John Aloisi

John Aloisi (/ˌæloʊˈiːsiː/; born 5 February 1976) is an Australian former soccer player and current head coach of Chinese Super League club Chengdu Rongcheng. In a professional career that spanned 20 seasons, with league totals of 459 games and 127 goals, he was the first Australian ever to play and score in La Liga, the Premier League and Serie A.

Aloisi returned to Australia in 2007, with four seasons in the A-League. Aloisi was an integral member of the Australia national team for more than a decade, and represented the nation at the 2006 World Cup, being an essential figure in the qualifying stages. He also appeared for the Socceroos in two Confederations Cups. A former striker, Aloisi was described as a goal poacher who was able to "hold the ball up well and create opportunities for his teammates."

Born in Adelaide, South Australia, Aloisi attended Rostrevor College (92'). Aloisi arrived from Adelaide City in Europe aged 16. He signed with Belgian club Standard Liège. He did not appear in any official games for the club, and played sparingly for his next team, fellow top division outfit Royal Antwerp F.C.

Then in November 1995, Aloisi signed for Italian side US Cremonese and on the 25th, after two minutes on the pitch, he scored in a 2–1 home win against Calcio Padova, becoming the youngest foreign player ever to score in a Serie A match. By the time he departed Lombardy, they suffered two consecutive relegations.

Aloisi arrived in English football early in the 1997–98 season, signing for Portsmouth in the Division One, under the chairmanship of Australia national football team manager Terry Venables. He scored 12 goals in his first season in England as Portsmouth narrowly avoided relegation, bettering that total to 13 in the following campaign.

On 17 December 1998, Aloisi moved to the Premier League with Coventry City, who paid £650,000 for his services. He made his Sky Blues debut in a 1–1 home draw against Derby County, appearing as a late substitute; also coming from the bench, he netted in the next match, 1–1 against Tottenham Hotspur.

Aloisi scored twice in a 4–1 win against Aston Villa at Villa Park, which was Coventry's first ever away victory in the league against their West Midlands rivals on 27 February 1999. Starting in the next game, against Charlton Athletic, he was sent off for retaliating after Danny Mills shoulder barged him in the back, receiving a standard three match ban for a straight red card. For Portsmouth and Coventry combined, he finished the season with 18 goals.

Coventry went down at the end of the 2000–01 season after a 34-year top flight stay, with Aloisi scoring three times from eight starts and ten substitute appearances. He scored a hat-trick against Preston North End in the season's Football League Cup – 4–1 home win, 7–2 on aggregate). In June, he was allowed to leave Highfield Road, and came close to signing for Crystal Palace, but nothing came of it.