Nikolai David Topor-Stanley (born 11 March 1985) is an Australian former soccer player who played as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

. He played for

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

clubs

Sydney FC Sydney Football Club, commonly known as Sydney FC, is a professional association football, soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. They compete in the top-tier men's league in Australia, the A-League Men. Established in 2004, ...

Perth Glory Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional Association football, soccer club based in Perth, Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under Professional sports league organi ...

Newcastle Jets Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from the Australi ...

Western Sydney Wanderers Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, Wanderers, or simply as WSW) is an Australian professional association football club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in t ...

and

Western United Western United Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club. The club is based in the western Melbourne suburb of Tarneit, the club aims to represent western Victoria, incorporating the western suburbs of Melbourne; the regional ci ...

. He has also played in international squads, the

Olyroos The Australia national under-23 soccer team represents Australia in international under-23 soccer and at the Olympic Games. The team is controlled by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Australia (FA), which is currently a member ...

and Socceroos, for Australia.

Early life

Stanley was born in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

on 11 March 1985 to a

Mauritian Mauritians (singular Mauritian; ; Creole: ''Morisien'') are nationals or natives of the Republic of Mauritius and their descendants. Mauritius is a melting pot of multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious peoples. Mauritian is made up ...

father, and a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

-German mother. He holds dual Australian-Mauritian nationality.

Club career

Sydney FC

Stanley has had several short-term contracts with

club

, firstly as a replacement for injured Jacob Timpano, and then Ruben Zadkovich, but was ''not'' signed by former Sydney FC coach

Terry Butcher Terry Ian Butcher (born 28 December 1958) is an English football manager and former player. During his playing career as a defender, Butcher captained the England national team, winning 77 caps in a ten-year international career that feature ...

on a reported long-term deal despite his "outstanding performance" because of the club's salary cap problems. He is a defender and has previously played for

NSW Premier League The National Premier Leagues NSW is a semi-professional soccer competition in New South Wales, Australia. The competition is conducted by Football NSW, one of the two organising bodies in New South Wales (the other being the National Premier Lea ...

teams

Manly United FC Manly United Football Club is an Australian soccer club based in the Northern Beaches (Sydney), Northern Beaches area of Sydney. The club competes in the National Premier Leagues NSW and their home ground is Cromer Park, in the suburb of Dee Why ...

and Belconnen Blue Devils, as well as representing

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in the

2005 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship was the 15th edition of the FIFA World Youth Championship. It took place in the Netherlands between 10 June and 2 July 2005. Venues Qualification The following 24 teams qualified for the 2005 FIFA Worl ...

. He was also selected to participate in the first training camp for the Beijing

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

. On 15 July 2006, Topor-Stanley debuted for Sydney off the bench against

Queensland Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is a professional Association football, soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland. competing in Australia's premier men's competition, A-League Men, which is the top tier Australia's Australian soccer league system ...

in the Pre-season Cup before scoring his first goal for the club against

a week later. Topor-Stanley made his

debut on 27 August 2006 against the

Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The Mar ...

. In the absence of Timpano, Topor-Stanley cemented a place in Sydney's first team, having started a number of Sydney FC's games in the

2006–07 A-League The 2006–07 A-League was the 30th season of top-flight soccer in Australia, and the second season of the A-League since its establishment the previous season. Football Federation Australia hoped to build on the success of the first season an ...

. Sydney coach Butcher was apparently "fuming" after hearing that he had developed a foot injury at an Olyroos training session before the first semi-final against Newcastle Jets. In the first qualifying game against

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

on 7 February 2007, Topor-Stanley scored two of the 11 goals – one with each foot.

Perth Glory

Stanley was rumoured to be following

Sasho Petrovski Sasho Petrovski (, ''Sašo Petrovski'') (born 5 March 1975) is a former Australian football (soccer) player who last played for Bankstown City. Petrovski has two caps for the Australian national team. Petrovski was known in the A-League as one ...

and Alvin Ceccoli out of Sydney FC and it was confirmed on 1 April 2007 that he has signed on with A-League rival team,

on a two-year deal. He left Sydney due to the contract which was offered to him by the club which was less than the amount he was being paid as a replacement player during the first season. Topor-Stanley will continue to represent Sydney until after Sydney's participation in the 2007 Asian Champions League. He is a "victim of a club-versus-country tug of war," according to

Branko Culina Branko Culina (; born 1 October 1957) is a soccer coach and former player. He previously managed Sydney FC and the Newcastle Jets in the A-League. Playing career Culina was born in Zadar, Socialist Republic of Croatia, FPR Yugoslavia and emigra ...

