Jason Davidson

For the Namibian cricketer, see Jason Davidson (cricketer).

Jason Alan Davidson (born 29 June 1991) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a left-back for Greek club Panserraikos.

Jason Davidson

Davidson with Australia U20 in 2009
Personal information
Full name	Jason Alan Davidson[1]
Date of birth	(1991-06-29) 29 June 1991 (age 33)
Place of birth	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Position(s)	Left-back
Team information
Current team	Panserraikos
Number	91
Youth career
2005–2008	Seiritsu Gakuen
2009	Paços de Ferreira
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2009	Hume City	16	(2)
2009–2011	Paços de Ferreira	5	(0)
2010–2011	→ Sporting Covilhã (loan)	14	(0)
2011–2014	Heracles Almelo	46	(2)
2014–2015	West Bromwich Albion	2	(0)
2015–2017	Huddersfield Town	27	(1)
2016–2017	→ Groningen (loan)	22	(0)
2017–2018	Rijeka	0	(0)
2018	→ Olimpija Ljubljana (loan)	13	(1)
2018–2019	Perth Glory	26	(2)
2019–2021	Ulsan Hyundai	7	(0)
2021–2022	Melbourne Victory	25	(1)
2022–2024	Eupen	62	(1)
2024–	Panserraikos	9	(0)
International career‡
2009–2011	Australia U20	6	(0)
2012–2022	Australia	23	(1)
Medal record Representing  Australia Men's Association football AFC Asian Cup Winner 2015 Australia
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15 December 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 28 August 2022

Club career

Hume City

On 26 January 2009, Davidson signed with Victorian Premier League club Hume City, becoming the youngest starting member in the VPL at the age of 17. After having spent three years in the Japanese football development system. He garnered attention from several A-League clubs after being called up the Australian U-20 squad on 17 March 2009.^[3][4] In June 2009 he left Hume City to pursue several overseas trials.^[5]

Paços de Ferreira

In September 2009 Davidson signed with Portuguese club, Paços de Ferreira before being voted 2009 Victorian Premier League – Under 21 Player of the Year. Among serious interest from clubs such as European heavyweights VfB Stuttgart and Sporting CP, along with Turkish club Ankaragucu, Davidson also immediately received contract offers from A-League club, Newcastle Jets and another Turkey Super League club in Diyarbakirspor before signing for Paços.^[6][7]

On 16 January 2010, Davidson made his senior debut for Paços de Ferreira in the Primeira Liga, coming on as a substitute against Porto being the youngest player registered in the league at 18 in 2009–10 season.^[8]

Davidson suffered an ankle injury upon return from the 2010 AFC U-19 Championship and on 3 February 2011, was subsequently loaned to Liga de Honra outfit Sporting Covilhã for the remainder of the 2010–11 season for much needed game time after the long injury lay-off.^[9]

Heracles Almelo

Davidson joined Heracles Almelo in January 2012. He had an excellent senior debut starting for Heracles Almelo in the Eredivisie on 25 March 2012 at the Polman Stadium against FC Utrecht. He played centre-back and Heracles Almelo won 3–1 at home.

West Bromwich Albion

Davidson moved to West Bromwich Albion on 5 August 2014, after an impressive 2014 FIFA World Cup campaign.^[10] On 23 August 2014, Davidson made his debut in the Premier League for West Bromwich Albion, after being subbed on for Sébastien Pocognoli in the 60th minute against Southampton and the game finished in a nil all draw.^[11]

Huddersfield Town

Davidson signed a three-year contract with Huddersfield Town on 26 June 2015.^[12] He made his début for the Terriers in a 2–0 defeat against Hull City at the KC Stadium on 8 August 2015. His first goal for the club came in their 5–0 win over Charlton Athletic on 12 January 2016.

Groningen

On 18 August 2016, Davidson was loaned out to Eredivisie side FC Groningen on a season-long deal. Davidson had an outstanding performance on his debut, 21 August 2016 against FC Twente in a thrilling game.^[13]

Rijeka

After being released by Huddersfield Town with a year left on his contract, on 28 August 2017, Davidson joined Croatian club Rijeka on a three-year deal.^[14] He made his début for Rijeka in a 3–1 away win against Vrbovec in Round 1 of the Croatian Football Cup on 20 September 2017.^[15]

Perth Glory

On 13 July 2018, it was announced that Davidson would join A-League club Perth Glory on a one-year deal.^[16] In his first season for the club, the team finished first in the A-League and were crowned premiers of league.^[17]

Ulsan Hyundai

On 19 June 2019, it was announced that Davidson would join K League 1 club Ulsan Hyundai on a two-year contract.^[18][19]

Melbourne Victory

Melbourne Victory announced that they had signed Davidson for the 2021–22 A-League season on 16 July 2021.^[20]

International career

Davidson playing against Eduardo Vargas at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Davidson was called up to Australia U-20 squad on 17 March 2009 to compete in the Under 20 World Cup held in Egypt in September 2009. He was also called into Australia's initial 50-man squad prior to the 2011 Asian Cup, he was cut however from the final squad.^[3][4]

Davidson made his first full international debut on 15 August 2012 against Scotland in Edinburgh, coming on as a substitution just after half time and scoring an own goal after trying to clear a header.^[21] He played in all of Australia's group matches against Chile, Holland and Spain at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Davidson was named as part of Australia's 2015 AFC Asian Cup squad, which went on to win the trophy. He scored his first international goal in the semi-final against the United Arab Emirates. He was Australia's first choice to play left-back in that squad.

