Craig Andrew Moore (born 12 December 1975) is an Australian former professional soccer player who played as a centre-back. His 2006 FIFA World Cup profile describes him as being "tough-tackling and uncompromising but also calm and composed under pressure."
Moore is best known for his two spells with Scottish Premier Division / Scottish Premier League club Rangers. Having graduated through their youth system, Moore made 252 appearances for the Glasgow based club from 1993 to 2005, punctuated with a season in England with Crystal Palace in the 1998–99 First Division. In his time at Rangers, he became team captain and won numerous domestic league and cup honours, including making 44 appearances and scoring four goals in their 2002–03 Treble-winning season. Moore became an important player at the centre of Rangers defence up until 2004 over two spells.
After leaving Rangers on a free transfer in January 2005, Moore spent a half-season at German Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach, before moving to English Premier League club Newcastle United. Released by Newcastle after an injury hit two seasons, Moore returned to Australia signing with Queensland Roar (later renamed Brisbane Roar) in the Australian A-League, as their captain and Marquee player. After three seasons with the Roar, in January 2010 Moore moved to Greek Super League side Kavala, only to leave in March.
In international football, Moore has made over 50 appearances for the Australia national team, including at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups in Germany and South Africa. Having made his debut in 1995, he has been Australia national team captain a number of times.
Moore was born in Canterbury, New South Wales and raised in Doonside, New South Wales. He played junior football with Brisbane club North Star after his family relocated north when he was thirteen, before a scholarship with the Australian Institute of Sport. While progressing through the Australian Institute of Sport, Moore was friends with Mark Viduka, having known each other since they were teenagers.
While making his way to become a professional footballer, Moore was taught and mentored by Eddie Thomson and was responsible for helping him play in the centre–back position, a position he played throughout his whole career. Manager Walter Smith agreed on playing Moore in the centre–back position, saying: "Centre half is his natural position, although I have used him mostly at full back and in midfield. He is mobile and clever, although his aggressive style of play tends to earn him more bookings than any of us would wish."
Moore joined Rangers youth system from the Australian Institute of Sport in 1993 and was assigned to the development squad for a year. He made his Rangers debut, starting the whole game in a 0–0 draw against Dundee United on 5 April 1994. Local newspaper The Herald said: "Most of the Rangers supporters among the 11,048 crowd were unaware of the existence of Moore."
Moore was included in the first team by manager Walter Smith in the 1994–95 season and successfully dispatched a right–back position from Gary Stevens, who left the club. He provided two goals, including one for Duncan Ferguson, who scored a hat–trick, in a 6–1 win against Arbroath on 17 August 1994. Moore then scored his first goal for Rangers, in a 2–2 draw against Aberdeen on 24 September 1994. However, he was sent–off on two occasions by the end of the year, coming against Motherwell on 22 October 1994 and Hearts on 9 November 1994 that saw him served a combination of three matches. Moore’s contributions at the club saw Rangers win the league for the seventh-consecutive time, as well as, the Glasgow Cup. After scoring an own goal in a 3–0 loss against rivals, Celtic on 8 May 1996, he scored on a last game of the season, in a 1–1 draw against Partick Thistle. Despite facing being sidelined due to the league’s three-foreigner rule and injuries in the 1994–95 season, Moore finished his first full season at the club, making twenty–five appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.
At the start of the 1995–96 season, Moore continued to make himself available in the first team under the management of Walter Smith. He scored the only goal of the game, in a 1–0 win against Aberdeen on 7 October 1995. Despite losing 4–1 against Juventus on 18 October 1995, Moore’s performance was praised, having stepped in the starting line–up for the suspended Alan McLaren. During a 4–1 win against Hearts on 21 October 1995, he was elbowed in the face by Alan Lawrence in an off-the-ball incident but was not noticed by the referee. After the incident, Lawrence was eventually suspended for one match and the linesman, who did not see the incident, was demoted by the Scottish Football Association. By March, Moore made history by becoming the first victim of an on-field offence to give evidence to the SFA disciplinary committee. During a 1–1 draw against Celtic on 17 March 1996, he suffered a foot injury and had to be substituted after just 34 minutes. After the match, it was announced that Moore was out for the rest of the 1995–96 season. However, his season was already marred by injuries and international commitment with Australia, resulting in him making sixteen appearances and scoring once in all competitions. Despite this, his contributions at the club saw Rangers win the league for the eighth-consecutive time and the Scottish Cup.
The start of the 1996–97 season saw Moore continue to recover from a foot injury. On 18 September 1996, he made his return from a foot injury, starting a match and played 67 minutes before being substituted, in a 4–0 win against Hibernian in the quarter–finals of the Scottish League Cup. Since returning from injury, he regained his first team place and began rotating in playing either the centre–back position and midfield position. Moore started in the Scottish League Cup final against Hearts and helped Rangers win 4–3 to win the final. After suffering a hamstring injury during a 3–1 win against Dunfermline Athletic on 14 December 1996, he returned to the starting line–up and played 75 minutes before being substituted, in a 3–1 win against Celtic on 2 January 1997. After being sidelined throughout February, Moore scored his first goal of the season, in a 2–2 draw against Aberdeen on 1 March 1997. Despite an injury during a 2–0 loss against Motherwell on 5 May 1997, he recovered and helped the club win the league for the ninth-consecutive time. At the end of the 1996–97 season, Moore went on to make thirty–one appearances and scoring once in all competitions.
Ahead of the start of the 1997–98 season, Moore spent the pre–season, recovering from his rib injury. He continued to make himself available in the first team under the management of Walter Smith. However, Moore suffered an injury that saw sidelined for a month. On 31 January 1998, he made his return to the starting line–up and played the whole game, in a 2–0 loss against St Johnstone. In the last game of the season against Hearts, Moore received a straight red card in the 82nd minute for a tackle on Neil McCann, in a 3–1 win. At the end of the 1997–98 season, he made seventeen appearances in all competitions.
In the 1998–99 season, Moore was featured in Rangers’ first team for the first eight league matches of the season. By the time he left the club in September, Moore made nine appearances in all competitions.
On 29 September 1998, Moore joined Crystal Palace for a transfer fee of £750, 000. Upon joining the club, he was reunited with former Socceroos manager Terry Venables.
Moore made his Crystal Palace debut, starting the whole game, in a 5–1 win against Norwich City on 17 October 1998. In a follow–up match, he scored his first goal for the club, in a 3–2 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers. However, Moore was sent–off in the 49th minute for a second bookable offence, in a 2–0 loss against Grimsby Town on 31 October 1998. Despite this, he scored two goals in the next two matches against West Bromwich Albion and Portsmouth. However, Moore suffered an injury when Crystal Palace lost 4–0 against Huddersfield Town. Following this, he returned and spent most of the 1998–99 season at Crystal Palace, helping the club fought relegation and was regarded as a success in London despite facing administration by March. By the time Moore left Crystal Palace, he made twenty–four appearances and scoring three times in all competitions.