Mark Milligan

Mark Daniel Milligan (born 4 August 1985) is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder and captains A-League club Macarthur. Starting his career originally as a defender, Milligan has spent much of his later career playing as a midfielder.[3]

Mark Milligan
Milligan with Australia in 2018
Personal information
Full name Mark Daniel Milligan[1]
Date of birth (1985-08-04) 4 August 1985[1]
Place of birth Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Defender
Club information
Current team
 Macarthur FC
Number 5
Youth career
2002 AIS
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2003 Northern Spirit 16 (1)
2004 Blacktown City 9 (5)
2005–2008 Sydney FC 42 (1)
2008–2009 Newcastle Jets 11 (1)
2009 Shanghai Shenhua 25 (1)
2010–2012 JEF United Chiba 53 (3)
2012 → Melbourne Victory (loan) 10 (1)
2012–2015 Melbourne Victory 73 (14)
2015–2017 Baniyas SC 43 (5)
2017–2018 Melbourne Victory 14 (3)
2018 Al Ahli 8 (0)
2018–2019 Hibernian 28 (0)
2019–2020 Southend United 30 (0)
2020– Macarthur 5 (1)
National team
2003–2005 Australia U-20 11 (0)
2006–2008 Australia U-23 25 (7)
2006–2019 Australia 80 (6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 25 June 2020

Career

FourFourTwo magazine revealed on 28 July 2007 that after the Asian Cup Milligan had gone without Sydney FC's permission to trial for teams in Europe.[4] Milligan was linked with French sides FC Metz and RC Lens. The following day Milligan reportedly walked out on Metz just before a scheduled trial game appearance against Standard Liège, allegedly out of frustration at the right-back position he would be trialled in.[5] The following day it was reported that Milligan would return home to play for Sydney FC after all.[6][7]

He was linked with a move to English Premier League clubs Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City and Arsenal, as well as RC Lens in France's Ligue 1, and more recently with FC Porto in the Portuguese Liga and Bundesliga side Werder Bremen, during the summer of 2008.

On 21 October 2008, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Milligan signed a guest contract with Newcastle United Jets for seven weeks. He made his debut on 24 October 2008, against Central Coast Mariners at Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford, where his team lost 1–0. During this time he was also sent off in a match against the Wellington Phoenix.

Asia

Milligan joined Chinese Super League outfit Shanghai Shenhua in January 2009, signing a three-year contract.[8]

On 19 May, Milligan scored his first goal for Shanghai Shenhua in their 1–1 draw in the AFC Champions League group stage match against Kashima Antlers.

Milligan finalised his switch from Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua to Japanese side JEF United Chiba, who were relegated to the second division.[9]

When the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami struck Japan, Milligan decided to flee the country, fearing for the safety of not only himself, but his wife and child.[10] With the J2 League suspended until further notice, JEF United Chiba gave permission for Milligan to train in a bid to keep his fitness up with his former A-League club Sydney FC.[11]

Melbourne Victory
Milligan training with Melbourne Victory in 2013

On 23 January 2012 it was reported that Melbourne Victory was to secure Milligan on loan until the end of the regular season.[12] It was confirmed on 24 January that Milligan signed for a loan deal to Melbourne Victory until the end of the 2011–12 A-League season, becoming the first Sydney FC player to switch to Melbourne Victory.[13] He returned to Japan in March.[14] In July 2012, Milligan was released from JEF United Chiba and returned to Melbourne Victory by signing a three-year contract.[15]

Milligan starred for Melbourne Victory during their 2012–13 season, moving from centre-back to play as a defensive midfielder, and quickly established himself as one of the best players in the league. Although he has never been a prolific goal scorer, Milligan scored 8 goals in this season, a number of them being clutch goals in important games, including a penalty equaliser in an elimination final against Perth Glory that Melbourne Victory went on to win in extra time. To cap off his season, Milligan won the Victory Medal, awarded to the club's player of the season.

