Ajdin Hrustic (; born 5 July 1996) is an Australian professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who plays as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for club

Salernitana Unione Sportiva Salernitana 1919 is an Italian professional football club based in Salerno, Campania. The original club was founded in 1919 and has been reconstituted three times in the course of its history, most recently in 2011. The current ...

and the Australia national team.

Early life

Born in Dandenong, Victoria, Hrustic played youth football with

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at the 2021 ...

and

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as Schalke 04 (), and abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional sports club from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its football team, w ...

before moving to

FC Groningen Football Club Groningen () is a Dutch professional association football club based in Groningen, Groningen (province), Groningen province. Founded in 1971 as the successor of GVAV-Rapiditas, GVAV, Groningen compete in the Eredivisie, the first t ...

, where he made his professional debut in 2017. In 2020 he signed for the German football club

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a German professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German footb ...

Club career

Groningen

In June 2015, Hrustic signed a three-year contract with

, his first senior professional deal. He made his competitive debut for the club as a substitute in a draw against

AZ Alkmaar Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known internationally as AZ Alkmaar, or simply and most commonly as AZ () in the Netherlands, is a Dutch professional Association football, football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan#The Zaan district, Zaan district. ...

on 2 April 2017. His first goal for the club came two weeks later, with a shot from long range to seal a 5–1 win over

PEC Zwolle Prins Hendrik Ende Desespereert Nimmer Combinatie Zwolle, commonly known as PEC Zwolle, is a Dutch professional football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football. They have played in the Ered ...

Eintracht Frankfurt

On 28 September 2020, Hrustic signed a contract with

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

side

that will keep him at the club through to 2023, and was given the No. 7 jersey. He made his debut on 19 December 2020 in a 2–0 victory against

FC Augsburg Fußball-Club Augsburg 1907 e. V., commonly known as FC Augsburg (), is a Football in Germany, German professional football club based in Augsburg, Bavaria. FC Augsburg play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system. T ...

, coming off the bench for Aymen Barkok. Hrustic scored his first goal for Eintracht Frankfurt against

Mainz 05 1. Fußball- und Sport-Verein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05 or simply Mainz 05 (), is a German professional sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the top tie ...

, on 9 May 2021, with an improvised finish where he managed to chip the ball over goalkeeper Robin Zentner. On 18 May 2022, he became the first Australian player to win the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

in its history, after

triumphed over Scottish opponents

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

in the 2022 final, winning a

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

5–4 after the match ended 1–1 after extra time, with Hrustic converting his team's second penalty of the shootout. He became the first Australian since

Harry Kewell Harry Kewell (born 22 September 1978) is an Australian soccer coach, manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Yokohama F. Marinos in the J1 League. As a player, Kewell represented Leeds United F.C., Leeds United, Liverpool ...

in 2005 to win a major UEFA competition.

Hellas Verona

On 1 September 2022, Hrustic signed a four-year contract with

Hellas Verona Hellas Verona Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Hellas Verona (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Verona, Veneto, that currently plays in Serie A. The team won ...

in Italy. He made his debut in a 2–0 loss to

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 ...

on 11 September 2022. Hrustic would however injure his ankle on 16 October during a 2–1 loss to

AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

which meant that he would not see the pitch for Verona for the rest of the year. Despite appearing in the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

and on 4 January 2023 coming off the bench against

Torino Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, Hrustic underwent surgery on his ankle and missed the rest of Verona's season although he did recover in time to be named on the bench for the final three games of the season. During the pre-season of the 2023–24 season, Hrustic was told that Verona wanted to move him on, citing that they could no longer afford his salary. Hrustic stated that "I did think they were bluffing, to be honest" and despite this he played in Verona's pre-season fixtures. He was however not registered for the upcoming season and missed out on five months of club football.

Loan to Heracles Almelo

On 1 February 2024, Hrustic returned to the Netherlands and signed with

Heracles Almelo Heracles Almelo is a Dutch professional football club based in Almelo, founded in 1903. The club has won the Dutch national title twice, in 1927 and 1941. Heracles won the Eerste Divisie title during the 2004–05 season, gaining promotion to t ...

until the end of the season. On 3 March, he scored his first goal for Heracles against

Almere Almere () is a Planned community, planned List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Flevoland, Netherlands across the IJmeer fro ...

, with a bending shot into the bottom corner.

