 Okon coaching the Australia youth | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Paul Michael Okon | ||
| Date of birth | (1972-04-05)5 April 1972 (age 53) | ||
| Place of birth | Sydney, Australia | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender,midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Australia (assistant) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1989–1991 | Marconi Stallions | 49 | (4) |
| 1991–1996 | Club Brugge | 72 | (1) |
| 1996–1999 | Lazio | 19 | (0) |
| 1999–2000 | Fiorentina | 11 | (0) |
| 2000–2002 | Middlesbrough | 28 | (0) |
| 2002 | →Watford (loan) | 15 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | Leeds United | 15 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | Vicenza | 28 | (2) |
| 2004–2005 | Oostende | 33 | (0) |
| 2005–2006 | APOEL | 9 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | Newcastle Jets | 17 | (0) |
| Total | 296 | (9) | |
| International career | |||
| 1991 | Australia U20 | 4 | (0) |
| 1992 | Australia U23 | 3 | (0) |
| 1991–2003 | Australia | 28 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2012–2016 | Australia U20 | ||
| 2016–2018 | Central Coast Mariners | ||
Medal record | |||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Paul Michael Okon (/ˈoːkɔn/; born 5 April 1972) is an Australian formersoccer player who played as adefender ormidfielder.
He previouslycaptained theAustralia national team and has represented Australia Olympic Football Team at the1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. Okon's career began atMarconi Stallions in the oldNSL in Australia. He then went on to play at many European clubs includingLazio andFiorentina in Italy'sSerie A,Vicenza inSerie B,Middlesbrough andLeeds United in the EnglishPremiership,Club Brugge,Oostende in Belgium'sJupiler League andAPOEL in theCypriot First Division. Okon was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2009, for his services to football in Australia.[1]
Okon grew up in a Sydney suburb ofBossley Park. He is ofGerman andItalian descent. He represented his high school,Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield during his time as a teenage schoolboy and featured prominently in all teams including the A Grade squad. However, his abilities did not stop at the football pitch. He set the record for high jump at the college's annual athletics carnival in the under 16s age group which was not broken until 2004.
Okon leftMarconi Stallions in 1991 forClub Brugge, and due to a series of excellent performances at sweeper won the Belgian Golden Shoe (95/96), the Belgian Jupiler league (95/96) and two Belgian Cups (94/95 and 95/96). These performances captured the attention of some of Europe's biggest clubs, and in 1996Dino Zoff – then coach of Italian giantsLazio – flew out to Belgium to personally sign the Australian, stipulating in his contract that Okon would play sweeper and promising first team football. However, with the departure ofRoberto Di Matteo toChelsea – forcing him to play in midfield – and a succession of knee injuries (a problem caused by a misaligned pelvis, the result of a childhood car-crash) resulted in game-time being limited. While he did return for the 1999 Scudetto decider (playing in one of the final games of the season againstJuventus, which Lazio lost, handing the title toMilan), that summer he departed the Roman club.
This began a turbulent chapter of Okon's career, with spells atFiorentina,Middlesbrough,Leeds United andVicenza before returning to the country where he made his name with Oostende in 2004. After a brief spell withAPOEL in Cyprus, Okon returned to Australia.
He signed withA-League clubNewcastle United Jets for the2006–07 season.[2] Okon fit into a well-constructed Jets side and helped then make the play-offs in 2007. Due to injury concerns, Okon decided to retire from professional football in June 2007.[3] Okon played for amateur team West Ryde Rovers' over-35 Division 1 team in the GHFA.[4][5]
On 24 June 2008, along withAlex Tobin,Alistair Edwards andNicola Williams, Okon was a recipient of an inaugural three-year scholarship under the Elite Coaching Development Program led by theFFA. As part of the program, Okon spent time atCoverciano with theItalian U-23 side underPierluigi Casiraghi in the lead up to the2008 Olympic Games, and spent a stint studying the youth setup ofPSV Eindhoven.[6][7][8]
On 2 September 2008, Okon was appointed assistant coach toMiron Bleiberg atGold Coast United for their inaugural season.[9] Before taking up his new role he took up an interim coaching role atAPIA Leichhardt for their 2009NSW Premier League season.[10]
On 30 October 2008, Okon was appointed to lead the Australian U-18 side at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival in the month of January, aimed as part of a long-term view towards establishing the team for the2012 Olympic Games.[11]
On 23 February 2010, Okon did not renew his contract with Gold Coast United, following the team's loss in the first round of the A-league finals. Since then, he has gone away on tour with the Australian Olympic under-23 squad for a tournament in Vietnam, where he was assistant coach to Aurelio Vidmar.
On 19 April 2012, it was announced he was appointed head coach of theAustralia U20 national team and assistant coach of theAustralia Olympic soccer team.[12]
On 29 August 2016, Okon was appointed the new manager of theCentral Coast Mariners, signing a two-year contract.[13] Okon replacedTony Walmsley who was sacked following Central Coast'sFFA Cup elimination at the hands ofNational Premier Leagues Victoria teamGreen Gully.
In Okon's debut as Central Coast manager, the Mariners drew 3–3 withPerth Glory atNib Stadium, after coming back from 3-0 down at half time.[14] Okon achieved his first win as Central Coast manager in his fifth game in charge: a 2–1 win over defending championsAdelaide United atHindmarsh Stadium on 6 November 2016.[15]
On 20 March 2018, with the Mariners being at the bottom of the A-League, it was announced that Okon had resigned from his position as manager of theCentral Coast Mariners.[16]
On 30 September 2024,Football Australia announced that Okon would replaceRené Meulensteen as the assistant manager of theSocceroos.[17]
Okon's son,Paul Junior, is also a footballer, and currently plays atSydney FC.[18] Okon went by the nickname 'pistol' throughout his playing career. During his time inBelgium, Okon acquired citizenship of the country.
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 1991 | 1 | 0 |
| 1992 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1993 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1994 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1995 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1996 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1998 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1999 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2001 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2002 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 28 | 0 | |
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Central Coast Mariners |  | 29 August 2016 | 20 March 2018 | 51 | 10 | 13 | 28 | 019.61 |
| Total | 51 | 10 | 13 | 28 | 019.61 | |||
Club Brugge[21]
Lazio[22]
APOEL[23]
Australia
Australia U20
Individual
Australia squads | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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