Ernie Tapai

Ernie Tapai

Personal information
Full name	Ernest Tapai
Date of birth	(1967-02-14) 14 February 1967
Place of birth	Perth, Australia
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1985–1989	Footscray JUST	100	(10)
1989–1990	Sunshine George Cross	15	(0)
1990–1992	Adelaide City	15	(6)
1992–1993	Stoke City	0	(0)
1993–1994	Estoril	13	(1)
1994–1996	Gippsland Falcons	48	(8)
1996–1997	Collingwood Warriors	24	(1)
1997–1998	Perth Glory	15	(2)
1999–2000	Home United	?	(?)
2001	Clementi Khalsa	16	(3)
2002	Westgate
International career
1990–1998	Australia	37	(6)
Managerial career
2007	Corio
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ernie Tapai (born 14 February 1967) is a former Australian footballer who played for Stoke City.

Club career

Playing as a midfielder, Tapai debuted with Footscray JUST at age 18 in the National Soccer League. After playing with Sunshine George Cross and Adelaide City Tapai moved to Europe to play for English side 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 with Crewe Alexandra in the Football League Trophy on 6 January 1993.

Tapai then signed with Portuguese club Estoril, 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 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 Australian national team between 1986 and 1998. He was part of the Australia squad that claimed 2nd place at the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup. 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.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	8 July 1992	Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide, Australia	Croatia	1–0	3–1	Friendly
2	27 October 1996	Olympic Stadium, Papeete, Tahiti	Tahiti	0–1	0–6	1996 OFC Nations Cup
3	11 June 1997	Parramatta Stadium, Sydney, Australia	Solomon Islands	8–0	13–0	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
4	17 June 1997	Parramatta Stadium, Sydney, Australia	Solomon Islands	4–0	6–2	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
5				5–0
6	11 February 1998	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, Australia	South Korea	1–0	1–0	Friendly