Anthony Kalik (born 5 November 1997) 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 a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

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 ...

. Kalik played youth football at

Manly United FC Manly United Football Club is an Australian soccer club based in the Northern Beaches (Sydney), Northern Beaches area of Sydney. The club competes in the National Premier Leagues NSW and their home ground is Cromer Park, in the suburb of Dee Why ...

and was then offered a 2 year scholarship at 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 ...

before making his professional debut for

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 Mar ...

. Kalik has represented Australia at under-20 level.

Early life

Kalik is of Croatian origin. Both of his parents came to

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 ...

from the island of

Korčula Korčula () is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea. It has an area of , is long and on average wide, and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 15,522 inhabitants (2011) make it the second most populous Adriatic island after Krk. The populat ...

, at time part of

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 ...

. His father Denis, a former football player for BŠK Zmaj, is from Blato while his mother Francis is from

Vela Luka Vela Luka () is a small town and the only naselje , settlement in the eponymous municipality in Dubrovnik-Neretva County in southern Dalmatia, Croatia. The town is located on the western side of the island of Korčula at the bottom of a wide bay ...

Club career

Central Coast Mariners

In 2013, Kalik signed a three-year deal with

, making him the youngest professional footballer in Australia. He made his competitive debut for the club in a win over Palm Beach in the

2014 FFA Cup The 2014 FFA Cup was the inaugural season of the FFA Cup, the main national soccer knockout cup competition in Australia. 631 teams in total from around Australia entered the competition. Only 32 teams competed in the competition proper (round ...

, coming on for Glen Trifiro with ten minutes remaining. Kalik made his

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 ...

debut in a victory over

Adelaide United Adelaide United Football Club is a professional men's soccer club located in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club was one of the eight founding members of the A-League Men and have competed in it concurrently since its formation, u ...

in February 2015.

Hajduk Split

On 1 February 2016 the Mariners announced that Kalik had been loaned to

until at least June 2016. He was recommended to the club by fellow Australian and former Hajduk player

Josip Skoko Josip Skoko (born 10 December 1975) is an Australian former professional soccer player who played as a central midfielder for North Geelong Warriors, Hajduk Split, Genk, Gençlerbirliği, Wigan Athletic, Stoke City and Melbourne Heart. Skok ...

. He made his first team debut for the club in the controversial 2–1 away loss to

NK Lokomotiva Nogometni klub Lokomotiva Zagreb (), commonly known as Lokomotiva Zagreb or simply Lokomotiva, is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. It competes in the Croatian First Football League, the country's top division. Founded in 19 ...

, coming in at half-time for

Manuel Arteaga Manuel Alejandro Arteaga Rubianes (born 17 June 1994) is a Venezuelan professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Tampa Bay Rowdies in the USL Championship. Club career Zulia Arte ...

. He managed to get 11 caps for Hajduk that season and make it into the first lineup as well. On 28 May 2016, Hajduk Split bought him for 32,000 euros. For Hajduk, it was the first time since 2012 that they paid a transfer fee for a player.

Loan to Sydney FC

Kalik returned to Australia in September 2017 on loan, to play for

Sydney FC Sydney Football Club, commonly known as Sydney FC, is a professional association football, soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. They compete in the top-tier men's league in Australia, the A-League Men. Established in 2004, ...

in the 2017–18 season. At the end of the season he returned to Hajduk Split.

Loan to NK Rudeš

In July 2018 he joined Croatian Prva HNL club NK Rudeš on loan along with Frane Vojković. He had 16 appearances during first part of the season, which NK Rudeš concluded as the last team in the league. During winter break he returned to

HNK Hajduk Split Hrvatski Nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split (), is a Croatian professional Association football, football Football team, club based in Split, Croatia, Split, that competes in the Croatian First Football League, Cro ...

International career

Kalik was selected for the Australia U-20 squad for

2014 AFC U-19 Championship qualification The 2014 AFC U-19 Championship qualification was the qualification round for the 2014 AFC U-19 Championship, which took place in Myanmar. The draw for the qualifiers was held on 26 April 2013 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Format A total of 40 teams ...

in October 2013. He made his debut in a win over

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One China principle stipulated by the ...

Career statistics

Honours

Hajduk II *

Croatian Third Football League The Treća nogometna liga (), commonly Treća NL or 3. NL, is the fourth tier of the Croatian football league system. The league was reestablished in 2022 following the reconstruction of league system in Croatia. It is operated by the Croatian F ...

South: 2016–17 Sydney *

Premiership: 2017–18 *

FFA Cup The Australia Cup (currently known as the Hahn Australia Cup for sponsorship reasons) is the national soccer knockout cup competition in Australia. This annual competition is organised by Football Australia (known as Football Federation Austra ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

Records * Youngest

player: 16 years, 347 days

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kalik, Anthony 1997 births Living people Men's association football midfielders Australian men's soccer players Australia men's under-20 international soccer players National Premier Leagues players Central Coast Mariners Academy players Central Coast Mariners FC players HNK Hajduk Split players Sydney FC players NK Rudeš players Croatian Football League players First Football League (Croatia) players Second Football League (Croatia) players Australian people of Croatian descent Expatriate men's footballers in Croatia Australian expatriate sportspeople in Croatia Australian expatriate men's soccer players Soccer players from Sydney 21st-century Australian sportsmen