat-trick in the Mariners' 3-0 defeat of Queensland Roar in the Pre-Season Challenge Cup.
This was to remain the high-point of Mrdja's season as he was injured from the final of the Pre-Season Challenge Cup. Mrdja scored his first goal for the Mariners on the 19th of November 2006 against the New Zealand Knights, after almost two years on the sidelines. It was his first in Australia since scoring the winner in the 2004 NSL
Grand Final.
On 5 February 2010, Mrdja joined Melbourne Victory (under controversial circumstances) as an injury replacement player for Billy Celeski.
1Includes A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup
n team in a friendly against Argentina
, on 11 September 2007, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
(MCG) in Melbourne
.
Premiership: 2007-2008
With Perth Glory
: NSL Championship: 2002-2003, 2003–2004
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n football (soccer)
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
player of Serbian ethnicity
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
. He currently plays as a striker
Striker
Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...
for the Australian A-League
A-League
The A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...
club the Central Coast Mariners.
Club career
He has the distinction of having scored the last goal of the now defunct NSLNational Soccer League
The National Soccer League is the former national association football competition in Australasia, overseen by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977, until its demise in 2004...
when he scored a golden goal winner in the 2004 Grand Final for Perth Glory
Perth Glory FC
Perth Glory Football Club is a professional football club in Perth, Western Australia, Australia, competing in Australia's top football competition the A-League. Perth Glory is one of only three clubs to survive from the now defunct National Soccer League...
against Parramatta Power
Parramatta Power
Parramatta Power were a football team which was based in western Sydney. They played in the National Soccer League from season 1999/2000 until the league folded in 2004. The Power were runners up to Perth Glory in the 2003/04 season of the NSL after Perth made the Grand Final look easy in...
.
He earned the ire of Newcastle United Jets
Newcastle United Jets
Newcastle United Jets Football Club is a professional football club based in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. The club competes in the A-League and plays its home games at Ausgrid Stadium . The Jets have won one A-League championship, defeating arch rivals the 1–0 in the 2007–08 Grand Final...
fans in 2005, when he broke Andrew Durante
Andrew Durante
Andrew Durante is an Australian football player. He currently plays as a central defender and Captain for the New Zealand based A-League club Wellington Phoenix.- Newcastle Jets :...
's leg in a tackle during the Australian qualifiers for the Oceania Club Championship
Oceania Club Championship 2004-05
The 2004–05 Oceania Club Championship was held in from April to June, 2005. The tournament was designed to decide the Oceania Football Confederation's entrant into the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship.-Participants:-Preliminary round:...
. He also scored a hat-trick in the same tournament, as Central Coast defeated Adelaide United 4-0. He later scored a hat-trick in the Mariners' 3-0 defeat of Queensland Roar in the Pre-Season Challenge Cup.
This was to remain the high-point of Mrdja's season as he was injured from the final of the Pre-Season Challenge Cup. Mrdja scored his first goal for the Mariners on the 19th of November 2006 against the New Zealand Knights, after almost two years on the sidelines. It was his first in Australia since scoring the winner in the 2004 NSL
National Soccer League
The National Soccer League is the former national association football competition in Australasia, overseen by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977, until its demise in 2004...
Grand Final.
On 5 February 2010, Mrdja joined Melbourne Victory (under controversial circumstances) as an injury replacement player for Billy Celeski.
| Club | Season | National Soccer League National Soccer League The National Soccer League is the former national association football competition in Australasia, overseen by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977, until its demise in 2004... |
Finals | Oceania OFC Champions League The Oceania Champions League 2007 was held in January 2007 with six clubs from five member associations of the Oceania Football Confederation: New Zealand, New Caledonia, Tahiti, Fiji and the Solomon Islands. The six clubs were split into two groups of three for home and away matches.Auckland City... |
Other 1 | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
 Canberra CosmosCanberra Cosmos Canberra Cosmos FC is a defunct Australian association football club based in Canberra in the ACT. It participated in the National Soccer League from the 1995/96 season until the end of the 2000/01 season, after which it folded, primarily due to financial difficulties... |
1998-99 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||||||
| Perth Glory |
2000-01 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||||
| 2001-02 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 3 | |||||
| 2002-03 | 24 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 33 | 8 | |||||
| 2003-04 | 19 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 23 | 14 | |||||
| Club subtotal | 57 | 21 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 73 | 25 | |
| Club | Season | Allsvenskan Allsvenskan Allsvenskan is a Swedish professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Swedish football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Superettan... |
Supercupen Supercupen Supercupen is a one-off fixture in Swedish football played between the Allsvenskan champions and the winners of Svenska Cupen. The fixture is played before the start of the Allsvenskan season. In the event of a club winning the Double the runner up of the Allsvenskan takes part... |
Europe UEFA The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer.... |
Other 1 | Total | |||||
 AIK FotbollAIK Fotboll AIK, , an abbreviation for Allmänna Idrottsklubben, , when needed internationally AIK Stockholm, is a Swedish football club based at Råsunda stadium in Solna, a municipality in Stockholm County bordering to Stockholm City Centre... |
2004-05 | 12 | 2 | 12 | 2 | ||||||
| Club | Season | A-League A-League The A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company... |
Finals | Asia AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League is the premier Asian club football competition hosted annually by Asian Football Confederation . The tournament is contested among the top thirty-two clubs from the top 10 Asian leagues, two of which must qualify through the playoffs... |
Other 1 | Total | |||||
| Central Coast Mariners |
2005-06 A-League | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | ||||
| 2006-07 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 1 | |||||||
| 2007-08 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 3 | |||||
| 2008-09 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 22 | 4 | |
| 2009-10 | 17 | 6 | 17 | 6 | |||||||
| Club subtotal | 40 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 5 | 58 | 17 | |
| Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, that plays in the A-League.... |
2009-10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 1 | ||
| Central Coast Mariners |
2010-11 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||||||
| Club subtotal | 46 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 5 | 64 | 17 | |
| Total | 120 | 34 | 19 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 13 | 5 | 160 | 45 | |
1Includes A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup
A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup
The A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup competition was an annual tournament held for all Hyundai A-League clubs in July and August in the lead up to the start of the A-League season. The competition featured a group stage and a knockout stage...
International career
Mrdja made his debut for the AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n team in a friendly against Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, on 11 September 2007, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
(MCG) in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
.
| # | Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Game time | Match Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 September 2007 | 0-1 | Loss | Friendly | Report |
Honours
With Central Coast Mariners: A-LeagueA-League
The A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...
Premiership: 2007-2008
A-League 2007-08
The A-League 2007-08 season was the third season of the Australian A-League football competition, won by the Newcastle Jets. Football Federation Australia hoped to build on the success of the previous two seasons and on the interest generated by and playing in the 2007 AFC Champions League, and...
With Perth Glory
Perth Glory FC
Perth Glory Football Club is a professional football club in Perth, Western Australia, Australia, competing in Australia's top football competition the A-League. Perth Glory is one of only three clubs to survive from the now defunct National Soccer League...
: NSL Championship: 2002-2003, 2003–2004