Some footballers are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them.
In the career of former Socceroo, Jason Culina , the input of his father Branko, the former seasoned, professional player and celebrated coach, was a vital motivation in his son’s football achievements.
Significantly, there are very few Socceroos who can claim to match the record of Jason Culina as he played in every minute of Australia’s World Cup Final matches in Germany 2006 and South Africa in 2010, while also tallying 58 full internationals in six years.
Furthermore, Culina also played in all youth international teams from U17, U20 and U23 before being selected as a full Socceroo.
Strangely, growing up in the western suburbs of Melbourne during the 1980’s, Culina never thought about a career in football because he just wanted to participate with his peers.
“We would play different sports like football and cricket in the streets but it was always about having fun,” says Culina.
"In fact I didn’t start to play competitive football until I was nine years old when I appeared with Melbourne Knights youth teams before we moved to Sydney where my father was employed by Sydney United in the NSL for the 1994/95 season."
In the 1996/97 NSL season at the tender age of sixteen, Culina was selected in the Sydney United squad which included a multitude of future Socceroos like Zelko Kalac, Tony Popovic, Paul Bilokapic, David Zdrilic and Ante Milicic.
“One of my lasting memories in that season was coming on as a substitute during the National Soccer League (NSL) Grand final in front of 40,446 spectators at Suncorp Stadium," he said.
“Although we lost 2-0 to the Brisbane Strikers, it was an introduction to the big time atmosphere which I would subsequently experience in European competition and my World Cup appearances in Germany and South Africa."
In 1999, Culina was spotted by a Danish scout from Brondby when he was playing for Sydney Olympic against his old club Sydney United and although Olympic lost the game quite convincingly, the scout liked what he saw in Culina.
“I remember making a pass of thirty metres with the outside of my right foot to former Socceroo, Pablo Cardozo, which impressed the scout immensely," he revealed.
“I was invited to Brondby after playing for Australia at the U20 World Youth Championships in Nigeria during April 1999 but Hamburg and Ajax were both interested in signing me."
Culina made the move to Ajax for the 1999/2000 European season and initially was overawed by the presence of greats like Zlatan Ibrahimovich, Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart, Nigel de Jong and Ryan Babel.
Also, the immortal Johan Cruyff had a continued presence at the club which was tantamount to being in the presence of a superior being.
It was a baptism of fire for Culina as he was competing with players who grew up in this cut-throat environment which put him at a distinct disadvantage.
“Going to Holland at the age of nineteen to compete with the myriad of local talent coming through the system was a major challenge and I asked myself how I could compete with these people," Culina explained.
“I also had to deal with a new country with different living conditions but in the end patience is a key requirement and I certainly needed plenty of it."
Although, Culina was in the first team squad, he mainly played in the youth team and played little senior football for the five years he was at Ajax between 1999-2004.
However, Culina was also mentored by former Dutch super striker, Marco van Basten, who acted as a coach/adviser for the Ajax youth teams the year before Culina left Ajax.
“Fortunately, when I secured a move to FC Twente in 2004, the opportunity to be showcased for the national team transpired and I received my first Socceroo call-up in February 2005 to play against South Africa," he said.
“In my last year at Ajax, Ronald Koeman was the manager and I played a few games in the first team.
“Ironically, when I went to PSV, Koeman was the manager there.
“He pulled me aside and said forget Ajax and I’ve been watching you and you will be a completely different player under me now.
“Luckily, I didn’t disappoint him.”
At PSV, Culina really shone, playing 98 games from 2005-2009 where he performed with players of the class of Phillip Cocu, Patrick Kluivert, Michael Reiziger and Jefferson Farfan and also competed in many European competition matches.
And his strong form in the Dutch top-flight would see him become a mainstay in the midfield, instrumental against Uruguay in that famous night in November 2005. He was subsequently named in the Socceroos' final squad for FIFA World Cup 2006™.
“USA 1994 was my first exposure to the World Cup Finals and I dreamt that one day I would participate for Australia in the 'Greatest Show on Earth'," he recalled.
