Željko Vuković (born 9 February 1962) is a retired

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n–

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n football player.

Club career

Born in

Dvor, Croatia Dvor ( sr-Cyrl, Двор) is a municipality in the Banovina region in central Croatia. Administratively it belongs to the Sisak-Moslavina County and is located across the Una River from Novi Grad in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Dvor is an underdeve ...

, back then still within Yugoslavia, he started playing with local club NK Jedinstvo. His first appearance in the

Yugoslav First League The Yugoslav First Federal Football League (Serbian: Прва савезна лига у фудбалу / ''Prva savezna liga u fudbalu'', hr, Prva savezna liga u nogometu, sl, Prva zvezna nogometna liga, mk, Прва сојузна лига, ...

occurred in 1985 when he was playing in the

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n giants

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb ( en, Dinamo Zagreb Citizens' Football Club, link=yes, italics=yes), commonly referred to as GNK Dinamo Zagreb or simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinam ...

, where he played until 1988. Still in

, in 1988 he moved to Dinamo Vinkovci where he played between 1988 and 1990, having played a total of 69 top league matches in those two seasons there. In summer of 1990, he moved to the neighbouring rivals

NK Osijek Nogometni klub Osijek ( en, Osijek Football Club), commonly referred to as NK Osijek or simply Osijek (), is a Croatian professional football club from Osijek. Founded in 1947, it was the club from Slavonia with the most seasons in the Yugoslav ...

where he will play a single but very solid season there that will earn him a call to one of the first Croatia national team matches. In 1991, he was transferred to

n club

Vorwärts Steyr ''Vorwärts'' (, "Forward") is a newspaper published by the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Founded in 1876, it was the central organ of the SPD for many decades. Following the party's Halle Congress (1891), it was published daily as ...

, where he stayed four seasons and played 136 matches, having scored 11 goals, an impressive achievement for a defender. In 1995, he made a big move to GAK Graz where he became one of the pillars in the defense. His 103 games, having scored seven goals, say it all. In 1999, and already with 37 springs on his shoulders, he moved to another

Austrian Football Bundesliga The Austrian Football Bundesliga (german: Österreichische Fußball-Bundesliga, italic=no , "Austrian Football Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Austrian football league system. The ...

club

FC Kärnten FC Kärnten was an Austrian association football club based in Klagenfurt, Carinthia. It was founded in 1920 under the name of KSK Klagenfurt. History Austria Klagenfurt Austria Klagenfurt played successfully in the '' Kärntner Liga'' and i ...

where he stayed until 2002.

International career

Željko was part of the

Croatia national football team The Croatia national football team ( hr, Hrvatska nogometna reprezentacija) represents Croatia in international football matches. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation (HNS), the governing body for football in Croatia. It is a ...

in the earliest stages in 1991, playing in an unofficial

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

. Having afterwards continued his career in Austrian clubs, he received in 2001 a call to play to the

Austria national football team The Austria national football team (german: Österreichische Fußballnationalmannschaft) represents Austria in men's international football competition and it is controlled by the Austrian Football Association (German: Österreichischer Fußba ...

, being one of the oldest players to have made the debut for the selection, with a record 39 years. He ended up playing three matches in total for Austria. His final international was a November 2001 World Cup qualification match away against

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Honours

*2002 –

Austrian Bundesliga The Austrian Football Bundesliga (german: Österreichische Fußball-Bundesliga, italic=no , "Austrian Football Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Austrian football league system. The ...

Honour award.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vukovic, Zeljko 1962 births Living people Sportspeople from Sisak-Moslavina County Austrian people of Croatian descent Men's association football defenders Yugoslav men's footballers Croatian men's footballers Croatia men's international footballers Austrian men's footballers Austria men's international footballers Dual internationalists (men's football) GNK Dinamo Zagreb players HNK Cibalia players NK Osijek players SK Vorwärts Steyr players Grazer AK players FC Kärnten players Yugoslav First League players Austrian Football Bundesliga players Croatian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Austria Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Austria