, flying from country to country in between Olyroos and Sydney FC matches, along with fellow Sydney and Olyroos player

Mark Milligan Mark Daniel Milligan (born 4 August 1985) is an Australian former professional footballer and the current head coach of Newcastle Jets. Starting his career as a defender, Milligan has spent much of his later career playing as a midfielder. Mil ...

. Fellow Sydney FC player

Mark Rudan Marko Ante "Mark" Rudan (born 27 August 1975) is an Australian association football manager and former player, who last managed A-League Men club Western Sydney Wanderers. Rudan was one of the inaugural inductees into the Sydney FC Hall of Fa ...

was quoted as saying, "Nikolai Topor-Stanley will be a pretty big loss for us and again we seem to be losing players and not getting them." He was praised as a new player for Perth Glory at the beginning of the 2007-08 season of the A-League, along with Jimmy Downey, and was nicknamed Nikolai "Gandhi" Topor-Stanley by his teammates. Only several matches into the A-League season, however, he took an ankle injury whilst playing for the Olyroos, but was able to play his next match against

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. "Outstanding young Perth Glory defender Nikolai Topor-Stanley has capped off a wonderful season by claiming the 2007/08 'Most Glorious Player' Award, along with a host of other accolades, at the club’s presentation evening on Friday. The event belonged to Topor-Stanley as he scooped the pool with three awards in his debut season with

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, adding the 'Players' Player of the Year' and 'Young Player of the Year' to his 'Most Glorious Player' award."

Newcastle Jets

On 8 January 2009, Topor-Stanley signed a two-year contract with Newcastle Jets. The assistant coach at the club 'rates Nikolai Topor-Stanley one of the best centre-backs in Australia and believes he is the perfect man to fix the club's defensive woes.'. Playing for the Jets would enable Topor-Stanley to compete in the Asian Champions League for the second time, the first being with Sydney FC in 2006. In a penalty shoot-out on 20 February 2010, Topor-Stanley scored the goal that earned Newcastle Jets the right to go into the A-League 2010 semi-finals. This was his first goal in 88 games for the Newcastle Jets. On 27 November 2010, Topor-Stanley captained the Jets to defeat to

LA Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

at Energy Stadium before a record crowd.

Western Sydney Wanderers

On 22 June 2012, he was released by his club,

. On 30 June 2012 it was announced he had signed with the newly formed

franchise. On 20 July 2013, Topor-Stanley started for the A-League All Stars in the inaugural A-League All Stars Game against

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

, a match in which the A-League All Stars were thrashed 5–1, courtesy of goals from

Danny Welbeck Daniel Nii Tackie Mensah Welbeck (born 26 November 1990) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for club Brighton & Hove Albion F.C., Brighton & Hove Albion. Welbeck m ...

Jesse Lingard Jesse Ellis Lingard (born 15 December 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for and captains K League 1 club FC Seoul. He has won the UEFA Europa League, FA Cup, EFL Cup, and FA Community Sh ...

and

Robin van Persie Robin van Persie (; born 6 August 1983) is a Dutch football coach and former professional association football, footballer who is the head coach of Eredivisie club Feyenoord. He is regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and was ...

. Topor-Stanley was substituted off in the 73rd minute of the match, and was replaced by

Melbourne Heart Melbourne City Football Club is an Australian professional Association football, soccer club based in the South-Eastern Metropolitan Region, South-Eastern region of Melbourne, Victoria. They compete in the A-League Men, the Australian soccer ...

forward David Williams. Topor-Stanley captained the Western Sydney Wanderers during the 2014 season, replacing Michael Beauchamp. His captaincy continued into 2015. Under his captaincy, the Wanderers defeated

Al Hilal SFC Al-Hilal Saudi Football Club (), simply known as Al-Hilal, is a professional multi-sports club based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Their Association football, football team competes in the Saudi Pro League. In Arabic, Al-Hilal means "the Crescent Mo ...

