David Zdrilic
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | David Allen Zdrilic | ||
Date of birth | 13 April 1974 | ||
Place of birth | Sydney, Australia | ||
Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Sydney FC (assistant) | ||
Youth career | |||
Greenwich | |||
King Tomislav Sydney | |||
Patrician Brothers' College | |||
Sutherland Sharks | |||
St George Saints | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1993 | St George Saints | 20 | (8) |
1993–1997 |
Sydney United | 114 | (39) |
1997–1998 | FC Aarau | 25 | (2) |
1998–2000 | SSV Ulm | 55 | (18) |
2000–2002 | SpVgg Unterhaching | 23 | (1) |
2002–2003 | Walsall | 24 | (5) |
2003–2004 | Aberdeen | 31 | (8) |
2004 | Eintracht Trier | 11 | (0) |
2005–2008 | Sydney FC | 59 | (5) |
2009–2010 |
Sydney United | 33 | (9) |
Total | 395 | (95) | |
International career | |||
1997–2005 |
Australia[2] | 30 | (20) |
2013 | Australia (beach soccer) | 11 | (21) |
Managerial career | |||
2009–2010 | Maccabi Hakoah | ||
2010–2011 |
Sydney United | ||
2015–2016 | Sydney FC 1st Grade (assistant) | ||
2016–2017 | Sydney FC U20 | ||
2017–2018 | RB Leipzig U17 (assistant) | ||
2018–2020 | RB Leipzig U19 (assistant) | ||
2020–2021 | Chicago Fire (assistant) | ||
2021 | K.V. Oostende (assistant) | ||
2022–2023 |
Genoa (assistant) | ||
2023 | Sydney FC (interim) | ||
2023- | Sydney FC (assistant) | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
David Allen Zdrilic (Croatian: Zdrilić; born 13 April 1974) is an Australian association football coach and former player, who is currently the assistant manager of A-League Men club Sydney FC. Zdrilic is also a football presenter on the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), Most recently he was a key figure in SBS's coverage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Zdrilic played on 30 occasions for the
As a football presenter on the
Over the last few years, Zdrilic served in a variety of coaching roles in Germany, Belgium and Italy and the
Playing career
Early years
Zdrilic attended
Zdrilic's first call-up to the national team came in January 1997. After the appointment of
In Europe
His position atop the Australian league attracted attention in Europe, particularly in Switzerland with an offer to join Grasshoppers accepted, where he would initially be loaned out to FC Aarau. After a season at Aarau he moved to German side SSV Ulm 1846, newly promoted to the second division. Ulm's strong 1998–99 season with Zdrilic a regular starter and scoring 12 goals for the season saw them promoted again into the Bundesliga, the club's first appearance in the top flight.[9]
Now playing in a top European league, he earned a recall to national side in early 2000 for a tournament in Chile.[10] Zdrilic was injured as a result of a bad tackle in the final minutes of Australia's game against Bulgaria and he returned to Ulm injured. He again rejoined the side in June as Australia hosted a three match series against Paraguay, which he scored his first international goal in a 2–1 win. Zdrilic remained with the side for the 2000 OFC Nations Cup, adding to his goal tally twice against Cook Islands.
Returning to club duties, with Zdrilic out injured for much of the season due to the knee injury he sustained on international duty, Ulm had been relegated back to the second division and Zdrilic sought to remain in the top league. Despite the injury Zdrilic scored 6 goals in 13 Bundesliga starts for Ulm and moved to
With Unterhaching in financial trouble, Zdrilic gained a release and signed on to
While facing difficulties at Aberdeen, his elevation back to the top flight of a European league returned him to national team contention. He was selected for a number of friendly matches and rejoined the squad in May for the 2004 OFC Nations Cup, which also doubled as qualifiers for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. After a goal against Tahiti, he made two more appearances against Fiji and Vanuatu.
Return to Australia
His stay at Trier was short-lived, and returned to Australia with the launch of the
Zdrilic remained at Sydney for the
In 2009, Zdrilic was approached by former teammate Ante Milicic to sign with his first professional club
Post-playing career
Coaching
While playing at Sydney United, Zdrilic took up his first coaching role coaching with former NSL champions, Hakoah Sydney City East FC. In his maiden season as manager, Zdrilic guided the side to a semi-final berth but declined the club's offer to extend his contract for a second season.
The departure of
Despite enjoying more success as manager – taking United deep into the finals series in his first season at Edensor Park – Zdrilic left the club to concentrate on his growing media career. He was succeeded at the club by Jean-Paul de Marigny, returning for his second stint in charge.
