Ernie Tapai (born 14 February 1967) is an Australian former professional soccer player who spent the majority of his career in the Australian National Soccer League (NSL). He also had stints in England, Portugal and Singapore. Tapai played 52 times for Australia, including 37 times in full international matches.

Early life

Tapai was born in Subotica,

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

(now in Serbia). He migrated to Australia with his parents as a young child.

Club career

After playing as a junior for Melbourne Hungaria, Tapai signed for

Footscray JUST Footscray Jugoslav United Soccer Team, commonly referred to as Footscray JUST or simply JUST, was an association football club from Melbourne, Australia. The club was established by Yugoslav migrants in 1950, and was a founding member of the Na ...

ahead of the 1985 National Soccer League season. He made at age 18 in the National Soccer League. After playing with Sunshine George Cross and

Adelaide City Adelaide City Football Club is a soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia. The club was known historically as Juventus — the original name given to the club by its founders in Adelaide's Italian community. Adelaide City is one of Aust ...

Tapai moved to Europe to play for English side Stoke City. Stoke City. He never got much of a chance at Stoke making just once appearance for the club which came as a substitute in a 2–2 draw with

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

in the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

on 6 January 1993. Tapai then signed with Portuguese club

Estoril Estoril () is a town in the Municipality of Cascais, Portugal, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a tourist destination, with luxury hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numerous royal families and celebrities, and has h ...

, participating in the 1993–94 Primeira Divisão season, where he scored his only goal against Benfica, but moved back to play in Australia. He went on to play for Gippsland Falcons and Perth Glory before playing for three years in Singapore with

Home United Lion City Sailors Football Club, commonly referred to as The Sailors or LCS, is a Singaporean professional football club competing in the Singapore Premier League, the top tier of the Singapore football league system. Since the 2021 season, the ...

and Clementi Khalsa and retired after the 2002 season with Westgate. After ending his playing career Tapai went into coaching.

International career

Tapai played 52 games (37 'A' games) for the Australia national team between 1986 and 1998. He was part of the Australia squad that claimed 2nd place at the

1997 FIFA Confederations Cup The 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup was the first Confederations Cup to be organised by FIFA. The tournament had previously been played in 1992 and 1995 as the King Fahd Cup. This edition of the tournament was hosted by Saudi Arabia, as with the pre ...

. Australian manager Terry Venables received criticism for bringing on Tapai in the 1997 World Cup Qualifier against Iran. Australia needed a goal and Tapai was not the man many viewed as being a viable attacking option.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Australia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Tapai goal.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tapai, Ernie 1967 births Living people Australian soccer players Australian expatriate soccer players Australia international soccer players Adelaide City FC players Footscray JUST players Perth Glory FC players Stoke City F.C. players Caroline Springs George Cross FC players National Soccer League (Australia) players Australian people of Hungarian descent Home United FC players Balestier Khalsa FC players Singapore Premier League players Collingwood Warriors S.C. players G.D. Estoril Praia players Primeira Liga players Association football midfielders Gippsland Falcons players 1996 OFC Nations Cup players 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup players 1998 OFC Nations Cup players Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate footballers in Singapore Australian expatriate sportspeople in England Australian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Australian expatriate sportspeople in Singapore