Brendon Santalab
Brendon Santalab | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 9, 1982 Australia |
| Occupation | Professional soccer player |
| Years active | 2000s–present |
| Known for | Striker for FC Strathmore, Western Sydney Wanderers highest-ever goal scorer |
Brendon James Santalab (; born 9 September 1982) is a professional Australian soccer athlete currently playing as a striker for FC Strathmore in the Victorian State League Division 1.
Club career
Santalab's career commenced as a trainee at Parramatta Power before he transferred to Sydney United, where he played under the guidance of Branko Culina. Following the conclusion of the 2003–04 National Soccer League season, he ventured to Belgium to join K.V. Oostende and subsequently Sint-Truidense V.V.. This was followed by a brief six-month period at Hungary’s Újpest FC. On 23 June 2007, he returned to Australia, signing a two-year contract with the A-League club Sydney FC, reuniting with coach Culina.
During his tenure from 2007 to 2009 at Sydney FC, Santalab featured in 23 matches and netted four goals. Among these, a remarkable long-distance strike against Adelaide United earned him the 2007–08 A-League Goal of the Year accolade. Another memorable goal was a powerful 35-metre shot versus Adelaide during the 2008–09 campaign, contributing to a 3–0 victory. His fourth goal for Sydney came in a narrow 2–1 defeat against Perth Glory.
On 14 November 2008, Santalab committed to a two-year contract with newly established A-League franchise North Queensland Fury for the 2009–10 season. However, prior to the start of that season, North Queensland accepted an offer from Chinese Super League outfit Chengdu Blades, where Santalab impressed by scoring nine goals across twelve appearances.
In 2012, he signed with Chongqing Lifan for one season before making a return to the A-League with Western Sydney Wanderers. He opened his scoring account for the Wanderers during the 2013–14 season against Brisbane Roar.
On 14 May 2014, Santalab delivered a vital equalizing goal in the Asian Champions League clash against Sanfrecce Hiroshima, ensuring Western Sydney progressed to the quarter-finals. Throughout the 2014–15 season, he recorded his inaugural league goal for the club in a 2–0 triumph over Wellington Phoenix.
Across five seasons with Western Sydney Wanderers, Santalab achieved recognition as Player of the Year for the 2016/17 season and secured two Golden Boot awards in consecutive seasons (2015/16 and 2016/17), ultimately becoming the club’s highest-ever goal scorer.
In June 2018, he signed a one-year deal with Perth Glory, reuniting with coach Tony Popovic. While contributing to Perth Glory’s minor premiership success, Santalab missed a penalty during the shootout in the 2019 A-League Grand Final, which led to their defeat.
In May 2019, Santalab joined semi-professional side Dandenong City competing in the National Premier Leagues Victoria, where his eight goals in thirteen matches helped elevate the team from thirteenth to seventh position.
By September 2019, it was announced that Santalab would be joining Caroline Springs George Cross FC for the upcoming 2020 season while also assuming responsibilities as Commercial & Football Sales Manager.
Honours
Western Sydney Wanderers
- AFC Champions League: 2014
Perth Glory
- A-League Premiership: 2018–19
Individual
- Western Sydney Wanderers Golden Boot recipient: 2015–16, 2016–17
- Western Sydney Wanderers Player of the Year: 2016–17