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Ante Milicic

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Ante Milicic
Personal information
Full name Anthony Josip Milicic
Date of birth (1974-04-04) 4 April 1974 (age 50)[1]
Place of birth Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
Sydney United
Hurstville ZFC
1990–1991 AIS
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1993 Sydney United 6 (1)
1993 Canberra Deakin 13 (6)
1993–1997 Sydney United 114 (39)
1997–1999 NAC Breda 47 (10)
1999–2001 NK Rijeka 51 (15)
2001–2002 Sydney United 14 (8)
2002–2003 Sydney Olympic 39 (30)
2003–2004 Parramatta Power 26 (20)
2004 Pahang 11 (9)
2004–2005 Sydney United
2005–2006 Newcastle Jets 20 (7)
2006–2008 Queensland Roar 24 (4)
2008 Shahzan Muda (10)
2009 Sydney United
2010 Dandenong City (7)
International career
Australia U-20
Australia U-23
2002–2005 Australia 6 (5)
Managerial career
2009 Sydney United
2010–2012 Melbourne Heart (Assistant)
2012–2014 Western Sydney Wanderers (Assistant)
2014–2018 Australia (Assistant)
2017–2018 Australia U23
2018–2019 Australia U23 (Assistant)
2018–2019 Australia U20
2019–2020 Australia Women
2020–2022 Macarthur FC
2024– China Women
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2 December 2007

Ante Milicic (/ˈænteɪ ˈmɪlətʃɪtʃ/ AN-tay MIL-ə-chitch; Croatian: Ante Miličić [ǎːnte mîlitʃitɕ]; (born 4 April 1974) is an Australian soccer manager and former professional player who currently is the head coach of the China women's national football team.

Personal life

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The son of Croatian immigrants, Milicic grew up in Strathfield, a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney. Milicic was largely brought up by his father after his mother died when he was 17. At 16, he was selected to train at the Australian Institute of Sport.[2]

Club career

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He played for a variety of sides in two stints in the National Soccer League. The first stint was played almost entirely for Sydney United, for whom he played as a junior, and which culminated in playing in their runner-up 1996/97 side. After that season he moved to NAC Breda in the Netherlands, and after 2 seasons there went to Croatia's NK Rijeka, where he was the club's top scorer in 2000/01 with 10 goals. On his return to the NSL in season 2001/02, he rejoined Sydney United for a brief stay, before moving to city rival Sydney Olympic during the same season. He would spend the rest of the season and the next playing there, including scoring the only goal of the 2001/02 Grand Final against Perth Glory. In the final he was awarded the Joe Marston Medal, delivering Sydney Olympic their second NSL title, as well as playing in the runner up side the following season against Perth Glory.

In the last season of the NSL in 2003–04 season, he moved to Parramatta Power, where he would again experience Grand Final defeat against the Perth Glory. After the NSL was disbanded, Milicic played in the Malaysia Super League for Pahang. He score a brace for Pahang in his debut against Perlis.[3] He scored 9 goals for Pahang as they were crowned as the league champions of the 2004 season.[4] It was widely felt that with the $1.5 million salary caps imposed on all A-League clubs, Milicic would not be able to be brought back to Australia. However, he joined the Newcastle United Jets, who finished 4th on the A-League ladder in 2005/2006, also joining close friends Labinot Haliti, Ned Zelic.[citation needed]

Ante Milicic was the first player in the A-League to score a Hat-Trick in the game Newcastle Jets v New Zealand Knights on 4 November 2005 in round 11. In May 2006 Ante signed to transfer to rival A-League team Queensland Roar, where he played in 44 matches scoring 11 goals. On 8 December 2007, Milicic had his contract terminated by mutual consent and joining Malaysian Premier League Shahzan Muda FC, citing that "It wasn't quite happening for me at Queensland Roar."[5]

National team statistics

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[6]

Australia national team
Year Apps Goals
2002 2 1
2003 0 0
2004 3 2
2005 1 2
Total 6 5

International goals

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No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 10 July 2002 Auckland, New Zealand  Fiji 1–0 8–0 2002 OFC Nations Cup
2. 9 October 2004 Honiara, Solomon Islands  Solomon Islands 2–0 5–1 2004 OFC Nations Cup
3. 12 October 2004 Sydney, Australia  Solomon Islands 1–0 6–0
4. 29 March 2005 Perth, Australia  Indonesia 1–0 3–0 Friendly
5. 2–0

Coaching

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Milicic returned home to his club Sydney United as player/coach for season 2009 and 2010 in the NSW Premier League. It is his first venture as coach and currently boasts a record of 9 wins (8 in Premier League 1 Tiger Turf Cup), 2 Draws and 1 Loss.

He was also called up as an assistant coach to the Australia men's national under-20 soccer team team for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt and 2011 Under 20s World Cup in Colombia.

On 18 November 2009, it was announced that he would be joining Jesper Olsen as an assistant coach at new A-League side Melbourne Heart.

After being passed over for the vacant manager position at Melbourne Heart, he joined his close friend Tony Popovic as the inaugural assistant coach of Western Sydney Wanderers FC.[7]

At the end of the 2013–14 A-League season, Milicic joined Ange Postecoglou as assistant coach of Australia's men’s national football team, the Socceroos.[8]

On 18 February 2019, Milicic was announced by the FFA as the interim head coach of the Australia women's national team,[9] the Matildas, managing the Matildas to a round of 16 finish at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. He resigned from this position on 19 July 2020.[10]

On 15 May 2019, Milicic was announced as the inaugural head coach for new A-League club Macarthur FC.[11] He began following his spell with the Matildas.

After two seasons with Macarthur, on 26 April 2022, Milicic informed the club that the 2021–22 season would be his last choosing to return to Croatia for family reasons.

On 11 May 2024, Milicic was appointed as the head coach of China.[12]

Managerial statistics

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As of 18 May 2022
Team Nat From To Record
G W D L Win %
Australia women's Australia 2019 2020 16 11 2 3 068.75
Macarthur Australia 2020 2022 56 22 12 22 039.29
Total 72 33 14 25 045.83

Honours

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With Australia:

With Sydney Olympic:

With Pahang:

With Trinity Grammar 4th XI:

  • Cassen Cup- Most Outstanding Opens Team: 2009

Personal honours:

References

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  1. ^ FIFA.com. "FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019™ - Coaches - Ante MILICIC". www.fifa.com. Archived from the original on 8 June 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  2. ^ Mark, David (June 2019). "From fringe Socceroo to accidental head coach: Ante Milicic's path to the Matildas' top job". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  3. ^ Milicic goes through a gamut of emotions in debut match with Pahang - The Star, 19 April 2004.
  4. ^ Malaysia 2004 - RSSSF.
  5. ^ "Milicic leaves Roar for good". The World Game. 8 December 2007. Archived from the original on 8 December 2007. Retrieved 8 December 2007.
  6. ^ Ante Milicic at National-Football-Teams.com
  7. ^ Davutovic, David (22 May 2012). "Ante's heart is back in Sydney". thetelegraph.com.au. News Limited. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  8. ^ "UAE will be formidable Asian Cup hosts for defending champions Australia, says Ante Milicic" The National. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  9. ^ "Ante Milicic confirmed as Matildas head coach for World Cup". TheGuardian.com. 18 February 2019.
  10. ^ "Milicic quits Matildas as A-League beckons". The World Game. Special Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  11. ^ "Milicic to take the helm of new club Macarthur FC". The World Game. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  12. ^ "安特·米利西奇出任中国国家女子足球队主教练" (in Chinese). Chinese Football Association. 11 May 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
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