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Twenty years on since Australia’s golden generation took the nation to the World Cup knockout phase for the first time, we take a look at what the members of that history-making squad are up to now.
Several of the 23 players made the natural progression into the coaching or the media post their playing days.
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One is of course coaching the Socceroos at this year’s World Cup, while others are following in the footsteps of some of Australia’s best ever managers at their respective clubs.
Others have stepped away from football, however.
Infamously, one star endured a stunning fall from grace in recent years that resulted in a bitter legal battle.
While one of Australia’s greatest ever footballers is living the quiet life in Europe.
Instead of scoring goals, he is making coffees for locals and a Wimbledon champion.
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MANAGER: GUUS HIDDINK
The now 79-year-old was in a managerial role as recently as 2021 with Curacao. The Dutchman announced his retirement from managing after Curacao failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, but he did not stay out of international football for long. In 2022, he helped out his old assistant Graham Arnold during Australia’s friendly series against New Zealand that was part of the Socceroos’ centenary celebrations. Nowadays, Hiddink appears on Dutch television sometimes to provide comments on his many former teams.
MARK SCHWARZER
The long-time Socceroos No.1 and Premier League stalwart has been helping to stirr up the Americans in recent months. Schwarzer and former MLS player Mike Grella engaged in a back-and-forth at Wembley Stadium during the Championship playoff final after the latter said Australia would be a “lay up” for the tournament co-hosts in this year’s group stage. Schwarzer features regularly as a pundit for CBS Sports, BBC’s Match of the Day and Stan Sports. The 53-year-old also commentates the Premier League for BBC Radio Live, while he also does commentary work on the Bundesliga.
LUCAS NEILL
The former Socceroos skipper lives in the north of England and coaches women and girls at a local football club. The 48-year-old is also still connected to football through son Marcus, who is regularly scoring goal for Sunderland’s U21 side at just 17 years of age. Neill has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons in recent years, however. Three years ago, he was found not guilty of purposely hiding money from his bankruptcy proceedings, having filed for bankruptcy in 2016. After the verdict, Neill said in an interview that his financial struggles got so bad that the electricity was cut off at his home and he could no longer pay his children’s school fees. He also said he is now working as a project manager for a local digital firm.
CRAIG MOORE
The former hard-nosed defender is now a football agent. The 50-year-old had earlier worked as the Brisbane Roar’s football operations manager but pivoted careers in 2018. Now, Moore is mainly based in the UK and works with players from Australia and Scotland who are making their way in the A-League, the Scottish Premiership or with national underage squads. He is a FIFA-licensed agent to represent players, arrange transfers, scout talent and assist coaches.
TIM CAHILL
The four-time World Cup star is currently the technical director for the Qatar Football Association. Cahill played a key role in Qatar winning the 2024 Asian Cup and is chief sports officer for the Doha-based Aspire Academy. The 46-year-old also acts as a consultant to other national bodies. Among them is his role as adviser to Malaysia’s Crown Prince of Johor. At the last World Cup, Cahill was an ambassador as a result of his Qatar connections. He acted as Football Australia’s head of delegation at the tournament. Plus, Cahill is an academic board member and ambassador for the FIFA Diploma in Club Management.
JASON CULINA
The former Socceroos midfielder has made a career post-football in real estate development. He has recently worked as the Western Sydney Wanderers’ head of academy coaches, but according to a recent interview with the Socceroos website, the 45-year-old is not currently directly involved in football. Instead, Culina keeps a close eye on the progress on his sons Roman and Julian, who play for NPL Men’s NSW club St George City FA.
TONY POPOVIC
The former centre back will be front and centre this World Cup as manager of the Socceroos. Popovic made a splash as a manager more than a decade ago as the Western Sydney Wanderers’ inaugural coach. He led them to the minor premiership in the club’s first year and then won the AFC Champions League the following year. Since he has had other managerial roles in Europe and in the A-League before leaving his post with Melbourne Victory and succeeding Graham Arnold as Socceroos boss in September 2024. The 52-year-old then led the national team to direct qualification for the World Cup.
