Esala Masi

Esala Masi
Personal information
Full name Esala Masinisau
Date of birth (1974-03-09) 9 March 1974 (age 50)
Place of birth Ba, Fiji
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Midfielder / Striker
Youth career
Ba
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–1997 Gippsland Falcons 28 (6)
1997–2000 Wollongong Wolves 77 (19)
2000–2004 Newcastle United 96 (18)
2004 South Cardiff Gunners
2004–2005 Sydney Olympic
2005 → Johor FC (loan)
2005 Ba
2006 Navua
2006–2007 Oakleigh Cannons 53 (27)
2008 Frankston Pines 7 (1)
2008 Altona Magic 17 (7)
2009 Pine Rivers United
2010–2013 Mitchelton FC
International career
1997–2005 Fiji 34 (31)
Managerial career
2015– Mitchelton FC (reserves)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Esala Masi (born 9 March 1974) is a retired Fijian footballer, who played as a striker.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

Club career

Masi began his football career at his hometown club Ba before he signed with National Soccer League (NSL) club Gippsland Falcons in January 1996.[11] The next year, Masi transferred to Wollongong Wolves and helped them win the 1999-2000 NSL title. He spent three seasons at Wollongong, gaining 77 appearances and 19 goals.[12]

After the NSL was disbanded in 2004, he played for several teams in Australia's state league and Malaysia.

In 2006, Masi joined National Premier Leagues Victoria side Oakleigh Cannons FC. In the 2007 season, he finished as the top scorer of the league, scoring 15 goals.[13]

In December 2008, Masi played against LA Galaxy in an exhibition match in New Zealand as part of an Oceania XI All-Star team.[14]

In December 2015, Masi was appointed the coach of Mitchelton FC reserve team.[15]

International career

Masi played international football for Fiji at Under-15, Under-20 and Under-23 levels. He made his full international debut on 7 June 1997 in a 1–0 loss against New Zealand in qualification for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.[16] However, his international career is not well documented. Therefore, his exact appearances and goals totals are unknown. According to an interview he gave to Queensland Soccer News, he appeared over 50 times for Fiji, and also won two Melanesia Cups.[17]

He was also captain for Fiji during the 2003 South Pacific Games. In the gold-medal match against New Caledonia, he scored Fiji's second goal from a 35-metre free-kick in a 2–0 victory.[18] Fiji won the gold medal with Masi finishing as the tournament's top scorer with eleven goals.

International goals

Scores and results list Fiji's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref
1. 15 June 1997 National Stadium, Suva, Fiji  Papua New Guinea 2–0 3–1 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification [19]
2. 25 September 1998 Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Australia  Australia 1–3 1–3 1998 OFC Nations Cup [20]
3. 4 October 1998 Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Australia  Tahiti 1–0 4–2 1998 OFC Nations Cup [21]
4. 3–0
5. 8 April 2000 National Stadium, Suva, Fiji  Papua New Guinea 3–0 5–0 2000 Melanesia Cup [22]
6. 11 April 2000 National Stadium, Suva, Fiji  Vanuatu Unknown 4–1 2000 Melanesia Cup [23]
7. Unknown
8. 9 February 2001 Govind Park, Ba, Fiji  Malaysia Unknown 1–2 Friendly [24]
9. 7 April 2001 International Sports Stadium, Coffs Harbour, Australia  American Samoa 1–0 13–0 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification [25]
10. 2–0
11. 9–0
12. 10–0
13. 16 April 2001 International Sports Stadium, Coffs Harbour, Australia  Tonga 2–0 8–1 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification [26]
14. 4–0
15. 5–0
16. 8–1
17. 1 July 2003 National Stadium, Suva, Fiji  Tuvalu 1–0 4–0 2003 South Pacific Games [27]
18. 2–0
19. 5 July 2003 Ratu Cakobau Park, Nausori, Fiji  Kiribati 2–0 12–0 2003 Pacific Games [28]
20. 5–0
21. 6–0
22. 7–0
23. 8–0
24. 9–0
25. 10–0
26. 7 July 2003 Churchill Park, Lautoka, Fiji  Solomon Islands 2–0 2–1 2003 Pacific Games [29]
27. 11 July 2003 National Stadium, Suva, Fiji  New Caledonia 2–0 2–0 2003 Pacific Games [30]
28. 15 May 2004 Toleafoa J.S. Blatter Complex, Apia, Samoa  American Samoa 8–0 11–0 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification [31]
29. 17 May 2004 Toleafoa J.S. Blatter Complex, Apia, Samoa  Samoa 3–0 4–0 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification [32]
30. 12 August 2005 Churchill Park, Lautoka, Fiji  India 1–0 1–0 Friendly [33]
31. 14 August 2005 National Stadium, Suva, Fiji  India 2–1 2–1 Friendly [34]

