1990–91 Sydney Croatia FC season

Sydney Croatia
1990-1991 season
ChairmanLaurie Grgić/Tomislav Curić
ManagerTony Vržina (Rd 1-18), Steve Watson (Rd 19-26)
StadiumSydney Croatian Sports Centre
National Soccer League7th
1990-91 NSL CupSecond Round
Top goalscorerTony Krslovic (12)
Highest home attendance5,372 vs. Melbourne Croatia
(16 January 1991)
National Soccer League
Lowest home attendance1,632 vs. Preston Makedonia
(10 March 1991)
National Soccer League
Average home league attendance3,839
Biggest win4–1
vs. Wollongong City
(16 December 1990)
National Soccer League
Biggest defeat0–5
vs. Sunshine George Cross
(24 February 1991)
National Soccer League

The 1990-91 season saw Sydney Croatia embark on its eighth campaign in the NSL. Ultimately, they finished 7th out of 14 teams.

The team commenced the new season with Tony Vržina at the helm, having retained his position as coach from the previous year, but a poor streak of results prompted a coaching change, with assistant Steve Watson assuming the role from Round 19 onwards. Despite showing improvement in their results, heavy home losses to Sunshine George Cross and St George-Budapest saw Sydney Croatia fail to secure a spot in the final series for the third consecutive season.[1]

Players

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF  AUS Mark Babic
— MF  AUS Paul Carter
— GK  AUS Tony Franken
— MF  AUS Andrew French
— MF  AUS John Gibson
— DF  AUS Mike Grbevski
— DF  AUS Craig Jones
— DF  CRO Željko Jurin
— GK  AUS Zeljko Kalac
— FW  AUS Clayton Koch
— FW  AUS Tony Krslovic
— DF  CRO Velimir Kuprešak
— FW  PNG Manis Lamond
No. Pos. Nation Player
— FW  CHI Héctor Pérez
— MF  CRO Ivan Petković
— MF  AUS Tony Popovic
— MF  AUS Pedro Ricoy
— DF  CRO Ante Rumora
— DF  AUS Robert Runje (Captain)
— MF  AUS Wally Savor
— FW  SCO Gordon Scott
— DF  AUS Robert Stanton
— MF  ARG Marcelo Toscanelli
— MF  AUS Ned Zelic
— DF  AUS Ante Žižić (Youth)



Transfers in

No.
 Pos.
 Nat.
 Name
 Age
 Moving from
 Type
 Transfer
window 		Ends
 Transfer
fee 		Source
DF Robert Runje 21 Preston Makedonia Transfer Pre-season $17,000 [2]
DF Ned Zelic 19 Canberra Croatia Loan return Pre-season [2]
DF Paul Carter 27 Blacktown City Demons Loan Pre-season Free [3][4]
MF John Gibson 20 Blacktown City Demons Loan Pre-season Free [2][5][6]
FW Gordon Scott 30 Morwell Falcons Transfer Pre-season $12,000 [7][2]
FW Clayton Koch 20 Pine Rivers United Transfer Pre-season $7,000 [2][8]
DF Robert Stanton 18 AIS Transfer Pre-season Free [2][9]
DF Craig Jones 19 AIS Transfer Pre-season Free [2][10]
FW Héctor Pérez 24 Magallanes Transfer Round 3 Free [11][12][2]
MF Marcelo Toscanelli 27 Colorado Foxes Transfer Round 3 Free [13][14]

Transfers out

No.
 Pos.
 Nat.
 Name
 Age
 Moving to
 Type
 Transfer
window 		Transfer
fee 		Source
FW Graham Arnold 25 Roda JC Transfer Pre-season $105,000 [15][2]
FW David Seal 18 Marconi Fairfield Transfer Pre-season $35,000 [15][2][16]
DF Mark Jones 24 Marconi Fairfield Transfer Pre-season $20,000 [17][2][16]
FW David Batten 26 APIA Leichhardt End of Contract Pre-season Free [18][19]
MF Steve Gojević 24 Wollongong Macedonia End of Contract Pre-season Free [20]
GK John Krajnović 24 Free Agency End of Contract Pre-season Free [21]
DF Alan Hunter 26 Melita Eagles Transfer Round 6 $16,000 [22][23]

Mid-Season Transfers

No.
 Pos.
 Nat.
 Name
 Age
 Moving from
 Type
 Transfer
window 		Ends
 Transfer
fee 		Source
FW Tony Krslovic 21 St George-Budapest Transfer Mid-season $35,000 [24][25]

