Michael Zullo (born 11 September 1988) is an Australian 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 ...

who last played as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

Sydney FC Sydney Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was ...

of the

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competit ...

Club career

After being signed by the former Brisbane Roar coach Frank Farina on a two-year contract, Zullo played five of the six opening games of the season, coming on as a substitute. On his first eleven debut against Wellington Phoenix, his sixth appearance for Queensland, he scored in the opening minutes of the game and set up a first half added-time goal for fellow youngster and close friend

Robbie Kruse Robbie Thomas Kruse ( ; ; born 5 October 1988) is an Australian professional Association football, footballer who last played as a Forward (association football), forward for Melbourne Victory FC, Melbourne Victory and the Australia national ass ...

. He previously played in the Brisbane Premier League for the

Brisbane Strikers Brisbane Strikers Football Club is an Australian semi-professional football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in 1991 as Brisbane United, the club competed in the National Soccer League until the 2003–04 season and was one of two ...

During a match against

, Zullo limped off the field with a torn

thigh In human anatomy, the thigh is the area between the hip ( pelvis) and the knee. Anatomically, it is part of the lower limb. The single bone in the thigh is called the femur. This bone is very thick and strong (due to the high proportion of ...

muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are Organ (biology), organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other ...

which ruled him out for 6 weeks. At the end of the 2008–09 season, Zullo received offers from Dutch

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is ...

clubs FC Groningen and NEC Nijmegen but declined both offers and cited his preference to stay in the A-League for another season. On 2 April 2010, along with fellow Roar players, Thomas Oar and Adam Sarota, Zullo joined Dutch side

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Nethe ...

on a three-year deal, in a collective transfer deal rumoured to be worth in excess of A$1.8 million. He made his debut for Utrecht in a 1–1 draw with NEC Nijmegen on 28 February 2011, coming off the bench on the 81st minute. On 29 August 2013, he signed a one-year loan deal with Australian

club

Adelaide United Adelaide United Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was founded in 2003 to fil ...

. On 14 July 2015, Zullo signed a one-year deal with Melbourne City. On 11 May 2016, Zullo signed a two-year deal with

. In his first season at the Sky Blues, he played an influential role as an attacking fullback, assisting three goals and forming a good partnership with left winger Miloš Ninković. Zullo scored his first goal for Sydney FC in a 3–2 win over Wellington Phoenix. In January 2018, Zullo committed his future to Sydney FC for a further two seasons. On 16 May 2022, Zullo departed Sydney FC after six seasons with the club.

International career

Due to outstanding form since making his debut for Brisbane Roar, Zullo was called up for the first time for the Australia national under-23 football team before their qualifier against

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, in which they won 2–0. He was also a train-on player with the national U-17 squad, the Joeys, at 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. On 28 January 2009, Zullo made his full international debut, coming on as a substitute in a 0–0 draw with Indonesia in the group stage of qualifying for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup.

Personal life

Zullo has a younger brother, Julian, who appeared in Season 3 of football talent show Football Superstar on Australian television channel Fox8. Zullo also attended Villanova College Coorparoo where he played for the 1st XI football team. Zullo attended St Anthony's Primary School in Alexandra Hills. Zullo and his wife Georgia have two children who are twins.

Career statistics

''Statistics accurate as of 17 May 2022.''

Honours

Club

Brisbane Strikers * Brisbane Premier League Premiership: 2006 * Brisbane Premier League Championship: 2006

* A-League Premiership: 2016–17, 2017–18, 2019–20 * A-League Championship:

2016-17 16-17 is a band from Basel, Switzerland. Their music combines punk rock, hardcore punk, jazz and industrial music. Biography 16-17 was founded in 1983 by Alex Buess, Knut Remond and Markus Kneubühler. When the group played its first conc ...

, 2018–19, 2019–20 *

FFA Cup The Australia Cup, formerly known as the FFA Cup until the 2021 season, is the national football knockout cup competition in Australia. This annual competition is organised by Football Australia, formerly known as Football Federation Austr ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

Individual

* PFA A-League Team of the Season: 2016–17

External links

Brisbane Roar profile

FFA - Olyroo profile

First Goal against Wellington Phoenix
on

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FC Utrecht profile

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zullo, Michael 1988 births Living people People educated at Brisbane Boys' College People educated at Villanova College (Australia) Association football fullbacks Soccer players from Brisbane Australian soccer players Brisbane Strikers FC players A-League Men players Brisbane Roar FC players FC Utrecht players Eredivisie players Australian expatriate soccer players Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Australia international soccer players Brisbane City FC players Australian people of Italian descent Adelaide United FC players Melbourne City FC players