Quick Facts
Biography
Michael John "Mile" Jedinak (Croatian pronunciation: [jedǐːnak]; born 3 August 1984) is an Australian international footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Aston Villa and for the Australia national team, of whom he is captain.
Jedinak was born and raised in Sydney, and played youth football with Sydney United before starting his senior career at the club. Following loan spells at Varteks and South Coast United, Jedinak moved to Central Coast Mariners in 2006. He next played in Turkey, for Gençlerbirliği and Antalyaspor on loan before joining Crystal Palace and subsequently playing a role in the club earning promotion to the Premier League.
Jedinak has made over 60 appearances for the Australian national team, and has been Captain over 25 times since 2014. This includes participation in the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups. He has also played at two AFC Asian Cups, including captaining Australia to victory on home soil in the 2015 edition.
Club career
Jedinak began playing when he was chosen to be part of the PDSSSC – a competition between Catholic schools within the Parramatta Diocesan – where he played for St Agnes Catholic High, the same school compatriot Željko Kalac attended. He also played for Loyola Senior High School, Mount Druitt in the Jesuit Cup. As captain, Jedinak led the team to success, winning the competition. He began his career at Sydney United, and spent some time in the early years of his career at Croatian club Varaždin, making one competitive appearance for the Croatian side in a 2003–04 UEFA Cup qualifier against Levadia Maardu. He was part of the Sydney United side that won the NSW Premier League title for 2006, playing a role in midfield that earned him a trial with the Mariners.
Central Coast Mariners
Jedinak was first added to the Mariners' squad in the week leading up to their 2006 Pre-Season Cup play-off against Newcastle Jets, and subsequently was called into the squad for the last ten games of the 2006–07, where he made eight appearances.
Jedinak achieved success at the Central Coast Mariners, helping them to a Premiers' Plate in the 2007–08 season of the Hyundai A-League and scoring some spectacular goals along the way including a 25-metre free-kick in the 5–4 loss in Round 15 to Sydney FC. He was the club's second highest goalscorer in the 2008–09 season, with six goals.
Gençlerbirliği
On 25 December 2008, Jedinak signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Turkish club Gençlerbirliği effective January 2009.On 24 January 2009, he made his competitive debut for Gençlerbirliği in their 3–1 victory over Kayserispor, playing the full match. Jedinak's first goal for Gençlerbirliği was scored in a 1–0 win over Fenerbahçe.
Crystal Palace
With one year remaining on his contract at Gençlerbirliği, Jedinak announced he was leaving the club in June 2011, with the hopes of finding a new club in a different country. A month later, he signed for Crystal Palace in England. Jedinak became a fans' favourite at Selhurst Park during the 2012–13 season. In light of regular club captain Paddy McCarthy's injury spell that season, Jedinak was handed the captain's armband first by manager Dougie Freedman and later by Ian Holloway. Jedinak scored an 89th-minute winner on the final day of the 2012–13 season in a 3–2 win against Peterborough United at Selhurst Park to secure a playoff place for Palace, then captained Palace to win the playoffs and gain promotion to the top-flight Premier League. Jedinak was voted Crystal Palace's 2012–13 player of the season.
On 3 December 2013, Jedinak signed a new three-and-a-half year contract which was set to expire in the summer of 2017. He scored his first Premier League goal from a penalty kick against West Ham United in April 2014, choosing not to celebrate the goal to pay respect for compatriot Dylan Tombides, who was being honoured that match following his death. Jedinak came close to playing every minute of Palace's 2013–14 Premier League season (a rarity for an outfield player, even captains), but injured himself in the second half of the 2–2 draw with Fulham; he was replaced by Kagisho Dikgacoi with just over 30 minutes left to play.
On 28 October 2014, Jedinak was named the fifth-best player in Europe, the best midfielder in Europe and the best player in the Premier League after the first three months of the 2014–15 season by the website Oulala Fantasy Football based on Opta performance statistics, an accolade he brushed off as reported by Australian broadcaster Special Broadcasting Service. On 30 November, he was named as Asian International Footballer of the Year. Jedinak's superb freekick in a 3–1 win over Liverpool in November 2014 was voted Goal of the Season at the 2015 Crystal Palace FC Awards night.
Prior to the 2016-17 Premier League season, the club announced that Jedinak had resigned the captaincy and that Scott Dann would succeed him.
Aston Villa
New Aston Villa owner Tony Xia tweeted via his own Twitter account 'We'll officially announce one new signing at 5PM today' on 17 August 2016, in which it was later confirmed by the club at 5pm that Jedinak was Villa's latest acquisition and that he moved to the Championship club on a three-year deal. He made his debut for Aston Villa on 27 August 2016 in a 3–1 loss to Bristol City.
International career
Jedinak played at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship in the United Arab Emirates, making appearances against the Czech Republic, Canada and the host nation.
Jedinak made his full international debut in a friendly against Singapore in early 2008 and was an integral squad member of Pim Verbeek's "Socceroos" in the lead up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Jedinak was included in Australia's 23-man squad for the 2010 World Cup and made his first appearance in Australia's opening match against Germany on 13 June. This, however, would be Jedinak's only involvement in the competition.
