Mile Jedinak facts for kids
Jedinak with Antalyaspor in 2009
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 3 August 1984 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.88 m | |||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Defensive midfielder | |||||||||||||||
| Club information | ||||||||||||||||
| Current club | Tottenham Hotspur (Assistant) | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| Sydney United | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||
| 2001–2006 | Sydney United | 84 | (12) | |||||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | → Varteks (loan) | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2005 | → South Coast United (loan) | 18 | (7) | |||||||||||||
| 2006–2009 | Central Coast Mariners | 45 | (8) | |||||||||||||
| 2009–2011 | Gençlerbirliği | 38 | (4) | |||||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | → Antalyaspor (loan) | 28 | (5) | |||||||||||||
| 2011–2016 | Crystal Palace | 165 | (10) | |||||||||||||
| 2016–2019 | Aston Villa | 70 | (2) | |||||||||||||
| Total | 421 | (39) | ||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||
| 2003 | Australia U20 | 9 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2008–2018 | Australia | 79 | (20) | |||||||||||||
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Honours
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Michael John "Mile" Jedinak (born August 3, 1984) is an Australian former professional footballer. He played as a midfielder and was known for his strong leadership. Today, he works as an assistant coach at Tottenham Hotspur.
Jedinak grew up in Sydney, Australia. He started his football journey playing for youth teams before becoming a professional player. He played for several clubs, including Central Coast Mariners in Australia and clubs in Turkey.
In 2011, Jedinak moved to England to play for Crystal Palace. He became the team's captain in 2012 and helped them get promoted to the Premier League, which is the top football league in England. Later, he joined Aston Villa and helped them also reach the Premier League. He retired from playing in 2020.
Jedinak also played for the Australian national team, called the Socceroos. He played 79 games for his country and was their captain from 2014 to 2018. He represented Australia in three FIFA World Cups (2010, 2014, 2018). He also led Australia to win the 2015 AFC Asian Cup on home ground.
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Mile Jedinak's Club Career
Jedinak started playing football at a young age. He played for his school teams, including St Agnes Catholic High. He also played for Loyola Senior High School, Mount Druitt and led his team to win the Jesuit Cup. His professional career began at Sydney United. He even spent some time playing in Croatia for a club called Varteks.
Playing for Central Coast Mariners
Jedinak joined the Central Coast Mariners in 2006. He quickly became an important player for the team. He helped them win the Premiers' Plate in the 2007–08 season of the A-League, which is Australia's top football league. He was also one of the top goal scorers for the club in the 2008–09 season.
Moving to Turkish Clubs
In 2008, Jedinak signed a contract with a Turkish club called Gençlerbirliği. He made his first appearance for them in January 2009. He even scored his first goal for the club in a win against Fenerbahçe. Later, he also played on loan for another Turkish team, Antalyaspor.
Captain of Crystal Palace
In 2011, Jedinak moved to England and joined Crystal Palace. He quickly became a favorite among the fans. In 2012, he was given the important role of team captain. He led Crystal Palace to win the playoffs in 2013, which meant they were promoted to the Premier League. This is a huge achievement for any club!
Jedinak was voted Crystal Palace's best player for the 2012–13 season. He signed a new contract in 2013. He scored his first Premier League goal in April 2014. In 2014, he was even named the best midfielder in Europe by a football website based on his performance. He also won the award for Asian International Footballer of the Year. His amazing free-kick goal against Liverpool in November 2014 was voted the Goal of the Season by Crystal Palace fans.
Time at Aston Villa
In 2016, Jedinak joined Aston Villa, another English club. He continued to be a strong player in midfield. He scored his first goal for Villa in December 2017. He played a key role in helping Aston Villa get promoted back to the Premier League in 2019. He even scored a penalty in a shootout that helped Villa win a playoff semi-final.
Jedinak left Aston Villa at the end of the 2018–19 season. In July 2020, he officially announced his retirement from playing professional football.
Mile Jedinak's International Career
Jedinak played for the Australian national youth team in 2003. He made his first full international appearance for the Australian national team (the Socceroos) in 2008. He was part of the team that went to the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
He scored his first international goal for Australia in 2011 against South Korea during the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. He scored another goal in the same tournament against Bahrain.
Captain of the Socceroos
In 2014, Jedinak was chosen as the captain of the Australian national team for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. He scored a penalty goal in Australia's match against the Netherlands in that tournament.
Jedinak also captained Australia in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, which was held in Australia. He scored a penalty in the opening game. He led his team all the way to the final, where they beat South Korea to win the trophy! This was a very special moment for Australian football.
In 2017, Jedinak scored an amazing hat-trick (three goals) against Honduras. These goals helped Australia qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. At the 2018 World Cup in Russia, he scored two more penalty goals, one against France and another against Denmark.
Jedinak retired from international football in October 2018. He played 79 games for Australia and scored 20 goals, making him one of the country's top players.
Mile Jedinak's Coaching Career
After retiring from playing, Jedinak moved into coaching. In March 2020, he joined Aston Villa's academy in a coaching role. He later became the Loan Development Coach at Aston Villa in 2021.
In June 2023, Jedinak was announced as an assistant coach at Tottenham Hotspur. He joined the coaching staff under his former Australian national team manager, Ange Postecoglou.
Mile Jedinak's Personal Life
Mile Jedinak is married to Natalie Peacock, and they have four sons.
Besides his full name, Michael, he is often called "Mile," which is a shorter version of his name. He is also known as "Jedi," which comes from his last name, Jedinak. Because "Jedi" sounds like the characters from Star Wars, people sometimes tell him "May the force be with you" or "Use the force!"
Honours and Achievements
Jedinak has won many awards and trophies throughout his career:
With Sydney United
- NSW Premier League: 2006
With Central Coast Mariners
- A-League Premiership: 2007–08
With Crystal Palace
- Football League Championship play-offs: 2013 (Promotion to Premier League)
- FA Cup runner-up: 2015–16
With Aston Villa
- EFL Championship play-offs: 2019 (Promotion to Premier League)
With Australia
- AFC Asian Cup: 2015 (Winner); runner-up 2011
Individual Awards
- Mariners Medal: 2007–08
- PFA A-League Team of the Season: 2008–09
- Crystal Palace Player of the Year: 2012–13
- FFA Male footballer of the Year: 2013, 2014
- AFC Asian International Player of the Year: 2014
- PFA Footballer of the Year: 2013–14
- AFC Opta All-time XI at the FIFA World Cup: 2020
- IFFHS Asian Men's Team of All Time: 2021
Images for kids
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Jedinak with Antalyaspor in 2009
See also
In Spanish: Mile Jedinak para niños
