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Ljubo Milicevic

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Ljubo Milicevic
Milicevic in 2009 with Newcastle Jets
Personal information
Date of birth (1981-02-13) 13 February 1981 (age 43)
Place of birth Melbourne, Australia
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Centre back
Defensive midfielder
Youth career
Chelsea Hajduk
Melbourne Knights
1997–1998 AIS
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998–1999 Melbourne Knights 1 (0)
1999–2001 Perth Glory 29 (3)
2001–2003 FC Zurich 0 (0)
2002–2003 → FC Basel (loan) 0 (0)
2003–2006 FC Thun 56 (4)
2006–2007 Young Boys 12 (0)
2007–2008 Melbourne Victory 2 (0)
2009–2011 Newcastle Jets 45 (0)
2011 South Melbourne 8 (0)
2011–2012 Hajduk Split 4 (0)
2013 Melbourne Knights 9 (0)
2013 Perth Glory 0 (0)
2017 Dandenong City 20 (1)
2017–2018 Charlestown City Blues 14 (1)
Total 200 (9)
International career
2000–2001 Australia U-20 8 (0)
2004 Australia U-23 5 (0)
2005–2006 Australia 8 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ljubo Milicevic (Croatian: Ljubo Miličević; born 13 February 1981) is an Australian former professional soccer player who played as a centre back or defensive midfielder.

Club career

Early career and overseas

Milicevic attended secondary school at St James College in East Bentleigh. He attended the Australian Institute of Sport, where he captained the side to two consecutive National Youth League titles. He then entered professional soccer with Melbourne Knights in Australia, playing one game in the National Soccer League (NSL) before moving to Perth Glory in 1999, where he scored on his debut and played a major role in getting the Western Australian side to its first ever NSL Grand Final in 2000 where he made a name for himself by being the youngest player to ever score in an Australian grand final. Suffering a serious knee injury in the first game of the World Youth Cup in Argentina hampered his chances of moving to German giants Hertha Berlin. Later that same year he finally went to Europe and went on to play for FC Zurich, FC Basel,[1] FC Thun and BSC Young Boys in Switzerland. The latter two clubs Milicevic captained in the Swiss Super League and European competition at the age of 25. He also captained the Australian under-20 side at the World Youth Cup in 2001 in Argentina and later the Australian Olympic team that qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens; unfortunately, he missed the competition due to a groin injury he sustained during qualification.

Melbourne Victory FC

On 20 February 2007 it was announced that Milicevic had signed for the reigning A-League champions Melbourne Victory. He was not home long before he again drew interest from abroad with Croatian heavyweights Hajduk Split and Dinamo Zagreb both chasing his signature. Milicevic declared the only club he would ever play for in Croatia would be his childhood dream team Hajduk Split, citing both the fanatical Torcida and close friend Josip Skoko as inspirations. His time with the Victory was marred by a long-term knee injury he incurred on the opening day of the season. His contract with Melbourne Victory was "mutually terminated" on 22 February 2008.[2]

Time away from the game

It was revealed during January 2009 that Milicevic had suffered from depression throughout his time playing overseas. He then started training with Dandenong City in 2009 in a bid to regain fitness and get his personal life back in order.[3]

Newcastle United Jets FC

On 4 February 2009 he signed a one-year deal with the Newcastle Jets.[4] Milicevic surprised coach Gary van Egmond with his level of fitness and immediately set about imposing a sense of drive and vigour on the training paddock,[5] something which many felt that the Jets had distinctly lacked in the course of their disastrous A-League title defence in 2008–09.[6]

His return to competitive soccer was anticipated by fans and the media alike,[7] and despite the Jets' shaky performance in their opening 2–0 away loss in the Asian Champions League to Beijing Guoan,[8] Milicevic starred in their subsequent game, a 2–0 victory over Korea's Ulsan Hyundai in which he marshalled the defence impressively and, along with some inspired goalkeeping by departing custodian Ante Covic, helped the Jets to their first competitive clean sheet in fourteen games. After joining Newcastle, Milicevic was adopted as a cult hero by the Newcastle fans, something not seen since Milton Rodriguez was at the club. On 18 March 2010, Milicevic signed a one-year contract extension with the Jets until the end of the 2010–11 becoming captain yet again and leading the team to the best defensive record in the league A-League season.[9]

