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Showing posts from September, 2022

Mehmet Duraković

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NSL Career: Brunswick, Footscray, South Melbourne, Sydney Olympic, Morwell 363 (9) / 1985 - 2003/04 Socceroos Career: 44 (4) A Internationals / 20 (2) B Internationals Successful teams require dependable players who will give their all for the team. Mehmet Duraković was that type of player - small and stocky but strong, quick, uncompromising and possessed a wicked shot.  Committed to his teams cause like few others, Duraković was a saviour on many occasions as he ran down some of the best forwards in the game and had a knack for making goal-line clearances. Duraković immigrated to Australia from Montenegro as a five year old and began his junior career with Port Melbourne at the U-10 level. After progressing through the junior ranks,  Duraković made his first team debut as a 16 year old in the  Victorian Metropolitan League Division Three.  Duraković  returned to Montenegro with his family where he spent time in the junior ranks with his local club  Bu...

Željko Adžić

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NSL Career: Melbourne Croatia 38 (24) / 1989 - 1989/90 Socceroos Career: 1 (0) B International Croatia Career: 1 (1) A International Rarely did the NSL get to see foreign players who would go on to bigger and better in their post-NSL career.  Croatian  Željko Adžić came to Australia at the age of 23, with his best football still in front of him.  Possessing excellent ball skills and a high football IQ,  Adžić always seemed to have time on the ball and was a deadly finisher. Although the exceptionally talented forward was relatively unknown before arriving in Australia - the NSL was fortunate to have  Adžić for two whole seasons - leaving with the best goals-per-game ratio in NSL history (record was broken only by Mark Viduka).  Adžić was the first footballer to represent both Australia and another country at senior level. Adžić started his professional career with Yugoslav First League club Dinamo Zagreb as an 18 year old after progressing through their you...

Ernie Tapai

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NSL Career: Footscray, Sunshine, Adelaide City, Morwell, Collingwood, Perth 237 (27) / 1985 - 1997/98 Socceroos Career: 37 (6) A Internationals / 15 (0) B Internationals The diminutive Ernie Tapai was one of the most talented players in Australia during the 1980s and 1990s - exciting crowds with his brilliant touches and high work rate. Extremely quick, Tapai constantly ran on to loose balls and nipped at the heels of opponents to win the ball back for his teams.  Having a low centre of gravity allowed the midfielder to control the ball with ease and his technique allowed him to cross the ball accurately and unleash brilliant shots from outside the box. Born in Yugoslavia to Hungarian parents, Tapai came to Australia as a boy and started his junior career at the U-12 level with Melbourne Hungaria. At the age of 15, while part of the Hungaria reserve team, Tapai made his debut for the first team in the Victorian Metropolitan League Division Two. Hungaria gained promotion to Division...

Alex Robertson

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NSL Career: Sydney City 169 (0) / 1977 - 1986 Socceroos Career: 8 (0) B Internationals Successful teams not only have players up front who score crucial goals, but defenders that can repel a goal scoring threat in pressure games. Alex  Robertson was one of the best one-on-one defenders in the NSL during the first half of the 1980s.  Robertson returned to Scotland following Sydney City's first NSL title before bringing back valuable professional experience  and became the sweeper next to defensive rock Steve O'Connor in the all-conquering Sydney City side during the early era of the NSL. Robertson started his career at Scottish side Dundee but couldn't break in to the first team before moving to Australia in 1974 and joined Sydney Hakoah. With Hakoah, Robertson won the 1976 NSW Federation Cup and remained with the club as they joined the Phillips Soccer League in 1977.  In the last round of the 1977 season, Hakoah needed at least a draw to win the championship as Marc...

Zdravko Lujić

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NSL Career: Footscray 241 (43) / 1978 - 1988 Football heroes don't always play for winning teams. Some of them represent a team's culture with undeniable pride and passion. Zdravko Lujić was Footscray JUST's games and goals record holder in the NSL, playing for the club in all but two of their seasons in the NSL and was arguably their greatest player in the competition. Coming to Australia as a professional player - Lujić possessed lightning speed, impeccable crossing ability and scored many goals. Lujić's style of play would have also suited the modern game, in a 4-3-3 formation, as he was one of the NSL's greatest wingers and goal providers. Lujić, like most Yugoslavian children at the time, began playing street football before joining the youth ranks of Yugoslav First League side Sloboda Tuzla. Lujić later joined Vojvodina Novi Sad before becoming a regular at  Jedinstvo Br č ko.  Footscray coach and former player  Čedo Ćirkovi ć noticed Lujić while in Yugosl...