Mid-Season Losses

No.
 Pos.
 Nat.
 Name
 Age
 Moving to
 Type
 Transfer
window 		Transfer
fee 		Source
DF Željko Jurin 30 Wollongong Macedonia Loan Mid-season Free [26][27]

Overview

Competition First match Last match Starting round Final position Record
Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
National Soccer League 7 October 1990 31 March 1991 Matchday 1 7th 26 8 10 8 27 33 −6 030.77
NSL Cup 21 November 1990 21 November 1990 First round First Round 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 000.00
Total 27 8 10 9 27 34 −7 029.63

Last updated: complete
Source: Competitions

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Melbourne Croatia 26 15 7 4 55 39 +16 37 Qualification for the Finals series
2 South Melbourne (C) 26 14 6 6 45 33 +12 34
3 Adelaide City 26 12 9 5 40 24 +16 33
4 Marconi Fairfield 26 14 3 9 48 33 +15 31
5 Parramatta Eagles 26 10 9 7 38 31 +7 29
6 Sydney Olympic 26 8 13 5 31 25 +6 29
7 Sydney Croatia 26 8 10 8 27 33 −6 26
8 Preston Makedonia 26 8 9 9 26 27 −1 25
9 Wollongong City 26 8 8 10 32 34 −2 24
10 St George-Budapest (R) 26 6 10 10 34 41 −7 22 Relegation to the NSW Division 1
11 APIA Leichhardt 26 7 7 12 27 28 −1 21
12 Heidelberg United 26 6 9 11 26 37 −11 21
13 Sunshine George Cross (R) 26 7 3 16 39 53 −14 17 Relegation to the Victorian Premier League
14 Wollongong Macedonia (R) 26 3 9 14 23 53 −30 15 Relegation to the NSW Division 1
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Matches