On 17 September 2013, Milligan was rewarded for his performances by being appointed the captain of Melbourne Victory, replacing Adrian Leijer. He was also rumoured to be leaving Melbourne Victory to join fellow national team midfielder Mile Jedinak at newly promoted Premier League club Crystal Palace, however Melbourne Victory rejected a rumoured £2m offer for the defensive midfielder.[16][17]

Milligan, after a trial at Crystal Palace, stayed on at Melbourne Victory as captain in the 2013–14 season.[18] He sustained an injury halfway through the season,[19] and the team suffered for this and other reasons such as losing their coach, an injury to Adrian Leijer (ex-captain and central defender) and four players (including three defenders) going to the Under 21 World championships (Jason Geria, Connor Pain, Scott Galloway and Nick Ansell). However, Victory improved after this period to finish fourth in the A-League. Milligan played every minute of all but one ACL match, only missing the final away match of the ACL Asian Champions League match through suspension.

On 17 May 2015, Milligan captained his side during their 3–0 defeat of Sydney FC in the 2014–15 A-League Grand Final, held at AAMI Park, Melbourne, and was awarded the Joe Marston Medal as the best player in the match.

Baniyas SC

At the end of the 2014–15 season it was announced that UAE Pro-League side Baniyas SC had triggered the release clause of Milligan's contract with a $1 million transfer fee, and he signed with them on a two-year contract.[20]

Return to the Victory

On 31 July 2017, it was announced Miligan would return to the Victory on a one-year deal as a marquee player.[21]

Al Ahli

On 28 January 2018, Melbourne Victory sold Mark Milligan to Al-Ahli for $1 million.[22] He was assigned the number 5 shirt. On 4 February, he made his debut for Al-Ahli in a league game against Al Ittihad FC. He played at centre-half, with the game finishing 0-0. He got good response from the fans, playing the full 90 minutes in the Jeddah derby.

Hibernian

On 18 August 2018, Milligan signed a two-year contract with Scottish Premiership club Hibernian.[23] Milligan played regularly for Hibernian during the 2018–19 season, after which he left the club.[24] Hibernian head coach Paul Heckingbottom said that he had opted to exercise a break clause in Milligan's contract as he wanted to "recruit something different to play in that position".[25]

Southend United

On 1 July 2019, Milligan signed for Southend United.[26] Milligan was released by Southend United on 19 June 2020, after the team's relegation from League One.[27]

Macarthur

On 30 July 2020, following his release from Southend, Milligan returned home to Australia to join newly formed A-League club Macarthur FC, signing a two-year deal.[28] On 22 October, he was named the club's captain for their inaugural campaign in the A-League.[29] In the club's first match, a local derby against Western Sydney Wanderers on 30 December, Milligan scored the club's first goal which secured a first-ever win.[30]

International career
Milligan playing for Australia at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup

Milligan represented Australia at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands. In May 2006, he was the youngest player selected in the Australian 2006 FIFA World Cup squad, being one of only two players chosen from the A-League – the other being Michael Beauchamp. Milligan had impressed coaches Graham Arnold and Johan Neeskens at a recent camp in Vietnam, while Guus Hiddink also recalled watching Milligan at the World Youth Championship.

He made his senior international debut against Liechtenstein on 7 June 2006, coming off the bench in the 85th minute of Australia's last warm-up game before the World Cup. He did not play in any of Australia's four World Cup games in Germany. His first start came against Kuwait in an Asian Cup qualifier on 16 August 2006. His next appearance was on 7 October 2006 in a friendly against Paraguay as a late substitute.

In February 2007, Milligan was named as captain of the Australian U-23 side, the 'Olyroos', for two Olympic qualifying games against Chinese Taipei. He sustained a broken nose in an 'off-the-ball' incident during the second qualifier. He led the Olyroos to Olympic qualification and was the key influential figure in their final games against Iraq and North Korea, scoring in each game and taking the man of the match award in both.

