Tony Popovic

Футболист

ИИ

He became an integral part of Crystal Palace's defense after joining the club in 2001, making over 120 appearances.

Popovic represented the Australia men's national soccer team from 1995 to 2006, earning 58 caps and scoring 8 goals.

After retiring, he became the inaugural manager of the Western Sydney Wanderers, leading them to the 2014 AFC Champions League title.

На основе: Wikidata, Wikipedia

Биография

Early Life

Tony Popovic was born in Sydney, Australia, to a Croatian family and grew up in Fairfield, New South Wales. His passion for football began at a young age, leading him to join Sydney United 58, where he made a significant impact over seven years, amassing 162 appearances.

Playing Career

Popovic's professional career took off when he signed with Sanfrecce Hiroshima in Japan's J1 League, where he played from 1997 to 2001, scoring 13 goals in 94 appearances. He then moved to England, joining Crystal Palace in 2001 on a free transfer. At Palace, he became a key figure in the defense, eventually serving as club captain and making over 120 appearances. After a brief stint in Qatar with Al-Arabi SC, he returned to Australia to play for Sydney FC from 2007 to 2008, where he scored his first goal for the club and captained the team before announcing his retirement.

On the international stage, Popovic represented Australia at various youth levels, including the U17, U20, and U23 teams, before making his senior debut for the Socceroos in 1995. He earned 58 caps and scored 8 goals, with a highlight being his participation in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, where he made his debut against Brazil.

Coaching Career

After retiring, Popovic transitioned into coaching, starting as an assistant at Sydney FC before becoming the inaugural manager of the Western Sydney Wanderers in 2012. Under his leadership, the Wanderers achieved remarkable success, including winning the 2014 AFC Champions League, making him the 2014 AFC Coach of the Year. He later took on a coaching role in Turkey with Karabükspor, continuing his journey in football management.

Собрано из открытых источников (3) · факты со ссылками · обработка ИИ

Wikidata

Галерея

Карьера и клубы

Club career

Early career

Born in Sydney to a Croatian family, Popovic grew up in Fairfield, New South Wales. He began his career with Sydney United 58, making 162 appearances in seven years for the first team before moving to play in the J1 League. Popovic signed with Sanfrecce Hiroshima where he stayed for five years scoring 13 goals in 94 appearances.

Crystal Palace

Popovic signed for Crystal Palace on a free transfer in August 2001 from Sanfrecce Hiroshima. He became an integral part of the Palace defence, eventually becoming club captain. He played more than 120 matches for Crystal Palace. In his last season he played for Crystal Palace in 21 Premier League matches. In total he made more than 120 appearances for the club. Popovic's contract with Palace expired at the end of June 2006, and he decided against accepting the club's offer of a new contract. He instead moved to Qatar club, Al-Arabi.

Sydney FC

In 2007, with the growth of the A-League and slight homesickness, Popovic moved to Sydney FC, signing a two-year deal, with coach Branko Culina also announcing him the club's captain. Popovic scored his first goal on 28 October 2007 from a corner to beat the Mariners 3–2 in front of his home crowd of 17,850. Popovic announced his retirement on 11 November 2008 after nearly 20 years as a professional footballer.

▸ Источник: Wikipedia

International career

Popovic competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona for the Australia U23 team. He began his full international career in 1995 with the Australia national team. Over the next eleven years Popovic made 58 appearances for the Socceroos, scoring 8 goals. The highlight of Popovic's career came in 2006 when the Australian national team qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup under the management of Guus Hiddink. He took part in both legs in the qualifying match against Uruguay. After receiving a yellow card early on in the first half of the second leg, Popovic was replaced by Harry Kewell as a part of a tactical move by Hiddink. The tall defender was named in the competing squad and made his World Cup debut against Brazil on 18 June. He suffered a calf injury 40 minutes into the game and was replaced by Mark Bresciano for the second half. His injury ruled him out of Australia's last match in the group stage, against Croatia, and their second round loss against eventual winners, Italy. On 4 October 2006, Popovic announced his retirement from the Socceroos. His final game was a friendly against Paraguay that month. He scored his eighth international goal, from a Mark Bresciano free kick, in his final minute on field to put Australia ahead, 1–0 in a game that finished 1–1.

▸ Источник: Wikipedia

Coaching career

After retiring, Popovic moved into an assistant coach role with Sydney FC, where he remained until February 2011, when he returned to England and to Crystal Palace as first team coach, after former teammate Dougie Freedman was appointed manager.

Western Sydney Wanderers

On 17 May 2012, Popovic was announced as inaugural manager of A-League club Western Sydney Wanderers. He joined the club on a four seasons deal after requesting to be released from the final year of his contracted role as assistant manager of Crystal Palace. In Wanderers' first season, Popovic was named A-League Coach of the Year after finishing first in the league. In the 2013–14 season Popovic led Wanderers to the 2014 AFC Champions League Final in the club's first attempt in the competition. They defeated Al-Hilal in the final, becoming the first Australian team to win the tournament. As a result of this achievement, Popovic was named as the 2014 AFC Coach of the Year. With poor recruiting, the loss of assistant coach Ante Milicic, and a gruelling schedule of matches, the 2014–15 season saw Popovic's team finish ninth in the league and eliminated from the group stage of the 2015 AFC Champions League. Despite an unfavorable season Popovic signed a new three-season deal with Western Sydney Wanderers, which would keep him at the club helm until 2018.