Tony Henderson

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NSL Career: Canberra City, Marconi, Blacktown 298 (21) / 1977 - 1989/90 Socceroos Career: 27 (2) A Internationals / 23 (4) B Internationals One of the best defensive imports to represent Australia, Tony Henderson shared the physical abilities of his contemporaries such as Charlie Yankos, David Ratcliffe and Steve O'Connor but stood out for his ball-playing abilities. The English sweeper/midfielder read the game exceptionally well, was a sharp passer, composed in possession and provided an attacking option when needed. Originally from Newcastle upon Tyne, Henderson started his career with English Third Division club Rotherham as a 16 year old but couldn't break in to the first team early on. Henderson finally made his debut as an 18 year old before getting injured, which led to his decision to move to South Africa.  Henderson initially played for National Football League side Durban United in 1975 before moving to fellow NFL club East London United where he stayed until the end ...

Dez Marton

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NSL Career: St. George, Wollongong City 95 (40) / 1982 - 1985 Dezider "Dez" Marton came to Australia as a semi-retired 32 year old, where his experience of playing professional football in Yugoslavia for over a decade proved invaluable as he became one of the stars of the NSL. Despite his age, Marton was a consummate professional and his goal scoring ability, coupled with his tactical intelligence and skill, led to an abundance of goals during his time in Australia. Born in Yugoslavia, Marton grew up in Subotica (Serbian border-town with Hungary) where he played his junior football. During the 1960s and 1970s, Marton spent most of his career scoring goals for fun in the Vojvodina League (a third tier Yugoslavian league) with stints in the Yugoslav Second League with Spartak Subotica and Novi Sad. In 1981 Marton, who was considering retirement, was brought to Australia by Frank Arok (coached Marton at Novi Sad), who returned to Australia to coach St. George Budapest in the NSW...

Graham Jennings

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NSL Career: Sydney Olympic, Sydney Croatia, APIA, Newcastle Breakers 350 (15) / 1979 - 1993/94 Socceroos Career: 44 (0) A Internationals / 34 (0) B Internationals Graham "Flash" Jennings was the number one left-back in Australian football during the 1980s, who evolved the role of an attacking full-back in Australia that was established by former Socceroos such as Col Curran, Harry Williams and Steve Perry.  Jennings utilised his lightning pace and stamina to continuously attack and defend and consistently whipped in dangerous crosses when making overlapping runs. After being converted from a left winger to a left full-back, Jennings became a mainstay in the Socceroos defence during the 1980s. A Newcastle native, Jennings started his junior career with Hamilton Azzurri before joining major Hunter Region club Adamstown Rosebud as a teenager. Jennings made his senior debut for Adamstown during their 1976 Northern New South Wales First Division-winning season as a 16 year old.  J...

Allan Maher

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  NSL Career: Marconi 158 (0) / 1977 - 1983 Socceroos Career: 22 (0) A Internationals / 18 (0) B Internationals Known as "Spider", Allan Maher was one of the best Australian keepers of the 1970s and early 1980s. Part of Australia's first World Cup squad, Maher was a vastly experienced player when he began his NSL career and earned more Socceroos caps than any other keeper in the league up until his retirement. Born in Sydney, Maher began his junior career with North Rocks before making the reserve grade at Inter Suburban Third Division side Western Suburbs at the age of 15. Following his time at Western Suburbs, Maher joined NSW Division Two side Granville. In 1972, Maher moved to Division One side Sutherland and became one of the most promising keepers in the country. Maher's form for Sutherland, which saw him lose the 1974 Rothmans Medal on a countback, led to his inclusion in Australia's 1974 World Cup squad. Maher made his Socceroos debut in a B international ...

Robbie Dunn

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  NSL Career: West Adelaide, Preston, Melbourne Croatia 167 (22) / 1982 - 1988 Socceroos Career: 25 (2) A Internationals / 11 (1) B Internationals In an era of Australian football that favoured tall and physical defenders, Robbie Dunn was one of the best and most consistent. A physically imposing but intelligent centre-back/sweeper - Dunn read the play exceptionally well, was dominant in the air and got forward to score goals. Dunn was born in Scotland and immigrated to Australia as an eight year old before joining junior club Kwinana in Perth. Dunn made his first team debut as an 18 year old in the Western Australian First Division for Rockingham City before moving to North Perth Croatia (later Western Knights), where the club finished runners-up in the First Division. The promising young defender moved to South Australia in 1981 to join Azzurri (Blue Eagles) and won the South Australian State League before earning an NSL contract with West Adelaide and made his debut as a 21 year...

