Legendary captains
We’ve had a few Eagles pull on Australia’s marigold kit as well as Palace’s red and blue, but two players from recent history stand out: Tony Popovic and Mile Jedinak.
A pair of fan favourites, Popovic and Jedinak both captained the club through landmark periods; with the former competing in both our promotion season 2003/04 and the Premier League in 04/05 and the latter leading the Eagles through the play-offs to promotion in 2012/13.
Between them, Tony and Mile notched over 300 appearances for the south Londoners, each leaving a fond legacy in SE25.
Memorable internationals
Six Australians have represented their country whilst playing for Crystal Palace, with Popovic (18 caps, one goal) and Jedinak (38 caps, 10 goals) being two.
The others are Nick Carle (five caps, zero goals), Craig Foster (nine caps, seven goals), Kevin Muscat (five caps, one goal) and Carl Veart (two caps, zero goals).
Jedinak became the first Palace man to score at a World Cup finals when he slammed home from the spot against France in 2014.
In total, 15 Australians have pulled on Palace’s kit over time.
Staff, both past and present
Palace’s Head of Sport Science and Strength & Conditioning, Scott Guyett, was raised in Brisbane, where the club will take on West Ham United on July 18th.
Roy Hodgson has alluded to Guyett’s connections in Australia, saying: “I know Scott Guyett, who’s got contacts out there, will do a lot of spadework for us in terms of making certain with his research that everything is going to be to the standard that we need and require.”
Hodgson himself has worked in Australia, acting in an advisory capacity for Melbourne City manager Michael Valkanis. You can find out more about Hodgson’s time on the country’s southern coast here.
Finally, former player-turned-manager Terry Venables enjoyed a relatively successful time leading the Socceroos, however they just missed out on qualification for the 1998 World Cup. Venables returned to Palace after leaving the national team.
Current Aussie players
The Eagles currently have two Australians amongst their ranks on the pitch, with new Under-23s signing Jay-Rich Baghuelou and Women's goalkeeper Emma Gibbon both originating from 'down under'. Gibbon represented Brisbane Roar, who Palace will face on July 11th.
Supporters clubs
We have four official supporters clubs in Australia: CPFC Adelaide, CPFC Melbourne Supporters Club, Crystal Palace Sydney Supporters and CPFC Australia Network, a nationwide group aiming to unite Palace fans across the country.
Of the three cities with supporters clubs, Sydney is the closest to Brisbane and Townsville (where Palace will compete), roughly 1,050 miles from Brisbane and over 1,600 to Townsville.
Find out more about our official supporters clubs here!