A highly regarded name in Australian football and another product from the ‘Golden Generation’, Paul Okon will be an exciting addition to Tony Popovic’s Subway Socceroos coaching staff.

Having been capped 28 times in ‘A’ internationals for the Socceroos between 1991 and 2003, the former defender-cum-midfielder provides a wealth of experience as both a player and manager.

Okon has enjoyed a decorated career as a player, plying his trade in multiple top-flight leagues in Europe while winning silverware along the way before injuries unfortunately curtailed his later years.

Following his retirement in 2007, Okon transitioned into coaching, helping nurture the next generation of Australian talent and was inducted into the Football Australia Hall of Fame in 2009.

He now joins Popovic’s backroom staff alongside former teammates Hayden Foxe and Frank Juric.

This is Paul Okon’s journey.

The early years

Born in Sydney in 1972, Okon’s football story started at Marconi Stallions in the former National Soccer League, close to where he grew up in Bossley Park.

He won successive NSL Young Player of the Year awards in 1989/90 and 1990/91 and his meteoric rise on the national stage did not go unnoticed. Okon was instrumental in the Australia U20s side who reached the semi-finals of the World Youth Cup in Portugal in 1991 and was later part of the squad at the Olympic Games in Barcelona the following year.
 

European move follows

After impressive performances in Portugal, Okon earned his first European move, joining Belgium side Club Brugge.

The then 19-year-old would go on to enjoy five successful seasons for Blauw-Zwart, excelling as a sweeper with the ability to read the play, snuff out danger before anything eventuated and ignite attacks with his expert distribution. He lifted the Belgian Supercup on three occasions, the Belgian Cup twice in 1994/95 and 1995/96 as well as winning the Belgian Pro League in 1995/96. The domestic double in his final season was also capped off by being awarded the Belgian Golden Shoe for best player.

Sealing Serie A switch

Okon’s eye-catching performances began garnering interest. In the summer of 1996, Okon signed for Dino Zoff’s Lazio, becoming one of the first Australians to appear in Italy’s top-flight, considered by many to be the best league in the world at the time.

The change of scenery also coincided with a change in position for Okon. The departure of Roberto Di Matteo to Chelsea meant a tactical switch, with the Australian deployed as a defensive midfielder.

However, his four-year spell in Italy was unfortunately interrupted by a recurrent knee injury attributed to a childhood car accident. Nevertheless, Okon was considered one of Le Aquile’s best players when on the park and in three years in the Italian capital, he won the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana in 1998 as well as the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup a year later. For the 1999/00 campaign, Okon was loaned to Fiorentina, but injuries continued to limit his game time.

When fit, he was often one of the team’s top players and got to play alongside some of the great players of his generation, including Alessandro Nesta, Giuseppe Signori, Pavel Nedved, Roberto Mancini, Pierluigi Casiraghi, Gabriel Batistuta and Rui Costa to name a few.

England transfer and return to Italy

In 2000, Okon joined Middlesbrough, reuniting with fellow Marconi product and compatriot Mark Schwarzer and ex-Lazio teammate Alen Bokšić. During his time at Boro, he played under former Socceroos boss Terry Venables. 

He was also loaned to Watford before signing with Leeds United in 2002/03, joining several Aussies including Mark Viduka and Harry Kewell.

After one season, Okon returned to Italy with Serie B side Vicenza and amassed 28 appearances, scoring two goals.

Final years

It was somewhat of a full circle moment for Okon when he returned to the country where his European adventure started in Belgium, spending a season at KV Oostende in the second division, followed by a brief stint in Cyprus with APOEL. Ahead of the 2006/07 A-League campaign, Okon joined Newcastle Jets before calling time on his playing career.

Socceroos playing days

Okon made his Socceroos debut in 1991 as Cap #377, however injuries and unavailability restricted his international career to 37 appearances, including 28 full ‘A’ internationals. It may be fair to say we never witnessed Okon’s full potential on a consistent basis with the Socceroos given the already mentioned reasons. Regardless, he is up there as one of the country’s most talented players ever produced.

Thankfully, Okon did make up for lost time at the backend of his international career – earning 20 caps in two years. In total, of the 28 caps, 24 occurred as captain – a testament to his character and leadership qualities when in the squad. Okon captained Australia to a third-place finish at the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup, playing with Popovic and Foxe, who were also in Frank Farina’s squad. It was an impressive tournament which included a shock 1-0 victory over reigning European and World champions France as well as defeating Brazil 1-0 in the third-place playoff.

Transition to coaching

Not long after hanging up his boots, Okon ventured into coaching and developed a strong reputation as being one of the best youth coaches in the country.

In the build-up to the 2008 Olympics, he spent time at Coverciano – Italy’s technical headquarters for their national teams – learning under U23s boss and former Lazio teammate Pierluigi Casiraghi. He also served as an assistant at Gold Coast United and was appointed the Australia U20s boss in 2012 until 2016, while also an assistant to the Australia U23s. 

With the Young Socceroos he secured qualification to the 2013 FIFA U20 World Cup, working with the likes of Jackson Irvine, Paul Izzo, Jamie Maclaren and Adam Taggart.

In 2016, Okon was announced as the Central Coast Mariners head coach and, after almost two years, departed the Gosford club. Most recently, Okon was an assistant coach at Club Brugge.