Ned Zelić

Ned Zelic
Personal information
Full name Nedjeljko Zelić
Date of birth (1971-07-04) 4 July 1971
Place of birth Sydney, Australia
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position 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 Queens Park Rangers 11 (0)
1996 Eintracht Frankfurt 20 (4)
1996–1997 AJ Auxerre 18 (4)
1997–2001 1860 München 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)
2006–2008 Dinamo Tbilisi 34 (0)
Total 372 (16)
National team‡
1989 Australia U-20 8 (2)
1990–1992 Australia U-23 16 (4)
1991–1997 Australia 34 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:47, 25 February 2010 (UTC).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17:30, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

Nedijeljko "Ned" Zelić (Croatian pronunciation: [zeːlitɕ]) (born 4 July 1971) is an Australian former football player, and is currently a commentator for Fox Sports.

Club career

Zelić 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 Turin 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 11 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 vs. 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 Matthaus, 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

In 2005, Ned Zelic agreed terms to a two-year deal to captain the Newcastle Jets in the A-League, 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.

Europe

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 team mate 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.[3]

Post-career

Zelic was a football pundit for SBS on The World Game. He first appeared as a football analyst on SBS during the World Cup play-off against Uruguay, and continued this role during the 2006 FIFA World Cup. In 2008, Zelic continued as an analyst for SBS Television at the Euro 2008 final, alongside English football commentator Martin Tyler. He made appearances for SBS at the World Club Cup in Japan, December 2008 and South Africa 2010. Zelic now appears as a football analyst for Fox Sports.

Zelic was selected in Four Four Two magazine's Top 25 Australian Footballers of All-Time.

International career

He has played for the Australia youth, Olympic and senior teams, but made himself unavailable in November 1999, in controversial circumstances 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

Zelić is the older brother of former footballer turned actor Ivan Zelic and presenter Lucy Zelic.[4]

Statistics

[5]

Club performance League Cup League Cup Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Australia League Cup League Cup Total
1989Sydney CroatiaNational Soccer League8080
1989/902020
1990/91260260
1991/92Sydney OlympicNational Soccer League161161
Germany League DFB-Pokal DFB Ligapokal Total
1992/93Borussia DortmundBundesliga190190
1993/94181181
1994/954040
England League FA Cup League Cup Total
1995/96Queens Park RangersPremier League4040
Germany League DFB-Pokal DFB Ligapokal Total
1995/96Eintracht FrankfurtBundesliga171171
France League Coupe de France Coupe de la Ligue Total
1996/97AuxerreDivision 1120120
Germany League DFB-Pokal DFB Ligapokal Total
1997/981860 MünchenBundesliga130130
1998/99331331
1999/00232232
2000/01270270
2001/026060
Japan League Emperor's Cup J.League Cup Total
2002Kyoto Purple SangaJ1 League10000010
2002Urawa RedsJ1 League10100020
20032221070302
Austria League Austrian Cup League Cup Total
2004/05Wacker TirolBundesliga220220
Australia League Cup League Cup Total
2005/06Newcastle United JetsA-League211211
Netherlands League KNVB Cup League Cup Total
2006/07Helmond SportEerste Divisie7070
Georgia League Georgian Cup League Cup Total
2006/07Dinamo TbilisiUmaglesi Liga110110
Country Australia 732732
Germany 16051605
England 4040
France 120120
Japan 2422070332
Austria 220220
Netherlands 7070
Georgia 110110
Total 313920703229
Australia national team
YearAppsGoals
199130
199250
199351
199420
199530
199600
1997142
Total323

Honours

Australia:

Dinamo Tbilisi:

Urawa Reds:

Borussia Dortmund:

References

  1. ↑ "QPR break club record for Zelic". The Independent. 27 July 1995. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ Aussie great Zelic announces retirement
  4. ↑ http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/lucy-zelic/blog/1166575/There-is-room-for-us-all-in-this-beautiful-game
  5. ↑ Ned Zelić at National-Football-Teams.com
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