Antony Paul Golec (; born 29 May 1990) is an Australian former professional

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

centre 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 ...

. Golec is now a real estate agent after his retirement from professional football.

Club career

Sydney FC

Golec was a member of the inaugural

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, ...

National Youth League squad in 2008/2009. On 25 October 2008, Golec made his debut for Sydney FC against

Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory ...

. He also got his chance 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 ...

and was praised by his coaches after the game of his great performance. He went on to make a total of 10 appearances for Sydney FC.

Adelaide United

On 26 September 2011, it was announced that Golec had signed a one-year contract with

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 ...

. On 22 December 2011, Golec made his debut for Adelaide United coming on the 82nd minute for

Fabian Barbiero Fabian Giuseppe Barbiero (born 2 May 1984) is an Australian footballer who plays for MetroStars, as a central midfielder. Biography Club career Before joining Adelaide United Barbiero played for the North Eastern MetroStars. Barbiero signed ...

. Golec made his home debut as

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 ...

on 30 December 2011 against Wellington Phoenix, scoring his first A-League goal in the 61st minute, Adelaide went on to win 2–0. On 19 March 2012, it was announced Golec had signed an undisclosed contract with Adelaide United for a further two years, which will keep him in Australia until 2014. On 8 January 2014, after three years at the club, it was announced that Golec would be going to China to explore an opportunity to play for

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Super League (), commonly known as the Chinese Super League or the CSL (), also known as the China Resources Beverage Chinese Football Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Ch ...

side

Liaoning Whowin Liaoning Football Club (), officially known as Liaoning Hongyun (), was a professional association football club with a long history in Chinese football. The club can predate their formation to 1953, when Shenyang government sports body joined ex ...

Western Sydney Wanderers

On 4 February 2014, it was announced that Adelaide United released Golec. On the same day he signed with

Western Sydney Wanderers Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, Wanderers, or simply as WSW) is an Australian professional association football club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in t ...

. However, since there are no spaces remaining in the club's A-League squad, Golec will only be eligible to participate in Western Sydney Wanderers's

2014 AFC Champions League The 2014 AFC Champions League was the 33rd edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 12th under the current AFC Champions League title. Guangzhou Evergrande were the d ...

campaign during the 2013–14 season. On 12 March, Golec made his debut in the starting 11 for the club against

side Guizhou Renhe in the

. Wanderers went on to win the game 1–0 away from home. It was announced in May that Golec re-signed with the Wanderers for a further season keeping him at the club for the 2014/2015 Hyundai A-League season. Golec was part of the squad which won the

, playing an important role throughout the campaign. He was also part of the squad which participated in the

2014 FIFA Club World Cup The 2014 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2014 presented by Toyota for sponsorship reasons) was the 11th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, a FIFA-organised international club association football, football ...

, playing against Cruz Azul and ES Sétif. The Wanderers went on to finish 5th at the tournament. On 15 May 2015, Golec was released by Wanderers.

Perth Glory

On 23 May Golec joined

on a 2-year deal keeping him at the club until the end of the 2016–2017 season. Golec made his debut for the club on 11 August against Newcastle Jets in the FFA Cup. Perth Glory won 4–3 on penalties with Golec scoring one.

Sheriff Tiraspol

On 15 January 2016 it was announced that Antony Golec would be leaving

to take up an 18-month deal with

Moldovan National Division The Moldovan Liga, officially known as Liga 7777.md for sponsorship reasons, is an association football league that is the top division of Football in Moldova, Moldovan football league system. The competition was established in 1992, when Moldov ...

team

Sheriff Tiraspol Fotbal Club Sheriff Tiraspol (), commonly known as Sheriff Tiraspol or simply Sheriff, is a professional football club based in Tiraspol, a city located in the unrecognised breakaway state of Transnistria, that plays in the Liga, the top tier o ...

. On 29 May FC Sheriff won the championship and qualification to UEFA Champions league with a 1–0 win against Dacia Chisinau. Golec played a major role for the club since arriving in January playing 13 games for FC Sheriff Tiraspol.

Persepolis

On 22 June 2016 Golec signed a two-year contract with

Persian Gulf Pro League The Persian Gulf Pro League (, ''Lig-e Bartar-e Xalij-e Fârs''), formerly known as the Iran Premier League (, ''Lig-e bartar-e Irân''), is a professional association football league in Iran and the highest level of the Iranian football league s ...

club

Persepolis Persepolis (; ; ) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and ...

. On 22 September Golec terminated his contract through FIFA due to unpaid wages.

