Mark Bridge

Mark Robert Bridge (born 7 November 1985) is an Australian professional football (soccer) player who plays as a striker for NPL club Mounties Wanderers.

Mark Bridge
Bridge with the Western Sydney Wanderers in 2013
Personal information
Full name Mark Robert Bridge
Date of birth (1985-11-07) 7 November 1985
Place of birth Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1]
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Mounties Wanderers
Youth career
Parramatta Eagles
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2004 Parramatta Power 5 (0)
2005–2008 Newcastle Jets 50 (13)
2008–2012 Sydney FC 80 (17)
2009 → Tianjin Teda (loan) 2 (0)
2012–2016 Western Sydney Wanderers 95 (28)
2016–2017 Chiangrai United 14 (7)
2017–2019 Western Sydney Wanderers 26 (5)
2019– Mounties Wanderers 7 (0)
National team
2004–2005 Australia U20 9 (9)
2006–2008 Australia U23 23 (3)
2008 Australia 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 26 September 2019

Bridge is the Western Sydney Wanderers' first ever goalscorer, earning himself the nickname 'King Bridge' among fans. On 18 April 2015 in the 26th-round match against Adelaide United, Bridge became the ninth player to reach 200 A-League games.[2]

Club career

Newcastle Jets
Bridge with Newcastle in 2007

Bridge joined Newcastle from Parramatta Power in 2005 during the inaugural A-League season. Although it took some time for Bridge to find his feet he was the Jets best player during his second season (2006/07) at the club scoring 8 goals during the season.

Although his third season with the Jets only yielded four goals, his last for the Jets was the most decisive, being the only goal in the 2008 A-League Grand Final.[3]

Sydney FC
Bridge in 2008

As his contract had expired at the Jets, Bridge subsequently left the team and was unveiled as a Sydney FC player on 3 March 2008 alongside Simon Colosimo and John Aloisi.[4] He scored his first goal for Sydney in their 5–2 demolition of Perth Glory at the Sydney Football Stadium.

On 11 February 2009, Bridge arrived Kunming, Yunnan province, China, meet with Tianjin TEDA. He signed a four-month loan deal for Chinese Super League club Tianjin Teda during the offseason with Sydney FC.[5] However, Tianjin's failure to qualify from the group stage of the AFC Champions League meant that he had made the last appearance for the club and would return to Sydney FC at the end of May.

He became the first player to score in two A-League Grand finals with his headed goal against Melbourne Victory in the 09-10 edition, which Sydney went on to win on penalties

Bridge scored the third goal in the 3–2 victory of Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua, during the 2011 AFC Champions League keeping Sydney's chances of progressing through to the next round alive.[6]

Bridge was sent from the field after being given a red card in the opening game of the 2011–12 A-League season against Melbourne Victory, following an altercation in which Bridge struck Victory player Rodrigo Vargas in the throat. The match would finish 0–0.[7]

Bridge asked for and received a mutual termination of his Sydney FC contract on 1 June 2012.[8]

Western Sydney Wanderers
Bridge playing for the Wanderers in 2017

On 30 June 2012 it was officially announced he had joined the newly formed Western Sydney Wanderers club.[9]

On 27 October 2012 Bridge scored the first ever A-League goal for the Western Sydney Wanderers, against Brisbane Roar in the Wanderers fourth game of their inaugural season.

Bridge scored the Wanderers' first ever hat-trick in the round 16 6–1 thrashing of Adelaide United in their inaugural season. Bridge was also the Wanderers' top goalscorer for the 2012–13 A-League season with 11 goals. Bridge is also the club's all-time top goalscorer.

Chiangrai United

On 27 May 2016, after 4 seasons with the Western Sydney Wanderers, Bridge left the club to join Thai Premier League club Chiangrai United.[10][11] On 6 July 2017, Bridge terminated his contract with Chiangrai United.[12]

Return to Western Sydney Wanderers

In July 2017, Bridge returned to Western Sydney Wanderers on a two-year contract.[13]

Mounties Wanderers FC

On 12 March 2019, Bridge signed for National Premier Leagues NSW 2 side Mounties Wanderers FC.[14] Bridge is set to join the club at the conclusion of the 2018–19 A-League season.

International career

Mark Bridge has played for the Australian U-20 Squad where he made 9 appearances and scored 9 goals. He is currently a member of Australia U-23 national team. He was also called up to Australia senior squad for their Asian Cup qualifiers, in a match against Kuwait on 16 August. He was hoping to be included in the Australia senior squad for the Asian Cup games against Qatar, China and Iraq, but was not selected.

Bridge made his senior international debut against Singapore in a friendly match in March 2008.

Bridge was selected for the 2008 Australian Olympic squad.

A-League statistics
As of 12 December 2018[15]
Club Season League National Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Parramatta Power 2003–04National Soccer League5000——50
Newcastle Jets 2005–06A-League 60———60
2006–07A-League 248——6[lower-alpha 1]1309
2007–08A-League 205——4[lower-alpha 2]0245
Total 5013——1016014
Sydney FC 2008–09A-League 214———214
2009–10A-League 239———239
2010–11A-League 181—51—232
2011–12A-League 183———183
Total 8017—51—8518
Tianjin Teda (loan) 2009Chinese Super League 20—40—60
Western Sydney Wanderers 2012–13A-League 2711———2711
2013–14A-League 265—92—357
2014–15A-League 18310521[lower-alpha 3]0245
2015–16A-League 24920——269
2017–18A-League 21431——245
Total 11632611441013637
Career total 248626123511128869
  1. 6 appearances in A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup
  2. 4 appearances in A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup
  3. 1 appearance in the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup

Honours

Club

Newcastle Jets:

Sydney FC:

Western Sydney Wanderers:

Individual

References
  1. "Mark Bridge". Soccerway. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  2. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/football/western-sydneys-mark-bridge-racks-up-200-game-milestone/story-fn63e0vj-1227308604364"
  3. Ritson, John (24 February 2008). "Jets 1 – Mariners 0: Minute by Minute". AU FourFourTwo. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
  4. Star trio unveiled for Sydney FC Sydney Morning Herald, 3 March 2008
  5. Asian door opens for Bridge
  6. "Comeback Kings Sydney Seal Vital Win". Australian FourFourTwo. 19 April 2011. Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  7. "Thrilling Big Blue Ends Goalless". FourFourTwo Australia. 8 October 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  8. "Sydney FC grants Mark Bridge a release". Sydney FC. 1 June 2012.
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. Huguenin, Michael (26 May 2016). "It's Official Western Sydney Wanderers Striker Mark Bridge Coming to Chiang Rai United". Chiang Rai Times.
  11. Murphy, Paul (27 May 2016). "Ex-Socceroo Mark Bridge signs with Chiang Rai United in Thai League". ESPN FC.
  12. "Striker Bridge back on the market". FourFourTwo. 6 July 2017.
  13. "Bridge makes Wanderers return". FourFourTwo. 18 July 2017.
  14. "Retiring Wanderers legend Bridge signs with NPL 2 club". Hyundai A-League. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  15. "Mark Bridge Player Summary". aus.worldfootball.net. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  16. Jackson, Jamie (20 July 2013). "Manchester United thrash A-League All Stars to give David Moyes first win". The Guardian. Sydney. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.