Central Coast Mariners Euro / Copa America XI

With the Final of the Euro’s and Copa America tournament’s taking place on Monday, we delve into our 20-year-history and create a team of past and present Mariners who were eligible to compete in the two Continental competitions.

🇦🇺/🇷🇸 Danny Vukovic (Goalkeeper)

The only player that we had to slightly bend the rules to fit in, Vuka was an Australia youth international before attending back-to-back FIFA World Cups with the Socceroos in 2018 and 2022, but makes this team due to his Serbian heritage and the absence of an overseas goalkeeper in the Mariners’ history!

Vuka needs no introduction, the absolute icon of the Central Coast called time on his playing career at the end of this record-breaking season, but he won’t be a stranger as he is undertaking his coaching courses in preparation to join the Mariners coaching staff for the 2024/25 season.

🇧🇷 Mikael Doka (Right back)

The first Brazilian on the list, Mikael Doka’s scintillating form in the second half of the 23/24 season helped us to the treble and made himself a firm fan favourite in the process.

Doka missed just three games throughout his debut season and ended with 18 G/A, 16 of those coming since February as he really found his feet on the Coast, becoming one of Mark Jackson’s main men in the treble-chasing run in and he has since been rewarded with a new contract.

Doka may be eligible to play for his motherland, Brazil, but says he feels so at home now in Australia that he actually has aspirations to play for the Socceroos!

🇩🇪 André Gumprecht (Centre back)

Predominantly a midfielder, Gumprecht was capable of filling in at centre-back which is where he slots into this team.

Gumprecht played 63 games for the Mariners, enjoying some of the best years of his well-travelled professional career that took him from Germany to Italy, Singapore and Australia – where he still resides.

🇳🇱 Patrick Zwaanswijk (Centre back)

Alongside Gumprecht is a genuine Mariners legend. Patrick Zwaanswijk made 99 A-League appearances for the club, scoring 11 goals. The most notable memory is his powerful header that opened the scoring of our first ever Grand Final win over Western Sydney Wanderers in 2013.

A product of the prestigious Ajax FC Academy in his native Netherlands, Zwaanswijk racked up almost 400 Eredivisie appearances for Utrecht and NAC Breda, either side of a stint in the J2 League, before joining the Mariners where he ended his professional career.

Patrick is still a regular guest at Mariners fixtures, when he is not coaching Manly United in the NPL!

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Faye Bryson (Left back)

Arriving at the club for our return season to the Liberty A-League from English Super League side Reading, Faye Bryson was one of the most consistent performers for Emily Husband as the team made the semi-finals, losing narrowly to eventual winners Sydney FC.

Faye is an all action full-back, giving the team energy no matter which flank she is deployed on by Husband. Bryson scored her only goal to-date in an early-season clash with Melbourne Victory and brilliantly dispatched her penalty in the shoot-out against the same opponent in our Elimination Final.

🇲🇹 John Hutchinson (Central Midfield)

Our record appearance holder with 228 appearances in his 10 years at the club between 2005 and 2015, Hutch goes down as one of the biggest legends in Mariners history.

Hutchinson was born in Australia but was eligible to play for Malta, one of the smallest countries in Europe, with just 316km². For context, you could fit Malta into Australia almost 25,000 times.

Their National Team have been a member of FIFA since 1959 therefore would be able to compete in the Euros and the World Cup, but they not yet managed to qualify for a major competition.

Hutchinson represented them on 11 occasions, the best result a 1-1 draw against Euro 2024’s surprise package, Georgia.

Alfie McCalmont (Central Midfield)

The newest addition to the Mariners family has four senior caps for Northern Ireland and becomes the first ever Northern Irish player to play for the Mariners!

Read more about our new signing here, and make sure to secure your 2024/25 Mariners Membership to watch our exciting new addition in action at Our Paradise!

