Ante Milicic ( ; ; (born 4 April 1974) is an Australian
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 ...
manager and former professional player who currently is the head coach of the
China women's national football team
China women's national football team (, recognized as China PR by FIFA) represents the People's Republic of China in international women's football competitions and is governed by the Chinese Football Association.
China women's team won silve ...
.
Personal life
The son of Croatian immigrants, Milicic grew up in
Strathfield, a suburb in the Inner West of
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 ...
. Milicic was largely brought up by his father after his mother died when he was 17. At 16, he was selected to train at the Australian Institute of Sport.
Club career
He played for a variety of sides in two stints in the
National Soccer League
The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its ...
. The first stint was played almost entirely for
Sydney United, for whom he played as a junior, and which culminated in playing in their runner-up 1996/97 side. After that season he moved to
NAC Breda
NAC Breda (), often simply known as NAC, is a Dutch professional football club, based in Breda, Netherlands. NAC Breda play in the Rat Verlegh Stadium, named after their most important player, Antoon 'Rat' Verlegh. They play in the Eredivisi ...
in the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, and after 2 seasons there went to
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 ...
's
NK Rijeka
Hrvatski nogometni klub Rijeka (), commonly referred to as HNK Rijeka, is a Croatian professional association football club from the city of Rijeka.
HNK Rijeka competes in Croatia's top division, Supersport HNL, of which they have been members ...
, where he was the club's top scorer in 2000/01 with 10 goals. On his return to the NSL in season 2001/02, he rejoined
Sydney United for a brief stay, before moving to city rival
Sydney Olympic
Sydney Olympic Football Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club, based in Belmore, Sydney, New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states o ...
during the same season. He would spend the rest of the season and the next playing there, including scoring the only goal of the 2001/02 Grand Final against
Perth Glory
Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional Association football, soccer club based in Perth, Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under Professional sports league organi ...
. In the final he was awarded the
Joe Marston Medal, delivering
Sydney Olympic
Sydney Olympic Football Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club, based in Belmore, Sydney, New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states o ...
their second
NSL title, as well as playing in the runner up side the following season against
Perth Glory
Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional Association football, soccer club based in Perth, Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under Professional sports league organi ...
.
In the last season of the
NSL in 2003–04 season, he moved to
Parramatta Power, where he would again experience Grand Final defeat against the
Perth Glory
Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional Association football, soccer club based in Perth, Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under Professional sports league organi ...
. After the NSL was disbanded, Milicic played in the
Malaysia Super League
The Malaysia Super League (), known simply as the Super League (), is the men's top professional Football in Malaysia, football division of the Malaysian football league system. Administered by the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnersh ...
for
Pahang
{{Infobox political division
, name = Pahang
, official_name = Pahang Darul Makmur
, native_name =
, settlement_type = States and federal territories of Malaysia, State
, image_skyline =
, imagesize ...
. He score a brace for Pahang in his debut against
Perlis
Perlis (Kedah Malay language, Kedah Malay (Perlis dialect): ''Peghelih'') is a Negeri, state of Malaysia in the northwestern coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It is the smallest state in Malaysia by area and population. The state borders the Thai ...
. He scored 9 goals for Pahang as they were crowned as the league champions of the 2004 season. It was widely felt that with the $1.5 million salary caps imposed on all
A-League
A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...
clubs, Milicic would not be able to be brought back to Australia. However, he joined the
Newcastle United Jets, who finished 4th on the A-League ladder in 2005/2006, also joining close friends
Labinot Haliti,
Ned Zelic
Nedjeljko Zelic (born 4 July 1971), commonly known as Ned Zelic, is an Australian former footballer who played as a centre-back or defensive midfielder.
Club career
Zelic started his career in the old Australian National Soccer League, where he ...
.
Ante Milicic was the first player in the
A-League
A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...
to score a Hat-Trick in the game
Newcastle Jets
Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from the Australi ...
v
New Zealand Knights on 4 November 2005 in round 11. In May 2006 Ante signed to transfer to rival A-League team
Queensland Roar
Brisbane Roar Football Club is a professional Association football, soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland. competing in Australia's premier men's competition, A-League Men, which is the top tier Australia's Australian soccer league system ...
, where he played in 44 matches scoring 11 goals. On 8 December 2007, Milicic had his contract terminated by mutual consent and joining
Malaysian Premier League Shahzan Muda FC
Shahzan Muda Football Club was a Malaysian professional football (soccer), football club based in Kuantan, Pahang. The club last played in the Malaysia FAM League, the third tier of the Malaysian football league system.
Achievements
Final st ...
, citing that "''It wasn't quite happening for me at Queensland Roar.''"
National team statistics
International goals
Coaching
Milicic returned home to his club
Sydney United as player/coach for season 2009 and 2010 in the
NSW Premier League
The National Premier Leagues NSW is a semi-professional soccer competition in New South Wales, Australia. The competition is conducted by Football NSW, one of the two organising bodies in New South Wales (the other being the National Premier Lea ...
. It is his first venture as coach and currently boasts a record of 9 wins (8 in Premier League 1 Tiger Turf Cup), 2 Draws and 1 Loss.
