Gary Cole (soccer)

Gary Cole (born 5 February 1956) is an Australian football (soccer) player, who played for the Australia national football team 40 times and scored 20 goals between 1975 and 1984. He was most recently the Football director for A-League club Sydney FC, made redundant in December 2012.[2]

This article is about the soccer player. For the actor, see Gary Cole.

Gary Cole
Personal information
Date of birth (1956-02-05) 5 February 1956
Place of birth London, England
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1972–1975 Ringwood Wilhelmina ? (?)
1976–1983 Heidelberg Alexander 177 (88)
1984–1986 Preston Lions FC 69 (21)
National team‡
1978–1982 Australia[1] 19 (17)
1984 Australia B 5 (0)
Teams managed
1996–1997 Altona Magic
1997–1998 Bulleen Zebras
2000–2001 Bentleigh Greens
2003 Altona Magic
2003 Victoria
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 March 2007
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 30 March 2007

Playing career

Transferred from Ringwood Wilhelmina to Fitzroy Alexander (later called Heidelberg United) in 1976 for a transfer fee of 6,000 after three years at Ringwood. Cole became one of the early stars of the National Soccer League as a striker, scoring 88 goals in six seasons at Heidelberg. In 1984, Cole moved to rival NSL club Preston Lions FC after injuring his ankle badly in 1983, and went on to score 21 goals for the club before retiring in 1986.[3]

On 14 August 1981, he scored seven goals against Fiji, and set an Australian record for the most goals scored in an international match.[4] His record was broken in 2001, when Archie Thompson scored 13 goals against American Samoa.[5]

Coaching career

Cole has coached at various Victorian Premier League clubs and coached the Victorian state representative team after previously working on a full-time basis at the AIS in Canberra.

Cole was Melbourne Victory FC's first director of football, commencing this role from its inaugural season in 2005 until mid 2011.

Honours

References
  1. The Australian National Men's Football Team: Caps and Captains Archived 14 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  2. http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/a-league/former-melbourne-victory-operations-chief-gary-cole-to-be-appointed-sydney-fcs-football-director/story-e6frf4gl-1226220476852 Former Melbourne Victory operations chief Gary Cole to be appointed Sydney FC's football director
  3. Oz Football Stats
  4. Lynch, Michael (12 December 2004). "The all-important Cole difference". The Age. Melbourne: The Age Company Ltd. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
  5. "Australia win 32-0 to set new scoring record". The Independent. London: Independent News and Media Limited. 11 April 2001. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
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