Adrian Leijer

Leijer in the jersey of Melbourne Victory ( 2010)

Adrian Leijer ( born March 25, 1986 in Dubbo, New South Wales) is an Australian football player. The defender has since 2009 at Melbourne Victory under contract.

Club career

Leijer was educated Sports from 2002 to 2003 at the Victorian Institute of and played in the 2003/04 season for the Melbourne Knights at the last date of discharge of the National Soccer League. He was taken by the newly founded club Melbourne Victory signed in 2005, who participated in the newly created Australian A-League professional league. His dortiger coach Ernie Merrick was, under whom he had been training at the Victorian Institute.

In his first season he was a regular player in Melbourne and played 20 of 21 games this season, the season the club finished second from bottom place. The following season should be equal successful. In the regular season they won first place ahead of Adelaide United, which you can then defeated 2-1 on aggregate in the Major Semifinal. In the Grand Final, they met again in Adelaide, dominated the game at will and was a 6-0 win Australian national champion. Leijer was honored for his achievements during the season as " A-League Young Player of the Year."

After the championship, he moved for an undisclosed transfer fee for English Premier League club Fulham FC and signed a three -year contract. There he came in his first season only in reserve for use and sat in two league games for the first team on the bench. In early February 2009, he was awarded up to the end of the season second division club Norwich City, before returning to the next season to Australia to Melbourne Victory, to have completed without a mandatory bet for Fulham. In Melbourne he established himself immediately back into the defensive line and reached with the team the championship final of the 2009/10 season, in which he scored against Sydney FC to a 1-1 draw between time before a penalty shoot- Sydney won the championship.

National

Leijer participated with the Australian U- 17 team at the 2003 World Championships in Finland and played there all three games at right-back when Vorrundenaus his team. In 2005, he stood in the 23-man squad for the World Youth Championship in the Netherlands, but had no use. He trained in preparation for the 2006 World Cup in Germany with the Australian national team, but was not considered for the tournament. His debut in the A national team was Leijer in March 2008 in a friendly match against Singapore.

With the Olympic team (U -23), the defender qualified for the Olympic tournament in China in 2008 and was appointed in July to the 18-member squad tournament, did not come during the tournament but for use.

Achievements / Title

With its clubs

  • Australian champion: 2006/ 07

Individual Awards

  • A-League Young Player of the Year: 2006/ 07
  • Melbourne Victory Player of the Year: 2005/ 06
  • Melbourne Victory Clubman of the Year: 2005/ 06
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