Australia mightn't be considered a soccer powerhouse, but the country has still produced some incredible players. Typically, Australian players showcased their talent at home before competing at the highest level in top leagues. From prolific goal scorers to solid defenders and goalkeepers, here are the greatest Australian soccer players ever.
| Player | Position | Clubs | International Caps | International Goals | Major Honours | Years Active |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Kewell | Winger/Forward | Leeds United, Liverpool, Galatasaray, Melbourne Victory | 58 | 17 | FA Cup, UEFA Champions League runner-up | 1996-2014 |
| Tim Cahill | Midfielder | Millwall, Everton, New York Red Bulls, Melbourne City | 108 | 50 | AFC Asian Cup, Everton Player of the Year | 1998-2019 |
| Mark Viduka | Striker | Melbourne Knights, Dinamo Zagreb, Celtic, Leeds United | 43 | 11 | Scottish Premier League, UEFA Champions League top scorer (Australian) | 1993-2009 |
| Mark Schwarzer | Goalkeeper | Middlesbrough, Fulham, Chelsea, Leicester City | 109 | 0 | English Premier League title, UEFA Europa League runner-up | 1990-2016 |
| Mile Jedinak | Defensive Midfielder | Sydney United, Crystal Palace, Aston Villa | 79 | 20 | FIFA World Cup All-Time Best XI, Crystal Palace Player of the Year | 2001-2019 |
| Johnny Warren | Midfielder | St. George-Budapest | 42 | 6 | A-League Johnny Warren Medal (namesake) | 1960-1975 |
| Mathew Ryan | Goalkeeper | Central Coast Mariners, Brighton, Arsenal, AZ, Copenhagen | 91 | 0 | AFC Asian Cup, A-League Goalkeeper of the Year | 2010-Present |
| John Aloisi | Striker | Adelaide City, Portsmouth, Osasuna | 55 | 27 | AFC Asian Cup, La Liga first Australian scorer | 1992-2011 |
| Craig Johnston | Midfielder | Middlesbrough, Liverpool | 0 | 0 | European Cup Winner (Liverpool) | 1977-1988 |
| Mark Bosnich | Goalkeeper | Manchester United, Aston Villa, Chelsea | 17 | 0 | English Premier League title | 1989-2002 |
| Frank Farina | Forward | Canberra Arrows, Club Brugge, Lille | 67 | 24 | Belgian Golden Shoe, OFC Nations Cup | 1983-1999 |
Mathew Ryan
Mathew Ryan is one of Australia's finest goalkeepers (but perhaps not the finest). He's known for his quick reflexes and leadership.
He was born in 1992 in Sydney and began his career with Central Coast Mariners in Australia's A-League, winning the A-League Goalkeeper of the Year award twice before moving to Europe. In Europe, he's played for Club Brugge, Valencia, Brighton & Hove Albion, Real Sociedad, FC Copenhagen, AZ, Roma, and Lens.
He's made nearly 100 appearances for the Australian national side.
John Aloisi
John Aloisi's decisive penalty in 2005 sent the Socceroos to their first World Cup in 32 years. He was born in Adelaide in 1975 and played in top domestic leagues in Europe, notably in England, Spain, and Italy.
His debut was for Adelaide City in the National Soccer League (NSL) before going to Europe to play in Portsmouth, Coventry City, and Osasuna. In Spain's La Liga, he was the first Australian to ever score a goal.
For the Australian national team, he made 55 appearances, scoring 27 goals. After his playing career, he managed teams like Melbourne Heart and Brisbane Roar.
Craig Johnston
Born in South Africa in 1960, Craig Johnston was raised in Australia. At 15, he left the country to play professional football in England.
Starting at Middlesbrough, he made his mark at Liverpool, playing there for most of the 1980s. He was part of the dominant Liverpool side of the era, winning five English league titles, an FA cup, and a European Cup (the precursor to the UEFA Champions League).
He retired early to take care of his sick sister, but he also worked as a coach and innovator and designed Adidas' iconic predator Football boots.
Mark Bosnich
Mark Bosnich is another decorated Australian goalkeeper. He played for top clubs in the English Premier League during the 1990s including Manchester United, Aston Villa, and Chelsea, having moved to England aged just 17.
He spent seven years (1992-1997) with Aston Villa, becoming one of the Premier League's best shot-stoppers. In 1999, he rejoined Manchester United, winning the Premier League.
He made 17 appearances for Australia, but his soccer legacy is often talked about as much as his off-field antics and controversies, which included drug abuse and his infamous use of the Nazi Salute during a match against Tottenham Hotspur, an English soccer team with a large Jewish following.
Frank Farina
Born in Darwin in 1964, Frank Farina had a soccer career as a player and coach. He played for clubs in Australia, Belgium, France, and Italy and was a powerful and intelligent forward.
His career began at Canberra Arrows before a move to Club Brugge in Belgium. He also played for Lille in France's Ligue 1 and in Italy and Australia.
He earned 67 caps for the Australian national side and scored 24 goals. When he retired, he became the head coach for Australia.
