Ruben Anton Zadkovich ( hr, Zadković, ; born 23 May 1986) is a former Australian professional
football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
player, and manager of
Perth Glory. He played for 6 clubs in a career that spanned between England and Australia, notably becoming a crowd favourite at
Newcastle Jets FC
Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from The Australian ...
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 ...
. Zadkovich was also capped 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 ...
, representing the Socceroos on 3 occasions.
Club career
Born in
Fairfield,
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
,
Zadkovich had previously played for English Football League club
Notts County
Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...
, scoring on his debut against Chester City, as well as
Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...
and Australian side
Wollongong Wolves
Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wat ...
. He has also made several appearances for the
Young Socceroos, most notably at the
FIFA World Youth Championship
The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 wh ...
.
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
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 ...
and despite not making an appearance he impressed coach
Littbarski, being called in as a short-term replacement for injured
Ufuk Talay
Ufuk Talay (born 26 March 1976) is an Australian football coach and former player. Talay was suited to play in central midfield and was known for his good distribution and on-field vision. He is the current manager of Wellington Phoenix.
Club ...
late in the season. After a 12-minute debut off the bench 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 ...
, 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
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 ...
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
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
, although his registration was unable to be completed before 1 July. 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
Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from The Australian ...
that would see him return to play his football in Australia. 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.
On 15 November 2014, Zadkovich made his debut for Perth Glory coming on as a substitute against the
Western Sydney Wanderers
Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, or simply as Wanderers) is an Australian professional soccer club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier ...
. Glory went on to win the game 2–1. On 22 November 2014, Zadkovich came on as a substitute against
Wellington Phoenix
Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the ...
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.
International career
Zadkovich made his debut at right-back in the last home game of 1st round 2010 World Cup Qualifications, against
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, at
ANZ Stadium
ANZ may refer to:
People
* Anz (musician), a British DJ and electronic musician
Banks
* ANZ (bank), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, the fourth-largest bank in Australia
** ANZ Bank New Zealand, the largest bank in New Zealand
* ...
on 22 June 2008.
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 ...
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
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
, 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.
Hills United
Zadkovich was appointed manager of
Hills United in September 2020, leaving the role only one month later.
Perth Glory
Zadkovich was appointed assistant manager of
Perth Glory in October 2020. In March 2022, Zadkovich was named interim head coach of the Glory following the departure of
Richard Garcia
Richard Garcia (born 4 September 1981) is an Australian association football manager and former player. He is currently an assistant coach for Australia's U23 team, having previously managed A-League Men's side Perth Glory.
As a player, Garc ...
. The 2021–22 season ended with Glory finishing bottom of the league 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 A-league Men season, the team's run of poor performances continued with Perth Glory bottom of the table until the A-League Men season re-commences after the
2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Career statistics
Managerial statistics
Honours
Player
Club
Sydney FC
*
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 ...
Championship:
2005–06
International
Australia U20
*
OFC U-20 Championship
The OFC U-19 Championship is a tournament held once every two years to decide the under-19 champions of Oceania and also decides who will represent Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) at the biennial FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Between 1974 and 2012, ...
:
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
Manager
Club
Broadmeadow Magic
*
National Premier Leagues Northern NSW
The National Premier Leagues Northern NSW is a regional Australian Professional association football league comprising teams from Northern New South Wales. As a subdivision of the National Premier Leagues, the league sits at Level 1 on the Nort ...
Championship:
2018
References
External links
Newcastle Jets*
FFA – Olyroo profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zadkovich, Ruben
1986 births
Living people
Soccer players from Sydney
Australian soccer players
Australian expatriate soccer players
Australia international soccer players
Olympic soccer players of Australia
Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Association football midfielders
Queens Park Rangers F.C. players
Notts County F.C. players
Sydney FC players
Derby County F.C. players
Newcastle Jets FC players
English Football League players
A-League Men players
Australian people of Croatian descent
National Premier Leagues managers
Australian soccer coaches
Sportsmen from New South Wales
Australian expatriate sportspeople in England