Zachary Michael Anderson (born 30 April 1991) is a retired Australian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who played as a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. Born in Queensland, Anderson made his professional debut with

Gold Coast United FC Gold Coast United Football Club is an Australian Association football, soccer club based in Gold Coast, Queensland. The earliest incarnation of the club formed in 1966 and its home ground was at Nikiforides Family Park in Broadbeach. The first ...

in 2009 before joining the Mariners in 2012, and then

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 ...

in 2015. He moved to the UAE in 2016 to play for

Emirates Club Emirates Club ( ar, نادي الإمارات) is a professional football club based in the city of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. They play in the UAE Pro League after being promoted from the UAE First Division League. They play their h ...

, before moving to Malaysia six months later. He has played for the Australian U-20 and U-23 sides.

Club career

Gold Coast United

On 20 November 2009, Anderson made his senior debut for

in the starting 11, in a 1–1 draw against

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 ...

. He scored his first goal for the club in a win 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 ...

on 18 March 2012.

Central Coast Mariners

On 15 May 2012 he signed a deal with the

Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The Ma ...

for the upcoming A-League season. Anderson, along with six teammates was released from his contract with the Mariners at the end of

2014–15 A-League The 2014–15 A-League was the 38th season of top-flight soccer in Australia, and the 10th season of the A-League since its establishment in 2004. Brisbane Roar were both the defending A-League Premiers and Champions. The regular season commenc ...

season.

Sydney FC

On 14 July 2015 Zachary signed a one-year deal with

for the 2015-16 A-League season, rejoining former manager

Graham Arnold Graham James Arnold (born 3 August 1963) is an Australian soccer manager and former player. Arnold was appointed to work as an assistant coach of the Australian national soccer team in 2000. After head coach Frank Farina was sacked in 2005, Ar ...

, coaches Andrew Clark and

John Crawley John Paul Crawley (born 21 September 1971) is a former English first-class cricketer who played at international level for England and county cricket for Hampshire and Lancashire. Crawley, one of three brothers who all played first-class crick ...

and former teammate

Matt Simon Matthew Blake Simon (born 22 January 1986) is a retired Australian international football (soccer) player who played as a striker. Simon attended St Edward's College, East Gosford, where he was influenced to play soccer. Simon started his s ...

who was also released from the Mariners at the conclusion 2015–16 season. He made his competitive debut for Sydney in a loss to

Urawa Red Diamonds , colloquially Urawa Reds (浦和レッズ), also known as Mitsubishi Urawa Football Club from April 1992 to January 1996, is a professional football club in the city of Saitama, part of the Greater Tokyo Area in Japan. The club plays in the J ...

in the 2016 AFC Champions League. In late May 2016, it was announced that Anderson would not be returning to the club after the 2015–16 season.

Emirates Club

In June 2016, Anderson was announced as a new signing for

UAE Arabian Gulf League The UAE Pro League ( ar, دوري المحترفين الإماراتي), known for sponsorship reasons as the ADNOC Pro League, is the top professional football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The first team to win the title was Al O ...

side

, signing a two-year deal. He was released from his contract after 6 months at the club, playing only 4 games and conceding 10 goals.

Kedah FA

Anderson moved to

Malaysian Super League The Malaysia Super League ( ms, Liga Super Malaysia) is the men's top professional football division of the Malaysian football league system. Administered by the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership (FMLLP), now known as the Malaysi ...

side

Kedah FA Kedah Darul Aman Football Club ( ms, Kelab Bola Sepak Kedah Darul Aman) is a football club based in Alor Setar, Kedah, that competes in the Malaysia Super League. They are the only team in the history of Malaysian football to have won two tr ...

in early 2017, following the footsteps of

teammate

Shane Smeltz Shane Edward Smeltz (born 29 September 1981) is a New Zealand Australian footballer. He plays as a striker for Guiseley AFC in the Northern Premier League, the 7th tier of English football. Smeltz had spent much of his early career playing i ...

who joined in 2016. He was able to help the club to a 4th place league finish as well as winning the Malaysian FA Cup. On 16 September 2017, Anderson announced on his Instagram that he would be leaving the club alongside striker Ken Ilsø to pursue other opportunities.

Perak TBG F.C.

After a stint with

PKNS FC Selangor Football Club II ( Malay: ''Kelab Bola Sepak Selangor 2''), commonly referred to as Selangor F.C. II, is a professional Malaysian football reserve team club of Selangor F.C., based in Shah Alam, in the state of Selangor. The club ...

, it was announced on 26 December 2018 that Anderson had signed for Perak TBG F.C.

Hougang United

On 28 January 2020, Anderson joined

Singapore Premier League The Singapore Premier League, commonly abbreviated as SPL, officially known as the AIA Singapore Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is a men's professional football league sanctioned by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), which re ...

side

Hougang United FC Hougang United Football Club is a Singaporean professional football club that competes in the Singapore Premier League. History Hougang United Football Club was founded as Marine Castle United Football Club, which was formed by Newcastle Unit ...

for the

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

season.

Olympic FC

In March 2022,

Olympic FC Olympic Football Club is a semi-professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was founded in 1967 and currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Queensland, with home matches played at Goodwin Park. The club has grow ...

announced that Anderson had retired from football to focus on his business, First Eleven Club.

International career

On 7 March 2012 he was selected to represent the

Australia Olympic football team The Australia national under-23 soccer team represents Australia in international under-23 soccer and at the Olympic Games. The team is controlled by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Australia (FA), which is currently a membe ...

in an Asian Olympic Qualifier match against

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Career statistics

Honours

Club

* National Youth League Championship: 2009–10

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: 2012–13

Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Cup Piala Sumbangsih (English: Malaysia Charity Cup), also known as Piala Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah ( en, Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Cup), is the Malaysian super cup competition. It is the curtain raiser match to the new Malaysian football season, pitting ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

Malaysia FA Cup The Malaysia FA Cup ( ms, Piala FA) is an annual national knock-out football tournament in Malaysia. The cup was first held in 1990. The competition was previously managed by Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), before being transferred to Fo ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Zachary 1991 births Living people Men's association football defenders Australian men's soccer players Australia men's under-20 international soccer players Gold Coast United FC players Central Coast Mariners FC players Sydney FC players Emirates Club players Kedah Darul Aman F.C. players A-League Men players UAE Pro League players Malaysia Super League players People from Ayr, Queensland Australian expatriate men's soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in the United Arab Emirates Australian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate men's footballers in Malaysia Australian expatriate sportspeople in Malaysia People educated at Brisbane Boys' College Soccer players from Queensland

Club career

Gold Coast United

Central Coast Mariners

Sydney FC

Emirates Club

Kedah FA

Perak TBG F.C.

Hougang United

Olympic FC

International career

Career statistics

Honours

Club

See also

References

External links