Alex Tobin

NSL Career: Adelaide City, Parramatta Power, Northern Spirit 522 (31) / 1984 - 2003/04

Socceroos Career: 87 (2) A Internationals / 26 (1) B Internationals

Alex Tobin has held the national league games record for more than 20 years and may well hold the record for a long time to come. As a footballer, Tobin conducted himself in the mould of a Bobby Moore - consistent, fair, a leader on and off the pitch and simply... tough to beat.

With team mate Milan Ivanović, Tobin formed arguably the greatest defensive pairing in Australian football history. Long time captain of Adelaide City and the Socceroos, Tobin excelled in the air, got forward to score the occasional goal and was a clean tackler.

Brought to Adelaide City by Edmund Kreft as an 18 year old after spending his junior career at Birkalla, Tobin started his career as a left-back with the stopper role belonging to experienced Englishman Neville Flounders. In his first two seasons, Tobin struggled to cement his spot in the City side, competing with experienced defenders Flounders, Bugsy Nyskohus, Sergio Melta and fellow full-back Paul Shillabeer.

Tobin's break-out year came in 1986 where he missed just one game all season and played in both legs of City's maiden grand final, beating Sydney Olympic three-two on aggregate where he played alongside a number of other young South Australian players including: Aurelio Vidmar, Steve Maxwell and Joe Mullen.

The tall defender started in City's 1987 Oceania Club Championship (precursor to the OFC Champions League) victory against 1986 New Zealand champions Mount Wellington but failed to see any finals action over the next two seasons as City began it's rebuild under championship-winning coach Zoran Matić. 

During 1988 and 1989, Matić began to build his future all-Socceroo defence, signing Serbian import Milan Ivanović, young local full-back Tony Vidmar and Western Australian keeper Robert Zabica. The City defence went unbeaten during the club's 1989 NSL Cup campaign, including a two-nil victory over Sydney Olympic in the final.

With Flounders' career coming to an end, Tobin began to occupy the stopper role and formed a defensive partnership with Ivanović at club and international level. Following their failed finals series campaigns in the 1989/90 and 1990/91 seasons, Tobin captained City to the 1991/92 NSL Double, winning the cup and championship where he was awarded the Joe Marston Medal. 

After losing the 1992/93 NSL Grand Final to Marconi, Tobin captained City to a second grand final victory over Melbourne Knights in the 1993/94 season, winning a second Joe Marston Medal (only player in the NSL era to do so). With the added responsibility of national team captain, Tobin led City to a fourth consecutive grand final the following season, losing to rivals Melbourne Knights. 

City reached the NSL Cup Semi-Finals and NSL Preliminary Final in the 1995/96 season and remained a top six side over the next four seasons, playing in their eleventh consecutive finals series (national league record) in the 1999/00 season. In 1998, Tobin retired from international football as the most capped Socceroos A player in history (has since been surpassed) before finishing his NSL career with City at the end of the 1999/2000 season as the club's all-time games record holder (436).

Tobin moved to Parramatta Power for the 2000/01 and 2001/02 seasons before finishing his career at Northern Spirit in the last two seasons of the NSL, becoming the first NSL player in history to make 500+ league appearances (still holds the all-time national league record) and played in a record 47 NSL finals matches (still holds the all-time national league record). 

While captain of the Socceroos in 1998, Tobin was appointed President of the Australian Soccer Players' Association. Tobin served in the role until 2005 during which time he oversaw: the union change it's name to the universally appropriate PFA (Professional Footballers' Association), a crucial Collective Agreement for the NSL and the NSL Task Force to help the Frank Lowy led Australia Soccer Association form the A-League.

For his contribution to Australian football both on and off the pitch, Tobin has been bestowed with various honours including: the PFA awarded Alex Tobin OAM Medal for service to Australian football, the Fox Sports Alex Tobin Medal which was awarded to the A-League's best player as adjudged by A-League broadcaster Fox Sports, made a PFA Life Member and was selected as captain in FFA's Socceroos Team of the 1990s.