Personal life

His uncle, the late Esala Masi Sr. was also a Fiji international football player in the 1960s; he died in 2010.[35] His cousin, Manoa Masi has also played in Australia and the national team.

Honours

Wollongong Wolves

Altona Magic

Mitchelton FC

Fiji

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Esala Masi – Fiji Village article".
  2. ^ "Married life inspires Masi to new heights". Newcastle Herald. Archived from the original on 25 June 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ^ "Esala Masi feels most comfortable when he's on the field". Illawarra Mercury. Archived from the original on 25 June 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ^ "All Masi wants is a 'sign'". Illawarra Mercury. Archived from the original on 25 June 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ^ "Striker proud to play for country". Illawarra Mercury. Archived from the original on 25 June 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  6. ^ "Masi suffers after father's funeral". Illawarra Mercury. Archived from the original on 25 June 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. ^ "Maturing Masi on road to revival". Newcastle Herald. Archived from the original on 25 June 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ^ "Recruit waiting to find the net". Newcastle Herald. Archived from the original on 25 June 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. ^ "Masi's magic touch gives United hope". Newcastle Herald. Archived from the original on 25 June 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  10. ^ "Masi and Krishna: the Fijian goal scoring history". oceaniafootballcenter.org.
  11. ^ "Did that REALLY happen in 1996?". ozfootball.net. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  12. ^ "Esala Masi". national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  13. ^ "National Premier Leagues Victoria Golden Boot". ozfootball.net. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  14. ^ "Galaxy Too Classy For OAS". FourFourTwo Australia. 6 December 2008. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  15. ^ "Brisbane Premier League (BPL) Coaching Announcement". Mitchelton FC Facebook. 1 December 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  16. ^ "New Zealand International Matches – Details 1990-1999". RSSSF. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  17. ^ "Esala Masinisau". Queensland Soccer News. Archived from the original on 9 June 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  18. ^ "Masi inspires Fijian victory". The World Game SBS. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  19. ^ "1998 FIFA World Cup France ™ – Matches – Fiji-Papua New Guinea". FIFA. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  20. ^ "Oceanian Nations Cup 1998". RSSSF. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  21. ^ "Oceanian Nations Cup 1998". RSSSF. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  22. ^ "Oceanian Nations Cup 2000". RSSSF. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  23. ^ "Oceanian Nations Cup 2000". RSSSF. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  24. ^ "International Matches 2001". RSSSF. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  25. ^ "World Cup 2002 Qualifying". RSSSF. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  26. ^ "2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan ™ – Matches – Tonga-Fiji". FIFA. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  27. ^ "South Pacific Games 2003 (Fiji) – Tournament Details". RSSSF. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  28. ^ "South Pacific Games 2003 (Fiji) – Tournament Details". FIFA. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  29. ^ "South Pacific Games 2003 (Fiji) – Tournament Details". FIFA. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  30. ^ "South Pacific Games 2003 (Fiji) – Tournament Details". FIFA. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  31. ^ "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany ™ – Matches – Fiji-American Samoa". FIFA. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  32. ^ "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany ™ – Matches – Samoa-Fiji". FIFA. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  33. ^ "India loses second match". indianfootball.de. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  34. ^ "Fiji vs India". indianfootball.de. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  35. ^ "Esala Masi laid to rest tomorrow". Fiji Sun. 29 July 2010. Retrieved 19 September 2016.