BRETT EMERTON
The former midfielder has recently been scouting talented young players for Football Australia. In April, he was spotted at the Emerging Socceroos Championships, where he had previously coached some of the players but also was putting together scouting reports for the national body. The 47-year-old former Blackburn Rovers player has been coaching at his junior club in Sydney, Macarthur Rams. While he also manages a large commercial and residential property portfolio.
JOSIP SKOKO
Another former Socceroos midfielder, Skoko lives primarily in Split, Croatia where his sons Noa and Luka are professional footballers. Noa has even featured for Croatia’s national youth team and could create another allegiance saga for the Socceroos in the future. His father, meanwhile, works primarily as a football mentor and pundit – often providing commentary on the Socceroos. When he was living in Australia, the 50-year-old was director of football at his childhood club, the North Geelong Warriors FC.
MARK VIDUKA
In one of the most fascinating post-football careers, the former goal scoring machine now lives in Zagreb, Croatia, where he runs his own coffee shop. It is called ‘Non Plus Ultra’ and Viduka is very much immersed in the local culture in the country where his parents were born. The 50-year-old has little to do with football apart from watching his son’s games occasionally. The captain of the 2006 Socceroos squad is very much living the quiet life, including sometimes stepping in to play guitar in his son’s band. His time in the north of England certainly made an imprint on him as he and sons love playing songs from the Arctic Monkeys in the basement. The former Leeds, Middlesborough and Newcastle striker first moved to Zagreb at age 19 to make his start in Europe and said in a recent interview with GiveMeSport that he “fell in love with the lifestyle”. Viduka also shared that he and his wife had “always wanted to run a cafe, for fun really, one where everyone was welcome. So here we are”. Apparently 2001 Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic is a regular customer.
HARRY KEWELL
Viduka’s attacking partner at Leeds and for the Socceroos is currently combining coaching with punditry. Kewell will feature on SBS’ coverage of this year’s World Cup during his off season break from being a manager. The 47-year-old is currently in charge of Hanoi FC in Vietnam’s top professional league. Kewell’s side are poised to finish fourth at the end of his first season in charge. The former Liverpool attacker stepped into coaching following his retirement from playing and initially spent time in England. He became the first Australian to coach a professional English club when he took over League Two side Crawley Town in 2017 after previously managing Watford’s under 21s. He also briefly managed fellow League Two clubs Notts County and Oldham Athletic as well as Barnet in the National League. Kewell’s big coaching break came in 2022 when he joined Ange Postecoglou as part of his team at Celtic. He then followed in Postecoglou’s footsteps by being appointed manager of Yokohama F. Marinos. Kewell took the Japanese club to the 2024 AFC Champions League final. He spent a year without a management role before joining Hanoi last October.
STAN LAZARIDIS
The former Socceroos and West Ham winger is firmly still involved in football as Perth Glory’s football director. Lazaridis takes care of recruitment, squad building and overall strategy. The 53-year-old took on the role in 2024 after having stayed in football since his retirement from playing in 2008.
ANTE COVIC
The former goalkeeper works in football coaching and sports management. He currently is head coach of the Bankstown City Lions women’s team in NSW League One. He had previously been working a sale manager for a sports apparel company.
VINCE GRELLA
The former midfielder is another who is still firmly entrenched in the football world. Grella lives in Italy where he works as chief executive officer and vice president of Catania FC in Sicily. The 46-year-old moved back to Italy – where he spent a decade playing in Serie A – in 2022 to take on the dual roles with the Serie C club after it was bought by Australian owners the Pelligra Group. They also purchased Perth Glory in 2024 with Grella serving as a director of the A-League club too.
SCOTT CHIPPERFIELD
The former midfielder and defender has remained in football circles. Chipperfield runs his own coaching and player development company based in Wollongong called ‘Chippers Finishing School’. The 50-year-old has also coached the Illawarra Stingrays’ women’s team in the NPL NSW as well as local club Tarrawanna where he played in his youth. Chipperfield also stays connected with his son Liam’s career, who plays professionally in Switzerland. In 2023, Chipperfield was found guilty of a domestic violence charge.
