Damian Mori
Mori (left) contests a ball with Mark Schwarzer (right) in an NSL match.
Personal information
Date of birth (1970-09-30) 30 September 1970
Place of birth Melbourne, Australia
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–1990 South Melbourne 33 (5)
1990–1991 Sunshine George Cross 24 (4)
1991 Bulleen 16 (7)
1991–1992 Melbourne Knights 29 (12)
1992–1996 Adelaide City 126 (75)
1996–1997 Borussia Mönchengladbach 6 (0)
1997–2000 Adelaide City 91 (56)
2000–2004 Perth Glory 112 (77)
2004–2005 Adelaide City 44 (33)
2005–2006 Perth Glory 17 (7)
2006 Adelaide City 18 (13)
2006 Central Coast Mariners 8 (6)
2006–2007 Queensland Roar 8 (2)
2007 Adelaide City 17 (13)
2007 Central Coast Mariners 3 (0)
2008–2010 Adelaide City 37 (22)
2010 South Adelaide Panthers 4 (2)
2011 Adelaide City 3 (0)
Total 596 (334)
International career
1991–1992 Australia U-23 13 (5)
1992–2002 Australia 45 (29)
Managerial career
2005–2008 Adelaide City
2010–2018 Adelaide City
2020–2022 FK Beograd
2022– Adelaide United (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Damian Mori (born 30 September 1970) is an Australian former football player who is an assistant coach for Adelaide United.[1] He won two Johnny Warren Medals, awarded to the best player in the Australian league and was top scorer on 5 occasions. He established a reputation as a pacy, poaching goalscorer, which is notable for a player who started his career as a defender.

Early and personal life

Mori was born in Box Hill North, Victoria in 1970. His father, Joseph Mori, was a footballer who emigrated from Slovenia.[2] His paternal grandfather was of Italian ancestry.

Club career

Mori was successful at club level – mainly in the Australian domestic league. After developing into Adelaide City's most important and best player, he spent a single season (1996–97) overseas in Germany with Borussia Mönchengladbach. This move was characterised only by frustration. He appeared in only six games, and never played more than half a match. In those six games, he didn't score once. Mori returned home to become NSL Top Goalscorer the following season.

In 1996, Mori held the world record for the fastest goal after he scored for City in just 3.69 seconds, straight from the kick-off, in a 2–2 draw with Sydney United.

In 2000, Mori transferred to Perth Glory and enjoyed great success. The striking partnership with Bobby Despotovski was renowned as one of the most potent in the competition. Mori won the NSL championship in 2002–03, scoring in the Grand Final. He was also part of the 2003–04 Perth Glory championship side.

Following the end of the National Soccer League in 2004 he moved back to Adelaide City to play and coach in the South Australian Premier League. He was extremely successful here, winning the "Coach of the Year" award. However, many were surprised at the fact that the NSL all-time top goalscorer was not on the shortlist of any A-League club.

It later emerged that a major stumbling block was Mori's desire for a part-time contract to allow him to manage business interests in Adelaide. Prior to round four of the A-League season, it was announced that Perth Glory had signed Mori on a short-term contract to replace injured defender David Tarka. Mori subsequently came on as a substitute in the Glory's 1 – 0 away win over the New Zealand Knights on 22 September 2005. After some excellent displays, particularly a brace against Newcastle United Jets and a hat-trick against Adelaide United, the club strongly desired a permanent deal. After some wrangling with Adelaide City chairman Bob D'Ottavi, Mori agreed to a one-year deal.

On 9 December 2005, it was announced that Mori would be appointed as assistant manager at Perth Glory. This appointment followed the elevation of Alan Vest to Manager after the departure of Steve McMahon. After the completion of the 2005–06 A-League season, Mori returned to Adelaide City as player-manager.

On 27 September 2006, Mori signed with the Central Coast Mariners on a short-term deal to cover the loss of Nik Mrdja which was extended once. After the short-term contract with the Mariners had expired, the FFA did not allow Central Coast to re-sign him. On 21 November 2006, he was approached by new Queensland Roar manager Frank Farina and signed the following day on a short-term "until the end of the season" contract. After the Roar failed to make the playoffs, Mori returned to SA to be the player-coach once again of defending South Australian champions Adelaide City.