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

to win the

Asian Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious cl ...

Hatta Club

In October 2016, Topor-Stanley left the Wanderers to join

UAE Arabian Gulf League The UAE Pro League (), also known as the ADNOC Pro League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the highest level of the Emirati football league system. The first team to w ...

side

Hatta Club Hatta Club is a sports club based in Hatta in the Emirate of Dubai, UAE, founded in 1981. It is most widely known for its professional football team, which currently plays in the UAE Division One. Founded in 1981, the club’s football team p ...

2017: Return to Newcastle Jets

After one season, Topor-Stanley returned to the

, signing a two-year deal with

in June 2017.

2021–: Western United FC

Topor-Stanley played for

Western United FC Western United Football Club is an Australian professional Association football, soccer club. The club is based in the western Melbourne suburb of Tarneit, Victoria, Tarneit, the club aims to represent western Victoria, incorporating the wester ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

for the 2021–22 season, and has signed to play for the 2022–23 season. Topor-Stanley announced his retirement at the end of the season on 19 April 2023, after two seasons at Western United.

International career

Topor-Stanley contributed significantly to the

' win over

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

Hindmarsh Stadium Hindmarsh Stadium (also known as Coopers Brewery, Coopers Stadium under naming rights) is a multi-purpose stadium in Hindmarsh, South Australia, Hindmarsh, an inner western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is the home of the Australian ...

on 28 March 2007 by scoring the first goal, a header from the near post in the 74th minute of the game. He was part of the

squad that represented Australia at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. In 2008, Topor-Stanley was named in Pim Verbeek's preliminary Australian squad which opened their

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

qualifying campaign against

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

on Wednesday 6 February in

but made his international debut against

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

in March 2008. Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek included Topor-Stanley in the Socceroos squad that drew 0–0 against China in

Kunming Kunming is the capital and largest city of the province of Yunnan in China. The political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province, Kunming is also the seat of the provincial government. During World War II, Kunming was a Ch ...

on 26 March 2008, that won against Ghana on and lost to China in Sydney on Sunday 22 June 2008. Topor-Stanley is the most capped Olyroos player representing Australia at the

2008 Beijing Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

. Verbeek selected Topor-Stanley for the Socceroos squad that played Indonesia to a nil-all draw on 28 January 2009 and for the squad that went on to play Kuwait in Canberra on 5 March 2009. Australia coach

Ange Postecoglou Angelos "Ange" Postecoglou ( ; ; born 27 August 1965) is a soccer manager and former player who was most recently manager of club Tottenham Hotspur. Born in Greece, Postecoglou grew up in Melbourne from the age of five. As a player, he spen ...

revealed that Topor-Stanley could have made his return to the Socceroos at the World Cup but for his injury in the A-League grand final. In September 2014, Topor-Stanley was recalled to the Socceroos squad by Postecoglou to play UAE in UAE and Qatar in Qatar. In December 2014, Topor-Stanley was named in the provisional Socceroos Asian Cup squad.

Career statistics

Honours

Western Sydney Wanderers * A-League Premiership:

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Individual *

Most Glorious Player Award: 2007–08 * PFA Team of the Season: 2009–10,

, 2015–16 * A-League All Star:

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

References

External links

Oz Football profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Topor-Stanley, Nikolai 1985 births Living people A-League Men players A-League Men All-Stars Australian men's soccer players Australian people of German descent Australian people of Mauritian descent Australian people of Polish descent Australia men's international soccer players Men's association football defenders Western Sydney Wanderers FC players Perth Glory FC players Sydney FC players Newcastle Jets FC players Western United FC players Hatta Club players National Premier Leagues players Olympic soccer players for Australia Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Australian Institute of Sport soccer players Sportspeople from Canberra Soccer players from the Australian Capital Territory ACT Academy of Sport alumni UAE Pro League players People educated at Narrabundah College AFC Champions League Elite–winning players Lambton Jaffas FC players 21st-century Australian sportsmen