Ljubo Milicevic
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ljubo Miličević | ||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre Back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | South Melbourne | ||
| Number | 17 | ||
| 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) |
| 2001–2004 | FC Zurich | 45 | (3) |
| 2002–2003 | → FC Basel (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2004–2006 | FC Thun | 56 | (4) |
| 2006–2007 | BSC Young Boys | 12 | (0) |
| 2007 | Melbourne Victory | 2 | (0) |
| 2009–2011 | Newcastle Jets | 44 | (0) |
| 2011– | South Melbourne | 1 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2000–2001 | Australia U-20 | 8 | (0) |
| 2004 | Australia U-23 | 5 | (0) |
| 2005– | Australia | 6 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:47, 19 March 2011 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17:30, 12 November 2010 (UTC) | |||
Ljubo Miličević (born 13 February 1981) is an Australian football (soccer) player who currently plays for Victorian Premier League club South Melbourne F.C.
Club career
Early Career and Overseas
Miličević attended secondary school at St James College in East Bentleigh. He began his professional career with Melbourne Knights in Australia, playing one game in the 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, FC Thun and BSC Young Boys in Switzerland. The latter two clubs Miličević captained in the Swiss Super League and European competition at the age of 25.
In the 2005-06 season, Miličević played five matches in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League for FC Thun against teams such as Arsenal F.C. and AFC Ajax. Miličević drew interest from all over Europe with starring performances against Arsenal. He was unable to get a work permit to play in the Premier League, with Middlesbrough, Newcastle and Fulham all expressing interest.
Melbourne Victory FC
On 20 February 2007 it was announced that Miličević 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. Miličević 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.
Newcastle United Jets FC
On 4 February 2009 he signed a one-year deal with the Newcastle Jets.[1] Miličević 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,[2] something which many felt that the Jets had distinctly lacked in the course of their disastrous A-League title defence in 2008-09.[3]
His return to competitive football was anticipated by fans and the media alike,[4] and despite the Jets' shaky performance in their opening 2-0 away loss in the Asian Champions League to Beijing Guoan,[5] Miličević starred in the 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 Čović, helped the Jets to their first competitive clean sheet in fourteen games. After joining Newcastle, Miličević was adopted as a cult hero by the Newcastle fans, something not seen since Milton Rodriguez was at the club.On 18 March 2010, Miličević signed a one-year contract extension with the Jets until the end of the 2010-2011 A-League season.[6]
Free Agency and South Melbourne FC
On 12 January, it was announced that Milicevic had been released from the Jets so he could take part in a trial and medical with FC Basel in Swiss Super League.[7][8] However he rejected the offer from Basel, also trialling with German 2nd Division club Arminia Bielefeld.[9] On 2 March it was announced that Milicevic had been signed by Victorian Premier League club South Melbourne FC.[10]
International career
Miličević 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.
National team statistics
[11] Template:Football player national team statistics |- |2005||5||0 |- |2006||1||0 |- !Total||6||0 |}
References
- ^ http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/95578,ljubo-joins-the-jets.aspx
- ^ http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/97238,dutchy-hails-shipsteerers.aspx
- ^ http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/96234,ljubo-ready-to-hit-new-heights.aspx
- ^ http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/a-league/plundered-by-asia-a-league-is-still-a-land-of-opportunity-171114/
- ^ http://www.theherald.com.au/news/local/sport/soccer/griffiths-brothers-put-boot-into-jets-in-beijing/1455691.aspx
- ^ http://www.newcastlejets.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=33115
- ^ "Milicevic officially leaves Newcastle Jets". Sydney Morning Herald. 12 January 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
- ^ "Milicevic On Trial With Basel". FourFourTwo Australia. 28 January 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
- ^ "Ljubo's FC Basel Brush Off". FourFourTwo Australia. 31 January 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
- ^ "Ljubo Back To Sign For Melbourne". FourFourTwo Australia. 2 March 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
- ^ http://www.national-football-teams.com/v2/player.php?id=445
External links
 | ||
- Use dmy dates from February 2011
- 1982 births
- Living people
- Association football players from Melbourne
- Australian people of Croatian descent
- Association football defenders
- Australian football (soccer) players
- Australian expatriate football (soccer) players
- Australia international football (soccer) players
- 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup players
- Melbourne Knights players
- Newcastle United Jets players
- Perth Glory players
- FC Zürich players
- FC Basel players
- FC Thun players
- BSC Young Boys players
- Melbourne Victory players
- A-League players
- Swiss Super League players
- Association football utility players
- National Soccer League (Australia) players