John Kosmina

John Kosmina
Personal information
Full name Alexander John Kosmina
Date of birth (1956-08-17) 17 August 1956
Place of birth Adelaide, Australia
Playing position Striker
Youth career
000–1973 Polonia Adelaide
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1973–1976 Polonia Adelaide
1977 West Adelaide Hellas 23 (12)
1978 Adelaide City 4 (0)
1978–1979 Arsenal 1 (0)
1979–1980 West Adelaide Hellas 44 (12)
1981–1986 Sydney City 150 (89)
1987–1988 Sydney Olympic 44 (13)
1989 APIA Leichhardt 24 (6)
1990 Sutherland Sharks
National team
1976–1988 Australia 60 (25[1])
Teams managed
1994–1995 Warringah Dolphins
1995–1998 Newcastle Breakers
1999–2003 Brisbane Strikers
2003–2007 Adelaide United
2007–2009 Sydney FC
2010–2011 Adelaide Raiders
2011 Croydon Kings
2011–2012 Adelaide United (Caretaker)
2012–2013 Adelaide United
2016– Brisbane City

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Alexander John Kosmina (born 17 August 1956), known as John Kosmina, is an Australian former football (soccer) player and manager, who is currently the Senior Coach of the Brisbane City club. He is a member of the Football Federation Australia Football Hall of Fame.

Club career

Kosmina is of Polish Australian ethnicity. He played for Polonia and then West Adelaide, before signing for English side Arsenal in February 1978. However, he only played one first-team league game for the Gunners (as a substitute against Leeds United on 19 August 1978), along with 3 appearances (2 as a substitute) in that season's UEFA cup. He returned to Australia in May 1979.

On his return, he went on to become one of the National Soccer League's most prolific scorers, with stints at Adelaide City, West Adelaide (for a second time), Sydney City, Sydney Olympic and A.P.I.A. Leichhardt Tigers before retiring in 1989. The most successful of these was with Sydney City, being part of their 1981 and 1982 championship winning teams, as well as being the league's top scorer in 1982.

Managerial career

After retiring, he began coaching the Warringah Dolphins in the New South Wales state leagues, before coaching NSL side Newcastle Breakers, followed by a stint at the Brisbane Strikers. Both stints were largely unsuccessful, his sides reaching the finals only once.

Adelaide United

In 2003 he became the inaugural coach of Adelaide United. Kosmina coached United to an impressive 3rd in the final season of the NSL. Maintaining his job for the inaugural season of the Hyundai A-League, Kosmina led his side to the Minor Premiership but a poor finals series saw them finish 3rd overall. The next season saw mixed results for Kosmina and Adelaide United.

Finishing 2nd on the table behind Melbourne Victory, Adelaide managed to reach the grand final, only to be thrashed 6–0. Kosmina's criticism of the refereeing of that match, coupled with the devastating loss and a touchline ban earlier during the season for a scuffle with Victory captain Kevin Muscat, saw him forced to resign by the Adelaide board.[2]

He was then appointed by Socceroos coach Graham Arnold as his assistant for the 2007 Asian Cup.

Sydney FC

After the sacking of Branko Culina by the Sydney Football Club Board, Kosmina was confirmed on 24 October 2007 as the new Sydney FC coach.[3] Since signing with Sydney FC Kosmina made an immediate impact; winning his first game with Sydney 3–2 against rivals Central Coast Mariners at the Sydney Football Stadium.

Sydney FC beat the LA Galaxy 5–3 at Sydney's Telstra Stadium in a friendly, and also won a thrilling 5–4 victory against the Central Coast Mariners at Bluetongue Stadium. Following Sydney FC's poor run in the 2008/2009 season (missing the finals for the first time), John Kosmina had his contract terminated in late January 2009.[4]

Adelaide Raiders

He was announced the manager of the Adelaide Raiders, a semi-professional club playing in the FFSA Super League.[5] On 1 September 2011, it was announced he had signed as senior coach of FFSA Super League club Croydon Kings after more than 35 years away from the club.[6] It was announced on 18 December 2011 that Croydon Kings had agreed to released Kosmina from his coaching contract so he could accept the Adelaide United manager position.[7]

Return to Adelaide United

On 18 December 2011 he signed as caretaker coach with Adelaide United for the remainder of the 2011–12 A-League season.[8] On 22 March 2012 it was announced he had signed a one-year contract with the club to stay on for the 2012–13 A-League season.[9] On 28 January 2013 he stood down as manager of Adelaide United, citing a lack of trust at the club.[10]

Current Role

He has been appointed Senior Coach and football leader of the Brisbane City club on a 3-year contract for the 2016 season and beyond, and expected to start training with the team after the conclusion of the 2015 season.[11]

Media

He occasionally appears on Fox Sports as a commentator and football analyst. Kosmina co-hosts a weekly Internet television show about football on Australia Live TV with Ross Aloisi, Two Up Front[12] and the episodes are on AustraliaLiveTV.com.

