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 le ...

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 Association Football, soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under North American professional sports league organization#Systems ar ...

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 The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its d ...

(NSL) side

Gippsland Falcons Falcons 2000 Soccer Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in the regional Victorian city of Morwell. Founded in 1961 by the local Italian community, the club has participated in the Victorian state league system at multiple ...

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 t ...

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 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 P ...

. 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 Sport Clube Beira-Mar () is a Portuguese sports club based in Aveiro, Portugal. Its football team currently plays in the Campeonato de Portugal, the fourth national level, having gained promotion by winning the Aveiro FA First Division 2018/19 ...

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), Victory e ...

for season 2005–06, debuting in the opening match against

Sydney FC Sydney Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was fo ...

. 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-League ...

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 association football, soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record ...

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

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

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 Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues. Founded in 19 ...

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

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 Profession ...

Melbourne City

On 16 June 2017 Galekovic signed a two-year deal with

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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

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 A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

and the

Asian Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

. He made his first senior international football debut for

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

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 The 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup was the 5th edition of this regional competition, the football championship of East Asia. Two preliminary competitions were held during 2012. Mongolia were suspended from the EAFF and could not compete in any EAFF co ...

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 Delt ...

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 tourn ...

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 t ...

. 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

final series statistics
² – includes

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...

statistics;

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

statistics are included in season commencing after group stages (i.e. 2008 ACL in 2008–09 A-League season etc.)

Honours

Club

;

: *

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 ;

: *

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 Australia ...

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

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest cont ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Individual

A-League Goalkeeper of the Year The A-League Men Goalkeeper of the Year is an annual soccer award presented to the best goalkeeper in the A-League Men. The award is determined by a panel of experts. The A-League was founded in 2005 to replace the semi-professional National Socc ...

: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2013–14, 2014–15 *

Club Champion: 2008–2009, 2009–10 *

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