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John Kosmina

Alexander John Kosmina (born 17 August 1956), known as John Kosmina, is an Australian former football (soccer) player and manager, most recently being the Senior Head Coach of Brisbane Strikers. He is a member of the Football Federation Australia Football Hall of Fame.

Kosmina's father was from Poland and came to Australia after World War II. Kosmina's family lived in Port Adelaide, in a heavily Polish community. Kosmina was pushed into football by his father who worked in football.

Kosmina is of Polish Australian ethnicity. He played for Polonia and then West Adelaide. The move offended some people in the community but Kosmina had wanted to play at a higher level. He then played for the English club, Arsenal in February 1978. However, he only played one first-team league game for the Gunners (as a substitute against Leeds United on 19 August 1978), along with 3 appearances (2 as a substitute) in that season's UEFA cup. He was the first Australian to play for Arsenal. He returned to Australia in May 1979[citation needed] as he said he was feeling homesick and felt like a novelty.

On his return, he went on to become one of the National Soccer League's most prolific scorers, with stints at Adelaide City, West Adelaide (for a second time), Sydney City, Sydney Olympic and A.P.I.A. Leichhardt Tigers before retiring in 1989. The most successful of these was with Sydney City, being part of their 1981 and 1982 championship winning teams, as well as being the league's top scorer in 1982.[citation needed]

Kosmina was captain of the Australian national football team, and helped the team win the Merlion Cup twice. He cited Peter Wilson as a player who had influenced his work as a captain.

During the 1985 season, CR Vasco da Gama toured Australia, playing against various teams in a series of games. Kosmina scored the winning goal in his team's game against Vasco de Gama, which helped Australia win the series and later cited it as one of the best goals he had ever scored.

After retiring, he began coaching the Warringah Dolphins in the New South Wales state leagues, before coaching NSL side Newcastle Breakers, followed by a stint at the Brisbane Strikers. Both stints were largely unsuccessful, his sides reaching the finals only once.

In 2003, he became the inaugural coach of Adelaide United. Kosmina coached United to an impressive 3rd in the final season of the NSL. Maintaining his job for the inaugural season of the A-League, Kosmina led his side to the Minor Premiership but a poor finals series saw them finish 3rd overall. The next season saw mixed results for Kosmina and Adelaide United.

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Australian soccer player
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