 Aloisi in 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John Aloisi[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1976-02-05)5 February 1976 (age 50) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Adelaide,South Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Striker | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Chengdu Rongcheng (head coach) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rostrevor College[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Adelaide City | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AIS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1991–1992 | Adelaide City | 1 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1992–1993 | Standard Liège | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1995 | Antwerp | 35 | (7) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1997 | Cremonese | 48 | (4) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–1998 | Portsmouth | 60 | (26) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–2001 | Coventry City | 41 | (10) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2005 | Osasuna | 121 | (29) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2007 | Alavés | 58 | (16) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | Central Coast Mariners | 15 | (7) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | Sydney FC | 40 | (12) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | Melbourne Heart | 20 | (8) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 439 | (119) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1992 | Australia U20 | 6 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004 | Australia Olympic (O.P.) | 7 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–2008 | Australia | 55 | (27) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Melbourne Heart (youth) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Melbourne Heart | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2018 | Brisbane Roar | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2025 | Western United | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2026– | Chengdu Rongcheng | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
John Aloisi (/ˌæloʊˈiːsiː/; born 5 February 1976) is an Australian formersoccer player and current head coach of Chinese Super League clubChengdu Rongcheng. In a professional career that spanned 20 seasons, with league totals of 459 games and 127 goals, he was the first Australian ever to play and score inLa Liga, thePremier League andSerie A.
Aloisi returned to Australia in 2007, with four seasons in theA-League. Aloisi was an integral member of theAustralia national team for more than a decade, and represented the nation at the2006 World Cup, being an essential figure inthe qualifying stages.[3] He also appeared for the Socceroos in twoConfederations Cups. A formerstriker, Aloisi was described as a goal poacher who was able to "hold the ball up well and create opportunities for his teammates."[4]
Born inAdelaide,South Australia, Aloisi attendedRostrevor College (92').[2] Aloisi arrived fromAdelaide City in Europe aged 16. He signed with Belgian clubStandard Liège. He did not appear in any official games for the club, and played sparingly for his next team, fellowtop division outfitRoyal Antwerp F.C.
Then in November 1995, Aloisi signed for Italian sideUS Cremonese and on the 25th, after two minutes on the pitch, he scored in a 2–1 home win againstCalcio Padova, becoming the youngest foreign player ever to score in aSerie A match.[5] By the time he departedLombardy, they suffered two consecutive relegations.
Aloisi arrived inEnglish football early in the 1997–98 season, signing forPortsmouth in theDivision One, under the chairmanship of Australia national football team managerTerry Venables. He scored 12 goals in his first season in England as Portsmouth narrowly avoided relegation, bettering that total to 13 in the following campaign.
On 17 December 1998, Aloisi moved to thePremier League withCoventry City, who paid £650,000 for his services. He made his Sky Blues debut in a 1–1 home draw againstDerby County, appearing as a latesubstitute; also coming from the bench, he netted in the next match, 1–1 againstTottenham Hotspur.
Aloisi scored twice in a 4–1 win againstAston Villa atVilla Park, which was Coventry's first ever away victory in the league against theirWest Midlands rivals on 27 February 1999. Starting in the next game, againstCharlton Athletic, he wassent off for punchingDanny Mills, receiving a considerable ban.[clarification needed]. For Portsmouth and Coventry combined, he finished the season with 18 goals.
Coventry were constantly threatened with relegation during Aloisi's time at the club, and finally went down at the end of the2000–01 season after a 34-year top flight stay, with Aloisi scoring just three times. He scored ahat-trick againstPreston North End inthe season'sFootball League Cup – 4–1 home win, 7–2 on aggregate[6]). In June, he was allowed to leaveHighfield Road, and came close to signing forCrystal Palace,[7] but nothing came of it.
In 2001, Aloisi moved to Spain, joiningPamplona'sCA Osasuna. He scored nine goals in 30 games inhis first season inLa Liga, being regularly used during his four-year spell inNavarre. On 11 April 2004, he played the full 90 minutes in a 3–0 away win againstReal Madrid[8][9] and, on 11 June of the following year, he netted in theCopa del Reyfinal, equalising in an eventual 1–2extra time loss againstReal Betis.
