Ernie Tapai

Ernie Tapai (born 14 February 1967) is an Australian former professional soccer player who spent the majority of his career in the Australian National Soccer League (NSL). He also had stints in England, Portugal and Singapore. Tapai played 52 times for Australia, including 37 times in full international matches.

Ernie Tapai
Personal information
Full name Ernest Tapai
Date of birth (1967-02-14) 14 February 1967
Place of birth Subotica, Yugoslavia
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1985–1989 Footscray JUST 100 (10)
1989–1990 Sunshine George Cross 15 (0)
1990–1992 Adelaide City 35 (6)
1992–1993 Stoke City 0 (0)
1993–1994 Estoril 13 (1)
1994–1996 Gippsland Falcons 48 (8)
1996–1997 Collingwood Warriors 24 (1)
1997–1998 Perth Glory 15 (2)
1999–2000 Home United ? (?)
2001 Clementi Khalsa 16 (3)
2002 Westgate
International career
1990–1998 Australia 37 (6)
Managerial career
2007 Corio
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Early life

Tapai was born in Subotica, Yugoslavia (now in Serbia). He migrated to Australia with his parents as a young child.[1][2][3]

Club career

After playing as a junior for Melbourne Hungaria, Tapai signed for Footscray JUST ahead of the 1985 National Soccer League season.[4] He made at age 18 in the National Soccer League. After playing with Sunshine George Cross and Adelaide City Tapai moved to Europe to play for English side Stoke City.Stoke City.[5] He never got much of a chance at Stoke making just once appearance for the club which came as a substitute in a 2–2 draw with Crewe Alexandra in the Football League Trophy on 6 January 1993.[5]

Tapai then signed with Portuguese club Estoril, participating in the 1993–94 Primeira Divisão season, where he scored his only goal against Benfica, but moved back to play in Australia. He went on to play for Gippsland Falcons and Perth Glory before playing for three years in Singapore with Home United and Clementi Khalsa and retired after the 2002 season with Westgate.[6]

After ending his playing career Tapai went into coaching.[7]

International career

Tapai played 52 games (37 'A' games) for the Australia national team between 1986 and 1998. He was part of the Australia squad that claimed 2nd place at the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup. Australian manager Terry Venables received criticism for bringing on Tapai in the 1997 World Cup Qualifier against Iran. Australia needed a goal and Tapai was not the man many viewed as being a viable attacking option.[8][9][10]

Career statistics

Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[11][12]
Club Season League National cup League cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Footscray JUST 1985 National Soccer League 223———223
1986 National Soccer League 264———264
1987 National Soccer League 212———212
1988 National Soccer League 170———170
1989 National Soccer League 140———140
Total 10010———10010
Sunshine George Cross 1989–90 National Soccer League 150———150
Adelaide City 1990–91 National Soccer League 94———94
1991–92 National Soccer League 262———262
Total 356———356
Stoke City 1992–93 Second Division 0000001010
Estoril 1993–94 Primeira Divisão 131———131
Gippsland Falcons 1994–95 National Soccer League 205———205
1995–96 National Soccer League 283———283
Total 488———488
Collingwood Warriors 1996–97 National Soccer League 241———241
Perth Glory 1997–98 National Soccer League 152———152
Career total 2502800001025128

International
Appearances and goals by national team and year[13]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Australia 199030
199120
1992111
199661
1997103
199841
Total366
Scores and results list Australia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Tapai goal.
List of international goals scored by Ernie Tapai
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
18 July 1992Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide, Australia Croatia1–03–1Friendly
227 October 1996Olympic Stadium, Papeete, Tahiti Tahiti1–06–01996 OFC Nations Cup
311 June 1997Parramatta Stadium, Sydney, Australia Solomon Islands8–013–01998 FIFA World Cup qualification
417 June 1997Parramatta Stadium, Sydney, Australia Solomon Islands4–06–21998 FIFA World Cup qualification
55–0
611 February 1998Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, Australia South Korea1–01–0Friendly

References
  1. "2009 Football Hall of Fame". MyFootball. 23 October 2009. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  2. Kent, Paul (29 November 1997). "The modern, dinky-di face of Australian soccer". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Tapai, Ernie (7 March 2019). "Ernie Tapai on The Pioneers FNR" (Interview). The Pioneers. Interviewed by Donikian, George; Cotsanis, George. Football Nation Radio. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021 – via YouTube.
  4. Schwab, Laurie (16 January 1985). "Gully loses Wade to Juventus". The Age. Retrieved 25 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Lowe, Simon (2000). Stoke City The Modern Era - A Complete Record. Desert Island Books. ISBN 1-874287-39-2.
  6. "2002 State League Division One Results". Archived from the original on 30 May 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  7. "Corio challenged to make the point". geelongadvertiser. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  8. "FIFA Player Statistics: Ernest Tapai". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  9. "Ernie Tapai". OzFootball. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  10. Howe, Andrew (2018). "Australian National Team History" (PDF). Football Federation Australia. p. 94.
  11. Ernie Tapai at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  12. "Aussie Footballers - Ernie Tapai". OzFootball. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  13. Tapai, Ernie at National-Football-Teams.com
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