“When I think of the World Cup, I still get goosebumps and that was particularly so when I used to live round the corner from Homebush when all those players’ dreams came true in the playoff triumph against Uruguay in November 2005.
“It was a good set up and coach Guus Hiddink knew exactly what was required to compete at this level.
“Critically, the majority of the squad players were all match hardened and playing at a high level in Europe.
“Looking back at the first match against Japan in June 2006, it could be seen as a stroke of genius that Tim Cahill came on as a substitute to score those two goals against Japan when many believed he should’ve started the game.
“However, managers are judged on results and Hiddink being one of the best, knew how to manage his players.
“He had employed a similar tactic in November, 2005 in the return qualifying leg in Sydney against Uruguay when Graham Arnold was instructed not to give Harry Kewell a shirt before the match.
“In the quarter final in Germany against Italy, we were devastated by our elimination when Lucas Neil was penalised for his alleged foul on Fabio Grosso.
“Years later when I was playing with Alessandro Del Piero at Sydney FC, I said to him, "Penalty?”.
Del Piero replied, "Jason on that day a little bit windy and Grosso fall over”.
Furthermore, some people believed when the Italian defender Marco Materazzi was sent off in the 50th minute for fouling Mark Bresciano when he was in a goal scoring position, the giant striker, Josh Kennedy, should’ve come on to employ his superior aerial ability against the shorter Italian defender, Fabio Cannavaro.
“I can’t explain why Hiddink didn’t make this change but we were dominating with the extra man and the decision against Lucas Neill was totally unexpected," he claimed.
“After Francesco Totti scored from the penalty spot for Italy , the referee blew for fulltime almost immediately and we had to face the reality our time was over for that World Cup."
Nevertheless, Culina was selected again for the South African World Cup Finals in 2010.
“This was not a bad tournament for the Socceroos because if we had lost the German match by two goals less, we would’ve progressed to the second round," added Culina.
“The Germans were a world-class team but Pim Verbeek reorganised our formation and played some people in different positions.
“I was played as a wide fullback in that game but after Timmy Cahill was sent off early in the second half, the German machine rolled into action and completed a 4-0 victory."
That day the Germans were relentless but after the match Pim Verbeek confessed he should shoulder the blame for the defeat.
“As a coach, you’re always responsible," said Verbeek.
“I never blame any of my players and have no problems saying it’s my responsibility."
Although the Socceroos managed to draw with Ghana, their 2-1 win against Serbia wasn’t enough to progress to the second round.
After the World Cup in South Africa, Culina appeared for Australia in his last international during the Asian Cup of 2011 and was naturally guttered after coming back from injury to make himself available.
“Ask me how I feel with the World Cup in North America approaching in June, all the memories come flooding back but nothing compares to actually participating in the tournament," admits Culina.
“I empathise with former Sydney United and Socceroo teammate, Tony Popovic, who is now guiding the fortunes of the national team because he relies on the current weekly form and fitness of players to assess the squad’s progress.
“The loss of Lewis Miller and possibly Craig Goodwin were unexpected events so it’s up to the players selected for the Curacao and Cameroon FIFA Series to be played at the end of March to step up and reveal true form."
Mohamed Toure’s groin injury will hopefully be only minor after his splendid displays for Norwich City recently.
Currently, Jason Culina isn’t directly involved in football but is monitoring the progress of his sons Roman and Julian who play for St. George City FA in NPL Men’s NSW under the watchful eye of former Socceroo, Aytek Genc.
However, when the first ball is kicked on June 11 at the FIFA World Cup 2026™, there will be nobody more glued to his television than Jason Culina.
MATCH DETAILS
CommBank Socceroos v Cameroon
Date: Friday, 27 March
Kick-off: 8.10pm AEDT
Venue: Accor Stadium
Broadcast: Network 10 and Paramount+
Tickets: Available on Ticketmaster
CommBank Socceroos v Curaçao
Date: Tuesday, 31 March
Kick-off: 8.10pm AEDT
Venue: AAMI Park
Broadcast: Network 10 and Paramount+
Tickets: Available on Ticketek