After a move toPanathinaikos F.C. collapsed,[10] Aloisi signed for another Spanish outfit,Deportivo Alavés, on afree transfer. He scored ten goals in2005–06, his best Spanish total, but theBasque team suffered top flight relegation.
On 20 October 2007, it was announced that Aloisi had signed with theCentral Coast Mariners FC for the remainder of the season.[11] The team was able to not include his wages in thesalary cap due to a loop hole relating to injured players.[12] He made his debut in theA-League on the 28th againstSydney FC, in a 2–3 defeat.[13]
On 3 March 2008, after failing to re-sign with the Mariners, Aloisi penned a two-year deal withSydney FC, for an undisclosed fee reported to be $1.4 million a season,[14] making him the highest-paid player based in Australia in any of the four football codes. He made his debut as a second-half substitute againstPerth Glory FC at theSydney Football Stadium, and scored his first goal for Sydney in a 2–0 upset win over archrivalsMelbourne Victory FC.
On 18 February 2009, 33-year-old Aloisi was linked with a loan move toShanghai Shenhua F.C. in China. He soon decided against the deal, opting instead to spend the entire pre-season with Sydney FC, under the club's new coachVítězslav Lavička.[15] He scored twice in a friendly with theNewcastle United Jets FC,[16] and eventually started repaying the faith the team had in him by scoring a double in a 3–2 win againstNorth Queensland Fury FC inTownsville, in the first game ofthe season; he finished the campaign – winning both the minor and the major championships – as the first Sydney player ever to reach double digits in a single season.
On 29 March 2010,Melbourne Heart FC signed Aloisi on a free transfer.[17] He impressed at the new club and scored eight goals, including three against rivals Melbourne Victory, both the first goal ever in aMelbourne derby, and a brace which equalised the game at 2–2 after the Heart had been 2–0 down. On 12 February 2011, he played the final game of his career against former team Sydney FC, in the last round of theA-League season, scoring and being replaced by in the 83rd minute byKristian Sarkies, to a standing ovation from the home crowd.[18]
Aloisi made his debut for theAustralian national team in 1997. Alsoin that year, he was selected to theFIFA Confederations Cup, scoring in a 3–1 group stage win againstMexico for the eventual runners-up.
After representing Australia at the2004 Summer Olympics as one of the three overage players, scoring three goals in an eventualquarterfinal exit,[19] Aloisi finished second in the scoring charts at the2005 Confederations Cup, netting braces againstGermany andArgentina as the Socceroos did not manage one single point in three games.
On 16 November 2005, Aloisi scored the decisivepenalty againstUruguay in the2006 FIFA World Cupplayoffs, after a 1–1 aggregate tie. That goal meant Australia qualified to theFIFA World Cup for the first time since 1974.[3] He was selected in the squad for the final stages in Germany and, on 12 June, came off the bench to score the third goal in a 3–1 group stage victory againstJapan, thus becoming only the second Australian to score a goal at the World Cup finals, after teammateTim Cahill.[20]
On 21 July 2007, Aloisi scored in the2007 AFC Asian Cup's quarterfinal match against Japan (1–1), in an eventual penalty shootout exit in Australia's first ever participation inthat tournament.[21] It would be the last of his 27 international goals, second-best behindDamian Mori at the time of his retirement.
After his return to the A-League, Aloisi ceased to be recalled by the national team. In early 2008, his penalty kick against Uruguay which took the Socceroos to the 2006 World Cup was voted by the Sport Australia Hall of Fame as one of three greatest moments inAustralian sporting history.[22]
After retiring, Aloisi started a coaching career, being appointed youth manager at Melbourne Heart.[23] On 8 May 2012, it was announced that he had accepted a three-year contract to be the manager ofMelbourne Heart.[24] On 5 October 2012, he got his first win as manager asMelbourne Heart beatrivalsMelbourne Victory 2–1. Aloisi struggled in his first season as head coach, with Melbourne Heart coming ninth in the 2012–13 season and winning only one away game all season. The 2013–14 season did not start any better with the Heart managing 0 wins, 4 draws and 6 losses from 10 starts. On 28 December 2013, Aloisi was sacked as the manager of Melbourne Heart following the club's seventeenth competitive match without a win.
