Josip Skoko

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Personal information
Josip Skoko
Full name	Josip Skoko
Date of birth	December 10, 1975 (age 31)
Place of birth	Mount Gambier, Australia
Height	5' 11 (1.80 m)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Wigan Athletic
Number	24
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1994-1995 1995-1999 1999-2003 2003-2005 2005- 2006	North Geelong Warriors Hajduk Split Genk Gençlerbirliği Wigan Athletic → Stoke City (loan)	00? 0(?) 106 (19) 099 0(8) 076 0(7) 020 0(0) 009 0(2)
National team²
1997-	Australia	049 0(9)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:17, 3 February 2007 (UTC). ² National team caps and goals correct as of November 9, 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Josip Skoko (born December 10, 1975 in Mount Gambier, Australia) is an Australian football midfielder of Croatian descent who plays for Wigan Athletic in the Premier League.

He is an Australian international and made his debut for Australia against Macedonia in 1997. Skoko has been a main-stay of the Socceroos side since his debut, participating in two World Cup qualifying campaigns. More recently, Skoko came on as a substitute in Australia's playoff victory over Uruguay to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and captained a weakened Australian side against Bahrain in an Asian Cup qualifier. On the 25th of May 2006, Skoko scored a cracking volley from 23m for Australia in a 1-0 friendly victory over Greece in front of 95,103 spectators at the MCG in Melbourne, which he regards as his greatest national team moment. He has also represented his country at the 2000 Olympics.

Previous clubs he has played with include Hajduk Split (1995-Oct 99), Racing Club Genk (1999-2003) and Gençlerbirligi (2003-05). In 2002, Skoko captained the Genk side to the Belgian First Division championship. He was also an integral member of the Gençlerbirligi team, which progressed into the latter stages of the UEFA Cup in 2004. Skoko joined English Premier League club Wigan on a free transfer at the beginning of the 2005-06 season, although he has failed to maintain a regular place in the first team. On 7th January 2006 Skoko signed for Football League Championship side Stoke City on loan until the end of the 2005-06 season.

However, as of the 2006-07 season, Paul Jewell has shown renewed faith in Skoko giving him an extended run in the side. The transfers of Jimmy Bullard and Graham Kavanagh to Fulham FC and Sunderland AFC, respectively, in the summer of 2006 left a distinct gap in Wigan's midfield, and a number of good performances have seen Skoko force his way back into Paul Jewell's side. This has led to him becoming a mainstay in the Wigan Athletic midfield, partnering Paul Scharner and Denny Landzaat.

[edit] External links

	Australia squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup
1 Schwarzer \| 2 Neill \| 3 Moore \| 4 Cahill \| 5 Čulina \| 6 Popović \| 7 Emerton \| 8 Skoko \| 9 Viduka \| 10 Kewell \| 11 Lazaridis \| 12 Čović \| 13 Grella \| 14 Chipperfield \| 15 Aloisi \| 16 Beauchamp \| 17 Thompson \| 18 Kalac \| 19 Kennedy \| 20 Wilkshire \| 21 Sterjovski \| 22 Milligan \| 23 Bresciano \| Coach: Hiddink

Wigan Athletic F.C. - Current Squad
1 Filan \| 2 Granqvist \| 4 Jackson \| 5 Hall \| 6 de Zeeuw \| 7 Camara \| 8 Kilbane \| 9 Heskey \| 10 McCulloch \| 11 Johansson \| 12 Pollitt \| 13 Kirkland \| 14 Landzaat \| 15 Aghahowa \| 16 Valencia \| 17 Boyce \| 18 Scharner \| 19 Taylor \| 20 Folan \| 21 Cywka \| 22 Cotterill \| 24 Skoko \| 25 Unsworth \| 26 Baines \| 28 Nash \| 31 Montrose \| 32 Owens \| 36 Waterhouse \| Manager: Jewell