JOHN ALOISI
Australia’s hero from the penalty shootout against Uruguay is the country’s latest manager making waves overseas. Aloisi is currently the boss of Chinese Super League club Chengdu Rongcheng and has them flying as they sit top of the lead at the halfway mark of the season. The 50-year-old has drawn similarities to Ange Postecoglou for his preference for attacking football that has captivated the Chinese league. He previously spent 14 years managing in the A-League with Melbourne Heart, Brisbane Roar and Western United. Aloisi won the A-League with Western United in 2022, but as the club descended into financial turmoil, he headed to China in January.
MICHAEL BEAUCHAMP
The former defender is another who has stepped into the realm of coaching. In 2023, Beauchamp took charge of the women’s first grade team at his junior club, the Marconi Stallions in Sydney. According to his LinkedIn profile, the 45-year-old works as a sales consultant for Nippy’s Fruit Juices.
ARCHIE THOMPSON
The former striker is a media regular since he finished his playing career with Melbourne Victory a decade ago. The 47-year-old is currently an A-League pundit and commentator for Channel 10 and Paramount+, acts a club ambassador his former club and does works as a keynote speaker. Thompson often appears on television shows like Channel 7’s ‘House of Wellness’, while he also acts as an ambassador for multiple charities and brands.
ZELJKO KALAC
The former goalkeeper is another ex-Socceroo who will be at this year’s World Cup. The 53-year-old is an assistant to former Socceroos manager Graham Arnold, who has led Iraq to their first World Cup in 40 years. Kalac is Iraq’s goalkeeping coach, having previously fulfilled the role alongside Arnold at Sydney FC. He also worked with Tony Popovic at Western Sydney Wanderers as well as in Turkey and in Greece either side of a stint with Melbourne City. Before joining Iraq, Kalac had a shot head coaching in the Croatian third division and in NSW NPL.
JOSH KENNEDY
The former towering Socceroo striker stepped into football administration post-retirement. Kennedy has also previously worked as a pundit and in 2020 was appointed by Football Victoria as an administrator. The 43-year-old is currently NPL Competitions Manager and had been the MiniRoos Manager in his home state. He is clearly deeply involved in the grassroots levels of the game.
LUKE WILKSHIRE
The former defender is another who has gone down the coaching and media paths. Wilkshire is currently head coach of Australian Championship side the Wollongong Wolves. It is the 44-year-old’s second stint with his junior club after also taking charge of the Central Coast Mariners Academy. He also spent time as an assistant to Graham Arnold with the Socceroos in 2023 and 2024, while also performing the role with the Young Socceroos. Wilkshire also runs his own football academy and has done media work in Australia — he will be work as co-commentator for SBS at this World Cup.
MILE STERJOVSKI
Another former Socceroo who is now a coach. Strejovski is in charge of A-League outfit Macarthur. The expansion club finished seventh and just missed the finals in the recently concluded season. Sterjovski took on the top job in 2023 after three years as head coach of the club’s academy. The 47-year-old former forward is under contract until the end of 2027/28 season and also has his own academy.
MARK MILLIGAN
Another 2006 squad member who is now coaching in the A-League. Milligan took his experience of going to four World Cups by leading the Newcastle Jets to the Australia Cup title and the A-League Premiers Plate in the season just gone. That was also his first season in charge in his first professional senior coaching role. Milligan previously worked as an assistant at Macarthur, Adelaide United and the Malaysian national team. He coached his own team with semi-professional club St George in Sydney. Before the Newcastle gig, Milligan also used to make media appearances as a pundit.
MARK BRESCIANO
The former Socceroos maestro in midfield is now pulling the strings in the business world. Alongside his one-time partner in the middle of the park Vince Grella, Bresciano is a part-owner and board member of Catania FC. Unlike Grella, he is not based in Italy and travels every few months to attend games. Bresciano previously was on Football Australia’s board of directors but stepped down two years ago. He is still on the national body’s football development committee. Outside of football, the 46-year-old runs construction projections in his home city of Melbourne. He also is an investor and board member for a medicinal cannabis company.
