Nik Mrdja

Nik Mrdja

Personal information
Full name	Nikola Mrdja[1]
Date of birth	30 November 1978 (1978-11-30) (age 32)
Place of birth	Perth, Australia
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Striker (Retired)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1997	Bayswater City	1	(0)
1998–1999	Canberra Cosmos	3	(0)
2000	Perth SC	6	(2)
2000–2004	Perth Glory	73	(24)
2004	AIK	12	(2)
2005–2011	Central Coast Mariners	48	(12)
2010	→ Melbourne Victory (loan)	3	(1)
Total		146	(41)
National team‡
2007	Australia	1	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:47, 31 October 2010 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17:30, 31 October 2010 (UTC)

Nik Mrdja (born 30 November 1978 in Perth, Western Australia, Australia) is an Australian football (soccer) player of Serbian ethnicity.^[1] He currently plays as a striker for the Australian A-League club the Central Coast Mariners.

Club career

He has the distinction of having scored the last goal of the now defunct NSL when he scored a golden goal winner in the 2004 Grand Final for Perth Glory against Parramatta Power.

He earned the ire of Newcastle United Jets fans in 2005, when he broke Andrew Durante's leg^[2] in a tackle during the Australian qualifiers for the Oceania Club Championship. He also scored a hat-trick in the same tournament, as Central Coast defeated Adelaide United 4-0. He later scored a hat-trick in the Mariners' 3-0 defeat of Queensland Roar in the Pre-Season Challenge Cup.

This was to remain the high-point of Mrdja's season as he was injured from the final of the Pre-Season Challenge Cup. Mrdja scored his first goal for the Mariners on the 19th of November 2006 against the New Zealand Knights, after almost two years on the sidelines. It was his first in Australia since scoring the winner in the 2004 NSL Grand Final.

On 5 February 2010, Mrdja joined Melbourne Victory (under controversial circumstances) as an injury replacement player for Billy Celeski.^[3][4][5]

Club	Season	National Soccer League		Finals		Oceania		Other 1		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Canberra Cosmos	1998-99	3	0							3	0
Perth Glory	2000-01	6	0	1	0					7	0
	2001-02	8	3	2	0					10	3
	2002-03	24	6	9	2					33	8
	2003-04	19	12	4	2					23	14
	Club subtotal	57	21	16	4	0	0	0	0	73	25
Club	Season	Allsvenskan		Supercupen		Europe		Other 1		Total
AIK Fotboll	2004-05	12	2							12	2
Club	Season	A-League		Finals		Asia		Other 1		Total
Central Coast Mariners	2005-06 A-League	0	0					5	3	5	3
	2006-07	6	1							6	1
	2007-08	3	2					5	1	8	3
	2008-09	14	2	2	1	3	0	3	1	22	4
	2009-10	17	6							17	6
	Club subtotal	40	11	2	1	3	0	13	5	58	17
Melbourne Victory	2009-10	2	0	1	1	5	0			8	1
Central Coast Mariners	2010-11	6	0							6	0
	Club subtotal	46	11	2	1	3	0	13	5	64	17
Total		120	34	19	6	8	0	13	5	160	45

₁Includes A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup

International career

Mrdja made his debut for the Australian team in a friendly against Argentina, on 11 September 2007, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne.

International appearances

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Game time	Match Report
1	11 September 2007	Argentina	0-1	Loss	Friendly	82'	Report

Honours

With Central Coast Mariners:

• A-League Premiership: 2007-2008

With Perth Glory:

• NSL Championship: 2002-2003, 2003–2004

References

1. ^ ^{a b} http://www.aik.se/fotboll/aikindex.html?/fotboll/historik/500aikare/nikmrdja.html
2. ^ http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,20739126-23210,00.html
3. ^ Mrdja transfer shows up McKinna and the A-League, The Roar, Retrieved on 8 February 2010.
4. ^ Melbourne Victory - Mrdja arrives in Nik of time
5. ^ Nik's off to Melbourne

External links

• Central Coast Mariners profile
• Oz Football profile

Persondata
Name	Mrdja, Nik
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	30 November 1978
Place of birth	Perth, Australia
Date of death
Place of death