Mark Bridge
Encyclopedia
Mark Bridge is an Australian football (soccer)
player. He currently plays as a striker
for Australian A-League club Sydney FC
.
in 2005 during the inaugural A-League
season. Although it took some time for Bridge to find his feet he was the Jets best player during his second season (2006/07) at the club scoring 8 goals during the season.
Although his third season with the Jets only yielded four goals, his last for the Jets was the most decisive, being the only goal in the 2007-08 A-League Grand Final
.
player on 3 March 2008 alongside Simon Colosimo
and John Aloisi
. He scored his first goal for Sydney in their 5-2 demolition of Perth at the SFS.
On 11 February 2009, Bridge arrived Kunming, Yunnan province, China, meet with Tianjin TEDA. He signed a four-month loan deal for Chinese Super League
club Tianjin Teda FC
during the offseason with Sydney FC. However, Tianjin's failure to qualify from the group stage of AFC Champions League
meant that he had made the last appearance for the club and would return to Sydney FC at the end of May.
He became the first player to score in two A-League Grand finals with his headed goal against Melbourne Victory in the 09-10 edition, which Sydney went on to win on penalties
Bridge scored the third goal in the 3-2 victory of Chinese Super League
club Shanghai Shenhua
, during the 2011 Champions League keeping Sydney's chances of progressing through to the next round alive.
Bridge was sent from the field after being given a red card in the opening game of the 2011–12 A-League season against Melbourne Victory
, following an altercation in which Bridge struck Victory player Rodrigo Vargas
in the throat. The match would finish 0-0.
national team. He was also called up to Australia senior squad for their Asian Cup
qualifiers, in a match against Kuwait
on 16 August. He was hoping to be included in the Australia senior squad for the upcoming Asian Cup and games against Qatar
, China and Iraq
, but was not selected.
Bridge made his senior international debut against Singapore
in a friendly match on March 2008.
Bridge was selected for the 2008 Australian Olympic squad.
: A-League Premiership: 2009-2010 A-League Championship: 2009-2010
With Newcastle Jets: A-League
Championship: 2007-2008
Personal Honours:
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
player. He currently plays as a striker
Striker
Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...
for Australian A-League club Sydney FC
Sydney FC
Sydney FC is a professional football club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and competes in the country's premier football competition, the A-League...
.
Newcastle United Jets FC
Bridge joined Newcastle from Parramatta PowerParramatta Power
Parramatta Power were a football team which was based in western Sydney. They played in the National Soccer League from season 1999/2000 until the league folded in 2004. The Power were runners up to Perth Glory in the 2003/04 season of the NSL after Perth made the Grand Final look easy in...
in 2005 during the inaugural A-League
A-League
The A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...
season. Although it took some time for Bridge to find his feet he was the Jets best player during his second season (2006/07) at the club scoring 8 goals during the season.
Although his third season with the Jets only yielded four goals, his last for the Jets was the most decisive, being the only goal in the 2007-08 A-League Grand Final
A-League Grand Final 2008
The 2008 A-League Grand Final took place at Sydney Football Stadium in Sydney, Australia on 24 February 2008. It was the first A-League Grand Final played at a neutral home ground, due to Bluetongue Stadium being deemed by the FFA to not have a sufficient capacity to hold the centrepiece of the...
.
Sydney FC
As his contract had expired at the Jets, Bridge subsequently left the team and was unveiled as a Sydney FCSydney FC
Sydney FC is a professional football club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and competes in the country's premier football competition, the A-League...
player on 3 March 2008 alongside Simon Colosimo
Simon Colosimo
Simon Colosimo is an Australian football player who plays as a central defender for Melbourne Heart. He has represented the Australia national team on over twenty-five occasions.-Club career:...
and John Aloisi
John Aloisi
John Aloisi is a retired Australian football player who played as a striker, and the current youth team manager at Melbourne Heart....
. He scored his first goal for Sydney in their 5-2 demolition of Perth at the SFS.
On 11 February 2009, Bridge arrived Kunming, Yunnan province, China, meet with Tianjin TEDA. He signed a four-month loan deal for Chinese Super League
Chinese Super League
The Chinese Football Association Super League , commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the Pirelli Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional association football in China, operating under the auspices of the...
club Tianjin Teda FC
Tianjin Teda FC
Tianjin Teda FC is a Chinese football club based in Tianjin and owned by the TEDA Group. . The club was founded in 1957, and took on its current identity in 1998, becoming Jia B Champions that same year...
during the offseason with Sydney FC. However, Tianjin's failure to qualify from the group stage of AFC Champions League
AFC Champions League 2009
The 2009 AFC Champions League was the 28th edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation , and the 7th under the current AFC Champions League title. The final took place at National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan on November 7...
meant that he had made the last appearance for the club and would return to Sydney FC at the end of May.
