Eugen Josip Galekovic ( ; hr, Eugen Josip Galeković, ; born 12 June 1981) is an Australian former professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who played as a
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
. He is the current goalkeeper coach for
Adelaide United
Adelaide United Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was founded in 2003 to fil ...
.
Biography
Club career
Galekovic's junior football was mostly played at
Chelsea Hajduk in Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs.
Galekovic played school football for
St Bede's College.
Galekovic started his career with
Morwell
Morwell is a town in the Latrobe Valley area of Gippsland, in South-Eastern Victoria, Australia approximately 152 km (94 mi) east of Melbourne.
Morwell has a population of 14,389 people at the .
It is both the seat of local governme ...
based
National Soccer League (NSL) side
Gippsland Falcons as a 19-year-old in December 2000 before signing with Australian powerhouse
South Melbourne
South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at ...
the following season.
South Melbourne FC
Galekovic was second choice keeper in his early seasons at South playing behind Socceroos keeper Dean
Anastasiadis. He made his debut in 2002 against rivals Melbourne Knights at Lakeside Stadium. After a string of impressive performances for his age, Galekovic claimed his spot as South's number 1 for the 2002 season ahead of
Michael Theo.
At his time at South, Galekovic made 37 appearances and kept 17 clean sheets in the process. Following his performances for the club, he received a maiden Olyroos selection.
He stayed with South Melbourne until the NSL's closure in 2003–04 where at season's end he secured a place on the list of
Beira Mar in Portugal on the back of holding the number one spot for Australia's Olympic football campaign in Athens in 2004.
Galekovic was South's keeper in their last ever national league game in 2004 when South Melbourne Lost 2-1 to Adelaide United in an elimination final by golden goal.
Melbourne Victory
The period at Beira Mar was generally unsuccessful for Galekovic, with him seeing little first team action and thus, he returned to Melbourne to sign for the city's inaugural A-League side
Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victor ...
for season 2005–06, debuting in the opening match against
Sydney FC.
Galekovic played 11 matches for the season in an unusual goalkeeper rotation policy employed by Melbourne manager
Ernie Merrick
Ernest Merrick OAM (born 15 January 1953) is a Scottish-Australian coach, who last managed A-League soccer club Newcastle Jets. He was released on 6 January 2020. He was the former head coach of the Hong Kong national football team and A-Leagu ...
in which the other 10 matches saw teammate and former South Melbourne compatriot
Michael Theoklitos
Michael Theo (formerly Theoklitos) (born 11 February 1981) is an Australian goalkeeper who is the goalkeeping
coach at A-League club Western United FC.
Career Early career
Theoklitos began his career as a young lad playing in the Victorian ...
in goal. Galekovic was second choice keeper for the Victory in the 2006–07 season but an injury to Theoklitos gave Galekovic his first start of the season in the round 13 clash against
Queensland Roar
Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat.
Brisb ...
at
Suncorp Stadium
Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...
.
Adelaide United
![Eugene warming up](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Eugene_warming_up.jpg)
On 30 October, Eugene signed for Melbourne Victory rivals Adelaide United as a replacement for injured keeper
Daniel Beltrame and made his debut against the
Queensland Roar
Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat.
Brisb ...
at
Hindmarsh Stadium
Hindmarsh Stadium (currently known as Coopers Stadium due to sponsorship from Adelaide-based company Coopers Brewery) is a multi-purpose stadium in Hindmarsh, an inner western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is the home of the Austral ...
. On 20 January 2008, Galekovic kept his first clean sheet for Adelaide in a 2–0 win over Brisbane at Hindmarsh Stadium. On 27 December 2008 Galekovic made a string of impressive saves to ensure Adelaide kept its 1–0 advantage over
Perth Glory and in the process giving him his fifth clean sheet of the league season.
In February 2010, Galekovic capped off another brilliant year by winning the
Adelaide United
Adelaide United Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was founded in 2003 to fil ...
Player of the Year Award.
In the middle of the 2011–12 A-League
Jon McKain resigned his role as captain at Adelaide United. It was then announced that Eugene Galekovic became captain.
On 11 March 2016 Galekovic reached 250 appearances despite a 1–0 defeat to
Melbourne City FC
Melbourne City Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in the south–eastern Melbourne suburb of Cranbourne East, that plays in the A-League, the top level of Australian soccer, under licence from Australian Professio ...
.
Melbourne City
On 16 June 2017 Galekovic signed a two-year deal with
Melbourne City FC
Melbourne City Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in the south–eastern Melbourne suburb of Cranbourne East, that plays in the A-League, the top level of Australian soccer, under licence from Australian Professio ...
