Vidmar sometimes captained the Socceroos between 1995 and 2001[4] when he retired for international competition accumulating 44 caps and scoring 17 goals.

The 2007–08 A-League season was not very successful for Aurelio Vidmar, his side finishing 6th out of 8 teams on the ladder the first time Adelaide failed to make the finals.

Calls for his resignation were being made and his unsuccessful Asian Champions League campaign, albeit against talented opposition, only fuelled these accusations, coming 3rd in his group with only the winner progressing to the quarter-finals.

He created history by leading Adelaide to the 2008 AFC Champions League Final, becoming the first Australian team to achieve such a feat.

This led Adelaide United CEO Sam Ciccarello to re-sign Vidmar and his assistant Phil Stubbins for another three years in November 2008.

As a result of comments he made at a media conference in November 2009 about "beheading his players like they would do in Saudi Arabia" if they did not perform well, Adelaide United handed Vidmar a two-match touchline ban.

[12] Vidmar was the caretaker coach of the Socceroos team for one match in 2013, after Holger Osieck's contract was terminated.