Benjamin Vidaic (born 29 January 1988 in Sydney) is a retired Australian
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 ...
of Croatian origin.
Early life
He is of
Croat
The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...
origin, and attended the
Trinity Grammar School in
Summer Hill where he was Captain of Soccer. Vidaic has also represented Australia internationally, playing for the Qantas Joeys (Under 17s) and Qantas Young Socceroos (Under 20s), scoring five goals in eight appearances.
Club career
In July 2007, Ben began trialling at Sydney FC as the club began pre-season training. After scoring in friendly against
Sydney University
The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
and making a number of substitute appearances in Pre-Season Cup matches, the club signed him to a two-year contract. Former
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, ...
coach
Branko Culina
Branko Culina (; born 1 October 1957) is a soccer coach and former player. He previously managed Sydney FC and the Newcastle Jets in the A-League.
Playing career
Culina was born in Zadar, Socialist Republic of Croatia, FPR Yugoslavia and emigra ...
declared that "Ben has great potential and I'm confident he'll push for a place in the team,". Upon signing, Ben commented that "It's a dream come true to sign with Sydney FC, the best club in the A-League," said the youngster. Vidaic made two appearances 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 ...
in his first season, both off the bench.
On 27 November 2007, Vidaic took part in an exhibition match against
Los Angeles Galaxy
The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...
, coming off the bench early in the second half. He also played for the club in the
Pan-Pacific Championship 2008 in Hawaii.
It was announced at the end of the season that he would return to
Sydney United
Sydney United 58 Football Club is a semi-professional soccer club and current NSW NPL Champions based in Edensor Park, Sydney, New South Wales Australia. The club was formed as Sydney Croatia in 1958, by Croatian Australians in the area, but it ...
on loan while the A-League was in off-season and return to the club for pre-season training in April. However, on 18 March 2008, his contract with Sydney FC was terminated by mutual consent, making his move to United permanent.
Ben's father, Bruno Vidaic, also played for Sydney United (formerly Sydney Croatia) captaining the club in the 80's and is considered a club great.
References
External links
Sydney FC profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vidaic, Ben
1988 births
Living people
Soccer players from Sydney
Sydney FC players
Australian people of Croatian descent
A-League Men players
Blacktown City FC players
Sydney United 58 FC players
Marconi Stallions FC players
Men's association football forwards
Australian men's soccer players
People educated at Trinity Grammar School (New South Wales)
21st-century Australian sportsmen