How overseas Aussies performed this season

As most domestic seasons abroad wrap up, we take a look at how overseas Aussies have performed.

Mooy Rogic Jones

Source: Getty Images/Instagram

Players were placed in four categories - good, average, bad and other - based solely on their performances for their club this season and the impact they had on their side.

We placed players in the 'Good' category if they either played the vast majority of matches for their club or made good progress in their career.

'Average' for players who were in and out of the starting XI, 'Bad' for players who fell out of favor and will probably be looking to move on and 'Other' for those who were hard to catergorise.

While the European leagues have drawn to a close, those in Asia are currently in still in action, so their last season has been factored in.

This is your comprehensive list of how Australians plying their trade abroad have fared.

Good

Aaron Mooy - Huddersfield Town (England)

What an incredible season for the 26-year-old. He was named in the Championship Team of the season after being the key player in Huddersfield's rise to the Premier League next season. Played 51 matches for the Terriers after being loaned by Manchester City, scoring four goals and creating 10 more. The former Melbourne City midfielder played in a deeper role, completing the second most amount of passes in the league. Premier League football beckons for Mooy, just with which club is yet to be determined.

Tom Rogic - Celtic (Scotland)

Hampered by a Malleolar injury that kept him out for two months, Rogic was hugely impressive when he was on the pitch. He featured in 37 matches, scoring 12 goals and making six assists across all competitions as Celtic completed an undefeated domestic treble. Rogic's dramatic last-minute goal to win the Scottish FA Cup the highlight of his and possibly Celtic's season.

Brad Jones - Feyenoord (The Netherlands)

An incredible 12 months for the goalkeeper. Feyenoord's number 1 as they claimed a first Eredivisie title in 18 years, playing 42 matches while keeping 20 clean sheets.

Jackson Irvine - Burton Albion (England)

Named Burton Albion's player of the season after scoring 10 goals from midfield in 42 appearances as the Brewers survived relegation from the Championship.

Mile Jedinak – Aston Villa (England)

Became a key part of Aston Villa's midfield making 33 starts after transferring at the start of the season from Crystal Palace. A fan favourite for his no-nonsense displays, it seems the feeling is mutual with Jedinak claiming he feels right at home at his new club.

Tomi Juric – Luzern (Switzerland)

Scored 10 goals and made five assists in 34 matches in his first season for Luzern as they qualified for the Europa League.

Mitchell Langerak – VFB Stuttgart (Germany)

Played every single minute as Stuttgart topped the German second division and secured promotion back to the Bundesliga. Conceded just 37 goals in 34 matches, keeping nine clean sheets.

Alex Gersbach – Rosenborg (Norway)

Won the title in November 2016, starting 14 of a possible 28 matches in his debut season. The 20-year-old also went on to make his Europa League and Champions League debut early this season.

Jimmy Jeggo – Stum Graz (Austria)

The former Adelaide United central-midfielder started 32 out of 36 matches as Stum Graz qualified for the Europa League.

Craig Goodwin - Sparta Rotterdam (The Netherlands)

Another one who left Adelaide United after their A-League triumph in 2016, Goodwin made 30 appearances in his first season in Europe. Mainly coming off the bench he manged four goals and six assists from the left-wing, including the crucial goal that saved his team from relegation.

Awer Mabil – Esbjerg (Denmark)

Loaned out from Midtjylland to relegation battlers Esbjerg, Mabil established himself as a regular starter, playing 32 times, mainly on both the left and right wing - scoring six goals and setting up six more.

Aziz Behich – Bursaspor (Turkey)

Left-back Behich was a regular starter for Bursaspor in the Turkish Super Lig making 33 appearances and scoring two goals for the Bursa-based club. Behich has started almost every game so far this season as Bursaspor has fought to avoid relegation.

Massimo Luongo – QPR (England)

With another season under his belt at Loftus Park, Luongo has become a key member of the Queens Park Rangers midfield. Luongo made 38 starts in all competitions for QPR playing primarily in defensive midfield. The breakout star of the Socceroos 2015 Asian Cup campaign was unable to add any goals to his name this season as QPR finished a tough season in the Championship placed 18th.

Bailey Wright – Bristol City (England)

After making the move to Bristol City in the off-season, Wright made 45 appearances in all competitions for his new club. The defender was able to score a goal during Bristol's Championship campaign, but his efforts weren't enough to stop his side from a mediocre 17th place finish.

James Meredith – Bradford City (England)

It was a breakout season for Meredith at League One side Bradford City as they narrowly missed out on promotion to the Championship. The defender made 45 appearances for Bradford in all competitions, scoring two goals in the process. Meredith's performances in Bradford City's promotion playoff loss impressed opposition side Millwall so much they signed him to a two-year deal starting next season. The move lifting him into the Championship.

