Josip Skoko

Josip Skoko

Skoko playing for Wigan Athletic
Personal information
Full name	Josip Skoko
Date of birth	(1975-12-10) 10 December 1975
Place of birth	Mount Gambier, Australia
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Central Midfielder (Retired)
Youth career
	North Geelong Warriors
1992–1993	AIS
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1994–1995	North Geelong Warriors	32	(8)
1995–1999	Hajduk Split	97	(20)
1999–2003	Genk	100	(8)
2003–2005	Gençlerbirliği	58	(4)
2005–2008	Wigan Athletic	45	(0)
2006	→ Stoke City (loan)	9	(2)
2008–2010	Hajduk Split	64	(1)
2010–2011	Melbourne Heart	22	(0)
2012	Melbourne Heart II	2	(0)
Total		427	(43)
International career‡
1993–1995	Australia U-20
2000	Australia U-23	3	(0)
1997–2007	Australia	51	(9)
Managerial career
2011	North Geelong Warriors (Youth)
2012–	Melbourne Heart (Youth asst)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:07, 12 February 2011 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11 September 2007

Josip Skoko (born 10 December 1975 in Mount Gambier, Australia) is a former Australian football (soccer) player who last played as a Central Midfielder for A-League club Melbourne Heart.

Club career

Early career

He previously played for Hajduk Split (1995-Oct 99), Racing Club Genk (1999–2003) and Gençlerbirliği (2003–05). In 2002, 'Joey' Skoko captained the Genk side to the Belgian First Division championship. He was also an integral member of the Gençlerbirliği team, which progressed into the latter stages of the UEFA Cup in 2004.

Wigan Athletic

Skoko joined Premier League club Wigan Athletic for €1 million at the beginning of the 2005-06 season, although he initially failed to maintain a regular place in the first team. On 7 January 2006 Skoko signed for Football League Championship side Stoke City on loan until the end of the 2005–06 season. He played nine times for Stoke and scored twice against Sheffield United and Crystal Palace.

In the 2006-07 season, Paul Jewell showed renewed faith in Skoko giving him an extended run in the side. The transfers of Jimmy Bullard and Graham Kavanagh to Fulham and Sunderland, respectively, in the summer of 2006 left a gap in Wigan's midfield and this led to him becoming a mainstay in the Wigan Athletic midfield, partnering Paul Scharner and Denny Landzaat. He signed a new contract deal keeping him at Wigan until 2008. However, at the end of the season it became clear that Skoko had played his last game for the club. The two main reasons were because he did not play enough games for Wigan to trigger a clause in his contract and also the impossibility of receiving a visa for his stay in England due to his international retirement with Australia. It was decided in May 2008 that Skoko's contract would not be renewed and he was subsequently released by Wigan.

Hajduk Split

Due to various work permit issues when playing in Europe, it took a longer than expected time for Skoko to put pen to paper with a club of his choice. However, on 21 July, and after several weeks of speculation, Skoko had finally signed a two year deal with former club Hajduk. The decision, he said, took only minutes for the club and himself to agree terms. Skoko is relishing the chance to return to the side he made more than 100 appearances for between 1995 and 1999, with a club he describes as "a second home".

Melbourne Heart

Skoko's return home to Australia to play for A-League newcomers Melbourne Heart was confirmed by the club on 19 May 2010. The club signed the former Socceroo for one season as their inaugural Australian marquee player. He was also named as one of the initial members of the leadership group. In his second game for Melbourne Heart, he suffered a hamstring injury, which forced him out of the side for at least one month. In February 2012, Skoko came out of retirement to take part in the 2012 Hawaiian Island Invitational before retiring for good.

International career

Skoko was a member of the Australian National football team for ten years, from 1997 to 2007. He made his debut for Australia against Macedonia in 1997 and was a mainstay of the Socceroos side from then on, participating in two World Cup qualifying campaigns. He also represented his country at the Olympics in 2000.

In November 2005, Skoko came on as a substitute in Australia's playoff victory over Uruguay to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He also captained a weakened Australian side against Bahrain in an Asian Cup qualifier in 2006.

On 25 May 2006, Skoko scored a cracking volley from 25m for Australia in a 1-0 friendly victory over Greece in front of 95,103 spectators at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which he regards as "the most legendary moment of all time". He was selected in the squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany but did not play in any of Australia's four games.

After being named in the Australian side for a friendly match against Argentina on 11 September 2007, Skoko stated that the game would be his home farewell from international football. Skoko ended his international career 51 minutes into the match in Melbourne when he was replaced by midfielder Carl Valeri.

National team statistics

Australia national team
Year	Apps	Goals
1997	6	0
1998	2	0
1999	0	0
2000	7	1
2001	8	1
2002	0	0
2003	2	0
2004	10	4
2005	8	1
2006	6	2
2007	2	0
Total	51	9

External links

• Josip Skoko – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Melbourne Heart profile
• Official website
• OzFootball profile
• Josip Skoko at Soccerbase
• Four Diegos interviews
• Pint Culture profile