WATCH ALFIE IN ACTION WITH A 2024/25 MARINERS MEMBERSHIP

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Nick Montgomery (Central Midfield)

First joining the Mariners in 2012 after a long playing career in England, Montgomery ended up spending over a decade on the Central Coast, winning a Championship as both a player and Head Coach, 10 years apart.

Despite becoming an Australian citizen during his time with the club, while also being born in Leeds, Montgomery represented Scotland at Youth level. He featured for both the Under 21’s and Futures sides during his early days at Sheffield United, playing against Austria U21’s, Croatia U21’s and Poland B.

🇪🇸 Luis García (Right wing)

Following Liverpool-born Bryson is a Liverpool legend and arguably the highest profile player on this list. Luis Garcia’s season in the A-League, in which he scored twice in 10 appearances, bookended a glittering career at the very top.

Garcia broke through Barcelona’s famous Academy, La Masia and went on to wear the jerseys of some huge European clubs including Atletico Madrid and Liverpool, whilst playing 18 times for Spain, scoring four goals.

Garcia was named in the UEFA Team of the Year in 2005 off the back of his Champions League winning season with Liverpool. He also played for Greek giants Panathinaikos, in Mexico’s top flight for Puebla and UNAM and won the Indian Super League with Atlético Kolkata before arriving at the Mariners in 2015.

🇧🇷 Marco Túlio (Left Wing)

A modern-day Mariners legend, Marco Túlio departed the club in January for a life-changing opportunity in the J1 League but is still held in high regard by the Mariners family.

In his first season in Australia, Túlio helped the club to the Championship with 10 goals which also earned himself a place in the PFA Team of the Season.

Before leaving the club, Túlio further cemented his place in the Mariners history books as A-League strikes against Western United and Brisbane Roar saw him break the record for Mariners goals scored in a calendar year (19).

His eight goals in the AFC Cup Group Stages not only kickstarted our journey to continental glory, but earned himself the tournament’s Golden Boot, of course we made sure his award made it’s way to him.

🇨🇷 Marco Ureña (Striker)

Ureña is fondly remembered for his two seasons with the Mariners, scoring 13 goals in 52 appearances between 2020 and 2022.

For his country, Ureña ranks 31st for appearances (67) and 12th for goals (15) in Costa Rica’s all-time records.

Ureña made two appearances at the 2016 Copa America, whilst his international highlights include six World Cup appearances and one goal, against Uruguay in 2014.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Mark Jackson (Manager)

In his first season as Football Manager, the Englishman has led the club to unprecedented heights as we became the first ever treble winners in Australian Football history.

There was personal success for Jackson too as his achievements were recognised with five Coach of the Month Awards and the Isuzu UTE A-League Coach of the Year.

Jackson has represented his country as a player, most notably for England U20s where he played alongside the likes of Michael Owen and Jamie Carragher in 1997.

Substitutes:

A few honourable mentions that didn’t quite make the XI but do not deserve to go unmentioned include English striker Ryan Edmondson and Brazilian star Ronald Barcellos, who both popped up with crucial moments along the way to our historic treble. Edmondson represented England U19s whilst at Leeds United, scoring once in three appearances in 2019.

Beni Nkololo is extremely unlucky not to make the starting XI, playing for the Mariners across two seasons, scoring 15 goals including one in our historic 6-1 Grand Final win. Fábio Ferreira, who developed at Sporting Lisbon’s Academy before playing 55 games and scoring 15 goals on the Central Coast, also gets a position in the squad.

Bolstering the subs bench in this team is also Dutch midfielder Tom Hiariej, as well as Brazilian forward Matheus Moresche, who got our sixth and final 2023 Isuzu UTE A-League Grand Final goal.

Nicolai Muller is the final player on the list, he made 19 appearances and scored twice for the Mariners in his single season on the Coast in 2021/22. Prior to joining the club, he began his professional career in Germany’s second tier, before playing for Mainz, Eintracht Frankfurt and Hamburg in the Bundesliga. During that time he made two appearances for the German National Team.