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Frank Juric (, ; born 28 October 1973) is an Australian former
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
goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...
.


Club career

Born in
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 ...
, Juric began his professional career in the former Australian national league with
Melbourne Knights Melbourne Knights Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in the suburb of Sunshine North, Melbourne. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria, the second-tier of the Australian soccer league ...
, where he won two league titles, before moving to the newly formed
Collingwood Warriors Collingwood Warriors Soccer Club was an Australian semi-professional association football (soccer) club based in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Abbotsford. It participated in the National Soccer League in 1996–97, lasting only a solitary sea ...
(also based in
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 ...
). The club struggled financially though and was unable to go on beyond this solitary season, in which they finished second bottom. The goalkeeper took this as his cue to move to Europe, although the transfer was a protracted affair, as Collingwood Warriors – no longer technically in existence – still demanded a fee from
Fortuna Düsseldorf Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a Football in Germany, German football club based in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga. Founded in 1895, Fo ...
. Eventually, this was resolved by the German club paying $30,000 and Juric was free to move for the 1997–98 season. His first season in Germany was relatively successful as Fortuna Düsseldorf finished seventh in the 2. Bundesliga. However, the following year they suffered relegation to the Regionalliga-West. However, Juric had been spotted by
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 ...
team
Bayer 04 Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional association football, football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. ...
and he signed for the high-flying club in summer 1999. Juric was used as a backup keeper here, behind the likes of Adam Matysek and
Hans-Jörg Butt Hans-Jörg Butt (; born 28 May 1974), often simply called Jörg Butt, is a German former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Known for taking penalty kicks, and for often running into the opposing penalty box in an attempt to find a winner w ...
but still managed 11
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 ...
appearances as the club enjoyed a series of strong performances both domestically, and notably in the 2002 Champions League, where they reached the final. Juric himself appeared twice in the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
in 2002–03, against
Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...
and
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
. In June 2004, he joined fellow Bundesliga side
Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years between 19 ...
as second choice keeper behind
Robert Enke Robert Enke (24 August 1977 – 10 November 2009) was a German professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played for Mönchengladbach, Benfica, and Barcelona, but made most of his appearances for Bundesliga side Hannover 96 in his h ...
. His time with the Reds has been blighted by persistent
knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...
problems, limiting to just a single appearance in his first three seasons there, playing in a 2–2 draw with
Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e.V. Mönchengladbach, better known as Borussia Mönchengladbach () and colloquially known as just Gladbach, is a professional Association football, football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-W ...
on 6 May 2006. In May 2008, it was announced that Juric was to return to his native Australia for the 2008–09
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 ...
season, with
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 ...
. He competed for the number one jersey alongside Olyroo
Tando Velaphi Tando Yuji Velaphi (born 17 April 1987) is an Australian professional Association football, football player who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Subiaco AFC, Subiaco AFC. Club career Early playing career Velaphi tr ...
, while
Jason Petkovic Jason Petkovic (born 7 December 1972 in Perth, Western Australia) is an Australian football (soccer) player who plays as a goalkeeper. He is the brother of fellow goalkeeper Michael Petkovic. Club career He played as a goalkeeper for the Austr ...
was retained as a backup and advisor to the youth team. Juric's poor run of form led to the goalkeeping position given to Tando Velaphi. In May 2009, Juric retired as a player and joined Glory as goalkeeping coach, when they signed
Aleks Vrteski Aleksandar "Aleks" Vrteski (; born 28 September 1988) is a former footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Stirling Lions. Born in Australia, he represented Australia internationally before switching to represent Macedonia. Club career Havin ...
as the club's second goalkeeper. Following coaching stints at
Melbourne Knights FC Melbourne Knights Football Club is an Australian professional Association football, soccer club based in the suburb of Sunshine North, Victoria, Sunshine North, Melbourne. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria, t ...
,
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 ...
,
Western United Western United Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club. The club is based in the western Melbourne suburb of Tarneit, the club aims to represent western Victoria, incorporating the western suburbs of Melbourne; the regional ci ...
and
Brisbane Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland. competing in Australia's premier men's competition, A-League Men, which is the top tier Australia's football pyramid. When Queensland Lions F.C. were ...
,
Football Australia Football Australia is the sports governing body, governing body of Soccer in Australia, soccer, futsal, and beach soccer within Australia, headquartered in Sydney. Although the first governing body of the sport was founded in 1911, Football Au ...
announced that Juric would succeed
John Crawley John Paul Crawley (born 21 September 1971) is a former English first-class cricketer who played at international level for England and county cricket for Hampshire and Lancashire. Crawley, one of three brothers who all played first-class cric ...
as the Socceroos' goalkeeper coach.


International career

Juric made two full appearances for the Australian national team, making his debut on 10 November 1995 in a
1996 OFC Nations Cup The 1996 OFC Nations Cup was not held as a cohesive tournament, but consisted of semi-finals and a final played on a two-legged basis, stretched out between November 1995 and November 1996. The four participating teams were Australia and New Ze ...
match against
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
which finished goalless, and also appearing on 10 February 1996 in a 1–4 friendly defeat to
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. He also competed in the
1996 Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
in the football competition and was an unused squad member in the
2001 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup was the fifth FIFA Confederations Cup and the third to be organized by FIFA. It was also the first in which the original hosts, Saudi Arabia national football team, Saudi Arabia, did not participate (they were the ...
, where they achieved third place. However, the likes of
Mark Schwarzer Mark Schwarzer ( , ; born 6 October 1972) is an Australian former professional football player who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He represented Australia men's national soccer team, Australia at international level ...
,
Zeljko Kalac Zeljko Kalac (born 16 December 1972) is an Australian association football, soccer coach and former player who is currently the goalkeeping coach for the Iraq national football team. Standing at 2.02 m, Kalac is the tallest player to have ...
and
Mark Bosnich Mark John Bosnich (; born 13 January 1972) is an Australian former professional association football, soccer player who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper, and sports pundit. He played in England for Premier League clubs ...
had severely limited his hopes of international football.


Career statistics


Honours

Melbourne Knights * NSL: 1994–95, 1995–96 * NSL Premiers: 1991–92, 1993–94, 1994–95 Bayer Leverkusen *
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 ...
: Runner-up 1999–2000 and 2001–02 *
DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...
: Runner-up 2001–02 *
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
Runner-up: 2001–02 Australia *
FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBO ...
: 3rd place,
2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
*
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 ...
:
1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...


References


External links


Oz Football profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Juric, Frank 1973 births Living people Australian people of Croatian descent Men's association football goalkeepers Australian men's soccer players Australian expatriate men's soccer players Australia men's international soccer players Australian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Olympic soccer players for Australia A-League Men players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Bayer 04 Leverkusen players Bayer 04 Leverkusen II players Fortuna Düsseldorf players Hannover 96 players Melbourne Knights FC players Perth Glory FC players National Soccer League (Australia) players Australian Institute of Sport soccer players Collingwood Warriors SC players 1996 OFC Nations Cup players OFC Nations Cup–winning players Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup players Soccer players from Melbourne