Anthony Šerić (; born 15 January 1979) is a Croatian Australian former

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, rugb ...

who played as a

left-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 ...

. He was a part of the Croatia national team at the

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

and

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...

Early life

Šerić was born to a Croatian family in

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 Mounta ...

, Australia, and received a football scholarship to the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of th ...

Club career

Hajduk

Šerić began his professional football career in

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertai ...

, Croatia, where he played for

Hajduk Split Hrvatski nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split () or simply Hajduk, is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 197 ...

Verona & Parma

Šerić then moved to Italy to play in

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

, initially with

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second m ...

. But due to 3+2 non- EU quota, he was loaned to

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

and Adaílton was also signed by Verona from Parma in co-ownership deal. In 2000, his loan was extended. The quota abolished during the 2000-01 season but Šerić did not earn a return to Parma. In June 2001, team-mate Martin Laursen was bought outright by Parma (Parma already bought half in 2000) and Šerić now co-owned by Verona and Parma, for 2.5 billion lire (€1,291,142). Later team-mate striker

Alberto Gilardino Alberto Gilardino (; born 5 July 1982) is an Italian professional football manager and a former player who played as a striker. He is currently in charge as caretaker of Genoa, a club he was contracted with on July 2022 as a youth coach. A ...

also bought by Parma in co-ownership deal but loaned back to Verona. Verona were relegated to Serie B in 2002. In June 2002, Šerić was bought outright by Verona, and Gilardino was bought in full by Parma. Šerić did not stay in Serie B, and was loaned Serie A side

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and '' comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...

. In the 2003–04 season, he rejoined his former Verona coach (in 1999-2000 season)

Cesare Prandelli Claudio Cesare Prandelli (; born 19 August 1957) is an Italian football coach and former player. He was most recently head coach of Fiorentina. Career Player Prandelli was a midfielder who moved from Atalanta to Juventus in 1979. His first g ...

, while Florian Myrtaj moved to opposite direction. In 2004-05 season, he left for

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

as the club has lost

Jaap Stam Jakob Stam (; born 17 July 1972) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. As a player, he played as a centre-back and is regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation. Stam played for several European clubs including ...

Siniša Mihajlović Siniša Mihajlović ( sr-Cyrl, Синиша Михајловић, ; 20 February 1969 – 16 December 2022) was a Serbian professional football player and manager. During his career as a footballer, he played as a defender or midfielder. He won ...

Giuseppe Favalli Giuseppe Favalli (; born 8 January 1972) is an Italian former professional footballer. A versatile, consistent, tenacious and experienced defender, Favalli was capable of playing as a centre back as well as on the left or right flank as a full ...

and only

Fernando Couto Fernando Manuel Silva Couto (; born 2 August 1969) is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a centre back. During a 21-year professional career, he played in a number of top clubs in Portugal, Spain and Italy (12 seasons in the latter ...

Paolo Negro Paolo Negro (; born 16 April 1972) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer and manager who played as a Defender (association football)#Centre-back, centre back or as a Defender (association football)#Full-back, right b ...

Massimo Oddo Massimo Oddo (; born 14 June 1976) is an Italian professional football manager and a former player who played as a full-back. He was most recently in charge as the head coach of Serie C club Padova. Oddo played for several Italian clubs throug ...

remained. Lazio also signed defender

Sebastiano Siviglia Sebastiano Siviglia (born 29 March 1973) is an Italian football coach and a former player who played as a defender. Throughout his career, Siviglia played over 250 matches in the Italian Serie A for several clubs, in particular Lazio, where h ...

and Óscar López.

Panathinaikos

In 2005, Šerić left for Panathinaikos to re-join

Alberto Malesani Alberto Malesani (; born 5 June 1954) is an Italian football manager and former player. As a manager, he is mostly remembered for his successful spell with Parma during the late 1990s, where he won the Coppa Italia, the UEFA Cup, and the Superco ...

his who also was his coach at Verona (2001–02 season).

Hajduk Split

In June 2008 he moved to the Turkish side

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and Şişli, on the west by Kağıthane and Şişli, on the south by Beyoğlu, ...

on a free transfer closely followed by a move back to his original side Hajduk Split in January 2009. He was a crucial member of Hajduk's defence playing 11 league games until the end of the 2008–2009 season.