Ryan Edwards – Partick Thistle (Scotland)

Midfielder Edwards had a consistent second season with Scottish Premier League Club Partick Thistle playing in 45 games, claiming two assists and scoring one goal. Edwards was a regular starter this season with Thistle finishing the year mid-table in seventh position.

Scott McDonald - Motherwell (Scotland)

McDonald rediscovered his form this season after making a return to the Scottish Premier League and former club Motherwell. The striker was a key player upfront for Motherwell scoring 11 goals and contributing six assists in 40 games. Motherwell finished the season in ninth position on the table.

Ryan McGowan – Guizhou Hengfeng Zhicheng (China)

The 27-year-old centre-back showed remarkable consistency despite changing clubs in China. Last year he helped Henan Jianye escape relegation, starting 27 out of a possible 30 matches and scoring two goals. McGowan has since moved to the newly-promoted Guizhou Hengfeng Zhicheng where he has started 10 games out of 12 so far this season working under former Atletico Madrid coach Gregorio Manzano.

Gol-Gol Mebrahtu - Mlada Boleslav (Czech Republic)

The 26-year-old former A-League striker has had a great debut season in the Czech first division. Scoring 10 goals in 13 starts, as well as coming off the bench another 11 times, as his side qualified for next season's Europa League.

Mustafa Amini – AGF (Denmark)

The former Central Coast Mariner produced a man-of-the-match performance in the second-leg of the relegation play-off to keep his side in the top flight for another season. Amini was at the heart of AGF's midfield with 39 appearances and 5 goals.

David Williams - Haladas (Hungary)

Scored 11 goals and made four assists in 21 starts as his side finished sixth in the top division in Hungary.

Matt Jurman - Suwon Bluewings (South Korea)

Joined the South Korean first division side from Sydney FC in January and has settled in as a regular member of Suwon's back three, making nine appearances out of 13 games so far this season and scoring two goals.

Tomislav Mrcela - Jeonnam Dragons (South Korea)

The Perth-born defender is a regular at centre-back for the first division South Korean side, with 12 appearances out of 13 this season and 21 out of 33 last season as his side finished fifth.

Adrian Leijer - Suwon (South Korea)

Has played in all, bar one, of the 15 games so far this season in South Korea's second division, while last season he made 28 appearances in 33 although his side did finished 10th out of 12.

Average

Mathew Leckie – FC Ingolstadt (Germany)

Playing for a relegation threatened Bundesliga side, this season was always going to be a big challenge for the 26-year-old.

He made 25 starts, but never found the back of the net as Ingolstadt went on to be relegated. The former Adelaide United man was used in a variety of positions up front but never really seemed to find his groove.

It wasn't all bad though, as he did manage to secure a $3 million move to Hertha Berlin, ensuring he remains in the the German top tier.

Mat Ryan – KRC Genk (Belgium)

Started the first two matches of the season for Valencia but was quickly replaced by Brazilian Diego Alves after it was clear Alves was not leaving the club. He was sent on loan in January to Belgian side Genk where he impressed with 11 clean sheets in 24 matches.

Jason Davidson – FC Groningen (The Netherlands)

On loan from Huddersfield Town, Davidson started 20 of 34 matches for the Eredivisie side producing three assists as his side just missed out on the Europa League play-offs by two points. Davidson is expected to return to Huddersfield in July but it remains to be seen if he will play for the newly-promoted Premier League side.

Kenneth Dougall - Sparta Rotterdam (The Netherlands)

The 24-year-old from Brisbane had a good run of games at the start of the season with the Eredivisie side but found himself mostly on the bench in the second half of the season. Made 14 starts out of a possible 34 as his side just avoided relegation thanks to fellow Aussie Craig Goodwin.

Mark Milligan – Baniyas FC (United Arab Emirates)

A regular starter in midfield for the UAE side playing 22 of 26 matches and scoring two goals, but his side was relegated after finishing last, having only won three matches all season. Milligan is out of contract in July and will possibly move on.

Chris Ikonomidis – AGF (Denmark)

The 22-year-old made 12 starts and scored two goals after joining the Danish side on loan from Lazio at the start of the season.

Scott Jamieson - IFK Goteborg (Sweden)

Joined the Swedish first division side in August last year and made 11 appearances out of a possible 12 as Goteborg finished fourth. This season has been less successful with just two starts from the first 12 league matches.

