Alex Tobin

Alexander Hugh Tobin OAM (born 3 November 1965) is an Australian former professional soccer player who played as a centre-back. He is the fifth-most capped player for the Australia national team with 87 'A' appearances, including 30 as captain. He made his international debut on 9 March 1988 in an Olympic qualifying match against Chinese Taipei (3–2) in Adelaide.^[1]

Alex Tobin
OAM

Personal information
Full name	Alexander Hugh Tobin
Date of birth	(1965-11-03) 3 November 1965 (age 59)
Place of birth	Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Youth career
	WT Birkalla
	Adelaide City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1984–2000	Adelaide City	436	(27)
2001–2002	Parramatta Power	48	(4)
2002–2003	Northern Spirit	38	(0)
Total		522	(31)
International career
1985	Australia U20
1988–1998	Australia	87	(2)
Managerial career
2008–2009	Central Coast Mariners Youth
2009–2010	Central Coast Mariners (Asst)
Medal record Representing  Australia Men's Association football FIFA Confederations Cup Runner-up 1997 Saudi Arabia OFC Nations Cup Winner 1996 Oceania Runner-up 1998 Australia
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Tobin spent his entire club career playing in Australia. He played most of his club career as a defender with Adelaide City in the National Soccer League. Alex left Adelaide City in 2000, after sixteen years with the club, to join Parramatta Power. He finished his career with Northern Spirit. Tobin played a total of 522 senior club games in Australia.

Tobin worked for the Central Coast Mariners as assistant first team coach.^[2]

The Alex Tobin Medal

In 2008, the PFA Alex Tobin OAM Medal was inaugurated by the Professional Footballers Australia (PFA). It is to be awarded annually by the PFA to a current, or a former, player based on four attributes demonstrated by Alex Tobin throughout his career and which reflect the philosophy of the PFA: Leadership, achievement as a player, commitment to ones fellow professionals and service and dedication to the game. The first two medals were conferred on Joe Marston and, posthumously, Johnny Warren.^[3]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition^[4][5]

Club	Season	League			NSL Cup		Oceania		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Adelaide City	1984	National Soccer League	16	0	0	0	—		—		16	0
	1985		12	0	0	0	—		—		12	0
	1986		26	0	0	0	—		—		26	0
	1987		24	0	0	0	1	0	—		25	0
	1988		20	1	1	0	—		—		21	1
	1989		21	0	0	0	—		—		21	0
	1989–90		25	0	0	0	—		—		25	0
	1990–91		27	1	2	0	—		—		29	1
	1991–92		30	3	3	0	—		—		33	3
	1992–93		30	2	3	0	—		—		33	2
	1993–94		31	4	3	0	—		—		34	4
	1994–95		26	2	2	0	—		—		28	2
	1995–96		34	5	3	0	—		—		37	5
	1996–97		29	4	0	0	—		—		29	4
	1997–98		25	2	—		—		—		25	2
	1998–99		29	3	—		—		—		29	3
	1999–2000		31	0	—		—		—		31	0
	Total		436	27	17	0	1	0	—		454	27
Parramatta Power	2000–01	National Soccer League	26	2	—		—		—		26	2
	2001–02		22	2	—		—		—		22	2
	Total		48	4	—		—		—		48	4
Northern Spirit	2002–03	National Soccer League	32	0	—		—		—		32	0
	2003–04		6	0	—		—		—		6	0
	Total		38	0	—		—		—		38	0
Career total			522	31	17	0	1	0	—		540	31

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Australia	1988	3	1
	1989	0	0
	1990	3	0
	1991	6	0
	1992	15	0
	1993	10	0
	1994	6	0
	1995	9	0
	1996	10	1
	1997	16	0
	1998	9	0
Total		87	2

Scores and results list Australia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Tobin goal.

List of international goals scored by Alex Tobin

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	9 March 1988	Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide, Australia	Chinese Taipei	1–0	3–2	1988 Olympics qualification
2	21 September 1996	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, South Africa	Kenya	4–0	4–0	Friendly

Honours

Adelaide City:

• NSL Championship: 1986, 1991–92, 1993–94
• NSL Cup: 1989, 1991–92
• Oceania Club Championship: 1987^[6]

Australia

• FIFA Confederations Cup: runner-up, 1997^[7]
• OFC Nations Cup: 1996;^[8] runner-up, 1998^[9]

Individual

• FFA Hall of Champions Inductee – 2007
• Joe Marston Medal: 1991–92, 1993–94 with Adelaide City