Paul Wade

Infobox Football biography
playername = Paul Wade


fullname = Paul Wade
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1962|3|20
cityofbirth = Cheshire
countryofbirth = England
height =
position = Midfielder
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1984
1985-1986
1987-1995
1995
1995-1997
clubs = Green Gully
Brunswick Juventus
South Melbourne
Heidelberg United
Canberra Cosmos
Career Total
caps(goals) = 028 0(4)
049 (11)
212 (27)
006 0(0)
045 (11)
340 (53)
nationalyears = 1986-1996
nationalteam = Australia
nationalcaps(goals) = 084 (10)

Paul Wade (born March 20, 1962 in Cheshire, England) is a retired Australian football (soccer) player, who is most famous for his long-term role as captain of the Socceroos, Australia's national football team.

Club career

Born in Cheshire, England, Wade moved to Australia with his parents at age 11. By 1984, he had attained Australian citizenship and represented his adopted country for the first time, playing for Australia's "B" side against Tasmania. That same year, he made his debut in the National Soccer League with the Green Gully Cavaliers.

Wade played just one season with Green Gully before joining Brunswick Juventus the following season and helping them win the 1985 NSL Championship. He played two seasons with Brunswick before joining South Melbourne FC where he spent eight seasons, winning another NSL title in 1991, the NSL Cup in 1990 and a minor premiership (first overall at the end of the regular season) in 1993. Wade was also named "NSL Player of the Year" in 1988.

He joined the Canberra Cosmos in 1995 for what would be his final two seasons, but was unable to help the team from the bottom of the standings in either campaign. He announced his retirement from competitive football in 1997 at the end of the NSL season.

Wade's club career was spent entirely in Australia, a rarity for players from that country who often go to Europe on the lure of a better quality of football, more passionate fan support and higher salaries. Wade played a total of 345 games in the NSL.

International career

Wade's 84 "A" international appearances for Australia make him the second most capped player in the country's history (only Alex Tobin, with 87, had more). In total, Wade played 118 games for Australia between 1986 and 1996. He represented the Socceroos at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea and in two FIFA World Cup qualifying campaigns (1990 and 1994).

One of his most famous moments came in 1993, during qualifying for the 1994 World Cup when Australia faced Argentina. Faced with the dubious honour of marking star Diego Maradona, Wade was valiant in helping Australia stay in the two games, although they would eventually lose 2-1 on aggregate goals following a 1-0 defeat in Buenos Aires.

His final international game was on November 30, 1996 in Canberra against Tahiti.

After retirement

Wade's experience and popularity as an Australian international allowed for an easy transition to a career as a sports presenter. Wade has worked as a commentator and analyst with both the Nine Network and SBS, the latter of which has a strong ethnic demographic and thus makes football a healthy part of its programming lineup. He has also appeared on cable television channels TVN and Fox Sports 1 as a soccer analyst.

He also began the "Paul Wade Soccer Schools" program, which visits primary schools in various locations around Australia developing the game of football. They have quickly risen to become the leading football development program in the country, aiming to help kids "play like a Socceroo legend." He is currently coaching the Scots College 1st XI football team.

Paul Wade also recently attended the Cerebral Palsy Football National Championships held between NSW, Queensland and a combined team featuring players from NSW, Victoria and the ACT. This took place at the Sydney Academy of Sport. Paul Wade is known to be a big supporter of disabled sports. Following this appearance, his interest grew and as of July 20th, 2007 he has been ratified as Patron of the Cerebral Palsy Sporting and Recreation Association (CPSARA) of NSW.

In 1995 Wade released his autobiography, "Captain Socceroo: The Paul Wade story".

Wade has epilepsy and often makes appearances at functions dedicated to promoting awareness of the condition.

Honours

With Australia:
* OFC Nations Cup: 1996With South Melbourne:
* NSL Championship: 1990-1991
* NSL Cup: 1989-1990
* Dockerty Cup: 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993With Brunswick Juventus:
* NSL Championship: 1985Personal Honours:
* Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) Recipient: 1995
* FFA Hall of Champions Inductee - 2000
* NSL Player of the Year: 1988 with South Melbourne

External links

* [http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/InsideFFA/default.aspx?s=insideffa_hof_champions_profile&id=663 FFA - Hall of Fame profile]
* [http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=886863&search_type=advanced&showInd=true Australian Honours profile]
* [http://www.ozfootball.net/ark/Players/W/WA.html Oz Football profile]
* [http://www.sportseg.com.au/html/soccer_schools.htm Paul Wade Soccer Schools]