Milligan was selected in the Australian squad for the 2007 Asian Cup. During the tournament, Milligan was selected to play in the starting line-up for Australia against co-host nation Thailand in the final game of the group matches. Australia won 4–0 and advanced to the quarter finals of the competition with Milligan putting in what was widely regarded as a Man of the Match performance in the centre of a three-man defence. On 21 July 2007, in the quarter-final against Japan, Milligan was unfortunate in failing to clear a ball from the penalty area that saw striker Naohiro Takahara pounce and score an equaliser. The game ended 1–1 and Australia was eliminated from the Cup on penalties.

Milligan scored his first international goal for the Socceroos against Indonesia in a 2011 Asian Cup Qualifiers played at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. This being the only goal in the match with Australia winning 1–0 and then qualifying for the 2011 competition.

He was named in the 31 man squad named by Pim Verbeek for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. His 2010 FIFA World Cup profile described him as "[a] mobile defender with good ball skills and an ability to play a raking pass."[31]

Milligan was selected for the 30-man preliminary 2014 FIFA World Cup squad, alongside seven other A-League players.[32] Three from Melbourne Victory (Milligan, James Troisi & Tom Rogic) were among the final selection.[33] He played alongside James Troisi and captain Mile Jedinak in a three-man midfield in the Socceroos warm-up match vs Croatia.[34] He played only one game in the 2014 World Cup, a 3–1 defeat against Chile in their opening match.

In 2015, he was a key member of Australia who won the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. He didn't play in the opening game. After this game, he played in all the next 5 matches, including the final against South Korea. In the second game, he scored the goal against Oman national football team. Australia won the match by 4-0. After the Asian Cup success, he played 7 games out of 8 in second round of 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualification. He scored his fourth and fifth international goals against Tajikistan.

Milligan captained Australia at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, and scored from the penalty spot in the 60th minute in a 1-1 draw against Cameroon.

In the third round of qualification, he played 8 games out of 10. Australia finished third in the table and failed to qualify directly to the World Cup. He played on the winning side in the two-leg tie Asian play-off against Syria. The match ended 3-2 on aggregate after extra time. He also played in the second leg game of 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF–AFC play-off) against Honduras. This was the match which decided the last spot of 2018 FIFA World Cup. The match ended in favour of Australia by 3-1. With that, Australia qualified in the World Cup finals for the fourth time in a row. In May 2018 he was named in Australia's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[35] Milligan played in central defence during the tournament, alongside Trent Sainsbury.

Milligan captained Australia at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, in which they were knocked out at the quarter-final stage.[36]

He retired from international football in December 2019.[37]

Career statistics

Club
Milligan playing for Melbourne Victory in 2012
As of 17:07, 19 May 2019 (UTC)[38][39]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Domestic Cups Continental Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Northern Spirit 2002–03 30––30
2003–04 131––131
Total 161––161
Blacktown City 2004 95––95
Sydney FC 2005–06 10130–131
2006–07 1703150251
2007–08 15020–170
Total 4218150552
Newcastle Jets 2008–09 111––111
Shanghai Shenhua 2009 251–61312
JEF United Chiba 2010 150––150
2011 29120–311
2012 92––92
Total 53320–553
Melbourne Victory 2011–12 101––101
2012–13 228––228
2013–14 214–51265
2014–15 20120–221
Total 731420518015
Baniyas SC 2015–16 21320–233
2016–17 22210–232
Total 43530–465
Melbourne Victory 2017–18 14320–163
Al Ahli 2017–18 802070170
Hibernian 2018–19 28030–310
Career total 3223422123236737

International appearances
Statistics accurate as of match played 10 October 2019.[40]
Australia
YearAppsGoals
200630
200720
200810
200920
201021
201120
201261
201380
201470
2015112
201691
2017111
2018100
201960
Total806

International goals
Scores and results list Australia's goal tally first.[40]
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.3 March 2010Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Australia Indonesia1–01–02011 AFC Asian Cup qualification
2.7 December 2012Mong Kok Stadium, Mong Kok, Hong Kong Guam8–09–02013 EAFF East Asian Cup
3.13 January 2015Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia Oman3–04–02015 AFC Asian Cup
4.8 September 2015Pamir Stadium, Dushanbe, Tajikistan Tajikistan1–03–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
5.24 March 2016Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia Tajikistan3–07–0
6.22 June 2017Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg, Russia Cameroon1–11–12017 FIFA Confederations Cup