.
Return to Adelaide United
Following the conclusion of his contract with Melbourne City, Galekovic returned to Adelaide United to commence a role as the club's Goalkeeping Coach.
International
Galekovic has been called up for
Australia in a preliminary squad with teammates
Scott Jamieson
Scott Alexander Jamieson (born 13 October 1988) is an Australian soccer player who plays as a left back and captains for Melbourne City in the A-League.
Club career
Blacktown City
Jamieson was born in Auburn, Sydney. He has previously ...
and
Paul Reid after impressive performances in the
A-League and the
Asian Champions League. He made his first senior international football debut for
Australia on 28 January 2009 in an AFC Asian Cup qualifying match versus
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
. He was disappointing in his last outing against
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
, by letting in two poor goals after
Australia conceded a 2–0 advantage. After
Brad Jones left the
2010 World Cup
, image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg
, size = 200px
, caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
23-man squad to help his son battle leukaemia, he was called in as a replacement, after missing selection in the 23-man squad first time around. Eugene was selected by
Holger Osieck
Holger Osieck (born 31 August 1948) is a German football manager who last managed the Australia national team. Prior to the Australian role, he most recently managed J. League club Urawa Red Diamonds, where he won the 2007 AFC Champions League ...
for a
2013 EAFF East Asian Cup qualifying tournament. He started the first match against hosts
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
and came up with audacious stops to save Australia from humiliation as they won 1–0 with a solo effort from
Brett Emerton
Brett Michael Emerton (born 22 February 1979) is an Australian former professional footballer who played for Sydney Olympic, Sydney FC, Feyenoord Rotterdam, Blackburn Rovers and the Australia national team. Able to play as a wide midfielder or ...
. The other game that Galekovic was a part of a 9–0 thrashing of
Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
. After a string good performances for Adelaide United, Holger Osieck selected Eugene Galekovic as part of his 23-man squad for the decisive
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) section of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification saw 43 teams competing for 4 or 5 berths in the final tournament in Brazil. As in recent tournaments the AFC had four direct qualifiers for the finals tour ...
match against
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...
.
He was part of the Australia squad for the
2014 World Cup
The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting righ ...
, but did not play.
Career statistics
''CS = Clean sheets
1 – includes A-League final series statistics
2 – includes FIFA Club World Cup statistics; AFC Champions League statistics are included in season commencing after group stages (i.e. 2008 ACL in 2008–09 A-League season etc.)
Honours
Club
;
Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victor ...
:
*
A-League Championship
A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professionalism in association football, professional men's association football, soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Austral ...
:
2006–07
*
A-League Premiership:
2006–07
;
Adelaide United
Adelaide United Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was founded in 2003 to fil ...
:
*
FFA Cup
The Australia Cup, formerly known as the FFA Cup until the 2021 season, is the national football knockout cup competition in Australia. This annual competition is organised by Football Australia, formerly known as Football Federation Austral ...
:
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
*
A-League Premiership:
2015–16
*
A-League Championship: 2015–16
National
Australia
*
AFC Asian Cup:
2015
Individual
*
A-League Goalkeeper of the Year:
2008–09,
2009–10,
2013–14,
2014–15
*
Adelaide United
Adelaide United Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was founded in 2003 to fil ...
Club Champion:
2008–2009,
2009–10
*
Adelaide United
Adelaide United Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was founded in 2003 to fil ...
Player's Player of the Year:
2008–2009,
2009–10,
2011–12
*
A-League PFA Team of the Season: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15
*
A-League All Stars: 2014
*
PFA A-League Team of the Decade: 2005–15
Individual Records
*
Most Goalkeeper of the Year Awards: 4
References
External links
Adelaide United profile*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Galekovic, Eugene
1981 births
Australian people of Croatian descent
Australia international soccer players
Association football goalkeepers
Olympic soccer players of Australia
Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics
A-League Men players
National Soccer League (Australia) players
Adelaide United FC players
Melbourne City FC players
Gippsland Falcons players
Melbourne Knights FC players
Melbourne Victory FC players
S.C. Beira-Mar players
F.C. Marco players
South Melbourne FC players
2010 FIFA World Cup players
2014 FIFA World Cup players
2015 AFC Asian Cup players
Australian expatriate soccer players
Australian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal
Soccer players from Melbourne
Living people
AFC Asian Cup-winning players
Marquee players (A-League Men)
Australian soccer players
Expatriate footballers in Portugal
Association football goalkeeping coaches