7 October 1990 1 Sydney Croatia 1-0 Marconi Fairfield Edensor Park, New South Wales
  • Scott 65'
 Report Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre
Attendance: 5,246
Referee: Richard Lorenc
14 October 1991 2 Melbourne Croatia 2-0 Sydney Croatia Sunshine North, Victoria
 Report Stadium: Somers St
Attendance: 4,500
Referee: Peter Spiers
21 October 1990 3 Sydney Croatia 1-1 Melita Eagles Edensor Park, New South Wales
  • Ricoy 69'
 Report
Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre
Attendance: 3,879
Referee: Peter Hulme
31 October 1990 4 Adelaide City 1–1 Sydney Croatia Hindmarsh, South Australia
 Report
  • Gibson 45'
 Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium
Attendance: 2,500
Referee: David Mortimer
4 November 1990 5 Sydney Croatia 2-1 Wollongong Macedonia Edensor Park, New South Wales
  • Scott 4'
  • Ricoy 46'
 Report
  • Thornthwaite 24'
 Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre
Attendance: 3,777
Referee: Richard Lorenc
11 November 1990 6 Sydney Croatia 0–0 South Melbourne Edensor Park, New South Wales
Report Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre
Attendance: 3,579
Referee: Richard Lorenc
18 November 1990 7 Sydney Olympic 1–1 Sydney Croatia Banksia, New South Wales
 Report
  • Kupresak 15'
 Stadium: St George Stadium
Attendance: 4,933
Referee: Chris Bambridge
25 November 1990 8 Sunshine George Cross 1-1 Sydney Croatia Braybrook, Victoria
  • Ketsakidis 38'
 Report
Stadium: Skinner Reserve
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Rob Davies
2 December 1990 9 Sydney Croatia 2-1 APIA Leichhardt Edensor Park, New South Wales
 Report
  • McQuarrie 51'
 Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre
Attendance: 3,852
Referee: Dennis Voutsinas
9 December 1990 10 Preston Makedonia 1-0 Sydney Croatia Reservoir, Victoria
 Report Stadium: B.T. Connor Reserve
Attendance: 2,800
Referee: Chris Bambridge
16 December 1990 11 Sydney Croatia 4-1 Wollongong City Edensor Park, New South Wales
 Report
  • Brodnik 10'
 Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre
Attendance: 3,625
Referee: Richard Lorenc
23 December 1990 12 St George-Budapest 2–0 Sydney Croatia Banksia, New South Wales
 Report Stadium: St George Stadium
Attendance: 2,498
Referee: Gary Power
30 December 1990 13 Sydney Croatia 1-1 Heidelberg United Edensor Park, New South Wales
  • Gibson 1'
 Report
  • Rizopoulos 26'
 Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre
Attendance: 2,976
Referee: John McConnell
6 January 1991 14 Marconi Fairfield 2–2 Sydney Croatia Bossley Park, New South Wales
 Report
Stadium: Marconi Stadium
Attendance: 6,250
Referee: John Santa Isabel
13 January 1991 15 Sydney Croatia 3-4 Melbourne Croatia Edensor Park, New South Wales
 Report
Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre
Attendance: 5,372
Referee: Peter Spiers
20 January 1991 16 Melita Eagles 1-1 Sydney Croatia South Granville, New South Wales
 Report
  • Kupresak 74'
 Stadium: Melita Stadium
Attendance: 4,379
Referee: Alex Spiroski
27 January 1991 17 Sydney Croatia 0-1 Adelaide City Edensor Park, New South Wales
Report
  • Csoboth 76'
 Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre
Attendance: 2,849
Referee: John McConnell
3 February 1991 18 Wollongong Macedonia 1-0 Sydney Croatia Fairy Meadow, New South Wales
  • Z.Markovski 88'
 Report Stadium: Brandon Park
Attendance: 3,844
Referee: Rob Davies
9 February 1991 19 South Melbourne 1-2 Sydney Croatia Middle Park, Victoria
  • Michalakopoulos 78'
 Report
Stadium: Middle Park
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Richard Lorenc
17 February 1991 20 Sydney Croatia 1-0 Sydney Olympic Edensor Park, New South Wales
  • C.Koch 36'
 Report Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre
Attendance: 5,349
Referee: Peter Spiers
24 February 1991 21 Sydney Croatia 0-5 Sunshine George Cross Edensor Park, New South Wales
Report
Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre
Attendance: 1,876
Referee: Mike Ingham
13 March 1991 22 APIA Leichhardt 0-1 Sydney Croatia Leichhardt, New South Wales
Report
Stadium: Leichhardt
Attendance: 986
Referee: Peter Spiers
10 March 1991 23 Sydney Croatia 0-0 Preston Makedonia Edensor Park, New South Wales
Report Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre
Attendance: 1,632
Referee: Richard Lorenc
17 March 1991 24 Wollongong City 1-2 Sydney Croatia Fairy Meadow, New South Wales
 Report
Stadium: Brandon Park
Attendance: 2,525
Referee: Dennis Voutsinas
24 March 1991 25 Heidelberg United 1-1 Sydney Croatia Melbourne, Victoria
  • Herd 90'
 Report
Stadium: Olympic Park
Attendance: 2,200
Referee: Tom McRoe
31 March 1991 26 Sydney Croatia 0-3 St George-Budapest Edensor Park, New South Wales
Report
Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre
Attendance: 1,896
Referee: Peter Spiers

NSL Cup

21 November 1990 First round Marconi Fairfield 1-0 Sydney Croatia Bossley Park, New South Wales
 Report Stadium: Marconi Stadium
Attendance: 1,443
Referee: Peter Spiers

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Players with no appearances not included in the list.[28][29]

No. Pos. Nat. Name National Soccer League NSL Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
— DF Mark Babic 5 0 0 0 5 0
— MF Paul Carter 26 0 1 0 27 0
— GK Tony Franken 26 0 0 0 26 0
— MF John Gibson 22 3 1 0 23 3
— DF Mike Grbevski 17 1 0 0 17 1
— FW Clayton Koch 23 1 1 0 24 1
— GK Zeljko Kalac 0 0 1 0 1 0
— FW Tony Krslovic 16 12 0 0 16 12
— DF Velimir Kuprešak 19 3 1 0 20 3
— FW Manis Lamond 19 1 1 0 20 1
— FW Héctor Pérez 1 0 0 0 1 0
— MF Ivan Petković 26 0 1 0 27 0
— MF Tony Popovic 17 1 1 0 18 1
— MF Pedro Ricoy 22 2 1 0 23 2
— DF Ante Rumora 6 0 0 0 6 0
— DF Robert Runje 21 0 1 0 22 0
— DF Robert Stanton 23 1 1 0 24 2
— MF Wally Savor 6 0 0 0 6 0
— MF Gordon Scott 8 2 0 0 8 2
— MF Marcelo Toscanelli 1 0 0 0 1 0
— MF Ned Zelic 26 0 1 0 27 0
Players who left during the season
— DF Zeljko Jurin 6 0 1 0 7 0