Johnny Warren
Johnny Warren is the lone exception to this non-exhaustive list of Australian soccer greats. He was indeed great but unlike other great Aussies on our Best Australian soccer players list, he didn't leave Australia. For him, there were no greener pitches or sunnier skies, and no greater challenge than raising soccer's profile in Australia.
It's thanks to him that we have these Australian soccer greats to talk about. That table only gives you a sampling of the best Australian soccer players' stats. Read on to find out more about each of them.
Johnny Warren’s impact on Australian soccer goes beyond his playing career. His advocacy for the game led to major developments in the A-League and increased participation across the country. His legacy lives on through the Johnny Warren Medal, awarded to the best player in the A-League every season.
Mile Jedinak
Sydney-born Michael 'Mile' Jedinak started playing soccer in Sydney United's youth division. He soon made the cut to the senior team; that's when he started cultivating wicked defensive skills. In 2009, he debuted at the Turkish club Gençlerbirliği but didn't stay there long. By 2011, he found his home with Crystal Palace; his longest tenure (five years).
Mile racked up substantial accolades for individual merit as well as club performance. He picked up awards from around the world, including the All-Time Best XI at the FIFA World Cup in 2020 and Asian Men's Team of All Time in 2021. Those accolades are impressive, considering he retired in 2019.
After hanging up his cleats, Mile embarked on a coaching career. First with Aston Villa and more recently, as an assistant coach to the Tottenham Spurs alongside another former Aussie player, Ange Postecoglu.
Mark Schwarzer
Mark Schwarzer is legendary, not the least, because of his phenomenal career span. Twenty-six years on the pitch is remarkable; the average player's professional career is roughly eight years. Still, Mark wasn't the oldest or the player with the longest career when he retired. That title goes to Kazuyoshi Miura, the world's oldest professional player, who started his career in 1986 and still plays today.
Were he still playing, Mark would be a contender for the world's best soccer player, 2023 edition. But he hung up his cleats for good in 2016, after rejecting offers from Sydney Football Club (FC) and Perth Glory. Today, he remains involved with the sport he loves as a commentator and father to Julian Schwarzer Garcia, who currently plays for Arema FC.
Australia has produced some world-class goalkeepers who have dominated in top leagues worldwide. From Mark Schwarzer’s legendary career in England to Mathew Ryan’s leadership between the posts, Aussie goalkeepers have consistently performed on the global stage.
Tim Cahill
Despite retiring in 2019, Tim Cahill is still considered the best goal scorer Australia has ever turned out. He also rivals Mark Schwartzer for all-time appearances on the pitch. But where Schwartzer is known as the most-capped Australian player, Cahill was a ferocious attacking midfielder. He's also a soccer player with many firsts.
He was the first Australian to score at the World Cup and Asian Cup finals. He's the first Australian to score in three separate World Cup events; first in 2006, again in 2010 and 2014. FIFA awarded him the Man of the Match; he was the first Australian player to receive that recognition. And he holds the record for scoring the fastest goal in Major League Soccer (MLS) history: he had the ball in the net within the first seven seconds of the match.
Mark Viduka
If you're talking about scoring goals, this is the player you're talking about. Viduka played centre forward; he seldom missed his chance at the net. In 491 appearances, he scored more than half the time - 251, to be exact. He scored four goals for the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League, the most by any Australian player.
Viduka claims the distinction of scoring at least one goal for every team he was a member of. That's no mean feat, considering he played with some of the best soccer teams in the world, including the Australia National Team. Indeed, he captained the Socceroos at the 2006 World Cup. To this day, that match remains their best joint performance.
Harry Kewell
Sydney-born Harry Kewell made his first mark on the pitch at just 12 years old, playing for the Marconi Stallions.
In 1993, when he was just 15, he played for Leeds United under the Smithfield Hotspurs apprenticeship program. Unfortunately, a series of scandals forced a mass exodus of players from Leeds teams; Kewell was among those leavers.
But by that time, he was well into his senior career. In 2003, he signed with Liverpool FC, where he stayed for the next five years. He only managed 381 appearances between his English and Turkish club ties; a relatively small number. He's racked up numerous awards and accolades, including induction into the Australia Sport Hall of Fame (2018) and the Football Australia Hall of Fame the year after.
To this day, Harry Kewell is celebrated as the Number 1 player in Australia's relatively short history of soccer. Who knows how many more records he could have broken had he not been so prone to injury?
Australian Players Who Made It Big in Europe
| ⚽ Player | 🏆 Achievement |
|---|---|
| Craig Johnston | Won the European Cup with Liverpool |
| Harry Kewell | Played for Leeds United & Liverpool, FA Cup winner |
| Mark Viduka | Top scorer for Leeds United, played in the UEFA Champions League |
| Tim Cahill | Became an Everton legend in the English Premier League |
Australian Football Today
In this article's introduction, we mentioned an Australian soccer player who never left Australia for more competitive pitches.
None of these soccer players would ever be labelled the best soccer player in the world. But each brought their own brand of soccer greatness to the pitch and left an indelible mark - if not on the game, then at least, on Australian soccer. Now, find out who the best soccer player in Australia is.
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