Olhanense

After leaving Karabükspor in the summer of 2013, Šerić signed a one-year contract with Portuguese side

S.C. Olhanense Sporting Clube Olhanense () is a Portuguese sports club from Olhão, Algarve. Its football team was founded on 27 April 1912 and currently plays in the Campeonato de Portugal, the fourth tier of Portuguese football. It holds home matches at the ...

. His Olhanense debut came on 25 November 2013 in a

League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

game against Académica de Coimbra in which his side lost 1–0. On 15 March 2014, Šerić was released from his contract with Olhanense by mutual consent, and subsequently retired from professional football. He had played 4 games in all competitions without scoring.

International career

In 1998, Šerić was infamously picked for both

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

and

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

. He opted to play for Croatia, and his decision immediately paid dividends as the nation finished 3rd at the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for t ...

in France. He did not receive any playing time during the tournament, prior to which he made his full international debut as a substitute in a friendly match against

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

on 29 May 1998 in

Pula Pula (; also known as Pola, it, Pola , hu, Pòla, Venetian; ''Pola''; Istriot: ''Puola'', Slovene: ''Pulj'') is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, and the seventh-largest city in the country, situated at the southern tip of the I ...

. He also featured as a substitute in Croatia's following two pre-tournament friendlies. After the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Šerić went on to become a regular with the Croatian under-21 team, winning a total of 17 international caps and scoring two goals over the following three years. He appeared in all of the team's three matches at the

2000 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Championship was the 12th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Championship. The final tournament was hosted by Slovakia from 27 May to 4 June 2000. The tournament had 47 entrants. Northern Ireland competed for th ...

in Slovakia, where they were eliminated in the group stage. He scored the opening goal in their final group match, a 4–3 defeat to the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. He also made four appearances in the qualifying for the tournament, scoring a goal in a 6–2 win at

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

in August 1999. The same year, he featured in all of the Croatian under-20 team's four matches at the

1999 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Nigeria between 3 and 24 April 1999. This was the 12th edition of the tournament. Qualification The following 24 teams qualified for the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship. :1.Teams that ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, where they exited the tournament in the round of 16. He finished his career with the Croatian under-21 team in November 2001, when they failed to qualify for the

2002 UEFA European Under-21 Championship UEFA European Under-21 Championship 2002 was the 13th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Championship. The final tournament was hosted by Switzerland between 16 and 28 May 2002. Czech Republic U-21s won the competition for the first time. Qu ...

after losing to the Czech Republic on away goals in the play-offs. He made a total of seven appearances in the qualifying campaign, including both play-off matches. Šerić continued to feature sporadically for the Croatian senior national team until 2006, also being a non-playing squad member at the

and

s. Hence, he never featured in any of the 13 matches in all World Cup tournaments. In the qualifying for the 2006 World Cup, he made his first two competitive international appearances at senior level, both as a starter. His final international appearance came on 6 September 2006, when he played the full 90 minutes in Croatia's opening

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of Europea ...

qualifier, a goalless draw at

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-ei ...

. He won a total of 16 full international caps.

Honours

Hajduk Split * Croatian Cup: 2009–10 Beşiktaş *

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

: 2008–09 *

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup ( Turkish: ''Türkiye Kupası'') is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupas� ...

: 2008–09

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Seric, Anthony 1979 births Living people Soccer players from Sydney Australian people of Croatian descent Citizens of Croatia through descent Australian emigrants to Croatia Men's association football fullbacks Croatian men's footballers Croatia men's youth international footballers Croatia men's under-21 international footballers Croatia men's international footballers 1998 FIFA World Cup players 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players Australian Institute of Sport soccer players Croatian Football League players HNK Hajduk Split players Serie A players Parma Calcio 1913 players Hellas Verona FC players Brescia Calcio players SS Lazio players Super League Greece players Panathinaikos F.C. players Süper Lig players Beşiktaş J.K. footballers Kardemir Karabükspor footballers Primeira Liga players S.C. Olhanense players Croatian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Australian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal