Aurelio Vidmar
Aurelio Vidmar | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 3, 1967 Australia |
| Occupation(s) | Football manager, former professional player |
| Years active | 1985–2005 (player), 2007–present (manager) |
| Known for | Captain of Australian national team, manager of Melbourne City |
Aurelio Vidmar (born 3 February 1967) is an Australian football manager and former professional player, currently at the helm of Melbourne City.
He previously captained the Australian national team and served as head coach for the Australia U23 squad.
Honoring his notable contributions to the national side and Adelaide United, the southern stand at Hindmarsh Stadium bears the name Vidmar End.
Club career
Vidmar launched his professional journey with Adelaide City before transferring to Europe in the mid-1990s, where he emerged as Belgium’s leading goal scorer during the 1994–95 season. His playing career also included stints in Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Japan. In 1999, he returned to Australia to rejoin Adelaide City. Upon Adelaide United replacing Adelaide City in the National Soccer League, Vidmar joined them and was appointed captain by coach John Kosmina. He concluded his playing career in 2005 after two decades, having amassed 517 appearances and netted 127 goals.
International career
Over a 12-year span, Vidmar represented Australia’s national team, participating in three unsuccessful FIFA World Cup qualifying campaigns. Notably, he scored against Argentina in 1993—featuring Diego Maradona—and recorded a brace against American Samoa in 2001. Between 1995 and 2001, he occasionally wore the captain’s armband for the Socceroos, earning 44 caps and scoring 17 goals. Additionally, he was chosen as an overage player for Australia’s Olympic football team at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Managerial career
Following his retirement in 2005, Vidmar took on the role of assistant coach under John Kosmina before being promoted to head coach on 2 May 2007. The 2007–08 A-League campaign proved difficult; Adelaide finished sixth and missed the finals for the first time. Despite a challenging run in the Asian Champions League, Vidmar restored confidence by signing impactful players such as Cristiano dos Santos Rodrigues and Sasa Ognenovski, which bolstered both defense and offense. He guided Adelaide to their inaugural appearance in the AFC Champions League Final in 2008, earning a three-year contract extension alongside assistant Phil Stubbins.
In November 2008, Vidmar was inducted into the Football Federation Australia Hall of Fame and is also recognized within the Football Federation of South Australia Hall of Champions. After a heavy semi-final defeat during the 2008–09 A-League Finals series, he sparked controversy by referring to Adelaide as a "piss-ant town," though he later issued an apology.
The subsequent season saw poor results with only five points secured from fifteen available early matches amid criticism over his tactical decisions. Adelaide ended last in the 2009–10 season. Following contentious remarks about "beheading" underperforming players, Vidmar was handed a two-match touchline suspension and fined $10,000 by Adelaide United.
After departing Adelaide United, Vidmar coached the Young Socceroos and briefly served as caretaker manager for the Socceroos for one match in 2013 following Holger Osieck’s exit.
In 2018, he assumed the position of Director of Football at Adelaide United but resigned five months later in February 2019.
Vidmar accepted a managerial role with Bangkok United in Thailand’s League 1 during 2022 but stepped down later that year due to personal reasons.
Melbourne City
Vidmar took on the role of Melbourne City manager starting 1 November 2023, with his tenure set to last until the conclusion of the 2023-24 season.
Personal life
He is the sibling of former professional footballer Tony Vidmar.