He was also called up as an assistant coach to the
Australia men's national under-20 soccer team
The Australia national under-20 soccer team, known colloquially as the Young Socceroos, represents Australia in international under-20 soccer. The team is controlled by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Australia (FA), whic ...
for the
2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup
The 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 17th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which was hosted by Egypt from 24 September to 16 October 2009. The tournament was initially going to take place between 10 and 31 July. However, the 2009 FIFA Confede ...
in Egypt and
2011 Under 20s World Cup in Colombia.
On 18 November 2009, it was announced that he would be joining
Jesper Olsen
Jesper Olsen (born 20 March 1961) is a Danish former professional association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Winger, left winger. He is best remembered for representing AFC Ajax, Ajax of the Netherlands and Manchester United F.C ...
as an assistant coach at new
A-League
A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...
side
Melbourne Heart
Melbourne City Football Club is an Australian professional Association football, soccer club based in the South-Eastern Metropolitan Region, South-Eastern region of Melbourne, Victoria. They compete in the A-League Men, the Australian soccer ...
.
After being passed over for the vacant manager position at
Melbourne Heart
Melbourne City Football Club is an Australian professional Association football, soccer club based in the South-Eastern Metropolitan Region, South-Eastern region of Melbourne, Victoria. They compete in the A-League Men, the Australian soccer ...
, he joined his close friend
Tony Popovic
Tony Popovic (born 4 July 1973) is an Australian association football manager and former player. He is currently head coach of the Australia men's national soccer team, Australia national football team. He guided the team to qualify for the 202 ...
as the inaugural assistant coach of
Western Sydney Wanderers FC
Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, Wanderers, or simply as WSW) is an Australian professional association football, association football club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South W ...
.
At the end of the
2013–14 A-League season, Milicic joined
Ange Postecoglou
Angelos "Ange" Postecoglou ( ; ; born 27 August 1965) is a soccer manager and former player who was most recently manager of club Tottenham Hotspur.
Born in Greece, Postecoglou grew up in Melbourne from the age of five. As a player, he spen ...
as assistant coach of Australia's men’s national football team, the Socceroos.
On 18 February 2019, Milicic was announced by the
FFA as the interim head coach of the
Australia women's national team, the Matildas, managing the Matildas to a round of 16 finish at the
2019 FIFA Women's World Cup
The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup was the eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international Women's association football, football championship contested by 24 List of women's national association football teams, women's ...
. He resigned from this position on 19 July 2020.
On 15 May 2019, Milicic was announced as the inaugural head coach for new
A-League
A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...
club
Macarthur FC
Macarthur Football Club is an Australian professional association football, soccer club based in South Western Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in Australia's premier soccer competition, the A-League, under Professional sports league organi ...
. He began following his spell with the Matildas.
After two seasons with Macarthur, on 26 April 2022, Milicic informed the club that the
2021–22 season would be his last choosing to return to Croatia for family reasons.
On 11 May 2024, Milicic was appointed as the head coach of
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
.
Managerial statistics
Honours
With
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 ...
:
*
OFC Nations Cup
The OFC Men's Nations Cup, known as the OFC Nations Cup before the 2024 OFC Men's Nations Cup, 2024 edition, is the primary association football competition contested by the senior list of men's national association football teams, men's natio ...
:
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
With
Sydney Olympic
Sydney Olympic Football Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club, based in Belmore, Sydney, New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states o ...
:
*
NSL Championship:
2001–02
With
Pahang
{{Infobox political division
, name = Pahang
, official_name = Pahang Darul Makmur
, native_name =
, settlement_type = States and federal territories of Malaysia, State
, image_skyline =
, imagesize ...
:
*
Malaysia Super League
The Malaysia Super League (), known simply as the Super League (), is the men's top professional Football in Malaysia, football division of the Malaysian football league system. Administered by the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnersh ...
:
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
With Trinity Grammar 4th XI:
* Cassen Cup- Most Outstanding Opens Team: 2009
Personal honours:
*
Joe Marston Medal: 2001–2002 with
Sydney Olympic
Sydney Olympic Football Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club, based in Belmore, Sydney, New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states o ...
*
Johnny Warren Medal
The Johnny Warren Medal is awarded to the best player of the Australian national soccer club competition. It was first awarded in the National Soccer League in 1990, and upon the NSL's demise in November 2004, was carried forward into the new na ...
: 2003–2004 with
Parramatta Power
*
NSL Top Scorer: 2003–2004 with
Parramatta Power – 20 goals
References
External links
Oz Football profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Milicic, Ante
1974 births
Living people
Soccer players from Sydney
Australian people of Croatian descent
Australian expatriate men's soccer players
Australia men's international soccer players
Expatriate men's footballers in Malaysia
Expatriate men's footballers in Croatia
A-League Men players
National Soccer League (Australia) players
Croatian Football League players
Eredivisie players
NAC Breda players
Newcastle Jets FC players
HNK Rijeka players
Parramatta Power SC players
Brisbane Roar FC players
Sydney Olympic FC players
Sydney United 58 FC players
Sri Pahang FC players
Australian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands
Australian expatriate sportspeople in Croatia
Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands
Australian Institute of Sport soccer players
Men's association football forwards
2002 OFC Nations Cup players
2019 FIFA Women's World Cup managers
Australian soccer managers
Australian expatriate soccer managers
Melbourne City FC non-playing staff
Australia women's national soccer team managers
Sydney United 58 FC managers
Australian men's soccer players
Macarthur FC managers
A-League Men managers