Free agency and South Melbourne FC

On 12 January 2011, it was announced that Milicevic was not going to re-sign for the Jets and left for Switzerland, where he trialled with former club FC Basel in the Swiss Super League.[10] However, he did not agree to terms with Basel, nor was another option pursued with German second division club Arminia Bielefeld. He had to wait until the European summer before committing to a new deal.[11] In March 2011, he signed a short-term contract with Victorian Premier League club South Melbourne FC to keep himself fit, intending to return to Europe for the beginning of the 2011–12 season.[12][13]

Hajduk Split

On 8 June 2011, it was announced that Milicevic had signed a contract with Croatian club Hajduk Split.[14] After struggling with injuries during the first half-season, Milicevic and Hajduk agreed on contract termination, leaving Milicevic as a free agent.[15]

Return to Australia

On 19 August 2013 he announced that he had agreed to play for A-League club Perth Glory,[16] but by 3 October 2013 had left the club, just before the start of the 2013–14 season.[17]

After a 3-year absence from the game, Milicevic signed with National Premier Leagues Victoria 2 team Dandenong City at the start of the 2017 season.[18] He joined Charlestown City Blues for 2018.[19] In July 2018, Milicevic officially retired from soccer, following a season-ending knee injury.[20]

International career

Milicevic captained both the Young Socceroos and Olyroos. After being made captain, he went to the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina in 2001

Miličević has also been capped for Australia. His senior debut was against Indonesia at Subiaco Oval, Perth in March 2005; he then made three appearances at the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup against Germany, Argentina and Tunisia.

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by national team and year[21]
National team Year Apps Goals
Australia 2005 5 0
2006 3 0
Total 8 0

References

  1. ^ FC Basel 1893 (2002). "Milicevic leihweise beim FC Basel" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 1 September 2002.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ "Milicevic's Victory Nightmare Ends". The World Game. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  3. ^ "Milicevic's dark days". The World Game. Archived from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  4. ^ "Ljubo Joins The Jets". FourFourTwo.
  5. ^ "Dutchy Hails Ship-Steerers". FourFourTwo.
  6. ^ "Ljubo Ready To Hit New Heights". FourFourTwo.
  7. ^ "Latest Australia A-League News - SBS TWG".
  8. ^ DILLON, ROBERT (10 March 2009). "Griffiths brothers put boot into Jets in Beijing".
  9. ^ "Ljubo extends stay in Newcastle". www.newcastlejets.com.au. Football Federation Australia. Archived from the original on 19 February 2011.
  10. ^ "Milicevic officially leaves Newcastle Jets". The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 January 2011.
  11. ^ "Ljubo's FC Basel Brush Off". FourFourTwo Australia. 31 January 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  12. ^ "Ljubo Back To Sign For Melbourne". FourFourTwo Australia. 2 March 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  13. ^ "Ljubo Miličević Signs with South". South Melbourne FC. 19 March 2011. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
  14. ^ Strahija, Ivana; Dubravac, Ante (8 June 2011). "Miličević i Luštica potpisali za Hajduk". Sportnet.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  15. ^ "Ljubo Milićević nada se Kini, Japanu, Saudijskoj Arabiji..." (in Croatian). Slobodna Dalmacija. 15 January 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  16. ^ "Milicevic confirms imminent Glory return". FourFourTwo.
  17. ^ "The West Australian". The West. Archived from the original on 7 October 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
  18. ^ Kulas, Damir. "Milicevic makes footballing return with Dandenong City". The Corner Flag. The Corner Flag. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  19. ^ "Ljubo Milicevic signs with Charlestown in Northern NSW NPL". Newcastle Herald. 27 October 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  20. ^ "MILICEVIC CALLS TIME ON PLAYING CAREER". Four Four Two.
  21. ^ Ljubo Milicevic at National-Football-Teams.com
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