Paul Agostino

Paul Agostino
Personal information
Date of birth 9 June 1975 (1975-06-09) (age 36)
Place of birth Adelaide, Australia
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Striker
Youth career
Salisbury United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1991–1992 West Adelaide 17 (6)
1992–1994 Young Boys 26 (3)
1994–1995 Yverdon-Sport 15 (6)
1995–1997 Bristol City 71 (26)
1997–2007 TSV 1860 München 248 (77)
2007–2009 Adelaide United 20 (4)
Total 397 (122)
National team
1991 Australia U-17
1993 Australia U-20
1996 Australia U-23
1996–2005 Australia 18 (7)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Paul Agostino (born 9 June 1975 in Adelaide, Australia) is a retired Australian football (soccer) player who played as a striker.[1] He played the majority of his club football outside Australia, most notably with 1860 Munich in Germany for ten years. Agostino attended Findon High School in his hometown of Adelaide.

Contents

Club career

Having started his club career at Salisbury United, the South Australian striker burst on to the national scene in 1991 in his first season at senior level with West Adelaide SC in the old and now defunct NSL. It was at this time that "Aga" was picked in the Australian World Youth Championships squad – a squad which contained the likes of Paul Okon and Mark Bosnich during one of Australia's 'Golden Generations' – which made the semi-finals of that competition.

Overseas

Agostino left for Europe in 1992 and headed for Switzerland, where he signed with Young Boys. Agostino stayed in Bern for two seasons which was invaluable in enabling him to adapt to European life and football. It was in Switzerland that he learnt to speak German which would later help his move to Germany in 1997. He then had a short stint with Yverdon before making the move to England. Agostino signed with Bristol City in 1995 and it was in his second season with Bristol City that he began to score more regularly, bagging 16 goals in the old Division 1 (the second-tier of English club football).

After two productive seasons in Bristol, Agostino's growing reputation caught the eye of German Bundesliga side 1860 München. He was signed by the club in 1997 at the age of 22. Agostino stayed with the Munich club for a full decade, enduring spells both in and out of the side. Agostino played at the highest level while in Munich, representing 1860 in both the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. He enjoyed his best form for 1860 in the 2000–01 season, scoring 12 goals for the light blues, while Agostino regularly featured in the first team from 1999 to 2002. He fell down the pecking order at 1860 after this and typically played only a handful of games each season until it was revealed the he would be leaving the club on amicable terms at the end of the Second Bundesliga 2006–07 season.

Adelaide United

It was announced in February 2007 that A-League team Adelaide United had agreed on a two-year contract with Agostino which saw the striker return to his home city for the first time in fifteen years.

Although never prolific in his goal-scoring, Agostino maintained around a one-goal-every-four-games ratio throughout his career. The obvious exception is his national-team record, where he averaged almost a goal every other game.

His injury-prone record did endear him to the A-League public, with many questioning the value for money that Adelaide are getting from their 'marquee' player. It was announced on Tuesday 30 December 2008 that Agostino would retire at the end of the 2008–09 season.

International career

Agostino was a regular member of Socceroos squads during the 1990s and played for Australia twenty times at senior international level scoring nine goals.

Career statistics

As of 22 December 2008 (2008 -12-22)

Club Season League1 Cup International2 Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
West Adelaide 1991–92 17 6 ? ? 0 0 17 6
BSC Young Boys 1992–93 12 2 ? ? ? ? 12 2
1993–94 14 1 ? ? ? ? 14 1
Yverdon Sport 1994–95 15 6 ? ? 0 0 15 6
Bristol City 1995–96 34 10 2 0 1 1 29 8
1996–97 37 16 4 3 2 0 43 19
1860 München 1997–98 16 4 1 0 1 0 18 4
1998–99 13 2 0 0 0 0 7 0
1999–00 22 8 0 0 0 0 18 4
2000–01 27 12 0 0 7 2 34 14
2001–02 29 8 1 0 2 1 22 6
2002–03 32 11 0 0 2 0 14 0
2003–04 28 9 2 0 0 0 24 5
2004–05 31 7 2 1 0 0 33 8
2005–06 31 9 3 2 0 0 34 11
2006–07 19 7 1 0 0 0 5 0
Adelaide United 2007–08 10 4 0 0 0 0 10 4
2008–09 10 0 1 0 3 0 14 0
Total 349 84 17 6 15 3 382 96

1 – included A-League final series statistics
2 – includes Club World Cup statistics; UEFA Cup statistics; UEFA Intertoto Cup statistics; Asian Champions League statistics (included in season commencing after group stages).

National team statistics

[2]

Australia national team
Year Apps Goals
1996 2 0
1997 0 0
1998 0 0
1999 0 0
2000 12 6
2001 2 0
2002 0 0
2003 0 0
2004 1 1
2005 1 0
Total 18 7

International goals

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 19 June 2000 Papeete, Tahiti  Cook Islands 17–0 Win OFC Nations Cup 2000
2. 19 June 2000 Papeete, Tahiti  Cook Islands 17–0 Win OFC Nations Cup 2000
3. 19 June 2000 Papeete, Tahiti  Cook Islands 17–0 Win OFC Nations Cup 2000
4. 7 October 2000 Dubai, UAE  South Korea 2–4 Loss Friendly
5. 7 October 2000 Dubai, UAE  South Korea 2–4 Loss Friendly
6. 18 February 2004 Caracas, Venezuela  Venezuela 1–1 Draw Friendly

Honours

With Australia:

References

  1. ^ "Paul Agostino" (in German). fussballdaten.de. http://www.fussballdaten.de/spieler/agostinopaul/. Retrieved 21 February 2010. 
  2. ^ Paul Agostino at National-Football-Teams.com

External links

Australia squad – 1996 Summer Olympics
 A. Vidmar •  Emerton •  Zane •  Foster •  Tiatto •  Zdrilic •  Muscat •  Cardozo •  Agostino •  Okon •  Chipperfield •  Murphy •  Colosimo •  Lazaridis •  Laybutt •  Corica •  Horvat •  Popovic •  Kalac •  Bolton • Coach: Farina