The Central Coast Mariners are delighted to announce the contract extension of Mikael Doka, with the Brazilian putting pen to paper on a three-year deal, keeping him on the Coast until the end of the 2026/27 A-League season.
The 24-year-old arrived in Gosford at the beginning of last season, departing Brazilian giants Santos, having been with the club since he was 10 years old.
In his first campaign in Australia, Doka became a key part of our treble winning squad, featuring in 42 matches across the season with the Mariners.
In those games, the Brazilian scored 7 goals, assisting a further eleven, while playing as both a fullback and winger at different stages of the campaign.
His strong performances saw him pick up numerous individual accolades to go along with a historic team treble, most notably being named the tournament MVP in the AFC Cup. He was also April’s A-League Player of the Month, as well as the Mariners Newcomer of the Season.
A fan favourite on the Coast, Doka produced numerous clutch moments throughout the past 12 months that ended up being vital in us securing all three trophies.
His biggest and most important being a stoppage time winner at home against Wellington Phoenix, which ultimately won us our first Premiers Plate in over a decade.
The 24-year-old has now signed on the Coast long term, with the versatile Brazilian a key part of Head Coach Mark Jackson’s plans for next season.
“Doka has shown his capabilities as a player this season, going from strength to strength throughout the campaign. He has a massive capacity to get even better in the future and we believe that he will be a massive part of the team next season and moving forward into the coming years,” Jackson said.
“We are delighted to have a player like him commit his future to the club. It shows the club’s intentions and that we want to continue in our progression with players in developing them while also achieving success.”
Doka is excited to be able to extend his stay with the club, having loved his first season on the Central Coast.
“I’m very happy to extend my contract with the club, to be here for a few more years. I really love Australia and the Central Coast,” he said.
“What we did this year will go down in history, but we will work hard to do the same next season.”