Mike Petersen

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NSL Career: Heidelberg, Brunswick, South Melbourne 272 (19) / 1983 - 1996/97 Socceroos Career: 32 (1) A Internationals / 18 (2) B Internationals Dutch culture in Australian football has been prevalent for decades - in clubs, coaching and players. Mike Petersen, son of a Dutch footballer who played in a B international for Australia in 1959, was one of the classiest Australian footballers of the 1980s and 1990s.  A technician who was tactically astute, Petersen could do just about anything with the ball and was the man of the match on many occasions in the NSL.  Petersen's talent took him to one of Europe's most famous clubs, Ajax, and made him a regular at international level for Australia during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Petersen came up through the junior ranks of Port Melbourne before making his first team debut as a 16 year old in the Victorian Metropolitan League Division Three. After becoming the stand out player in the league, Petersen signed for Heidelberg in 198...

Sergio Melta

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NSL Career: Adelaide City 447 (65) / 1977 - 1994/95 Socceroos Career: 1 (0) A International / 1 (0) B International One of the NSL's longest serving players, Sergio Melta was an Adelaide City stalwart that was unfortunate not to have represented the national on more occasions. Melta possessed a massive engine that served him well in to his thirties and was an accomplished footballer - clever on the ball, could score goals and was a great leader with or without the armband. Melta came to Adelaide City in 1976 from Birkalla (South Australian Division Two) where he started his junior career and made his NSL debut at the age of 18. Developing in to a promising player who could play in midfield or as a full-back, Melta struggled to cement his spot in the experienced City side after the 1977 season, but came off the bench in City's 1979 NSL Cup Final victory over St. George.  During the early 1980s, Melta became a City regular and one the most talented players in the league, winning ...

Frank Farina

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NSL Career: Canberra City, Sydney City, Marconi, Brisbane Strikers 206 (102) / 1983 - 1998/99 Socceroos Career: 37 (10) A Internationals / 30 (4) B Internationals The second footballer of Indigenous heritage (mother's side) to represent the Socceroos after Harry Williams, Farina was a ground-breaking star of Australian football during the 1980s and 1990s. The striker had pace to burn, skill to beat defenders,  technique to score spectacular goals and  was a clinical finisher. Born in the "non-footballing" city of Darwin to an Italian father and Torres Strait Islander mother - Farina spent his formative years in Papua New Guinea before relocating to Cairns, Queensland - where he played junior football for Stratford and Edge Hill.  Farina made his first-team debut in the Queensland Premier League as a 16 year old for Mareeba before being offered a scholarship to the AIS Soccer Program in Canberra. While at the AIS, Farina was offered a contract in the NSL with Canberra City...

Bobby Russell

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NSL Career: Adelaide City, South Melbourne, Heidelberg 272 (8) / 1979 - 1989 Socceroos Career: 3 (0) B Internationals One of the forgotten stars of Australian football in the 1980s, Scottish defender Bobby Russell remains the only defender in national league history to win the Player of the Year/Johnny Warren Medal twice. A model of consistency, Russell was one of the toughest defenders to beat in the NSL - either with the ball or in the air - and could send in an accurate cross when going forward.  Russell moved to Australia in 1975 from Scotland and joined NSW Division One side South Sydney Croatia (later Sydney United). Russell spent four seasons at the club, winning a championship in the 1977 season before the club finished runners-up to Sutherland the following season. In 1979, Adelaide City coach Rale Rašić signed Russell for $6,000 and the full-back quickly became one of the standout defenders in the league, helping the club win their first NSL Cup.  The Scotsman's...

John Kosmina

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NSL Career: West Adelaide, Adelaide City, Sydney City, Sydney Olympic, APIA 289 (133) / 1977 - 1989 Socceroos Career: 60 (25) A Internationals / 40 (17) The Socceroos captain for most of the 1980s, John Kosmina was a prolific striker who thrived during a physical era of Australian football. Well balanced and strongly built, Kosmina liked to get in the face of his direct opponent... but when the goal scoring chance came, he made no mistake.  Kosmina possessed excellent ball control and used his frame well to hold the ball up for team mates to enter the 18 yard box. The centre-forward's  ability to force his way in to the box and swivel around defenders saw him score on a regular basis Kosmina began his playing career for Polonia in the South Australian State League as a 16 year old, after coming up through the club's junior ranks. After a successful period with Polonia, where he won the State League and SA Federation Cup in 1975, Kosmina made his Socceroos A debut on the eve of...