Salernitana

On 30 August 2024, Hrustic moved to

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...

on a one-season contract, with a conditional performance-based automatic renewal option. On 13 May 2025, Hrustic scored his first goal for the club against

Citadella The Citadella () is the fortification located upon the top of Gellért Hill in Budapest, Hungary. ''Citadella'' is the Hungarian language, Hungarian word for citadel, a kind of Fortification, fortress. The word is exclusively used by other lan ...

, a free-kick which rescued Salernitana from automatic relegation to

Serie C The Serie C (), officially known as Serie C NOW for sponsorship purposes, is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing ...

International career

Due to his Bosnian and Romanian heritage, Hrustic was eligible to represent

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

and

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

internationally, in addition to his birth country

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 ...

. He was contacted by the

Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Nogometni/Fudbalski Savez Bosne i Hercegovine (N/FSBiH); Ногометни/Фудбалски Савез Босне и Херцеговине (Н/ФСБиХ), (FSBiH); unified abbreviation N/FS ...

in May 2017, but ultimately rejected the offer and expressed his wish to represent the Socceroos. Hrustic was called up to an Australian under-23 development squad in March 2017. This was the first time he had been involved with

Football Federation Australia Football Australia is the governing body of soccer, futsal, and beach soccer within Australia, headquartered in Sydney. Although the first governing body of the sport was founded in 1911, Football Australia in its current form was only establ ...

in several years, having previously not been involved with the Australian setup since moving to Europe. On 22 May 2017, Hrustic was named in the Australian national side's 30-man preliminary squad for the month of June, including the

2017 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup was the tenth and final edition of the FIFA Confederations Cup, a quadrennial international men's Association football, football tournament organised by FIFA. It was held in Russia, from 17 June to 2 July 2017, ...

, a friendly against

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. He was retained in the final 23-man squad. He made his ''Socceroos'' debut on the losing side of a 4–0 friendly against Brazil, coming on as a 57th-minute substitute. On 4 June 2021, Hrustic scored his first goal for Australia against

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

in the

second round The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

of World Cup qualifying, bending the ball off the inside of the post and in from a 30-odd-metre free-kick. His second goal also came off a free-kick bouncing off the crossbar to go in underneath the goal against Japan in 2021. During Australia's cut-throat match against the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

in the

fourth round Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...

of qualifying, Hrustic scored his third goal with a sweetly struck volley that deflected off a UAE defender in the dying minutes of the match to secure the win for Australia and passage through to the intercontinental play-off round against

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. Against Peru, Hrustic had one of the best opportunities for Australia during the match when he scuffed a shot from the edge of the box. He scored the fourth penalty for Australia as they beat Peru 5–4 in the penalty shoot-out, qualifying for the

. Despite suffering an injury while playing for Hellas Verona and being a doubt for the tournament, Hrustic was included in the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

squad, being substituted on in Australia's final three matches as the ''Socceroos'' were knocked out by

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

in the round of sixteen. After a 2–0 friendly loss against Argentina on 15 June 2023, he missed out on the next four Australia squads including the

Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior list of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the contin ...

due to lack of playing time at club level. On 21 March 2024, Hrustic made his first appearance for Australia since the loss to Argentina, playing against

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

in the

of World Cup qualifying. He scored his fourth goal on 6 June against

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

in a 2–0 win with a long shot that deflected into the goal.

Personal life

Hrustic was born in Dandenong a suburb of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia to a Bosnian father and a

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

mother.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Australia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Hrustic goal.''

Honours

Eintracht Frankfurt *

: 2021–22

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hrustic, Ajdin 1996 births Living people Men's association football midfielders FC Groningen players Eintracht Frankfurt players Hellas Verona FC players Heracles Almelo players US Salernitana 1919 players Eredivisie players Derde Divisie players Bundesliga players Serie A players UEFA Europa League–winning players Australian people of Bosnia and Herzegovina descent Australian people of Romanian descent Soccer players from Melbourne Australian expatriate men's soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Australian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Australian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Australian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Australian expatriate sportspeople in England 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup players Australian people of Bosniak descent Australian men's soccer players Australia men's international soccer players 2022 FIFA World Cup players People from Dandenong, Victoria 21st-century Australian sportsmen

Early life

Club career

Groningen

Eintracht Frankfurt

Hellas Verona

Loan to Heracles Almelo

Salernitana

International career

Personal life

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

See also

References

External links