Ned Zelic
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nedjeljko Zelic | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 4 July 1971 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Sydney, Australia | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1981–1987 | Canberra FC | ||||||||||||||||
| 1988 | AIS | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1989–1991 | Sydney Croatia | 36 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1991–1992 | Sydney Olympic | 16 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 1992–1995 | Borussia Dortmund | 72 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 1995–1996 | Queens Park Rangers | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1996 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 20 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 1996–1997 | Auxerre | 18 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 1997–2001 | 1860 Munich | 102 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2002 | Kyoto Purple Sanga | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | Urawa Reds | 23 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | Wacker Tirol | 22 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | Newcastle Jets | 21 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2006 | Helmond Sport | 7 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | Dinamo Tbilisi | 34 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 372 | (16) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1989 | Australia U-20 | 8 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 1990–1992 | Australia U-23 | 16 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 1991–1997 | Australia | 34 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Nedjeljko Zelic (born 4 July 1971), commonly known as Ned Zelic, is an Australian former footballer who played as a centre-back or defensive midfielder.
Club career
[edit]Zelic started his career in the old Australian National Soccer League, where he played with clubs Sydney Croatia and Sydney Olympic. In his junior years he played for Croatia Deakin.
Zelic spent most of the 1990s playing in Europe, most notably for Borussia Dortmund where he reached the UEFA Cup Final in his first season with the club, losing to Juventus of Italy and won the German Bundesliga title in 1995. He had a brief stint in the Premier League for QPR, moving for a club record £1.25 million,[1] which was beset by injury and discontent. After just 4 Premier League games for the West London club, he departed to Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany.[2]
After only a few months he signed for AJ Auxerre of France. At Auxerre, he replaced Laurent Blanc who moved to FC Barcelona, and participated in the UEFA Champions League. In July 1996, Zelic was selected to play for a World All Star team v Brazil at Giants Stadium, New York City. The All Star team was coached by Euro 92 winner with Denmark, Richard Moller Nielsen and consisted of such players as Jürgen Klinsmann, George Weah, Marcel Desailly, Lothar Matthäus, David Ginola and Fernando Redondo. In 1998, Zelic decided to move back to Germany and went on to make 102 appearances for 1860 Munich in the Bundesliga.
In 2002, he moved to Japan to play in the J1 League where he stayed for two years and played under Dutch coaches Hans Ooft and Wim Jansen, winning the Japanese Cup with his club Urawa Red Diamonds. Zelic signed for FC Wacker Tirol of Austria in July 2004 and stayed there for one season.
A-League
[edit]In 2005, Ned Zelic agreed terms to a two-year deal as a marquee to captain the Newcastle Jets in the A-League,[3] where he played out the whole season from central defence. The Jets finished fourth on the league table and lost to the Central Coast Mariners 2–1 on aggregate over two legs in the Minor Semi-final.
Zelic underwent arthroscopic surgery on his knee after the semi-finals. Several months later he decided to move back overseas and it was not certain if he would continue his career.[4]
Europe
[edit]After being granted a work permit, he signed a one-year deal with Dutch side Helmond Sport in August 2006, working again with his former 1860 Munich teammate Gerald Vanenburg, who was coach there. However, he left Helmond after only two months due to knee problems and considered retirement.
In January 2007, Zelic joined Georgian club FC Dinamo Tbilisi on a free transfer, where he played under former Czech National Team coach Dusan Uhrin. He announced his retirement from football in May 2008, after winning the Georgian Championship with Dinamo Tbilisi.[5]
He was selected in Four Four Two magazine's Top 25 Australian Footballers of All-Time.