Bucheon FC 1995

On 8 December 2016 Golec signed with

K League Challenge The K League 2 () is the men's second-highest division of the South Korean football league system. It is contested between thirteen professional clubs and operates on a promotion and relegation system with K League 1. History In 2011, the or ...

club

Bucheon FC 1995 Bucheon Football Club 1995 () is a South Korean professional football club based in Bucheon, that competes in the K League 2, the second tier of South Korean football. The club was founded in 2007 by a group of former Bucheon SK supporters afte ...

for 2 seasons, Keeping him at the club until December 2018. On 22 February 2017, Golec's contract was officially terminated by mutual consent before the season opening.

Central Coast Mariners

On 30 May 2017, Golec returned to 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 ...

, signing a one-year contract with

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 ...

. On 25 April 2018, Golec resigned with the club on a 1-year extension, keeping him at the mariners for the 18/19 Hyundai A-League season.

Wellington Phoenix

In January 2019, Golec signed a contract with

club

Wellington Phoenix Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League Men, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the 2007–08 ...

. He arrives at the club via the

, where he played 31 games across one and a half seasons. Struggling for game time, he was released by the Mariners on Tuesday, paving way for Golec to join the Phoenix for the remainder of the season. Golec is the third player to join the Phoenix in the January transfer window, following the arrivals of former

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

striker Cillian Sheridan and All Whites right-back Justin Gulley.

Badak Lampung

On 26 August 2019, Golec signed one-year contract with Liga 1 Indonesia club Badak Lampung. it was confirmed that he was registered as an Australian citizen, due to Badak Lampung need to fill a quota of foreign players from Asia, replacing

Kunihiro Yamashita is a Japanese former football player. He plays as a centre back. Honours Club Tampines Rovers * Singapore League Cup: 2011 Yangon United * MFF Charity Cup: 2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eig ...

. He made his debut in a 0–1 away win against

Persija Jakarta Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Jakarta ( 'Indonesian Football Association of Jakarta'), abbreviated as Persija (), is an Indonesian professional Association football, football club based in the Indonesian capital city of Jakarta. Persija Jaka ...

on 1 September.

International career

In 2009 Golec made his international debut for the Australian national Under 20 team's in

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 ...

, Playing full games against

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

and

USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

and making 2 more appearances. Golec was also part of the 30-man squad in the lead up to the 2009 FIFA Under 20's World Cup in Egypt. In 2010 Golec made his Australia Olympic football team debut under

Aurelio Vidmar Aurelio Vidmar ( ; born 3 February 1967) is an Australian association football manager and former player, currently manager of Melbourne City. He is a former captain of the Australia national team and former coach of the Australia U23 nati ...

and

Paul Okon Paul Michael Okon (born 5 April 1972) is a former Australian soccer player who played as a defender or midfielder. He previously captained the Australia national team and has represented Australia Olympic Football Team at the 1992 Summer ...

. Playing full games against DPR Korea, (who competed in the

2010 World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

in Africa) and the Kuwait under 23 National team. On 19 October 2011, Golec was named in

Holger Osieck Holger Osieck (born 31 August 1948) is a German football manager who last managed the Australia national team. Prior to the Australian role, he most recently managed J. League club Urawa Red Diamonds, where he won the 2007 AFC Champions League ...

and

's joint Australia national team/ Australia Olympic team Camp.Osieck & Vidmar name training camp squad
. ''footballaustralia.com.au''. Retrieved 19 October 2011. On 24 February 2012, Golec was selected to be part of the Australian U23's (Olyroos) squad for the 2012 London Olympic Qualifier matches against

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

and

UAE 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 elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

. On 17 September 2017, he declared that he would represent Croatia if chosen.

Career statistics

Club

¹ – includes FIFA Club World Cup statistics; AFC Champions League statistics are included in season commencing after group stages (i.e. 2011 ACL in 2011–12 A-League season etc.)

Honours

Club

: * A-League Premiership: 2009–10 * A-League Championship: 2009–10 * National Youth League: 2008–09

: *

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

: *

: 2015–16

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Golec, Antony 1990 births Australian people of Croatian descent Men's association football defenders A-League Men players Moldovan Super Liga players Liga 1 (Indonesia) players Malaysia Super League players Sydney FC players Adelaide United FC players Western Sydney Wanderers FC players Perth Glory FC players Central Coast Mariners FC players Wellington Phoenix FC players Sydney United 58 FC players FC Sheriff Tiraspol players Badak Lampung F.C. players Perak F.C. players Macarthur FC players Soccer players from Sydney Living people Australian men's soccer players Australian expatriate men's soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in Moldova Australian expatriate sportspeople in Moldova Expatriate men's footballers in Iran Australian expatriate sportspeople in Iran Expatriate men's footballers in South Korea Australian expatriate sportspeople in South Korea Expatriate men's footballers in Indonesia Australian expatriate sportspeople in Indonesia Expatriate men's footballers in Malaysia Australian expatriate sportspeople in Malaysia Expatriate men's association footballers in New Zealand Australian expatriate sportspeople in New Zealand AFC Champions League Elite–winning players 21st-century Australian sportsmen