Anthony Šerić (; born 15 January 1979) is a

Croatian Australian Croatian Australians (), Australian Croats (''Australski Hrvati'') or Croats in Australia (''Hrvati u Australiji'') are Australian citizens of Croats, Croatian ancestry. Croatia has been a source of Human migration, migrants to Australia, parti ...

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, rugby lea ...

who played as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. 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 Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

and

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

Early life

Šerić was born to a Croatian family in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, 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 the ...

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, enter ...

, Croatia, where he played for

Hajduk Split Hrvatski Nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, the club's home ...

Verona & Parma

Šerić then moved to Italy to play in

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

, initially with

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

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

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, 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 Martin Laursen (; born 26 July 1977) is a Danish former professional footballer who played in the centre-back position. He played three seasons for Italian club A.C. Milan, with whom he won the 2003 UEFA Champions League and the 2004 Serie A cham ...

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 was most recently the manager of club Genoa. A prolific goalscorer, in Gilardino's early career he was compared ...

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 (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

. 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 former football coach and former player. Playing career Prandelli was a midfielder who moved from Atalanta to Juventus in 1979. His first game for Juventus was in the 1979–80 Eur ...

, while

Florian Myrtaj Florian Myrtaj (born 15 September 1976) is an Albanian former footballer who played as a forward. Myrtaj, who moved to Italy in 1989, aged 13, after having been signed by the Modena F.C. youth section, is also an Italian citizen. Club career ...

moved to opposite direction. In 2004–05 season, he left for

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

as the club has lost

Jaap Stam Jakob "Jaap" 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 all-time. Stam was part of the Manchester United team that w ...

Siniša Mihajlović Siniša Mihajlović ( sr-Cyrl, Синиша Михајловић, ; 20 February 1969 – 16 December 2022) was a Serbian football manager and professional footballer who played as a defender. Mihajlović had an illustrious playing career, winni ...

, Giuseppe Favalli and only

Fernando Couto Fernando Manuel Silva Couto (; born 2 August 1969) is a Portuguese former professional 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 ...

Paolo Negro Paolo Negro (; born 16 April 1972) is an Italian former professional footballer and manager who played as a centre back or as a right back. In an eighteen year professional career, Negro amassed Serie A totals of 362 games and 24 goals, mainly ...

Massimo Oddo Massimo Oddo (; born 14 June 1976) is an Italian professional football manager and a former player who is the current head coach of Milan Futuro, AC Milan's reserve team. As a player, he played as a right-back. Oddo played for several Italian ...

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 he ...

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, with whom they won the Coppa Italia, the UEFA Cup, and the ...

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 Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...

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 (), commonly known as Olhanense, is a Portuguese sports club from Olhão, Algarve. Its Association football, football team was founded on 27 April 1912 and currently plays in the Algarve Football Association Portuguese Di ...

. 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 * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

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 country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. 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 Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...

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, officially the Slovak Republic, 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 west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

on 29 May 1998 in

Pula Pula, also known as Pola, is the largest city in Istria County, west Croatia, and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, seventh-largest city in the country, situated at the southern tip of the Istria, Istrian peninsula in western Croatia, wi ...

. 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 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, European Under-21 Championship. The final tournament was hosted by Slovakia from 27 May to 4 June 2000. The tournament had 47 entrants ...

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, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

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

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

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 tha ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, 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 association football, football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA ( ...

qualifier, a goalless draw at

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. He won a total of 16 full international caps.

Honours

Hajduk Split * Croatian Cup: 2009–10 Beşiktaş *

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

: 2008–09 *

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup () 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 Kupası''. Now Ziraat Bankası is ...

: 2008–09

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Seric, Anthony 1979 births Living people Soccer players from Sydney Australian people of Croatian 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 Sydney United 58 FC 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