Nikita Rukavytsya - Maccabi Haifa (Israel)

The former Western Sydney Wanderers winger played 24 games and scored five goals after joining the Israeli side in July.

Dario Vidosic - Seongnam (South Korea)

Made 13 appearances and scored two goals for Chinese Super League side Liaoning before moving on to second division South Korean side Seongnam where he's made seven appearances out of 15 games so far this season.

Bruce Djite - Suwon (South Korea)

The 30 year-old striker has managed seven goals in 25 appearances since joining the second division South Korean side in July last year.

Bad

Adam Federici - Bournemouth (England)

It was a quiet season for the fringe Socceroos goalkeeper making only five total appearances for Premier League side Bournemouth in all competitions. A knee injury suffered in January kept him out of action for the final four months of the season. One positive sign for the 32-year-old is he managed to keep one clean sheet from his two Premier League starts.

Brad Smith – Bournemouth (England)

A move from Premier League heavyweights Liverpool to Bournemouth backfired for Socceroos defender Brad Smith. Desperate for more game time, Smith had hoped his move to the Vitality Stadium would help him cement himself as a Premier League player. However, it turned out to be quite the opposite as Smith featured in only eight games across all competitions for the Cherries.

Robbie Kruse - Liaoning FC (China)

It has been a season to forget for Robbie Kruse. The Socceroos midfielder has been released by two clubs in the past six months and is currently a free agent.

Injury limited the winger to only two German cup games and one UEFA Champions League appearance for Bayen Leverkusen before he was released by the club in January. Kruse signed for Chinese Super League outfit Liaoning Whowin but that marriage would only last two months with the winger playing only four times before he demanded a release because of unpaid wages.

Nathan Burns – FC Tokyo (Japan)

Struggled to get regular game time in Japan's first division last season- just 16 matches and one goal - and has so far failed to appear this season so far. The Johnny Warren medal winner has been relegated to playing with the reserve side in the third division.

Kerem Bulut – SV Wehen Wiesbaden (Germany)

Former Western Sydney Wanderers cult favourite Bulut was unable to deliver when given the chance to lead the line for Tony Popovic’s side this season. In January Bulut was released without scoring a goal for his hometown team this season before linking up with German third division outfit SV Wehen Wiesbaden. Bulut failed to make his mark at the 3.Liga club playing a total of 85 minutes in five games before suffering an injury which kept him out for the rest of the season. He was released by SV Wehen Wiesbaden on April 27.

Luke Wilkshire - Dinamo Moscow (Russia)

It was a tough season for former Socceroo mainstay Wilkshire with Russian second division club Dinamo Moscow. The right-back played seven games in all competitions as Dinamo Moscow finished top of the Russian second division to secure promotion. Wilkshire would play only once more for the club after receiving a red card during a league match in February and was released at the season’s close. He is now a free agent and is on the lookout for a new club.

Mark Birighitti - Swansea (England)

The former Newcastle Jets shot-stopper has had an uneventful start to life in the Premier League after signing for Swansea City. Birighitti failed to get even a spot on the bench this season and played only five games for the reserve team.

Other

Apostolos Giannou – Guangzhou R&F (China)

Had a decent 2016, joining Chinese Super League side Guangzhou in February and scoring five goals in 22 appearances. However, this season has played just twice in the first 12 matches.

Matt Spiranovic - Hangzhou Greentown F.C (China)

Was a regular starter for Greentown last season, making 24 apperances, however his side was relegated to China's second division. Injury has meant he has yet to feature this season.

Trent Sainsbury – Inter Milan (Italy)

Secured an incredible move on loan to Serie A giants Inter Milan, through their relationship with his parent club JS Suning, but only played a total of 19 minutes coming off the bench in their final match of the season. Prior to that was a regular starter for Suning in the Chinese Super League before a change of the foreign player rule meant he was moved to Italy.

Ben Halloran - 1.FC Heidenheim (Germany)

The 24-year-old from Queensland was getting regular appearances for the German second division side before a knee injury saw him miss two months. He returned to the pitch before the end of the season as his side finished sixth.

Stefan Mauk - NEC (The Netherlands)

The 21-year-old spent the majority of his time with the under-21 side where he picked up three goals. The senior side was relegated from the Eredivise, which may be a silver lining for Mauk as it may result in more game time with the senior team next year.

Ajdin Hrustic - Groningen (The Netherlands)

The 20-year-old winger made only five appearances in the Eredivisie, all off the bench. While in the fourth division playing for the under-21s, Hrustic scored four goals and produced three assists in 26 matches.


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13 min read
Published 7 June 2017 10:34am
Updated 7 June 2017 11:06am
Source: SBS The World Game


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