WITH the excitement of the World Cup over the past few months, one could easily forget about the thousands of players that have changed clubs between seasons.
From an Australian perspective, we have had our fair share of Socceroos changing clubs, upcoming stars moving abroad and some players moving to higher profile clubs. Here are some of the bigger Aussie moves over the past three months.
Brad Jones - Liverpool, England
After starting in their youth system, nearly 10 years, and around 60 appearances, Brad chose to move on from Middlesbrough. He spent many games as the incumbent to Mark Schwarzer, but the opportunity to cement his place as first choice was hampered by injury after Schwarzer moved on. Unfortunately with Reina entrenched as Liverpool's number one, could be a bit more time on the bench. Having also appeared for the Socceroos and being part of the recent World Cup squad, will be interesting to see if this affects his national standing.
Ersan Gulum - Besiktas, Turkey
The 23 year old centre back was rewarded for his stellar season in the Turkish second division with a deal with high flying Besiktas. As an 18 year old, he debuted in the Turkish Super League before dropping a division. He played most recently for Adanaspor. At national level, his was part of the Olympic set-up, making several appearances but ultimately not going to Beijing. He is eligible to play for both Australia and Turkey as he is yet to be capped at senior level. Having already made his debut at Besiktas, he will surely be on the radar of both federations.
Nikita Rukavytsya - Hertha BSC, Germany
Having made two sub appearances for the Socceroos at the World Cup, the free agent always going to be picked up after being released by FC Twente in the off season. After a fairly successful early career at Perth Glory, the former AIS speedster has struggled a little to cement his spot in Europe, with a productive loan period in Belgium being the exception. Having played at the Olympics, and now made six appearances for the Socceroos, a successful club career must be high on his agenda if he is to feature prominently for the Socceroos.
Mark Bresciano - Lazio, Italy
The 30 year old Melbournian needs no introduction. Having represented Australia at all levels, two World Cups and 57 senior caps, his place in Socceroos history is assured. His club career has been all about Italy having transferred to Empoli after appearing for Carlton in the old NSL. Between Empoli, Parma and Palermo, Mark has made over 200 appearances and scored nearly 50 times across both Serie A and Serie B. After having a patchy 2009/10 season with injury and form, he will be looking to come back strongly this season with Lazio.
Daniel Georgievski - HNK Sibenik
Having made numerous Under 21 appearances for Macedonia over the past few seasons, a big chance the Blacktown boy will never represent Australia. The defender, formerly from Marconi, moved to Croatia to the youth system at Dinamo Zagreb at the age of 16. That saw him move to Croatian side, Medimurje, who appeared in the top flight last campaign. After his team were relegated and having made nearly 70 appearances, Dan chose to move on. Returning straight back to the highest division in Croatia, Sibenik are one of the stronger teams, appearing in this year's Europa League.
Kerem Bulut - Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic
Keep an eye on this 18 year old striker. A product of the Sydney FC youth team, where he scored 13 goals in 27 appearances, he moved abroad after several trials in Europe. He has already made his senior debut, starting and scoring at Boleslav. At an international level, he has represented Australia at both Under 17 and Under 20. He is a big, young and physical striker so certainly one to watch for the Olympics.
Mitchell Langerak - Borussia Dortmund
The 2009/10 season at Melbourne Victory saw Mitch rise to prominence. A great season lead to a reportedly prolonged chase and them a substantial transfer fee to lure the goalkeeping prospect to Germany. Just about to turn 22, he seemingly has a huge career in front of him. He has also represented Australia at Under 20 level. The next few years will be critical for him in the highly competitive race for national goalkeeping duties.
Other notables:
Alex Cisak - Accrington Stanley, England
Nathan Coe - Sonderjyske, Denmark
James Downey - Sparta Rotterdam, Netherlands
Christian Esposito - Novara, Italy
Ante Rozic - Arka Gdynia, Poland
James Wesolowski - Peterborough, England
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