Travis Dodd (born 6 January 1980) is an Australian football (soccer) coach and former football (soccer) player who last played for North Eastern MetroStars SC in the National Premier League - South Australia competition. He played as an attacking midfielder or winger and also played as a striker. He was the first Indigenous Australian to score for the Australian national team.

Travis Dodd
Dodd warming-up for Adelaide United in 2008
Personal information
Full name Travis Garth Dodd
Date of birth (1980-01-06) 6 January 1980 (age 44)
Place of birth Adelaide, Australia
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Position(s) Winger / Striker
Youth career
St. Augustines
1996 SASI
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–1997 Adelaide City 14 (5)
1996–1999 Adelaide City Force 32 (5)
1999–2000 Newcastle Breakers 32 (2)
2000–2003 Newcastle Jets 82 (9)
2003–2004 Parramatta Power 27 (6)
2004 Johor FC 5 (2)
2004–2005 Panionios 4 (0)
2005–2011 Adelaide United 137 (30)
2011–2014 Perth Glory 48 (9)
2016–2017 MetroStars 14 (3)
Total 381 (68)
International career
1997 Australia U-17 8 (1)
2000 Australia U-20 2 (0)
2006 Australia 2 (1)
Managerial career
2015 Bayswater City (assistant)
2017–2020 MetroStars (assistant)
2017–2020 Adelaide United (W-League) (assistant)
2020– Croydon FC[2]
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 9 January 2016

Domestic career edit

Born in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia,[3] he played junior football at Elizabeth before joining the South Australian Sports Institute in 1996. He was Adelaide City's fourth youngest National Soccer League (NSL) player of all time (16 years 281 days), and the fifth player in NSL history to score a hat-trick after coming on as a substitute (in a 4–1 win over Football Kingz in 2003).

At the conclusion of the 2003–04 NSL season, he moved abroad, playing firstly with Malaysian club Johor, then Greek club Panionios NFC. During his stint with Panionios, Dodd scored in their UEFA Cup first round victory over high-profile Italian side Udinese Calcio.[4] His career at the Greek club was short lived, with a change in manager seeing him frozen out of the senior squad. He made nine appearances for the club, four in the league, and five in the UEFA Cup.

Adelaide United edit

Dodd returned home to Adelaide in 2005 and was a part of the Adelaide United side that won the 2005–06 A-League Premiership. On 23 May 2007, Dodd was the first Australian player to score a hat-trick in the Asian Champions League, scoring all three in a 3–0 win against Đồng Tâm Long An.[5] After positive performances in the Asian Champions League, Dodd was linked with a move to Kashima Antlers.[6]

Dodd took the captaincy of Adelaide United in July 2008 taking over from Michael Valkanis.[7] He became Adelaide's fourth captain since its formation in 2003. During 2008 Dodd had a rich vein of form scoring 11 goals from midfield including a goal against New Zealand team Waitakere United in the FIFA Club World Cup that saw the team progress to the Quarterfinals.[8] 2008 also saw Dodd become the first Adelaide United player to play 100 competitive games in which he scored the only goal in the 1–0 win over Perth Glory in round one of the 2008–09 A-League season.[9]

Perth Glory edit

On 1 March 2011, it was announced that Dodd had signed a two-year contract with A-League club Perth Glory reportedly worth $200,000 per season with an option to extend the contract to a third year.[10]

On 23 March 2013, Dodd tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in a league match against Melbourne Victory potentially sidelining him for 12 months.[11]

On 4 April 2014, with Dodd still unable to play after more than a year of recovery, Perth Glory announced that his contract would not be renewed,[12] thus leaving Dodd's further playing career in doubt.

MetroStars edit

On 7 February 2016, Dodd signed with South Australian club North Eastern MetroStars in the National Premier League. He again tore his ACL during the last game of the regular season, and has foreshadowed a move into coaching for 2017.[13]

International career edit

Dodd's debut international match for Australia was an AFC Cup qualifier against Kuwait at Allianz Stadium, on 16 August 2006. He scored the opening goal for the home side in a 2–0 win. Dodd's goal marked the first ever international goal scored by an Indigenous Australian player.[5][14]

Managerial career edit

Dodd joined W-League team Adelaide United during the 2017–18 Season as an assistant coach.[15]

References edit

  1. ^ "FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2008 Presented By TOYOTA — List Of Players" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 5 December 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 December 2008.
  2. ^ the team was known as Croydon Kings prior to 2022
  3. ^ "Travis Dodd". ESPN FC. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  4. ^ "Udinese undone by plucky Panionios". UEFA.com. 17 September 2004. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  5. ^ a b Dasey, Jason (3 March 2008). "From A-League To Asia For Dodd". ESPN FC. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  6. ^ "Dodd Linked With Japan Switch". FourFourTwo.com.au. 29 September 2008. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  7. ^ Brettig, Daniel (30 July 2008). "Cool Dodd new Adelaide United skipper". adelaidenow.com.au. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  8. ^ "Dodd heads Adelaide through". a-league.com.au. Archived from the original on 6 March 2011.
  9. ^ Wilson, M. (17 August 2008). "United edges out Glory". a-League.com.au. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 22 December 2008.
  10. ^ "Glory finally nabs Dodd". theworldgame.sbs.com.au. 1 March 2011. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  11. ^ "Dodd feared for career". footballaustralia.com.au. 28 March 2013. Archived from the original on 16 December 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  12. ^ "Player announcement: Travis Dodd". footballaustralia.com.au. 4 April 2014. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  13. ^ "Dodd philosophical about horror end to his comeback". theworldgame.sbs.com.au. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  14. ^ "Trailblazing Dodd". TheWorldGame.com.au. 17 August 2006. Archived from the original on 21 August 2006. Retrieved 27 October 2008.
  15. ^ "Reds legend joins Westfield W-League coaching staff". Football Federation Australia. 16 December 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2017.

External links edit