Personal life

Davidson was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia and is the son of international footballer Alan Davidson. Jason's paternal grandmother is Japanese and his mother, Effie is the daughter of Greek immigrants.^[22][23]

Career statistics

Club

As of 7 April 2024^[24]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Hume City	2009	Victorian Premier League	16	2	0	0	—		—		16	2
Paços de Ferreira	2009–10	Primeira Liga	5	0	0	0	—		—		5	0
Sporting Covilhã	2010–11	Liga de Honra	14	0	0	0	—		—		14	0
Heracles Almelo	2011–12	Eredivisie	6	0	0	0	—		—		6	0
	2012–13		10	0	2	0	—		—		12	0
	2013–14		30	2	3	0	—		—		33	2
	Total		46	2	5	0	0	0	0	0	51	2
West Bromwich Albion	2014–15	Premier League	2	0	3	0	—		—		5	0
Huddersfield Town	2015–16	Championship	27	1	3	0	—		—		30	1
FC Groningen	2016–17	Eredivisie	22	0	0	0	—		—		22	0
Rijeka	2017–18	Croatian First Football League	0	0	1	0	—		—		1	0
Olimpija Ljubljana	2017–18	Slovenian PrvaLiga	13	1	1	0	—		—		14	1
Perth Glory	2018–19	A-League	28	2	0	0	—		—		28	2
Ulsan Hyundai	2019	K League 1	3	0	0	0	—		—		3	0
	2020		4	0	0	0	3	0	1	0	8	0
	Total		7	0	0	0	3	0	1	0	11	0
Melbourne Victory	2021–22	A-League	25	1	2	1	1	0	—		28	2
Eupen	2022–23	Belgian Pro League	33	0	0	0	—		—		33	0
	2023–24		28	1	1	0	—		1	0	30	1
	Total		61	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	63	1
Career total			266	10	16	1	4	0	2	0	288	11

International

Scores and results list Australia's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	27 January 2015	Newcastle International Sports Centre, Newcastle, Australia	United Arab Emirates	2–0	2–0	2015 AFC Asian Cup

Honours

Olimpija Ljubljana

• Slovenian PrvaLiga: 2017–18
• Slovenian Cup: 2017–18

Perth Glory

• A-League: Premiers 2018–19

Ulsan Hyundai

• AFC Champions League: 2020

Melbourne Victory

• FFA Cup: 2021

Australia

• AFC Asian Cup: 2015

Individual

• A-Leagues All Star: 2022^[25]
• PFA A-League Team of the Season: 2018–19, 2021–22^[26]

References

1. "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of Players: Australia" (PDF). FIFA. 14 July 2014. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 February 2020.
2. "Jason Davidson". Socceroos.com.au. Football Federation Australia. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
3. Clubs race to secure Davidson
4. Star recipe: one raw talent, add insult to injury, leave 3 years
5. "Hume City send Jason Davidson off in style." Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
6. "Aussie youngster Davidson signs with Portuguese club | A League News | tribalfootball.com". Archived from the original on 11 September 2009.
7. Prospect off to Portugal after A-League snub
8. Young Aussie makes first team bow ^{[permanent dead link‍]}
9. "Davidson Heads Out on Sporting Loan ~ the Far Post". Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
10. "Davidson joins Baggies". West Bromwich Albion. 5 August 2014.
11. Dawkes, Phil (23 August 2014). "Southampton claimed their first Premier League point under Ronald Koeman but were left frustrated as West Brom held them to a goalless draw at St Mary's". BBC Sport.
12. "Jason Davidson Joins Huddersfield Town".
13. "Jason Davidson: Huddersfield Town defender joins FC Groningen". BBC Sport. 18 August 2016.
14. Lewis, Dave (28 August 2017). "Davidson inks deal in Croatia in bid to win back Socceroos spot". The World Game. SBS.
15. "Vrbovec – Rijeka 1:3". HNS-CFF. 20 September 2017.
16. "Glory snap up another Socceroo". Perth Glory. 13 July 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
17. "A-League: Perth Glory vs Newcastle Jets, result, Perth Glory Premier's Plate, Ivan Franjic goal". Fox Sports. 14 April 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
18. "Exclusive: Davidson departs Perth". FTBL. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
19. "I had to 'grab' Korea opportunity, declares Davidson". The World Game. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
20. Melbourne Victory signs Jason Davidson, Melbourne Victory official website, 16 July 2021
21. "Exclusive - Osieck names Qantas Socceroos squad - Football Australia 2013". Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
22. "Jason Davidson, 2014 FIFA World Cup Profile". FIFA. Archived from the original on 13 June 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
23. Jason Dasey (28 May 2010). "The Story of Jason Davidson". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
24. "J. Davidson". Soccerway. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
25. Harrington, Anna (20 May 2022). "ALM young guns get shot against Barcelona". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
26. "PFA reveals player-voted Austraffic A-League Men Team of the Season on eve of Grand Final". Professional Footballers Australia. 27 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.

External links

• Jason Davidson – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Jason Davidson – UEFA competition record (archive) 
• Jason Davidson at Soccerbase
• Jason Davidson at Soccerway
• Jason Davidson – K League stats at kleague.com (in Korean)