| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Michael Dragan Curcija | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1977-06-27)27 June 1977 (age 48) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Melbourne, Australia | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Striker | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1995 | AIS | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1994–1995 | Heidelberg United | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1995–2000 | South Melbourne | 114 | (43) | ||||||||||||||
| 2000–2001 | Partizan | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2001–2002 | Braga | 8 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2001–2002 | Braga B | 20 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | South Melbourne | 25 | (13) | ||||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | Essendon Royals | 26 | (15) | ||||||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | Kingston City | 26 | (17) | ||||||||||||||
| 2006–2010 | Altona Magic | 78 | (34) | ||||||||||||||
| 2010 | Oakleigh Cannons | 19 | (7) | ||||||||||||||
| 2011 | Shepparton United | 6 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2012 | Cairnlea FC | ||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2016 | Essendon Royals | 50 | (14) | ||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1996–1997 | Australia U20 | 13 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
| 1997–2000 | Australia U23 | 25 | (9) | ||||||||||||||
| 2000 | Australia | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Michael Dragan Curcija (Serbian: Мајкл Драган Ћурчија, Majkl Dragan Ćurčija; born 27 June 1977) is an Australian retiredfootballstriker.
Curcija's first taste of senior football came in the lower levels of theVictorian State League, where as a 16-year-old, he made his debut for Diamond Valley United, scoring in three matches before securing a move toHeidelberg United in theNational Soccer League. Curcija made his NSL debut in a 1–0 home loss toAdelaide City in 1994. Another substitute appearance followed before he transferred to rivalsSouth Melbourne the following season.
It was at South Melbourne that Curcija established himself as one of Australia's most prolific young strikers. He helped the club to successive championships in 1998 and 1999, and scored a personal best of 19 goals in the 1999–2000 season. His career highlight for South Melbourne was representing the club in the2000 FIFA Club World Championship inBrazil.
At the age of 23, Curcija secured a dream move to Serbian giantsFK Partizan, but he struggled to settle or win a first team spot, and after three months, moved to Portugal where he signed a contract with the ambitiousSC Braga in thePrimeira Liga.[1][2] His first season was restricted to bench appearances as the club finished fourth, but he secured his first starts with the senior squad along with his debut goal the following year. However, throughout his time at the club, he was largely a feature of the club's reserves team who competed in the Portuguese Third Tier.
Curcija ultimately returned toSouth Melbourne for what was the final NSL season in 2003–04, picking up where he left off in domestic football, scoring 13 goals in 25 appearances. With the league disbanded, Curcija returned to theVictorian Premier League, playing withEssendon Royals in 2004, where he scored at better than a goal a game. His form in 2005 was just as impressive, playing every match of the season for 15 goals.
Despite his pedigree, he failed to land a contract in the inauguralA-League season, and signed for newly promotedKingston City in 2006, where another prolific season followed. In 2007, he transferred toAltona Magic, playing in successive championships in 2008 and 2009, before moving toOakleigh Cannons for the 2010 season.
Having established himself as a first team regular forSouth Melbourne in theNational Soccer League, Curcija was selected byLes Scheinflug in the Oceania Qualifying tournament for the1997 FIFA World Youth Championship. He scored a brace in his first match againstFiji, and featured againstNew Zealand in the group phase and final. The finals were staged inMalaysia, and featured several players who would go on to become seniorSocceroos, includingBrett Emerton,Lucas Neill,Vince Grella andMark Bresciano. Curcija featured in all of Australia's matches in the tournament, but failed to trouble the score sheet.
Curcija's performances at Under 20 level were rewarded with selection in theOlyroos squad for the2000 Summer Olympics which were staged inSydney,Australia.Raul Blanco played him in a striking role alongsideMark Viduka in all of Australia's matches againstItaly,Nigeria andHonduras, but he did not score as the Olyroos failed to progress beyond the group phase.
He earned his first Socceroos cap underFrank Farina later that year in an away friendly againstKuwait, coming on as a substitute for goalscorerJohn Aloisi in the 60th minute. He replaced Aloisi again three days later in a match againstSouth Korea, which the Socceroos lost 4–2 after blowing a 2–0 lead. Despite playing in a top European league at the time, he failed to impress the national selectors, and these matches remain his only full international caps.
Australia U20