On 9 February 2015, Aloisi joinedMelbourne Victory FC as the development coach of its National Youth League and National Premier League sides.[25][26]
On 26 May 2015, Aloisi was named manager ofBrisbane Roar.[27] In both of his first two seasons at the club, the Roar achieved a top 4 finish in the league, and made it to the semi-finals.
In May 2017, Aloisi signed a new three-year contract to stay on as manager of Brisbane.[28]
On 28 December 2018, Aloisi resigned as manager of Brisbane Roar following the club's poor start to the season, with the Roar second-last on the A-League ladder with just 1 win in 9 matches at the time of his departure.[29][30] He left as Brisbane Roar's longest serving manager.[31]
In July 2021, Aloisi was appointed as head coach ofWestern United, signing a two-year contract.[32]
In May 2022, Aloisi guided Western United to the A-League Championship, with a 2–0 win over defending champions Melbourne City. The championship win saw Western United became just the second expansion side ever to win the A-League Championship, the quickest expansion side to win the championship, the first team since to triumph in their first grand final appearance since Brisbane Roar in 2011, and one of just two teams to have won the championship after finishing outside the top two, with Melbourne Victory first achieving this feat in 2018.[33] Aloisi has been credited for overhauling the club's culture, which saw the club go from 10th place the previous season to champions the next season.[34]
On 6 January 2026, Aloisi was appointed as head coach ofChengdu Rongcheng.[35]
Aloisi is of Italian descent through his grandparents, who are fromCalabria. His older brotherRoss, was also a professional footballer, and has served under him as an assistant coach.
A devout Catholic,[36] Aloisi is married to Angela and has daughters: Alisia, Katia and Amaya.[37]
Aloisi appeared on the cover of the Australian version ofPro Evolution Soccer 6.
In addition to his nativeEnglish, Aloisi also speaks Italian andSpanish.[38]
In 2020, Aloisi successfully underwent surgery to fix a tear in his mitral valve.[39]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Adelaide City | 1991–92 | National Soccer League | 20 | 8 | – | – | 20 | 8 | ||
| 1 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 21 | 8 | – | – | 21 | 8 | ||||
| Standard Liège | 1992–93 | Belgian Pro League | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Antwerp | 1993–94 | Belgian Pro League | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | 11 | 1 | |
| 1994–95 | 25 | 6 | 2 | 2 | – | 27 | 8 | |||
| Total | 35 | 7 | 3 | 2 | – | 38 | 9 | |||
| Cremonese | 1995–96 | Serie A | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 22 | 2 | |
| 1996–97 | Serie B | 26 | 2 | 3 | 1 | – | 29 | 3 | ||
| Total | 48 | 4 | 3 | 1 | – | 51 | 5 | |||
| Portsmouth | 1997–98 | First Division | 38 | 12 | 3 | 0 | – | 41 | 12 | |
| 1998–99 | 22 | 14 | 4 | 3 | – | 26 | 17 | |||
| Total | 60 | 26 | 7 | 3 | – | 67 | 29 | |||
| Coventry City | 1998–99 | Premier League | 16 | 5 | 2 | 0 | – | 18 | 5 | |
| 1999–2000 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 7 | 2 | |||
| 2000–01 | 19 | 3 | 3 | 3 | – | 22 | 6 | |||
| Total | 42 | 10 | 5 | 3 | – | 47 | 13 | |||
| Osasuna | 2001–02 | La Liga | 30 | 9 | 0 | 0 | – | 30 | 9 | |
| 2002–03 | 32 | 8 | 2 | 1 | – | 34 | 9 | |||
| 2003–04 | 33 | 5 | 3 | 2 | – | 36 | 7 | |||
| 2004–05 | 26 | 6 | 6 | 2 | – | 32 | 8 | |||
| Total | 121 | 28 | 11 | 5 | – | 132 | 33 | |||
| Alavés | 2005–06 | La Liga | 33 | 10 | 1 | 0 | – | 34 | 10 | |
| 2006–07 | Segunda División | 25 | 6 | 1 | 0 | – | 26 | 6 | ||
| Total | 58 | 16 | 2 | 0 | – | 60 | 16 | |||
| CC Mariners | 2007–08 | A-League | 15 | 7 | 0 | 0 | – | 15 | 7 | |
| Sydney | 2008–09 | A-League | 16 | 2 | 3 | 2 | – | 19 | 4 | |