International goals

Scores and results list goal tally first.
No Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Opening Goal
1 27 October 1976 Beijing Workers Stadium Chinese Selection 3–3 4–5 Friendly Game No
2 27 October 1976 Beijing Workers Stadium Chinese Selection 3–4 4–5 Friendly Game No
3 9 November 1976 Eindhoven, The Netherlands Netherlands PSV Eindhoven 2–1 2–1 Friendly Game No
4 2 February 1977 Olympic Park Stadium Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Red Star Belgrade 1–3 1–3 Friendly Game No
5 20 July 1977 Sydney Sports Ground England Arsenal F.C. 1–0 3–1 Friendly Game Yes
6 28 July 1977 Olympic Park Stadium Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Red Star Belgrade 1–0 2–3 Friendly Game Yes
7 16 March 1977 Ba, Fiji  Taiwan 0–1 1–2 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC) No
8 27 March 1977 Sydney Cricket Ground  New Zealand 3–1 3–1 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC) No
9 10 July 1977 Adelaide, Australia  Hong Kong 1–0 3–0 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC) Yes
10 10 July 1977 Adelaide, Australia  Hong Kong 3–0 3–0 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC) No
11 28 August 1977 Sydney Sports Ground  South Korea 1–1 1–2 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC) No
12 28 August 1977 Sydney Sports Ground  South Korea 1–2 1–2 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC) No
13 20 May 1981 Olympic Park Stadium  Indonesia 1–0 2–0 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC) Yes
14 10 June 1981 Hindmarsh Stadium  Taiwan 2–0 3–2 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC) No
15 10 October 1982 Singapore National Stadium  Thailand 0–3 0–4 Friendly Game No
16 10 October 1982 Singapore National Stadium  Thailand 0–4 0–4 Friendly Game No
17 15 October 1982 Singapore National Stadium  Malaysia 0–3 0–5 Friendly Game No
18 26 November 1983 Inglewood, Perth Western Australia2–1 2–1 Friendly Game No
19 30 November 1983 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Malaysia Kuala Lumpur FA1–2 1–4 Friendly Game No
20 30 November 1983 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Malaysia Kuala Lumpur FA1–3 1–4 Friendly Game No
21 2 December 1983 Singapore  Singapore 1–1 1–3 Friendly Game No
22 4 December 1983 Singapore  China PR 2–1 2–1 Merlion Cup No
23 10 December 1983 Singapore  Thailand 0–2 0–2 Merlion Cup No
24 15 December 1983 Singapore  South Korea 0–1 1–3 Merlion Cup Yes
25 18 December 1983 Singapore  Singapore 2–2 2–4 Merlion Cup No
26 2 June 1984 Sydney Cricket Ground Scotland Rangers F.C. 2–1 3–2 Friendly Game No
27 7 June 1984 Lang Park, Brisbane England Nottingham Forest F.C. 1–0 2–2 Friendly Game Yes
27 21 June 1984 Sydney, Australia Greece Iraklis 1908 Thessaloniki F.C. 1–0 2–0 Friendly Game Yes
29 14 November 1984 Manchester, England England Manchester City F.C. 1–2 1–3 Friendly Game No
30 9 May 1985 Melbourne Cricket Ground Brazil Clube de Regatas Vasco da Gama 1–0 2–1 Friendly Game Yes
31 9 May 1985 Melbourne Cricket Ground Brazil Clube de Regatas Vasco da Gama 2–1 2–1 Friendly Game No
32 15 September 1985 Middle Park, Melbourne Victorian All-Stars 0–1 2–3 Friendly Game Yes
33 15 September 1985 Middle Park, Melbourne Victorian All-Stars 0–2 2–3 Friendly Game No

Honours

Player

With Sydney City:

Personal Honours:

Manager

With Adelaide United:

Kosmina Street in the Sydney suburb of Glenwood is named for him.[13]

John Kosmina Medal

The award given to the player of the match in the National Premier Leagues Grand Final each year is named in his honour.

References

Awards
Preceded by
Inaugural Recipient
NSL U21 Player of the Year
1977
Succeeded by
Ian Souness
Preceded by
Gary Cole
NSL Golden Boot
1982
Succeeded by
Doug Brown
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