Simon Colosimo

Simon Colosimo (born 8 January 1979) is an Australian former international football (soccer) player who played as a central defender for Dandenong Thunder in the National Premier Leagues Victoria 2. He represented the Australia national team on 26 occasions.

Simon Colosimo
Personal information
Full name Simon Colosimo
Date of birth (1979-01-08) 8 January 1979
Place of birth Melbourne, Australia
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Position(s) Centre Back
Youth career
1996–1997 AIS
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–2000 Carlton SC 50 (10)
2000–2001 South Melbourne 18 (2)
2001–2002 Manchester City 6 (0)
2002 Antwerp 0 (0)
2002–2003 Perth Glory 14 (0)
2003–2004 Parramatta Power 23 (1)
2004 Pahang FA 20 (6)
2005–2008 Perth Glory 50 (2)
2007 → Sivasspor (loan) 14 (1)
2008–2010 Sydney FC 34 (0)
2010–2013 Melbourne Heart 63 (1)
2013–2014 Dempo 19 (0)
2014 Goulburn Valley Suns 11 (1)
2015 Werribee City 18 (1)
2016–2017 Dandenong Thunder 48 (10)
2018 Whittlesea Ranges 14 (2)
2018 Bulleen Lions 13 (0)
National team
1996–1999 Australia U-20 16 (5)
1997–2000 Australia U-23 14 (0)
1998–2010 Australia 26 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 24 September 2018

Club career

NSL years

Colosimo completed the Australian Institute of Sport football program in 1997 and signed with new National Soccer League club Carlton for their inaugural year. Interest had been shown from Bayern Munich and Panathinaikos to sign Colosimo, but a knee injury sustained in a horror tackle by Andrew Cole while on Socceroos duty kept him out of the game for most of the 1999/00 season, but made his return on 14 March 2000 to score against South Melbourne, who would eventually acquire the midfielder after the demise of the Carlton club.

After a year at Souths, he sought a move to Europe and joined English side Manchester City for a season followed by a move to Belgium with Royal Antwerp. Unable to settle, he returned to Australia in 2002 to join Perth Glory in the NSL for a season, then moved to Parramatta Power until the demise of the league in 2004.

Along with a number of Australian players he made a move into Asia in the newly restructured Malaysia Super League at Pahang FA, helping them win the 2004 championship.

A-League career

He was enticed back to Australia with the relaunch of the A-League returning to Perth Glory signing a three-year deal. Colosimo received MVP for Perth Glory for the 2006–07 season.

Colosimo joined Turkish club Sivasspor on a four-month loan during the A-League off-season, and returned to Perth Glory for the start of the 2007–08 A-League season,[1] and was handed the Perth Glory captaincy.[2]

With his contract at Glory at an end, Colosimo was linked with a move to Sydney FC in 2008, receiving a hostile reception from Perth supporters[3] who let him know he was no longer welcome and was dropped from the starting side for some final matches.[4] Unable to reach a contract agreement, Perth released him from the club on 22 January 2008.[5]

It was announced by Sydney FC that Colosimo had signed a two-year deal, and he joined the club from the start of the 2008–09 season.[6] Colosimo became a standout performer as a centreback, with consistent performances impressing through the new 2009–10 season. On 31 March 2010, the defender switched clubs to Melbourne Heart, along with his teammates Clint Bolton and John Aloisi.[7] He became the captain of the new club and scored one goal in their debut season, an important equaliser against Adelaide in the final minutes of the game, which Heart triumphed 2–1 in stoppage time.

As a result of the Heart finishing second-to-last on the A-League ladder, their worst finish in an A-League season, Colosimo, along with teammates Clint Bolton, Matt Thompson and Fred, were released by the Heart at the conclusion of the 2012–13 A-League season.[8]

International career

Colosimo first entered the Australian national selection framework at Under-20 level in 1997 while at the AIS. This led quickly to a national team debut in 1998 against Fiji at just 19 years of age. He remained in the national focus, selected as part of the squad at the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship.

Later that year he was called up by then Socceroo manager Raul Blanco to make an appearance in the Socceroo's friendly against Manchester United on 18 July at the MCG. What started as a spirited game finished in horror for Simon, as Andy Cole lunged into a tackle with his leg raised and studs showing, felling the Australian midfielder in full-flight.[9] Simon was stretchered off in pain by stewards, and was diagnosed with having sustained tears to his anterior cruciate and medial ligaments, needing a complete knee reconstruction. He underwent surgery soon after, which included his anterior cruciate being replaced with a piece of his hamstring tendon. A rehabilitation process began, in which Simon would not kick a ball for six months. There was talk at the time of impending legal action against Cole by Carlton's General Manager Lou Sticca,[10] though no formal proceedings were ever entered into.

Following his recovery, he was selected for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, and was part of the national team squad for the 2005 Confederations Cup. Colosimo was selected in matches leading up to the Asian Cup 2007, but was not included in the squad for the final tournament although he was named as a standby reserve.

Personal life

Colosimo is of Italian descent,[11] and has a wife named Bianca, with whom he has two children. Simon attended St Monica’s College in Epping up until year 10 as he then moved to the AIS in Canberra for a scholarship[12] His younger brother Anthony Colosimo played in the youth of Melbourne Knights FC[13] and recently with Bulleen Lions.[14]

National team statistics

Summary

[15]

Australia national team
YearAppsGoals
199840
199900
200050
200142
200200
200300
200470
200531
200600
200710
200800
200900
201020
Total263

International goals

[15]

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
111 April 2001Coffs Harbour International Stadium, Coffs Harbour, Australia American Samoa18–031–02002 FIFA World Cup qualification
227–0
39 June 2005Craven Cottage, London, England New Zealand1–01–0Friendly

Honours

Club
Perth Glory
Pahang FA
Sydney FC

Country
Australia

Individual
Personal Honours

References
  1. "Colosimo back in Perth". The World Game. SBS. 24 May 2007. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2008.
  2. "Colosimo new Perth skipper". The World Game. SBS. 8 August 2007. Archived from the original on 14 September 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2008.
  3. "Colosimo not feeling the love from Perth". The Age. 31 December 2007. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2008.
  4. "Sydney on alert as Colosimo left out of Perth win". Sydney Morning Herald. 14 January 2008. Retrieved 19 January 2008.
  5. "Colosimo, Bertos freed by Glory". FourFourTwo Australia. 22 January 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
  6. "Sydney FC signs Simon Colosimo to two year deal". sydneyfc.com. 27 January 2008. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
  7. Socceroo Colosimo joins Melbourne Heart
  8. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/football/melbourne-heart-axes-four-players-as-club-looks-to-rebound-from-worst-ever-finish/story-fndmchp2-1226615075074
  9. "Out of action – Carlton club threatens legal action". 19 July 1999. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 7 August 2007.
  10. "Sport: Football – Cole accused of ego problem". BBC News. 20 July 1999. Retrieved 7 August 2007.
  11. "Colosimo permit probs". The World Game. SBS. Retrieved 18 December 2010.
  12. Hassett, Sebastian (25 July 2008). "Colosimo lands on his feet at Sydney". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 18 December 2010.
  13. Kounelis, Jordan (30 November 2015). "Talented quartet leave Melbourne Knights". M Football. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  14. Kounelis, Jordan (25 July 2008). "Buleen Lions Anthony Colosimo, Melbourne Knights". Cornerflag. Retrieved 18 December 2010.
  15. "Simon Colosimo". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman.
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