Player drain to other countries


One obstacle for potential Australian soccer players is that some promising players choose other nations. As many Australians have roots in other countries throughout the world, they are eligible to play for non-Australian national teams.

The following were Australian-born players who chose other national teams:

* Graeme Rutjes Netherlands – Netherlands
* Joey Didulica Croatia – Croatia
* Anthony Šerić Croatia – Croatia
* Josip Šimunić Croatia – Croatia
* Tony Dorigo England – England
* Peter Tasevski Republic of Macedonia – Macedonia
* Saša Ognenovski Republic of Macedonia – Macedonia
* Saša Ilić Serbia – Serbia
* Avraam Papadopoulos Greece – Greece
* Buddy Farah Lebanon – Lebanon[17]
* Michael Reda Lebanon – Lebanon[17]
* Lelo Sejean Lebanon – Lebanon[18]
* Emmanuel Muscat Malta – Malta[19]
* John Hutchinson Malta – Malta
* Peter Pullicino Malta – Malta

The following players were/or are currently playing for other youth national teams, yet were either born or lived a considerable amount of their youth in Australia but are still eligible to play for/or have represented Australia at any level:

* Tim Cahill Samoa – Samoa U-17
* Bradden Inman Scotland – Scotland U-19
* Daniel Georgievski Republic of Macedonia – Macedonia U-19 and U-21
* Aleks Vrteski Republic of Macedonia – Macedonia U-21
* Apostolos Giannou Greece – Greece U-19[20]
* Andreas Govas Greece – Greece U-19[21]
* Dean Bouzanis Greece – Greece U-19[22]
* Lelo Sejean Lebanon – Lebanon U-19 and U-20[18]
* Alex Cisak Poland – Poland U-19
* Richard Porta Uruguay – Uruguay U-20
* Jamie McMaster England – England U-21
* Kyle Nix England – England U-19

The following players were eligible to play for Australia but chose other national teams:

* Christian Vieri Italy – Italy. Born in Italy, raised in Australia. Brother Max Vieri went on to represent Australia at senior level.
* Craig Johnston England – England. Johnston was born in South Africa to Australian parents and raised in Australia. He played for England at the Under-21 level, but did not earn a senior cap.
* Shane Smeltz New Zealand – New Zealand. Born in Germany, to New Zealand parents, raised in Australia.
* Ivan Ergić Serbia – Serbia. Born in then-Yugoslavia, raised in Australia.
* Georgios Samaras Greece – Greece. His father was born in Australia.[23]
* Ki Sung-Yong South Korea – Korea Republic. Born in South Korea, raised in Australia.
* Aleksandar Durić SerbiaSingapore – Singapore. Born in Yugoslavia, relocated to Australia, then moved to Singapore. In 2008 he played against the Socceroos in a friendly

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_national_association_football_team#Player_drain_to_other_countries