Foundation player and Sydney FC captain Steve Corica today announced he will retire at the end of the 2009/10 Hyundai A-League season, bringing down the curtain on a stellar 21-year professional career that has spanned three continents and more than 500 games.
Foundation player and Sydney FC captain Steve Corica today announced he will retire at the end of the 2009/10 Hyundai A-League season, bringing down the curtain on a stellar 21-year professional career that has spanned three continents and more than 500 games.
A Sky Blues legend, Corica has played 106 A-League games for Sydney FC and is the clubs greatest ever goal scorer with 23 goals, including the match winning strike that handed the Sky Blues the inaugural A-League title in 2005/06.
Corica will remain at Sydney FC to take up a coaching role with the club from next season.
“My body probably could go for another year but I want to finish on good note and I have done that,” Corica said. “I have played well this season and so has the team.”
“I have a great chance to finish on a winning note, especially with this weekend-s game and the upcoming finals.
“I want to thank my family for everything they have done for me. We have moved to a lot of places over the years but they have always supported and been there for me. I want to thank my parents and brothers and family in Queensland, my wife Sandra and my children Teshana, Chloe and Jake. They are the most important thing in my life.
“The reason I did it today is so I can give the fans a chance to see me play. I want to thank the fans for their support. I have a great relationship with them and want to see them get behind us on Sunday. I want to thank them for getting behind me and the team over the last five years. They have been fantastic to me.“The goal I scored in the 2005 A-League Grand Final is one of the greatest moments of my career. It is alongside playing for Australia, in particular at two Olympic Games. Playing overseas was a wonderful experience and is for any player.
“I want to thank Sydney FC the club for everything we have achieved over the last five seasons.
“There were many highs and some lows in my career, like when I missed 15 months of football when I was playing with Wolverhampton with knee injuries but that is part of the game.
“My time in Japan was one of the best experiences of my career. I scored a lot of goals and it was great to experience a different style of football. It really was two of the best years of my career.”
Born and raised in Innisfail, Corica moved to Canberra as a 17-year-old where he spent a year at the AIS before joining the famous Marconi Stallions, who were competing in the National Soccer League (NSL), in 1990.
Corica developed into one of the competition-s premier midfielders and in the 1992/93 season he led the Stallions to the NSL title and was named Under 21 Player of the Year.
On 16 April 1993, Corica earned his first senior national team cap when the Socceroos took on Kuwait in a friendly in Singapore.
After a further two seasons at Marconi, Corica headed to Europe and signed on for English Division One side Leicester City. In a memorable start to his career with the club, he scored on debut on 15 August 1995.
In February 1996 he transferred to the Wolverhampton Wanderers, making his debut on the 17th of that month in a 3-2 win. During his five seasons with the Wanderers, Corica went on to play 100 games, scoring six goals but would also suffer two serious knee injuries that restricted him to just one game during the 1997/98 campaign.
Corica joined J-League club Sanfrecce Hiroshima in 2000 and would score 18 goals in 50 matches, including finding the back of the net 12 times in 22 appearances during the 2001 season.
After two successful seasons in Japan, Corica transferred to English club Walsall in early 2002, re-uniting with his former Wolves manager Colin Lee. He would go onto play 82 games, including a stellar 46 game season in 2002/03, and net nine goals for the club.
Corica returned home to Australia and signed on with Sydney FC in 2005 and has been an integral component of the team ever since.
Affectionately known as ‘Bimbi-, Corica represented Australia at every youth level (U17, U20 and U23) before making his senior national team debut and was the first ever Australian player to do so.
Overall, he played 32 senior national team games, including starring roles in the 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, scoring five goals.
Name: Steve Corica
DOB: 24 March 1973
Position: Midfielder
Career:
1990 – AIS (Australia)
1990 – 1995 – Marconi Stallions (Australia – 102 games)
1995 – Leicester City (England – 18 games)
1996 – 2000 – Wolverhampton Wanderers (England – 110 games)
2001 – 2001 – Sanfrecce Hiroshima (Japan – 50 games)
2001 – 2004 – Walsall (England – 82 games)
2005 – 2010 – Sydney FC (Australia – 106 games*)
*As of 10 February 2010 and only includes A-League matches
CLICK HERE to see Corica’s profile in more detail.