References

  1. ^ Nimac, Ivan; Dusevic, Sime; Lozina, Leonard; Nimac, Tony (2008). More Than The Game: 50 Years of Sydney United (First Edition 2008 ed.). Sydney, NSW, Australia: Sydney United. pp. 172–176. ISBN 978-0-646-50046-1.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Soccer, Aussie (1990). Aussie Soccer (8 ed.). Melbourne, Australia: Derwent Lane Pty Ltd. p. 39.
  3. ^ Nimac, Ivan; Dusevic, Sime; Lozina, Leonard; Nimac, Tony (2008). More Than The Game: 50 Years of Sydney United (First Edition 2008 ed.). Sydney, NSW, Australia: Sydney United. pp. 172–173. ISBN 978-0-646-50046-1.
  4. ^ Gilmour, Keith. "Late NSL Signings". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 448 ). Australian Post.
  5. ^ Soccer League, Australian (1990). The 1990/91 NSL Official Yearbook (1990-91 ed.). Fairfield, NSW: Just Our Publishing Co. p. 29.
  6. ^ Smedley, David. "Gibson heading for Syd Croatia". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 449 ). Australian Post.
  7. ^ Footballers, Aussie. "Gordon Scott". Australia's Premier Football Player Archive. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  8. ^ Soccer League, Australian (1990). The 1990/91 NSL Official Yearbook (1990-91 ed.). Fairfield, NSW: Just Our Publishing Co. p. 29.
  9. ^ Soccer League, Australian (1990). The 1990/91 NSL Official Yearbook (1990-91 ed.). Fairfield, NSW: Just Our Publishing Co. p. 29.
  10. ^ Soccer League, Australian (1990). The 1990/91 NSL Official Yearbook (1990-91 ed.). Fairfield, NSW: Just Our Publishing Co. p. 29.
  11. ^ Croatia, Sydney (November 1990). "Sydney Croatia vs South Melbourne Hellas". Sydney Croatia Matchday Program. No. 11th November 1990.
  12. ^ Economos, John. "Two Latinos for Croatia". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 451). Australian Post.
  13. ^ Economos, John. "Two Latinos for Croatia". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 451. Australian Post.
  14. ^ Crew, Stats. "1990 Colorado Foxes Statistics". Stats Crew. Retrieved 28 March 2025.
  15. ^ a b Nimac, Ivan; Dusevic, Sime; Lozina, Leonard; Nimac, Tony (2008). More Than The Game: 50 Years of Sydney United (First Edition 2008 ed.). Sydney, NSW, Australia: Sydney United. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-646-50046-1.
  16. ^ a b Gilmour, Keith. "$55,000 grab-Seal, Jones". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 446. Australian Post.
  17. ^ Nimac, Ivan; Dusevic, Sime; Lozina, Leonard; Nimac, Tony (2008). More Than The Game: 50 Years of Sydney United (First Edition 2008 ed.). Sydney, NSW, Australia: Sydney United. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-646-50046-1.
  18. ^ Soccer, Aussie (1990). Aussie Soccer (8 ed.). Melbourne, Australia: Derwent Lane Pty Ltd. p. 37.
  19. ^ Footballers, Aussie. "David Batten". Australian Premier Football Player Archive. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  20. ^ Footballers, Aussie. "Steve Gojevic". Australia's Premier Football Player Archive. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  21. ^ Footballers, Aussie. "John Krajnovic". Australia's Premier Football Player Archive. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  22. ^ Soccer Weekly, Australian. "Chit Chat...Chit Chat...Chit Chat". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 454). Australian Post.
  23. ^ Footballers, Aussie. "Alan Hunter". Australian Premier Football Player Archive. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  24. ^ Nimac, Ivan; Dusevic, Sime; Lozina, Leonard; Nimac, Tony (2008). More Than The Game: 50 Years of Sydney United (First Edition 2008 ed.). Sydney, NSW, Australia: Sydney United. p. 177. ISBN 978-0-646-50046-1.
  25. ^ Scicluna, Frank. "$35,000 Krslovic inspires new club". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 457). Australian Post.
  26. ^ Footballers, Aussie. "Zeljko Jurin". Australian Premier Football Player Archive. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  27. ^ Scicluna, Frank (August 1991). "It's all go for Sydney Croatia". Australian and British Soccer Weekly. Vol. 12, no. 491. Foreign Language Publications.
  28. ^ "The 1990/91 Season". ozfootball.net.
  29. ^ "1990/91 National League Cup Results". ozfootball.net. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
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