Ruben Zadkovich
Zadkovich playing for Newcastle Jets in 2010
Personal information
Full name Ruben Anton Zadkovich[1]
Date of birth (1986-05-23) 23 May 1986[1]
Place of birth Fairfield, Australia
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s) Central midfielder
Youth career
0000–2004 Wollongong Wolves
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2005 Queens Park Rangers 0 (0)
2005 Notts County 9 (1)
2006–2008 Sydney FC 41 (2)
2008–2010 Derby County 5 (0)
2010–2014 Newcastle Jets 97 (6)
2014–2016 Perth Glory 13 (1)
Total 165 (10)
International career
2005 Australia U20 5 (0)
2006–2008 Australia U23 25 (1)
2008–2013 Australia 3 (0)
Managerial career
2016–2019 Broadmeadow Magic
2020 Hills United
2020–2022 Perth Glory (NPL)
2022–2023 Perth Glory
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ruben Anton Zadkovich (Croatian: Zadković, Croatian pronunciation: [zadkovitɕ]; born 23 May 1986) is an Australian football manager and former player.[2] He played for six clubs in a career that spanned between England and Australia, notably becoming a crowd favourite at Newcastle Jets FC in the A-League. Zadkovich was also capped for Australia, representing the Socceroos on three occasions.

Club career

Born in Fairfield, Sydney, New South Wales,[1] Zadkovich had previously played for English Football League club Notts County, scoring on his debut against Chester City,[3] as well as Queens Park Rangers and Australian side Wollongong Wolves. He has also made several appearances for the Young Socceroos, most notably at the FIFA World Youth Championship.

Sydney FC

Following his time in England, Zadkovich returned to Australia in late 2005 and trialled for Sydney FC. He travelled with the squad to the FIFA Club World Championship and despite not making an appearance he impressed coach Littbarski, being called in as a short-term replacement for injured Ufuk Talay late in the season. After a 12-minute debut off the bench against Queensland Roar, Zadkovich impressed with his first start against Perth Glory (which included a goal), playing one game in Sydney's run to the inaugural A-League championship, earning him a two-year full-time contract. He was allowed to leave the club in March 2008.

Derby County

On 17 April 2008, it was revealed Zadkovich had signed a two-year deal with English club Derby County, although his registration was unable to be completed before 1 July.[4] Zadkovich made his Derby debut as a second-half substitute against Norwich City at Pride Park in October 2008, in a match which Derby won 3–1. He struggled with injuries during his time at Derby and, after only 7 appearances for the club, cancelled his contract by mutual consent on 23 January 2010.

Newcastle Jets

On 6 April 2010, Zadkovich confirmed that he had penned a three-year contract with the Newcastle Jets that would see him return to play his football in Australia.[5] Zadkovich played 97 games over four seasons with the Jets. He was appointed captain in his third season and led the team until he was recruited by Perth Glory in 2014.

Perth Glory

On 29 May 2014, Zadkovich received an early release from Newcastle Jets and signed with Perth Glory.[6] On 15 November 2014, Zadkovich made his debut for Perth Glory coming on as a substitute against the Western Sydney Wanderers. Glory went on to win the game 2–1. On 22 November 2014, Zadkovich came on as a substitute against Wellington Phoenix in the 61st minute but was sent off after just 17 seconds with a two-footed tackle. On 8 May 2016, after not playing a single match in the season due to injury, Zadkovich retired from playing football.[7]

International career

Zadkovich made his debut at right-back in the last home game of 1st round 2010 World Cup Qualifications, against China, at ANZ Stadium on 22 June 2008. Australia lost this match 1–0.

Zadkovich took part in the 2008 Olympics as part of Australia's national team (Olyroos). He scored from close range in a 1–1 draw with Serbia, Australia's only goal in an unsuccessful campaign. He also played against Argentina in what was Australia's best performance of the tournament.

Managerial career

Broadmeadow Magic

Zadkovich's first foray as a club manager arose when he was announced as the manager for Football Northern New South Wales club Broadmeadow Magic.[8]

Hills United

Zadkovich was appointed manager of Hills United in September 2020, leaving the role only one month later.[9]

Perth Glory

Zadkovich was appointed assistant manager of Perth Glory in October 2020.[10] In March 2022, Zadkovich was named interim head coach of the Glory following the departure of Richard Garcia.[11] The 2021–22 season ended with Glory finishing bottom of the A-league table for the first time in their history.

Zadkovich was appointed as permanent Head Coach in May 2022, despite only recording one win in his interim tenure.

During the 2022-23 season, news surfaced that Zadkovich had punched midfielder Giordano Colli during training, with the coach moving quickly to dispel any notion of a rift [12]

Zadkovich departed Perth Glory after his first full season in charge, following a disappointing 9th place finish.[13]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[14][15]
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Notts County 2004–05 League Two 810000–81
2005–06 100000–10
Total 9100000091
Sydney FC 2005–06 A-League 61–000061
2006–07 191–0030221
2007–08 160–2100181
Total 412002130463
Derby County 2008–09 Championship 500020–70
2009–10 000000–00
Total 5000200070
Newcastle Jets 2010–11 A-League 212––00212
2011–12 231––00231
2012–13 263––00263
2013–14 270––00270
Total 976000000976
Perth Glory 2014–15 A-League 13120–00151
2015–16 0000–0000
Total 131200000151
Career total 1651020413017411

Managerial statistics

As of 12 May 2023[16]
Team Nat From To Record
GWDLWin %
Perth Glory Australia March 2022 May 2023 37 8 10 19 021.62
Total 37 8 10 19 021.62

Honours

Player

Sydney FC

Australia U20

Manager

Broadmeadow Magic

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2009). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2009–10. Mainstream Publishing. p. 450. ISBN 9781845964740.
  2. ↑ Interim manager
  3. ↑ "Chester 3–2 Notts County". BBC. 19 March 2005. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
  4. ↑ "Derby complete Zadkovich signing". BBC. 17 April 2008. Retrieved 17 April 2008.
  5. ↑ "Zadkovich arrives in Newcastle". Newcastle United Jets FC. 6 April 2010. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
  6. ↑ "ZADKOVICH FLIES WEST". Football Federation Australia. 29 May 2014. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  7. ↑ "Zadkovich calls it a day". FourFourTwo. 8 May 2016. Archived from the original on 10 May 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  8. ↑ Kerry, Craig (1 August 2016). "Ruben Zadkovich announced as new Broadmeadow coach". Newcastle Herald. Archived from the original on 28 November 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  9. ↑ Stavroulakis, Mark (10 September 2020). "Hills United appoint Ruben Zadkovich as head senior coach". Football Federation Australia. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  10. ↑ Gareth Morgan (14 October 2020). "Key football department appointments confirmed". Perth Glory. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  11. ↑ Jackson, Ed (24 March 2022). "I'm ready for ALM coaching shot: Zadkovich". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  12. ↑ "PFA investigating claims an A-League coach punched a player at a training session". Fox Sports. 24 February 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  13. ↑ "Perth Glory coach Ruben Zadkovich resigns after one season in charge". ABC News (Australia). 2 June 2023.
  14. ↑ "Ruben Zadkovich". Soccerbase. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  15. ↑ "Ruben Zadkovich". ALeagueStats.com. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  16. ↑ "Ruben Zadkovich". ALeagueStats. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
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