Whilst away from the dugout, Zdrilic undertook a succession of coaching study tours in Europe, spending time at clubs such
In 2015, Zdrilic returned to the coaching ranks after being approached by Sydney FC to become the assistant coach of both the NSW NPL2 first team, NYL team and the under-20 side. Both sides won their respective leagues in August 2016, meaning the club will participate in the New South Wales NPL1 in 2017 for the first time. The following season saw Zdrilic take over the NPL1 U20 side as head coach whilst still remaining assistant coach to Robbie Stanton's NPL1 first team.
In July 2017, he accepted an offer from reigning Bundesliga runners-up RB Leipzig to become the assistant coach of the club's under-17 team, currently led by former VfB Stuttgart and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim striker Alexander Blessin. After a successful year with the U17's, the pair moved up to the U19's which is the club's reserve team feeding directly into the club's 1st team Bundesliga side.
"I spent a month at RB Leipzig last year on a study tour watching how they did things as well as learning from Ralf Rangnick and the other coaches," Zdrilic said. "I highlighted that I would like the opportunity to one day move over to Europe to coach. They were aware of my role with Sydney FC and my previous coaching and playing experience which played a big part in Leipzig offering me the position."[23]
In January 2020, Zdrilic accepted an offer from Chicago Fire FC to become the assistant coach, where was credited with reforming the team’s approach into a more pressing-oriented style.
Zdrilic was linked with a move to then-
In mid-2021, Zdrilic returned to Europe after accepting an offer to reunite with Alexander Blessin - who he coached under at RB Leipzig - to become the assistant coach at Belgian side K.V. Oostende.
After impressing with their high-tempo style in Belgium, Blessin and Zdrilic were then poached by Italian
In August 2023, he returned to Sydney FC, re-joining the club as an assistant coach to Steve Corica.[26]
Media
After being released from Sydney FC, Zdrilic started working as a football pundit for both Fox Sports and ESPN, as well as featuring on SBS and writing a column for mX. He also took on a role as Player Relations Officer for Professional Footballers Australia.
Zdrilic continued to work in the media and co-hosted the now-discontinued
Zdrilic soon moved into the hosting role full-time and began presenting the UEFA Champions League, Europa League and International Cup Competitions. He then hosted the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil which won a Logie for Most Outstanding Sports Coverage. He was also the host of SBS's 4-year coverage of the A-League between 2014 and 2017.
In 2018, Zdrilic was again a key figure in SBS's coverage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia where he presented live from matches around the country as well as expert analysis alongside Craig Foster and Lucy Zelic from SBS's Moscow studio.
Beach Soccer
Since retiring, Zdrilic is a keen advocate for Beach Soccer and is a member of the Beach Socceroos. He has also captained the side. The Beach Socceroos travelled to Qatar in January 2013 for the Beach Soccer World Cup Qualifiers. Despite having no lead up practice matches and never before played together as a team, the Beach Socceroos narrowly missed out on a World Cup place finishing 4th out of 16 teams, only three World Cup spots were on offer. Zdrilic finished the tournament with 4 goals in 4 games. Zdrilic is an Ambassador for one of the country's biggest International Tournaments, the Australia Beach Soccer Cup, played annually in Wollongong. In the last tournament, Zdrilic scored 8 goals in 3 games including 6 goals in a 7–5 win over China. Australia won the tournament.
Career statistics
Club
Club | Season | League[a] | Cup | Continental[b] | Other[c] | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Sydney FC | 2005–06 | A-League
|
19 | 1 | — | 5 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 30 | 10 | |
2006–07 | A-League | 20 | 4 | — | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 31 | 4 | ||
2007–08 | A-League | 12 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | 17 | 0 | |||
Total | 51 | 5 | — | 11 | 9 | 16 | 0 | 78 | 14 |
- A-Leaguestatistics include final series matches
- O-League or AFC Champions League
- ^ Includes the OFC Club Championship Qualifying Tournament, A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup
International goals
- Scores and results list Australia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Zdrilic goal.
