Jason van Blerk

Jason van Blerk
Personal information
Date of birth (1968-03-16) 16 March 1968
Place of birth Sydney, Australia
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Defender / attacking midfielder
Youth career
1986 AIS
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1987–1989 Blacktown City 24 (3)
1989–1990 APIA Leichhardt 25 (1)
1990–1991 Sint Truiden 23 (2)
1991–1992 APIA Leichhardt 14 (2)
1992 St. George 9 (1)
1992–1995 Go Ahead Eagles 48 (5)
1994–1997 Millwall 73 (2)
1997–1998 Manchester City 19 (0)
1998–2001 West Bromwich Albion 109 (3)
2001–2002 Stockport County 13 (0)
2001–2002 Hull City 10 (1)
2002–2003 Shrewsbury Town 23 (1)
2003–2004 Altrincham 3 (0)
2003–2004 Colwyn Bay 3 (0)
2003–2004 Wollongong City 12 (1)
2003–2005 Runcorn F.C. Halton 0 (0)
2005–2006 APIA Leichhardt ? (?)
Total 408 (22)
National team
1987 Australia U-20
1990–2000 Australia 33 (3)
Teams managed
2009–2013 GHFA Spirit FC
2013–present Central Coast Mariners Academy

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12 May 2009.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17 December 2007

Jason van Blerk (born 16 March 1968 in Sydney, Australia) is a former Australian footballer. He played primarily as a midfielder, but could also play in defense. He has played for many clubs, both overseas and locally. He has also represented Australia both at youth and senior level.

Club career

Van Blerk started his club career at Blacktown City Demons in Australia. He made his first move to Europe when he signed for Sint Truiden in Belgium in 1990. He then made subsequent moves to Go Ahead Eagles in the Netherlands and Millwall in England.

He was then brought to Manchester City on a free transfer at the start of their 1997–98 campaign by Frank Clark. However, he struggled there and only lasted seven months. West Bromwich Albion then bought him for £250k in March 1998.[1] He ended up playing 109 games for them (scoring three goals). He left West Bromwich Albion in 2001. He then played for Stockport County, Hull City (where he scored once against Rushden & Diamonds),[2] Shrewsbury Town (where he scored twice against Rochdale in the league[3] and Barrow in the FA Cup),[4] Altrincham and Colwyn Bay, before returning home to Australia, where he signed for Wollongong City in 2003. He left Australia again briefly to play for Runcorn F.C. Halton in England, before returning home again to play for APIA Leichhardt. He then retired in 2006.

International career

Jason played for the senior national team 33 times. He scored his first international goal against Croatia in 1992. He made his national team debut against Indonesia after coming on for Tommy McCulloch in the 46th minute at the Senayan Stadium, Jakarta. He did not play any games between 1996 and 1999, mostly due to lack of game time at club level (while he was at Manchester City F.C.). He got his last four caps (against Chile, Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Paraguay) in 2000 after regaining form at West Bromwich Albion.

Van Blerk also represented Australia at youth level when played in the 1987 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile. He was also an Australian Schoolboy International player in 1986.

Managerial career

In November 2008, Van Blerk was appointed the new coach of GHFA Spirit FC for the club's first season in the NSW Super League in 2009.[5]

In October 2013, Van Blerk was announced as the new head coach for National Premier League side Central Coast Mariners Academy under the guidance of technical director Phil Moss who also works as assistant coach for the Mariners A-League squad.[6]

Trivia

Jason van Blerk is the son of former Socceroo Cliff.[7]

References

  1. "Jason Van Blerk". Svenn A. Hanssen. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
  2. "Hull 2-1 Rushden". BBC. 9 February 2002. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  3. "Rochdale 1-1 Shrewsbury". BBC. 14 September 2002. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  4. "Shrewsbury 3-1 Barrow". BBC. 7 December 2002. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  5. "GHFA Spirit FC ready for NSW Super League in 2009". Football NSW. Retrieved 2009-05-12.
  6. "Moss: "Marriage made in heaven"". Football Australia. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
  7. "Australian Player Database - VA". Ozfootball.net. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
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