International career

Mori made his international debut against Solomon Islands on 4 September 1992. In an international career that spanned over the next ten years, he was capped 45 times and scored 29 goals.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[3][4]
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
South Melbourne 1989 National Soccer League 20400——204
1989–90 13100——131
Total 33500——335
Sunshine George Cross 1990–91 National Soccer League 24420——264
Bulleen 1991 Victoria Premier League 167———167
Melbourne Croatia 1991–92 National Soccer League 261131——2912
Adelaide City 1992–93 National Soccer League 301232——3314
1993–94 311132——3413
1994–95 271820——2918
1995–96 363130——3931
Total 12472114——13576
Borussia Mönchengladbach 1996–97 Bundesliga 6000——60
Adelaide City 1997–98 National Soccer League 2719———2719
1998–99 3015———3015
1999–2000 3422———3422
Total 915600——9156
Perth Glory 2000–01 National Soccer League 2819———2819
2001–02 2718———2718
2002–03 3124———3124
2003–04 2616———2616
Total 1127700——11277
Adelaide City 2004 SA Premier League 181100——1811
2005 262210——2722
Total 443310——4533
Perth Glory 2005–06 A-League 17700——177
Adelaide City 2006 SA State League 181354——2317
Central Coast Mariners 2006–07 A-League 8600——86
Queensland Roar 2006–07 A-League 8200——82
Central Coast Mariners 2007–08 A-League 3000——30
South Adelaide Panthers 2010 SA State League 42———42
Adelaide City 2011 SA Premier League 30———30
Career total 5372952290000559304
  1. ↑ Includes the NSL Cup.

International

National team Year Competitive Friendly Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Australia U23 1991 3 0 2 2 5 2
1992 6 1 2 2 8 3
Total 9 1 4 4 13 5
Australia 1992 4 1 0 0 4 1
1993 0 0 4 1 4 1
1994 0 0 4 0 4 0
1995 2 1 3 0 5 1
1996 3 2 4 1 7 3
1997 7 6 2 0 9 6
1998 4 10 1 0 5 10
2001 3 4 0 0 3 4
2002 4 3 0 0 4 3
Total 27 27 18 2 45 29
Career total 36 28 22 6 58 34
Scores and results list Australia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mori goal.
List of international goals scored by Damian Mori[5]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
111 September 1992Stade Pater, Papeete, Tahiti Tahiti1–03–01994 FIFA World Cup qualification
224 September 1993Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea South Korea1–11–1Friendly
315 November 1995Breakers Stadium, Newcastle, Australia New Zealand1–03–0Trans-Tasman Cup
414 February 1996Lakeside Stadium, Melbourne, Australia Japan1–03–0Friendly
514 September 1996Kings Park Stadium, Durban, South Africa Ghana1–02–0Friendly
621 September 1996Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, South Africa Kenya3–04–0Friendly
711 June 1997Parramatta Stadium, Sydney, Australia Solomon Islands1–013–01998 FIFA World Cup qualification
82–0
94–0
106–0
119–0
1212 December 1997King Fahd Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Mexico3–13–11997 FIFA Confederations Cup
1325 September 1998Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Australia Fiji1–03–11998 OFC Nations Cup
142–0
153–0
1628 September 1998Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Australia Cook Islands2–016–01998 OFC Nations Cup
174–0
186–0
197–0
202 October 1998Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Australia Tahiti1–04–11998 OFC Nations Cup
212–0
223–1
239 April 2001BCU International Stadium, Coffs Harbour, Australia Tonga2–022–02002 FIFA World Cup qualification
245–0
258–0
2612–0
276 July 2002Ericsson Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand Vanuatu1–02–02002 OFC Nations Cup
288 July 2002Ericsson Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand New Caledonia4–011–02002 OFC Nations Cup
2914 July 2002Ericsson Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand Tahiti2–12–12002 OFC Nations Cup

Honours

South Melbourne

Adelaide City

Perth Glory

  • NSL Championship: 2002–03, 2003–04

Australia

Individual:

  • Johnny Warren Medal: 1995–96, 2002–03
  • NSL top scorer: 1995–96 (31 goals), 1997–98 (19 goals), 1999–2000 (22 goals), 2001–02 (17 goals), 2002–03 (24 goals)

References

  1. ↑ "Damian Mori returns to Reds as assistant coach". Adelaide United. 22 August 2022.
  2. ↑ Hill, Simon (29 January 2013). "Simon Hill chats to Damian Mori about his career in the NSL and A-League and his coaching ambitions". Fox Sports Australia. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  3. ↑ Damian Mori at National-Football-Teams.com
  4. ↑ "Damian Mori – Australian Player Database". OzFootball. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  5. ↑ Damian Mori – Goals in International Matches
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