No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 15 June 2000 | Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne, Australia | Paraguay | 2–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
2 | 19 June 2000 | Cook Islands | 5–0 | 17–0 | 2000 OFC Nations Cup | |
3 | 11–0 | |||||
4 | 15 November 2000 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland | Scotland | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
5 | 9 April 2001 | BCU International Stadium, Coffs Harbour , Australia |
Tonga | 17–0 | 22–0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
6 | 22–0 | |||||
7 | 11 April 2001 | BCU International Stadium, Coffs Harbour, Australia | American Samoa | 3–0 | 31–0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
8 | 7–0 | |||||
9 | 9–0 | |||||
10 | 13–0 | |||||
11 | 21–0 | |||||
12 | 24–0 | |||||
13 | 25–0 | |||||
14 | 31–0 | |||||
15 | 16 April 2001 | BCU International Stadium, Coffs Harbour, Australia | Samoa | 2–0 | 11–0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
16 | 6–0 | |||||
17 | 24 June 2001 | Stadium Australia, Sydney | New Zealand | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
18 | 4–1 | |||||
19 | 31 May 2004 | Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide, Australia | Tahiti | 8–0 | 9–0 | 2004 OFC Nations Cup |
20 | 29 March 2005 | Perth , Australia |
Indonesia | 3–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
Honours
Australia
- OFC Nations Cup: 2004, 2000
Sydney FC
- 2005–06
- 2004–05
Individual
- Sydney Unitedwith 21 goals
- Logie Awardnomination for Outstanding Sports Commentator: 2009
References
- ^ "FIFA Club World Championship Japan 2005 – Official Rosters". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 4 December 2005. Archived from the original on 19 December 2005.
- ^ "The Australian National Men's Football Team: Caps and Captains" (PDF). Footballaustralia.com.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
- ^ "Olyroos drama as Zdrilic turns down coaching role". The Roar. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
- ^ "60 seconds in sport with Aberdeen striker David Zdrilic". The Times. London. 28 September 2003. Retrieved 3 August 2007.
- ^ "1993/4 Multiquip Preseason Tournament". Ozfootball.net. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
- ^ Lewis, D (14 December 2006). "Cap scandal rocking Sydney". Fox Sports News. Retrieved 3 August 2007.
- ^ "Socceroo 1997 Matches". Ozfootball.net. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
- ^ Ormond, A (4 April 2007). "The Case For Zdrilic". FourFourTwo Australia. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2007.
- ^ "The Abseits Guide to German Soccer – SSV ULM 1846". Abseits-soccer.com. Retrieved 6 August 2007.
- ^ "Socceroo 2000 Matches". Ozfootball.net. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
- ^ "Walsall sign Zdrillic". BBC Sport. 24 June 2002. Retrieved 2 August 2007.
- ^ "Zdrilic our for up to six weeks". BBC Sport. 2 October 2002. Retrieved 10 August 2007.
- ^ "Zdrilic sends Walsall through". BBC Sport. 11 February 2003. Retrieved 10 August 2007.
- ^ "Zdrilic exits Walsall". BBC Sport. 14 May 2003. Retrieved 10 August 2007.
- ^ "Zdrilic clinches Dons move". BBC Sport. 6 August 2003. Retrieved 10 August 2007.
- ^ Begg, Ally (11 March 2021). "David Zdrilic - "It's a moment I will never forget"". BEGG TO DIFFER. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ Philip, Calum (21 April 2004). "Zdrilic strike ends Celtic's run". The Independent. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ "Zdrilic signs for Sydney". ABC News. 13 December 2004. Retrieved 10 August 2007.
- ^ "Zdrilic to hunt for silver with Sydney FC". Halloran, J.; SMH. 14 December 2004. Retrieved 2 August 2007.
- ^ "Zdrilic Set For Move To The Rear". FourFourTwo Australia. 14 August 2007. Archived from the original on 1 June 2008. Retrieved 5 February 2008.
- ^ Ormond, A (15 August 2007). "Zdrilic hits back at critics". FourFourTwo Australia. Archived from zdrilic-hits-back-at-critics.aspx the original on 25 October 2007. Retrieved 5 February 2008.
{{cite news}}
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value (help) - ^ Cockerill, M (30 January 2008). "FC's game plan intact as Middleby, Fyfe set to play". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
- ^ "Former Socceroo Zdrilic to coach at German club RB Leipzig". Theworldgame.sbs.com.au.
- ^ "Former Socceroo Zdrilic linked with Sheffield United assistant role". Sbs.com.au. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
- ^ "Alexander Blessin verlaat KV Oostende voor Genoa, dat afkoopsom van 2 miljoen euro betaalt: "Op 24 uur tijd was alles geregeld"". Hln.be. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
- ^ "SYDNEY FC APPOINT DAVID ZDRILLIC AS ASSISTANT COACH". sydneyfc.com. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
- ^ "David Zdrilic Appearance Details". ALeagueStats.com. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
External links