Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Joe Anthony Gauci [1] | ||
Date of birth | July 4, 2000 | ||
Place of birth | Adelaide, Australia [2] | ||
Height | 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) [2] | ||
Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Aston Villa | ||
Number | 18 | ||
Youth career | |||
Waiheke United | |||
Cumberland United | |||
2011–2015 | FFSA NTC | ||
2015–2017 | Cumberland United | ||
2018–2019 | Central Coast Mariners | ||
2019–2020 | Melbourne City | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2017–2018 | West Torrens Birkalla | 31 | (0) |
2018–2019 | Central Coast Mariners | 0 | (0) |
2018–2019 | CCM Academy | 5 | (0) |
2019 | Adelaide City | 8 | (0) |
2019–2020 | Melbourne City | 0 | (0) |
2020–2024 | Adelaide United | 71 | (0) |
2021 | Adelaide United NPL | 2 | (0) |
2024– | Aston Villa | 0 | (0) |
International career‡ | |||
2022 | Australia U23 | 5 | (0) |
2023– | Australia | 3 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 January 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 6 June 2022 |
Joe Anthony Gauci (born 4 July 2000) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Aston Villa and the Australia national team. [3]
Gauci's career began when he received a scholarship deal with Central Coast Mariners [4] and subsequently joined Adelaide City and Melbourne City before signing a scholarship contract with Adelaide United in 2020. [5] Gauci made his A-League debut in 2021.
Internationally, Gauci received his first call-up to the Australia national team in 2022 as a train-on player and made his debut in a friendly match against Ecuador in 2023.
Gauci was born on 4 July 2000 in Adelaide, Australia to parents of Maltese descent. [6] At the age of four, Gauci moved to Waiheke Island, New Zealand after his mother was posted as a general manager for Kangaroo Island SeaLink. [7] [8] While living in New Zealand, Gauci joined local club Waiheke United at youth level and, with his brother, traveled by ferry to Auckland where he started playing football as a striker. [8] [9] Gauci began playing as a goalkeeper during a school football camp in New Zealand. [9] [10] [11]
Gauci moved back to Adelaide, aged 11, and joined Cumberland United after a successful trial. [9] During his time at the Clarence Gardens outfit, Gauci represented South Australia in an under-14s national competition held at Coffs Harbour. [10] Gauci eventually joined the National Training Centre program where he was coached by Carl Veart at the time. [9]
At 16 years old, Gauci caught the attention of scouts while captaining West Torrens Birkalla's under-18s in the National Premier Leagues (NPL). Gauci led his team to the title, triumphing over Adelaide City in the final. [9] In February 2018, Gauci went on trial with Central Coast Mariners although he was not offered a contract initially before the club invited him for another week of training in May. He officially signed a two-year scholarship contract with the Mariners on 19 June 2018. [12] [13] After being released a year later, [14] Gauci signed with Adelaide City mid-season of the NPL South Australia in June 2019. [15] [16] He made eight league appearances in the 2019 season. [17] On 9 September, Gauci signed a scholarship contract with Melbourne City where he took part in the club's youth teams. [18] [19]
On 7 October 2020, Gauci signed a scholarship deal with his hometown club Adelaide United after serving as a backup goalkeeper at Melbourne City. [20] As first choice goalkeeper James Delianov was ruled out due to failing his fitness test, Gauci made his professional debut on 13 March 2021 in a 3–1 away victory against Melbourne Victory. [21] He kept his first clean sheet in the league on 28 March 2021 in a 1–0 win against Sydney FC. [22] The match was Adelaide's sixth consecutive win of the 2020–21 season, matching the club record in the 2005–06 season. [23] [24] Carl Veart, the head coach of Adelaide United, praised Gauci's performance on the team's success. [25]
On 13 May, Gauci suffered a thigh injury during a warm-up session before a match against Melbourne City which ruled him out for the remainder of the season. [26] In the 2020–21 season, Gauci made 10 league appearances with three clean sheets and extended his contract for two years on 25 May. [27] In the 2021–22 season, Gauci went seven-months without an appearance and was ruled out at the start of the new year with COVID-19. [28] He made his first appearance for the season, as to replace Delianov who sustained an injury mid-season, [29] on 8 January against Melbourne Victory. [30] By the end of the season, Gauci signed a three-year contract extension on 13 April 2023. [31]
In the 2022–23 season, Adelaide United progressed to the A-League finals series. In the elimination final, Gauci kept his first clean sheet in 13 matches, the last being against Macarthur FC on 20 January, in a 2–0 win against Wellington Phoenix on 5 May. [32] Adelaide United ended the season with a loss in the semi-final leg against Melbourne City. [33] In February 2024, midway of the 2023–24 season, Gauci departed Adelaide United with a total of 76 appearances and 16 clean sheets. [34]
On 1 February 2024, Gauci signed for English Premier League club Aston Villa for an undisclosed fee. [35] The fee was reported to be around $2.5m (around £1.29m). It was confirmed that the player would join up with his new club after the end of Australia's involvement in the ongoing Asian Cup. [36] Gauci was on the bench for the February 2024 game against Nottingham Forest. [37]
On July 17 2024, Gauci made his debut for Aston Villa as a second-half substitute during a 3–0 friendly win against EFL League Two club Walsall. [38]
Other than Australia, Gauci is eligible to represent New Zealand and Malta at international level. [6] In March 2022, Joe Gauci received his first call-up to the Australia national team as a train-on player for the first week of camp, in preparation for the World Cup qualification matches against Japan and Saudi Arabia. [39]
Gauci received his first official call-up to the Australia national team ahead of two friendly matches against Ecuador. [40] During the second friendly match on 28 March, Gauci earned his first international appearance, starting in Australia's 2–1 defeat at Marvel Stadium. [41] [42]
In January 2024, Gauci was called up to the Australia National Team for the 2023 Asian Cup. [43]
Gauci has a younger brother, Jed, who plays for The Cove in State League 2 South Australia. The two played against each other for the first time on 18 July 2023 where Adelaide United won 8–1 over The Cove. [44]
In April 2022, Gauci, acting as a representative of Adelaide United, became an ambassador for the Childhood Cancer Association (CCA) in supporting local children with cancer, and their families. [45] [46] To show his commitment and generosity, Gauci vowed to contribute a sum of $20 for every save he made throughout an entire season. As of May 2023, Gauci donated an amount of $1,920 to the association. [47]
Club | Season | League [lower-alpha 1] | National cup [lower-alpha 2] | League cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Central Coast Mariners | 2018–19 | A-League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
Melbourne City | 2019–20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
Adelaide United | 2020–21 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | |||
2021–22 | 22 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 0 | ||||
2022–23 | 29 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 0 | ||||
2023–24 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||||
Total | 71 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 76 | 0 | |||
Aston Villa | 2023–24 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Career total | 71 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 76 | 0 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Australia | 2023 | 1 | 0 |
2024 | 2 | 0 | |
Total | 2 | 0 |
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