He became the first player to score in two A-League Grand finals with his headed goal against Melbourne Victory in the 09-10 edition, which Sydney went on to win on penalties
Bridge scored the third goal in the 3-2 victory of Chinese Super League
Chinese Super League
The Chinese Football Association Super League , commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the Pirelli Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional association football in China, operating under the auspices of the...
club Shanghai Shenhua
Shanghai Shenhua
Shanghai Shenhua is a professional Chinese football club currently playing in Chinese Super League. The club is currently owned by Zhu Jun , Shanghai SVA Group, SMEG and Huangpu Investment Ltd. . The current head coach is Dražen Besek...
, during the 2011 Champions League keeping Sydney's chances of progressing through to the next round alive.
Bridge was sent from the field after being given a red card in the opening game of the 2011–12 A-League season against Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, that plays in the A-League....
, following an altercation in which Bridge struck Victory player Rodrigo Vargas
Rodrigo Vargas
Rodrigo Alejandro "Roddy" Vargas is a Australian football player. He currently plays as a central defender for the Australian A-League club Melbourne Victory.-Club career:...
in the throat. The match would finish 0-0.
International career
Mark Bridge has played for the Australian U-20 Squad where he made 9 appearances and scored 9 goals. He is currently a member of Australia U-23Australia national under-23 football team
The Australia Olympic football team, more commonly known as the Olyroos, is controlled by Football Federation Australia and represents Australia at association football in the Olympic Games...
national team. He was also called up to Australia senior squad for their Asian Cup
2007 AFC Asian Cup
The Asian Football Confederation's 2007 AFC Asian Cup finals were held from July 7 to July 29, 2007. For the first time in its history, the competition was co-hosted by four nations: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The tournament was won by first-time champions Iraq, who defeated Saudi...
qualifiers, in a match against Kuwait
Kuwait national football team
The Kuwait National Football Team is the national team of Kuwait and is controlled by the Kuwait Football Association. They made one World Cup Finals appearance, in 1982, managing a draw with Czechoslovakia but losing to England and France. During the match against France, France scored a goal...
on 16 August. He was hoping to be included in the Australia senior squad for the upcoming Asian Cup and games against Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
, China and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, but was not selected.
Bridge made his senior international debut against Singapore
Singapore national football team
The Singapore national football team is the national association football team of Singapore. The team comes under the organization of the Football Association of Singapore...
in a friendly match on March 2008.
Bridge was selected for the 2008 Australian Olympic squad.
A-League statistics
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Asia | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | ||
| Newcastle Jets | 2005-06 A-League 2005-06 The 2005-06 season was the first season of the A-League, a domestic club competition for football in Australia. After over 12 months without a national professional club competition, the first match in the A-League was played on 26 August 2005... |
6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006-07 A-League 2006-07 The 2006–07 A-League season was the second season of the Australian football competition, the A-League. Football Federation Australia hoped to build on the success of the first season and on the interest generated by the Socceroos competing in the 2006 FIFA World Cup... |
24 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 8 | 7 | |
| 2007-08 A-League 2007-08 The A-League 2007-08 season was the third season of the Australian A-League football competition, won by the Newcastle Jets. Football Federation Australia hoped to build on the success of the previous two seasons and on the interest generated by and playing in the 2007 AFC Champions League, and... |
20 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 7 | 2 | |
| Newcastle Jets total | 50 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 56 | 15 | 9 | |
| Sydney FC Sydney FC Sydney FC is a professional football club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and competes in the country's premier football competition, the A-League... |
2008-09 A-League 2008-09 The 2008–09 A-League season was the fourth season of the Australasian A-League association football competition. Two new clubs, North Queensland Thunder and Gold Coast Galaxy had received tentative licences from the FFA but these were revoked for the 2008–09 season on 12 March 2008. Expansion... |
21 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 5 | 2 |
| 2009-10 | 23 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2010-11 | 18 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 1 | 7 | |
| 2011-12 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | |
| Sydney FC total | 66 | 15 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 74 | 16 | 10 | |
| Career total | 116 | 28 | 16 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 130 | 31 | 19 | |
Honours
With Sydney FCSydney FC
Sydney FC is a professional football club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and competes in the country's premier football competition, the A-League...
: A-League Premiership: 2009-2010 A-League Championship: 2009-2010
With Newcastle Jets: A-League
A-League
The A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...
Championship: 2007-2008
A-League 2007-08
The A-League 2007-08 season was the third season of the Australian A-League football competition, won by the Newcastle Jets. Football Federation Australia hoped to build on the success of the previous two seasons and on the interest generated by and playing in the 2007 AFC Champions League, and...
Personal Honours:
- Newcastle Jets Player's Player of the Year: 2006-2007Newcastle United Jets FC season 2006-07The 2006-07 season was Newcastle Jets' second season in the Hyundai A-League. After a poor start to the season, The Jets finished strongly to place 3rd at the conclusion of the regular season...