Saša Ilić (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet ( sr, / , ) is a variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language, updated in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two alphabets used to write standard modern Serbian, t ...

: Саша Илић, or ; born 18 July 1972) is a

Serbian Australian Serbian Australians ( sr, / ), are citizens of Australia who fully, or partially identify as Serbian by birth or descent. In the 2021 census there were 94,997 people in Australia of Serbian ancestry, making it a significant group with the gl ...

retired

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 ...

Club career

Born in Melbourne, Ilić started playing soccer with Sydney-based

Bonnyrigg White Eagles Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in Bonnyrigg, Sydney, New South Wales, currently playing in the NSW League One. The club was founded in 1968 as Avala Sports Club and took its current name in 1992. H ...

. He later moved to his parents' home country and started playing for Grafičar Beograd in the Belgrade Zone League, before signing with Radnički Beograd of the

First League of FR Yugoslavia The First League of Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Прва савезна лига / Prva savezna liga) was the top football league of Serbia and Montenegro, before the country's dissolution in 2006. The league was formed following the breakup of Yu ...

. Ilić later joined

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...

, where he became most well-known. He was a regular in goal in the latter half of the 1997–98 season and kept a record 9 clean sheets in a row, including both play-off semi-finals against

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

. The run was ended as Charlton gained promotion after a classic 4–4 play-off final, in which he saved the deciding penalty from Michael Gray in a 7–6 win over Sunderland on penalties in the First Division play-off final. After Charlton's relegation in 1998–99, Ilić lost his place in the team to new signing

Dean Kiely Dean Laurence Kiely (born 10 October 1970) is a former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is the goalkeeping coach at Premier League club Crystal Palace and the Republic of Ireland national team. Born in England, he won ele ...

. In February 2000 he went on loan to

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

but made just one appearance - a 4–0 defeat at home to Everton in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

. In September 2001 he went on loan to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

and made seven appearances. Ilić left Charlton in 2002 and joined Hungarian side

ZTE ZTE Corporation is a Chinese partially state-owned technology company that specializes in telecommunication. Founded in 1985, ZTE is listed on both the Hong Kong and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges. ZTE's core business is wireless, exchange, opt ...

where he played against Manchester United in a

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

qualifier. ZTE won the first leg 1–0 but lost the second leg 5–0, a game in which Ilić was also sent off for a foul on

Ruud van Nistelrooy Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij (anglicised to Van Nistelrooy; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. He is currently the coach of PSV Eindhoven. A former footballer, Van Nistelrooy is often consi ...

. In February 2003 he returned to Portsmouth to provide back up to

Shaka Hislop Neil Shaka Hislop CM (born 22 February 1969) is a retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Born in England, he played for them at under-21 level before representing Trinidad and Tobago at senior international level. The majority of his ...

and

Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi , sometimes referred to as Yoshi Kawaguchi, is a former Japanese professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is a former captain of the Japan national team. Career Early career Born in Fuji, Shizuoka Prefecture, Kawaguchi studi ...

. However he made no appearances as Portsmouth won promotion to the

, and then joined Barnsley in August 2003.

International career

Ilić made two appearances for the

FR Yugoslavia national football team The Serbia and Montenegro national football team ( sr, Фудбалска репрезентација Србије и Црне Горе, Fudbalska reprezentacija Srbije i Crne Gore) was a national football team that represented the State Unio ...

. His debut was in December 1998 in a friendly match against

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

as a second-half substitute and his second and last appearance was in a home loss against

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

during the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ilic, Sasa 1972 births Living people Soccer players from Melbourne Australian people of Serbian descent Men's association football goalkeepers Serbian men's footballers Serbia and Montenegro men's international footballers RFK Grafičar Beograd players FK Radnički Beograd players St. Leonards F.C. players Charlton Athletic F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Leeds United F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Aberdeen F.C. players Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC players Premier League players Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Australian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Australian expatriate sportspeople in England Serbia and Montenegro men's footballers Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in England Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Australian expatriate sportspeople in Hungary Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Hungary Expatriate men's footballers in Hungary Zalaegerszegi TE players English Football League players