Honours

Club

Sydney FC

Melbourne Victory

International

Australia

Individual

References
  1. "FIFA Confederations Cup Russia 2017: List of players: Australia" (PDF). FIFA. 2 July 2017. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 July 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  2. "Mark Milligan". socceroos.com.au. Football Federation Australia. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  3. "Milligan's Socceroos midfield push", 5 May 2012, SBS "The World Game" website. Retrieved 22 March 2013
  4. "Spike Goes AWOL For Metz Trial". FTBL.
  5. "Milligan Missing – Again", 30 July 2007; SBS The World Game website Archived 9 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 30 July 2007
  6. "Milligan set to stay with SFC", 31 July 2007 Four Four Two Magazine. Retrieved 1 August 2007
  7. "One out, one back", 2 August 2007, SBS "The World Game" website Archived 9 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2 August 2007
  8. "Milligan seals Shanghai switch". Canberra Times. 30 January 2009. Archived from the original on 10 March 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2009.
  9. Cockerill, Michael (22 December 2009). "Mariners lure big fish with $20 million HQ". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  10. "Quake refugee Milligan finds silver lining at Sky Blues". The Daily Telegraph. 23 March 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
  11. "JEF United player Mark Milligan cautious about return to Japan". Sydney Morning Herald. 23 March 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
  12. "Victory poised for loan deal with Socceroos defender". Herald Sun. 23 January 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  13. "Victory Ink Milligan Deal". FourFourTwo Australia. 24 January 2012. Archived from the original on 27 January 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  14. "Mark Milligan exits with pride intact". Herald Sun. 26 March 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  15. "Victory confirm Milligan return". Football Federation Australia. 11 July 2012. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  16. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. "Socceroo Mark Milligan confirmed as Melbourne Victory skipper for 2013–2014 A-League season". Herald Sun. 17 September 2013.
  18. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  19. "Milligan limps off in Victory defeat". www.heraldsun.com.au. 3 October 2013.
  20. Milligan's Baniyas move a done deal SBS, 23 June 2015
  21. "Melbourne Victory confirm Milligan return on marquee deal". The World Game. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  22. "Melbourne Victory agree to sell Mark Milligan to Saudi Arabia club Al Alhi". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  23. "Mark Milligan: Hibernian sign Australia midfielder". BBC Sport. 18 August 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  24. "MARK MILLIGAN TO DEPART". Hibernian FC. 18 May 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  25. Sked, Joel (19 May 2019). "Hibs boss Paul Heckingbottom can't wait to get started again and explains Mark Milligan departure". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  26. McPartlin, Patrick (1 July 2019). "Mark Milligan joins Southend United after leaving Hibs". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  27. Davidson, John. "Milligan left in limbo by surprise Southend split". The World Game. Special Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  28. Bossi, Dominic (30 July 2020). "Former Socceroos captain signs marquee deal with Macarthur". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  29. "Mark Milligan appointed Macarthur FC Inaugural Captain". Macarthur FC. 22 October 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  30. "Macarthur beat Wanderers for first western Sydney derby win". ESPN. 30 December 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  31. "Player Profile". www.fifa.com. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  32. "Socceroos name squad for 2014 FIFA World Cup". MyFootball.com.au.
  33. "Milligan stands tall for the Socceroos - The World Game".
  34. "As it happened: Socceroos v Croatia". 7 June 2014.
  35. "Revealed: Every World Cup 2018 squad - Final 23-man lists - Goal.com".
  36. "AFC Asian Cup 2019: Australia captain Milligan reveals which team he wants to see lift trophy after Socceroos exit". Fox Sports Asia. 27 January 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  37. "Mark Milligan: Australia captain retires from international football". 9 December 2019 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  38. Mark Milligan at Soccerway
  39. Mark Milligan at Soccerbase
  40. Mark Milligan at National-Football-Teams.com
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