Sydney United FC - Notable Players

Notable Players

Goalkeepers

• Ron Corry – Played with Croatia from 1966 to 1975; coach and goalkeeping coach with Croatia, teaching Mark Bosnich and Željko Kalac
• Steven Watson – "Watto" came to Croatia from the Granville Magpies in 1975. Watson left the club in 1987, after 12 years.
• Željko Kalac – "Spider", a Luddenham Croatia (Bosna) junior who represents Australia on 2007 European Champions A.C. Milan in Italy, specializes in saving penalty kicks.

Other notable goalkeepers are Tony Franken and Mark Bosnich.

Defenders

• Velimir Kuprešak – "Big Vel" came from St. Albans Dinamo Saints in Victoria and NK Borovo in Croatia. The 1998 Victorian Player of the year transferred to United for the 1988–1989 season. A hard-hitting defender during the 1990s, Kuprešak never shrank from a header challenge.
• Tony Popović – "Poppa" is a United junior who captained Crystal Palace in the England top flight. A tough defender from the 1990s, good at scoring from set pieces. Returned to play for Sydney FC.
• Bruno Vidaić – A strong tackler during the late 1970s and early 1980s, Vidaić (whose son Ben is a striker for Sydney United and the Australian U/17 squad) became a physiotherapist.
• David Rezo – Manager of the club, Rezo played over 100 games for the club and scored 11 goals during the 1980s.

Other notable defenders are Greg Smith, Vedran Rožić, Tom Basić and Mark Babić.

Midfielders

• Wally Savor – The lanky midfielder was first a striker during the late 1978 season. With more than 250 appearances for the club, Savor played for the Socceroos as a fullback but his skill in the number-8 jersey for Croatia during the early 1980s is remembered.
• Maurice Sullivan – Mauritius-born, "Frenchie" was a star midfielder in more than 200 games for Croatia over a 13-year period.
• Ivan Petković – "Petka" came from NK Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia for the 1986 season, and played over 120 games from the club. A midfield leader, Petka coached United as a caretaker during the 1999–2000 season and returned to the club as head coach for the 2007–2008 season.

Other notable midfielders are Žarko Odžakov, Eduardo Massey, Krešimir Marušić and Ante Rumora.

Strikers

• Manis Lamond – The Papua New Guinean International was playing for Canberra City when Croatia bought him for an NSL record transfer fee of $32,000. Lamond played for the club from 1986 until the 1994–1995 season (scoring 44 goals) before moving to Perth.
• Mate Goreta and Milan Bičanić – two of Croatia's best strikers from the late 1950s and 1960s, both men have guided the club behind the scenes for decades.
• Graham Arnold – "Arnie" joined Croatia from Canterbury-Marrickville in 1982 before leaving during the 1989–1990 season. An Australian International, he scored over 80 goals for the club and was voted NSW player of the year in 1985, NSL player of the year in 1986 and top scorer in the NSL in 1986. Arnold became a rugby kicking coach and is assistant football coach to Pim Veerbeek.
• Marijan Kovačić – "Curly" was a reliable scorer during the late 1970s and early 1980s. A star player from the Sydney Croatia junior ranks (with his fullback-brother Alex), Marijan scored 55 goals for the club.
• Ante Miličić – A Sydney Croatia junior and a speedy striker, Miličić is fully committed to the club. When asked to transfer to Sydney Olympic for a reported $110,000 to help his club out of financial difficulty, he duly complied. Miličić scored 51 goals for United and plays for Malaysian Premier League team Shahzan Muda FC.
• Atti Aboyni – The Hungarian-born, former Australian wing-striker played for St. George Budapest before joining Croatia. He helped them to achieve their first Premiership in 1977, scored 74 goals in 89 games (from 1977 till 1979) at Croatia at the rate of a goal every 1.20 games.

Other notable strikers are Robbie Slater, Jim Patikas, David Zdrilić, Marcos Silva, Tony Krslović and Vic Reynolds.

Coaches

• Branko Čulina – A former United player, Čulina coached the club from 1994 to 1997 and again from 2001 to 2003. A noted tactician, he coached United to the NSL Grand Final in 1996.
• Vedran Rožić – A former HNK Hajduk Split player who joined Sydney Croatia in 1984 as a defender, Rožić was thrust into the coaching ranks in 1984 as Croatia's sixth coach that season. As player-coach for more than 100 games, he guided Croatia to a minor premiership in 1986 and runner-up to Marconi in 1988.