Paul Agostino

Paul Agostino

Personal information
Full name	Paul Agostino
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Adelaide United
Number	9
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18 December 2007

Paul Agostino (born 9 June 1975 in Adelaide, Australia) is an Australian football (soccer) striker. Agostino is part of the Adelaide United squad in the Australian A-League. Agostino attended Findon High School in his hometown of Adelaide.

Club career

Having started his club career at Salisbury United, the South Australian striker burst on to the national scene in 1991 in his first season at senior level with West Adelaide SC in the old and now defunct NSL. It was at this time that "Aga" was picked in the Australian World Youth Championships squad - a squad which contained the likes of Paul Okon and Mark Bosnich during one of Australia's 'Golden Generations' - which made the semi-finals of that competition.

Overseas

Agostino left for Europe in 1992 and headed for Switzerland, where he signed with Young Boys. Agostino stayed in Bern for two seasons which was invaluable in enabling him to adapt to European life and football. It was in Switzerland that he learnt to speak German which would later help his move to Germany in 1997. He then had a short stint with Yverdon before making the move to England. Agostino signed with Bristol City in 1995 and it was in his first season with City that he began to score more regularly, bagging 10 goals in the old Division 1 (the second-tier of English club football).

After two productive seasons in Bristol, Agostino's growing reputation caught the eye of German Bundesliga side 1860 München. He was signed by the club in 1997 at the age of 22. Agostino stayed with the Munich club for a full decade, enduring spells both in and out of the side. Agostino played at the highest level while in Munich, representing 1860 in both the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. He enjoyed his best form for 1860 in the 2000/01 season, scoring 12 goals for the light blues, while Agostino regularly featured in the first team from 1999 to 2002. He fell down the pecking order at 1860 after this and typically played only a handful of games each season until it was revealed the he would be leaving the club on amicable terms at the end of the Second Bundesliga 2006/2007 season.

Adelaide United

It was announced in February 2007 that Adelaide United had agreed on a two-year contract with Agostino which will see the striker return to his home city and play and live in Australia for the first time in 15 years in the third season of the A-League.

Although never prolific in his goal-scoring, Agostino maintained around a one-goal-every-four-games ratio throughout his career. The obvious exception is his national-team record, where he averaged almost a goal every other game.

His injury prone record has not endeared him to the A-League public since his return, with many questioning the value for money that Adelaide are getting from their 'marquee' player. it is widely tipped that he will only be retained by the clubs at the end of his current contract if he accepts a drastic pay-cut. It was announced on Tuesday 30 December 2008 that Agostino would retire at the end of the 2008/2009 season.

International career

Agostino was a regular member of Socceroos squads during the 1990s and played for Australia twenty times at senior international level scoring nine goals.

Career statistics

(Correct as of 22 December 2008)

Club	Season	League1		Cup		International2		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Adelaide United	2008–09	10	4	?	?	?	?	10	4
	2008–09	5	0	1	0	3	0	9	0
Total								19	4

¹ - included A-League final series statistics
² - includes Club World Cup statistics; Asian Champions League statistics included in season commencing after group stanges.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	June 19, 2000	Papeete, Tahiti	Cook Islands	17–0	Win	OFC Nations Cup 2000
2.	June 19, 2000	Papeete, Tahiti	Cook Islands	17–0	Win	OFC Nations Cup 2000
3.	June 19, 2000	Papeete, Tahiti	Cook Islands	17–0	Win	OFC Nations Cup 2000
4.	October 7, 2000	Dubai, UAE	South Korea	2–4	Loss	Friendly
5.	October 7, 2000	Dubai, UAE	South Korea	2–4	Loss	Friendly
6.	February 18, 2004	Caracas, Venezuela	Venezuela	1–1	Draw	Friendly

Honours

With Australia:

• OFC Nations Cup: 2000

External links

• Adelaide United profile
• Oz Football profile
• Template:De icon 1860 Munich profile