International career
[edit]He has played for the Australia youth, Olympic and senior teams, but made himself unavailable in November 1999 after disagreements with coach Frank Farina. Zelic was captain of the Australian team that competed and finished 4th at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
Personal life
[edit]Ned Zelic attended Wanniassa High School in Canberra, ACT. Zelic is the older brother of former footballer turned actor Ivan Zelic and presenter Lucy Zelic.[6]
Career statistics
[edit]Club
[edit]| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sydney Croatia | 1989 | National Soccer League | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||||
| 1989–90 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||||||
| 1990–91 | 26 | 0 | 26 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 36 | 0 | 36 | 0 | ||||||
| Sydney Olympic | 1991–92 | National Soccer League | 16 | 1 | 16 | 1 | ||||
| Borussia Dortmund | 1992–93 | Bundesliga | 19 | 0 | 19 | 0 | ||||
| 1993–94 | 18 | 1 | 18 | 1 | ||||||
| 1994–95 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 41 | 1 | 41 | 1 | ||||||
| Queens Park Rangers | 1995–96 | Premier League | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||||
| Eintracht Frankfurt | 1995–96 | Bundesliga | 17 | 1 | 17 | 1 | ||||
| Auxerre | 1996–97 | Division 1 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 0 | ||||
| 1860 Munich | 1997–98 | Bundesliga | 13 | 0 | 13 | 0 | ||||
| 1998–99 | 33 | 1 | 33 | 1 | ||||||
| 1999–2000 | 23 | 2 | 23 | 2 | ||||||
| 2000–01 | 27 | 0 | 27 | 0 | ||||||
| 2001–02 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 102 | 3 | 102 | 3 | ||||||
| Kyoto Purple Sanga | 2002 | J1 League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Urawa Reds | 2002 | J1 League | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2003 | 22 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 30 | 2 | ||
| Total | 23 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 32 | 2 | ||
| Wacker Tirol | 2004–05 | Austrian Bundesliga | 22 | 0 | 22 | 0 | ||||
| Newcastle United Jets | 2005–06 | A-League | 21 | 1 | 21 | 1 | ||||
| Helmond Sport | 2006–07 | Eerste Divisie | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||||
| Dinamo Tbilisi | 2006–07 | Umaglesi Liga | 11 | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 313 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 322 | 9 | ||
International
[edit]| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 1991 | 3 | 0 |
| 1992 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1993 | 5 | 1 | |
| 1994 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1995 | 3 | 0 | |
| 1996 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 14 | 2 | |
| Total | 32 | 3 | |
Honours
[edit]Dinamo Tbilisi
Urawa Reds
- J.League Cup: 2003
Borussia Dortmund
- Bundesliga: 1994–1995
- UEFA Cup: runners-up 1992–93
Australia
- FIFA Confederations Cup: runner-up, 1997[8]
References
[edit]- ^ "QPR break club record for Zelic". The Independent. 27 July 1995. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
- ^ "Shearer's strain 'not a problem'". Independent. 28 March 1996. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
- ^ "Ned Zelic signs with Newcastle Jets". The Sydney Morning Herald. 30 April 2005.
- ^ Roach, Stewart (7 June 2006). "Easy come, easy go: Okon signs for Jets as captain Zelic quits". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ Aussie great Zelic announces retirement
- ^ "There is room for us all in this beautiful game : Lucy Zelic : The World Game on SBS". theworldgame.sbs.com.au. Archived from the original on 9 September 2013.
- ^ a b Ned Zelic at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 18 June 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
External links
[edit]- Ned Zelic on Twitter
- OzFootball profile
- FIFA World All Star Team
- Ned Zelic at National-Football-Teams.com
- Ned Zelic at J.League (archive) (in Japanese)
- Ned Zelic at Olympedia
- Ned Zelic at Olympics.com
- Nedijeljko Zelic at the Australian Olympic Committee
 | ||
- 1971 births
- Living people
- Soccer players from Sydney
- Men's association football defenders
- Men's association football midfielders
- Australian people of Croatian descent
- A-League Men players
- Australian expatriate men's soccer players
- Australia men's international soccer players
- Olympic soccer players for Australia
- Footballers at the 1992 Summer Olympics
- 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup players
- National Soccer League (Australia) players
- Sydney United 58 FC players
- Sydney Olympic FC players
- Borussia Dortmund players
- Queens Park Rangers F.C. players
- Eintracht Frankfurt players
- AJ Auxerre players
- Expatriate men's footballers in France
- TSV 1860 Munich players
- Kyoto Sanga FC players
- Urawa Red Diamonds players
- Newcastle Jets FC players
- Helmond Sport players
- FC Dinamo Tbilisi players
- Expatriate men's footballers in England
- Expatriate men's footballers in Germany
- Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands
- Expatriate men's footballers in Japan
- Expatriate men's footballers in Austria
- Premier League players
- Ligue 1 players
- Bundesliga players
- Austrian Football Bundesliga players
- Australian television presenters
- J1 League players
- Eerste Divisie players
- Erovnuli Liga players
- Expatriate men's footballers in Georgia (country)
- Australian expatriate sportspeople in Austria
- Australian expatriate sportspeople in England
- Australian expatriate sportspeople in Germany
- Australian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands
- Australian expatriate sportspeople in Japan
- Australian Institute of Sport soccer players
- Marquee players (A-League Men)
- Australian men's soccer players