| 2009–10 | 24 | 10 | 0 | 0 | – | 24 | 10 | |||
| Total | 40 | 12 | 3 | 2 | – | 43 | 14 | |||
| Melbourne Heart | 2010–11 | A-League | 20 | 8 | – | – | 20 | 8 | ||
| Career total | 462 | 126 | 37 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 499 | 143 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 1997 | 11 | 7 |
| 1998 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1999 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 10 | 7 | |
| 2002 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 5 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 8 | 5 | |
| 2006 | 10 | 4 | |
| 2007 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 55 | 27 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 June 1997 | Parramatta Stadium,Sydney, Australia |  Solomon Islands | 3–0 | 13–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 5–0 | |||||
| 3 | 10–0 | |||||
| 4 | 11–0 | |||||
| 5 | 12–0 | |||||
| 6 | 28 June 1997 | North Harbour Stadium,Auckland, New Zealand |  New Zealand | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 7 | 12 December 1997 | King Fahd II Stadium,Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |  Mexico | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup |
| 8 | 4 October 2000 | Al Maktoum Stadium,Dubai, United Arab Emirates |  Kuwait | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2000 Friendship Tournament |
| 9 | 9 April 2001 | Coffs Harbour International Stadium,Coffs Harbour, Australia |  Tonga | 3–0 | 22–0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 10 | 6–0 | |||||
| 11 | 8–0 | |||||
| 12 | 10–0 | |||||
| 13 | 11–0 | |||||
| 14 | 14–0 | |||||
| 15 | 24 June 2001 | Stadium Australia,Sydney, Australia | New Zealand | 3–1 | 4–1 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 16 | 4 June 2004 | Hindmarsh Stadium,Adelaide, Australia |  Vanuatu | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2004 OFC Nations Cup |
| 17 | 3–0 | |||||
| 18 | 15 June 2005 | Commerzbank-Arena,Frankfurt, Germany |  Germany | 2–2 | 3–4 | 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup |
| 19 | 3–4 | |||||
| 20 | 18 June 2005 | Frankenstadion,Nuremberg, Germany |  Argentina | 1–3 | 2–4 | 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup |
| 21 | 2–3 | |||||
| 22 | 9 October 2005 | Craven Cottage, London England |  Jamaica | 4–0 | 5–0 | Friendly |
| 23 | 7 June 2006 | Donaustadion,Ulm, Germany |  Liechtenstein | 3–1 | 3–1 | Friendly |
| 24 | 12 June 2006 | Fritz-Walter-Stadion,Kaiserslautern, Germany |  Japan | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2006 FIFA World Cup |
| 25 | 11 October 2006 | Sydney Football Stadium,Sydney, Australia |  Bahrain | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2007 AFC Asian Cup Qualification |
| 26 | 14 November 2006 | Loftus Road, London England |  Ghana | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 27 | 21 July 2007 | Mỹ Đình National Stadium,Hà Nội, Vietnam | Japan | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2007 AFC Asian Cup |
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Melbourne Heart | 8 May 2012 | 28 December 2013 | 39 | 8 | 7 | 24 | 020.51 | |
| Brisbane Roar | 26 May 2015 | 28 December 2018 | 108 | 41 | 24 | 43 | 037.96 | |
| Western United | 15 July 2021 | 5 January 2026 | 121 | 51 | 22 | 48 | 042.15 | |
| Chengdu Rongcheng | 6 January 2026 | Present | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 000.00 | |
| Career Total | 269 | 100 | 53 | 116 | 037.17 | |||
Adelaide City
Osasuna
Central Coast Mariners
Sydney FC
Australia
Individual
Western United
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
Australia squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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