Jedinak scored his first international goal against South Korea at 2011 AFC Asian Cup. He went on to score his second international goal in the following match of the tournament against Bahrain.
In the absence of incumbent captain Lucas Neill, Jedinak was handed the captaincy for Australia's 3–4 friendly loss to Ecuador.
On 21 May 2014, Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou appointed Jedinak as captain of the Australian national team to compete in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, despite suffering an injury when playing in Crystal Palace's final match of the Premier League season. On 18 June, Jedinak scored from the penalty spot in Australia's 3–2 group stage defeat to the Netherlands in Porto Alegre.
Jedinak was named as captain of Australia for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup on home soil. He started in their first group game against Kuwait, scoring a penalty in the 62nd minute a 4–1 victory, but finished the game with an ankle injury. He returned to action in the knockout stages, and eventually lifted the trophy after the win over South Korea in the final.
International goals
- As of 15 November 2016
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 January 2011 | Al-Gharafa Stadium, Doha, Qatar |  South Korea | 2011 AFC Asian Cup | ||
| 2 | 18 January 2011 | Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar |  Bahrain | 2011 AFC Asian Cup | ||
| 3 | 11 October 2011 | ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia |  Oman | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||
| 4 | 5 March 2014 | The Den, London, England |  Ecuador | Friendly | ||
| 5 | 18 June 2014 | Estádio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre, Brazil |  Netherlands | 2014 FIFA World Cup | ||
| 6 | 8 September 2014 | Craven Cottage, London, England |  Saudi Arabia | Friendly | ||
| 7 | 9 January 2015 | Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne, Australia |  Kuwait | 2015 AFC Asian Cup | ||
| 8. | 25 March 2015 | Fritz-Walter-Stadion, Kaiserslautern, Germany |  Germany | Friendly | ||
| 9. | 17 June 2015 | Spartak Stadium, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan |  Kyrgyzstan | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||
| 10. | 12 November 2015 | Canberra Stadium, Canberra, Australia | Kyrgyzstan | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||
| 11. | 17 November 2015 | Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh |  Bangladesh | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||
| 12. | 24 March 2016 | Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia |  Tajikistan | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||
| 13. | 11 October 2016 | Docklands Stadium, Melbourne, Australia |  Japan | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||
| 14. | 15 November 2016 | Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand |  Thailand | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||
| 15. |
Career statistics
Club
- As of 9 January 2017
| Club | Season | Division | League | Cup | International | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Sydney United | 2000–01 | NSL | 3 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02 | 7 | 1 | — | — | 7 | 1 | ||||
| 2002–03 | 18 | 2 | — | — | 18 | 2 | ||||
| Varteks | 2003–04 | Prva HNL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Sydney United | 2004–05 | NSWPL | 24 | 3 | — | — | 24 | 3 | ||
| 2006 | 30 | 6 | — | — | 30 | 6 | ||||
| Sydney total | 82 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 82 | 12 | ||
| Central Coast Mariners | 2006–07 | A-League | 8 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2007–08 | 22 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | 26 | 2 | |||
| 2008–09 | 15 | 6 | 4 | 2 | — | 19 | 8 | |||
| Central Coast total | 45 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 53 | 10 | ||
| Gençlerbirliği | 2008–09 | Süper Lig | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 15 | 1 | |
| 2009–10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Antalyaspor | 2009–10 | 28 | 5 | 8 | 2 | — | 36 | 7 | ||
| Gençlerbirliği | 2010–11 | 21 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | 24 | 4 | ||
| Gençlerbirliği total | 38 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 5 | ||
| Crystal Palace | 2011–12 | Championship | 31 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 35 | 1 | |
| 2012–13 | 44 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 46 | 3 | |||
| 2013–14 | Premier League | 38 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 38 | 1 | ||
| 2014–15 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | 24 | 5 | |||
| 2015–16 | 27 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | 34 | 0 | |||
| 2016–17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Crystal Palace total | 165 | 10 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 178 | 10 | ||
| Aston Villa | 2016–17 | Championship | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 20 | 0 | |
| Career total | 377 | 39 | 33 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 411 | 44 | ||
International
- As of 15 November 2016
| Australia national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2008 | 3 | 0 |
| 2009 | 5 | 0 |
| 2010 | 9 | 0 |
| 2011 | 15 | 3 |
| 2012 | 5 | 0 |
| 2013 | 5 | 0 |
| 2014 | 10 | 3 |
| 2015 | 9 | 5 |
| 2016 | 7 | 4 |
| Total | 68 | 15 |
Honours
Club
- Sydney United
- NSW Premier League: 2006
- Central Coast Mariners
- A-League Premiership: 2007–08
- Crystal Palace
- Football League Championship Play-Off Winner (1): 2012–13
International
- Australia
- AFC Asian Cup: 2015
Individual
- 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
- Asian International Footballer of the Year: 2014
- PFA Footballer of the Year: 2013–14
- "Jedinak and Ryan Honoured as PFA Major Award Winners". Professional Footballers Australia. 15 January 2014.
Personal life
Jedinak is married to Natalie and they have a son.