Frank Juric

Frank Juric (Croatian: Frank Jurić, pronounced [jǔːritɕ]; born 28 October 1973) is an Australian former goalkeeper and the goalkeeping coach of A-League club Western United.

Frank Juric

Personal information
Full name	Frank Juric
Date of birth	(1973-10-28) 28 October 1973
Place of birth	Melbourne, Australia
Height	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
Playing position(s)	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team	Western United (Goalkeeper coach)
Youth career
	Melbourne Knights
1990–1991	AIS
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1992–1996	Melbourne Knights	68	(0)
1996–1997	Collingwood Warriors	25	(0)
1997–1999	Fortuna Düsseldorf	36	(0)
1999–2004	Bayer Leverkusen	11	(0)
2001–2004	Bayer Leverkusen II	17	(0)
2004–2008	Hannover 96	1	(0)
2008–2009	Perth Glory	4	(0)
Total		162	(0)
National team
1993	Australia U-20
1994–1996	Australia U-23	15	(0)
1995–2001	Australia	2	(0)
Teams managed
2009–2010	Perth Glory (Goalkeeper coach)
2012–2016	Melbourne Knights (Assistant coach)
2017–2019	Adelaide United (Goalkeeper coach)
2019–	Western United (Goalkeeper coach)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Born in Melbourne, Juric began his professional career in the former Australian national league with Melbourne Knights, where he won two league titles, before moving to the newly formed Collingwood Warriors (also based in Melbourne). 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. 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 team Bayer 04 Leverkusen 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 but still managed 11 Bundesliga 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 in 2002–03, against Olympiacos and Manchester United.

In June 2004, he joined fellow Bundesliga side Hannover 96 as second choice keeper behind Robert Enke. His time with the Reds has been blighted by persistent knee problems, limiting to just a single appearance in his first three seasons there, playing in a 2–2 draw with Borussia Mönchengladbach 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 season, with Perth Glory. He competed for the number one jersey alongside Olyroo Tando Velaphi, while Jason Petkovic 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.

On May 2009, Juric retired as a player and joined Glory as goalkeeping coach, when they signed Aleks Vrteski as the club's second goalkeeper.[1]

International career

Juric made two full appearances for the Australian national team, making his debut on 10 November 1995 in an 1996 OFC Nations Cup match against New Zealand which finished goalless, and also appearing on 10 February 1996 in a 1–4 friendly defeat to Japan.

He also competed in the 1996 Olympics in the football competition and was an unused squad member in the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup, where they achieved third place. However, the likes of Mark Schwarzer, Zeljko Kalac and Mark Bosnich had severely limited his hopes of international football.

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[2][3][4][5]

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Melbourne Knights	1992–93	National Soccer League	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
	1993–94		5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
	1994–95		27	0	5	0	0	0	32	0
	1995–96		33	0	0	0	0	0	33	0
	Knights total		68	0	5	0	0	0	73	0
Collingwood Warriors	1996–97	National Soccer League	25	0	0	0	0	0	25	0
Fortuna Düsseldorf	1997–98	2. Bundesliga	7	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
	1998–99		29	0	2	0	0	0	31	0
	Fortuna Düsseldorf total		36	0	2	0	0	0	38	0
Bayer 04 Leverkusen	1999–2000	Bundesliga	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
	2000–01		6	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
	2001–02		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2002–03		1	0	1	0	2	0	4	0
	Bayer total		11	0	1	0	2	0	14	0
Bayer 04 Leverkusen II	2001–02	Regionalliga Nord	6	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
	2002–03		1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2003–04	Oberliga Nordrhein	10	0	0	0	0	0	10	0
	Bayer II total		17	0	0	0	0	0	17	0
Hannover 96	2004–05	Bundesliga	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2005–06		1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2006–07		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2007–08		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Perth Glory	2008–09	A-League	4	0	2	0	0	0	6	0
Career total			162	0	10	0	2	0	174	0

Honours

Club

Melbourne Knights

• NSL: 1994–95, 1995–96
• NSL Premiers: 1991–92, 1993–94, 1994–95

Bayer Leverkusen

• Bundesliga: Runner-up 1999–2000 and 2001–02
• DFB-Pokal: Runner-up 2001–02
• UEFA Champions League Runner-up: 2001–02

International

Australia

• OFC Nations Cup: 1996

References

1. Hope, Shayne (25 May 2009). "Vrteski back in Glory fold". thewest.com.au. Archived from the original on 11 August 2009. Retrieved 25 May 2009.
2. "Frank Juric". OzFootball.net. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
3. "Frank Juric". ALeagueStats.com. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
4. "Frank Juric". kicker. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
5. "1994-95 Season Cup Matches". OzFootball.net. Retrieved 30 April 2020.

External links

• Oz Football profile