Club
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Adelaide City | 1985 | National Soccer League | 10 | 2 | 10 | 2 | ||||
| 1986 | 26 | 2 | 26 | 2 | ||||||
| 1987 | 23 | 2 | 23 | 2 | ||||||
| 1988 | 22 | 5 | 22 | 5 | ||||||
| 1989 | 25 | 5 | 25 | 5 | ||||||
| 1989–90 | 23 | 9 | 23 | 9 | ||||||
| 1990–91 | 28 | 4 | 28 | 4 | ||||||
| Total | 157 | 29 | 157 | 29 | ||||||
| Kortrijk | 1991–92 | Belgian First Division | 30 | 10 | 30 | 10 | ||||
| Waregem | 1992–93 | Belgian First Division | 32 | 18 | 32 | 18 | ||||
| 1993–94 | 25 | 7 | 25 | 7 | ||||||
| Total | 57 | 25 | 57 | 25 | ||||||
| Standard Liège | 1994–95 | Belgian First Division | 32 | 22 | 32 | 22 | ||||
| Feyenoord | 1995–96 | Eredivisie | 15 | 2 | 15 | 2 | ||||
| Sion | 1995–96 | Swiss Super League | 14 | 7 | 14 | 7 | ||||
| Tenerife | 1996–97 | La Liga | 25 | 1 | 25 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 25 | 1 | 25 | 1 | ||||||
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 1998 | J1 League | 15 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 5 |
| 1999 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 3 | ||
| Total | 24 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 29 | 8 | ||
| Adelaide City | 1999–2000 | National Soccer League | 34 | 8 | 34 | 8 | ||||
| 2000–01 | 21 | 4 | 21 | 4 | ||||||
| 2001–02 | 23 | 3 | 23 | 3 | ||||||
| 2002–03 | 32 | 6 | 32 | 6 | ||||||
| Total | 110 | 21 | ! !110 | 21 | ||||||
| Croydon Kings (loan) | 2001 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||||
| Adelaide United | 2003–04 | National Soccer League | 27 | 2 | 27 | 2 | ||||
| Career total | 494 | 125 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 499 | 127 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia men's national soccer team | 1991 | 6 | 1 |
| 1992 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1993 | 5 | 2 | |
| 1994 | 4 | 2 | |
| 1995 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1996 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 16 | 8 | |
| 1998 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1999 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2001 | 4 | 4 |
Managerial statistics
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Adelaide United | \u00a0Template:Country data \u00a0AustraliaTemplate:Namespace detect showall | \u00a03 June 2010\u00a0Template:WDL | ||||||
| Bangkok Glass | \u00a0Template:Country data \u00a0ThailandTemplate:Namespace detect showall | \u00a013 August 2016 | \u00a010 July 2017\u00a0Template:WDL | |||||
| Lion City Sailors | \u00a0Template:Country data \u00a0SingaporeTemplate:Namespace detect showall | \u00a018 December 2019 | \u00a030 April 2021\u00a0Template:WDL | |||||
| BG Pathum United | \u00a0Template:Country data \u00a0ThailandTemplate:Namespace detect showall | \u00a01 June 2021 | \u00a015 November 2021\u00a0Template:WDL | |||||
| Bangkok United | \u00a0Template:Country data \u00a0ThailandTemplate:Namespace detect showall | \u00a011 March 2022 | \u00a028 December 2022\u00a0Template:WDL | |||||
| Melbourne City | \u00a0Template:Country data \u00a0AustraliaTemplate:Namespace detect showall | \u00a01 November 2023 | \u00a0Present\u00a0Template:WDL | |||||
Overall total
Template:WDLtot | ||||||||
Player
Adelaide City
- List of NSL champions#NSL Championship title: 1986
FC Sion
- Swiss Cup winner: 1995–96
Australia
- FIFA Confederations Cup second place: 1997; third place: 2001
- OFC Nations Cup champion: 2000
Individual
- Belgian League top scorers#Belgian League top scorer accolade: 1994–95 (22 goals)
- Oceania Footballer of the Year recipient: 1994
- Inducted into Football Federation of South Australia Hall of Champions: 2008
- Enshrined in Football Federation Australia Hall of Fame: 2008
- Inducted into South Australia Sports Hall of Fame: 2019
Manager
Adelaide United
- A-League Men Championship
- Second place (1): 2009
- A-League Men Premiership
- Second place (1): 2008–09
- Champions (1): 2007
- Finalist (1): 2008
BG Pathum United
- Thailand Champions Cup winner: 2021
Melbourne City
- A-League Men Championship title: 2025
Individual
- Awarded A-League Coach of the Year: 2008–09
- Honoured as Thai League 1 Coach of the Month: August 2022