Jason Culina
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Jason Culina | ||
Position(s) | Central Midfield/Right Forward | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | PSV Eindhoven | ||
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of July 30, 2006 |
Jason Čulina [ˈtʃulina] (born August 5, 1980 in Melbourne, Victoria) is an Australian football (soccer) player of Croatian descent who currently plays for PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch Eredivisie. He was signed from FC Twente in August 2005 following a stellar season in 2004–2005 where he scored 16 goals from midfield.
Čulina made his debut for the Australian national team against South Africa in 2005. He was a regular starter in the Socceroos under coach Guus Hiddink, who was also his club coach at PSV Eindhoven. His first goal came in September 2005 against the Solomon Islands in Sydney. Culina played in both legs of the World Cup play-off against Uruguay where Australia qualified for the 2006 World Cup following a dramatic penalty shoot-out.
He was selected in the Australian squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany and started in all four of Australia's games.
Previous clubs he has played for include Sydney United, Sydney Olympic, Ajax Amsterdam and De Graafschap.
Jason's father Branko Čulina is a renowned Australian coach who has had stints in the country's national league and is now Technical Director of Soccer NSW.