Tony Popovic facts for kids
Popovic as Western Sydney Wanderers manager in 2013
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Tony Popovic | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 4 July 1973 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Sydney, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Current team
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Australia (head coach) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sydney United | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1989–1997 | Sydney United | 162 | (14) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994 | → Canberra FC (loan) | 5 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–2001 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 87 | (13) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2006 | Crystal Palace | 123 | (6) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | Al-Arabi | 17 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | Sydney FC | 27 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 421 | (37) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1988–1989 | Australia U17 | 7 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1990–1991 | Australia U20 | 9 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1992 | Australia U23 | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–2006 | Australia | 58 | (8) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009 | Sydney FC (caretaker) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2017 | Western Sydney Wanderers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Karabükspor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2020 | Perth Glory | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | Xanthi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2024 | Melbourne Victory | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tony Popovic (born 4 July 1973) is a famous Australian association football manager and former player. He is currently the head coach for the Australian national football team. He helped the team qualify for the 2026 World Cup. This made him the first Australian to both play for and manage the team at a World Cup!
When he played, Popovic was a centre-back, which is a defender. He started his career in 1989 at Sydney United. He also played for teams like Sanfrecce Hiroshima in Japan and Premier League club Crystal Palace. He even played for the Australian national team in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. There, he played against the strong team from Brazil.
Popovic began coaching in 2008 with Sydney FC. He later became the first manager for the Western Sydney Wanderers in 2012. As a coach, he has achieved a lot! He won the 2012–13 A-League Premiership and the 2014 AFC Champions League with the Wanderers. He also won the 2018–19 A-League Premiership with Perth Glory and an Australia Cup with Melbourne Victory in 2022. In 2024, he became the coach of the Australian national team and led them to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Tony Popovic has two sons, Kristian and Gabriel Popovic. Both of them are also professional football players!
Contents
Playing Career Highlights
Tony Popovic was born in Sydney, Australia. His family is from Croatia. He grew up in Fairfield, New South Wales.
Starting Out in Football
Popovic started his football journey with Sydney United. He played for their youth teams and then became a key player for the main team. He played 162 games over seven years before moving to Japan. In Japan, he joined Sanfrecce Hiroshima and played there for five years. He scored 13 goals in 94 games for them.
Time at Crystal Palace
In August 2001, Popovic moved to England and joined Crystal Palace. He quickly became a very important part of their defense. He even became the team's captain. He played over 120 matches for Crystal Palace. In his last season with them, he played 21 games in the top league, the Premier League.
After his contract ended in June 2006, he decided to move to a club in Qatar called Al-Arabi.
Returning to Australia with Sydney FC
In 2007, Tony Popovic returned to Australia. He joined Sydney FC and signed a two-year deal. His coach, Branko Culina, also made him the team's captain. Popovic scored his first goal for Sydney FC on 28 October 2007. It was a winning goal against the Mariners, making the score 3–2.
On 11 November 2008, after almost 20 years as a professional footballer, Popovic announced he was retiring from playing.
Playing for Australia
Popovic played for the Australia Under-23 team at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. He started playing for the main Australian national team in 1995. Over the next eleven years, he played 58 games for the "Socceroos" (the Australian national team) and scored 8 goals.
A big moment in his career was in 2006 when Australia qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. This was under the coach Guus Hiddink. Popovic played in the important qualifying matches against Uruguay. He made his World Cup debut against Brazil on 18 June. Sadly, he got injured during that game and had to leave the field. This injury meant he couldn't play in Australia's next matches.
On 4 October 2006, Popovic announced he was retiring from playing for the Socceroos. His last game was a friendly match against Paraguay. He scored his eighth international goal in that game, which ended in a 1–1 draw.
Coaching Journey
After he stopped playing, Popovic became an assistant coach for Sydney FC. He stayed there until 2011. Then, he went back to England to be a first-team coach for Crystal Palace.
Leading Western Sydney Wanderers
On 17 May 2012, Tony Popovic was announced as the very first manager for the new A-League club, Western Sydney Wanderers. He signed a four-year deal. In the Wanderers' first season, Popovic was named A-League Coach of the Year. His team finished first in the league!
In the 2013–14 season, Popovic led the Wanderers to the 2014 AFC Champions League Final. This was amazing because it was the club's first time in the competition. They won against Al-Hilal and became the first Australian team to win this big tournament! Because of this, Popovic was named the 2014 AFC Coach of the Year. He signed a new three-year deal with the Wanderers, staying until 2018.
Coaching in Turkey and Perth
On 1 October 2017, Popovic surprisingly left the Western Sydney Wanderers. He went to coach a Turkish club called Karabükspor. He was there for a short time before leaving in December 2017.
On 11 May 2018, Popovic became the new manager for Perth Glory. Under his leadership, Perth won the 2018–19 A-League premiership.
Time in Greece and Melbourne
On 26 August 2020, Popovic left Perth Glory to coach Xanthi FC in Greece. He stayed there for five months.
On 21 April 2021, Melbourne Victory hired Popovic as their head coach. He quickly brought the club back to success. He led them to win the 2021 FFA Cup on 5 February 2022. After guiding Melbourne Victory to the 2024 A-League Grand Final, he left the club at the end of the season.
Coaching the Australian National Team
Tony Popovic was named the head coach of the Australian national team on 23 September 2024. He has already led them to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Career Statistics
Club Appearances and Goals
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sydney United | 1989–90 | National Soccer League | 13 | 0 | 13 | 0 | ||||
| 1990–91 | 17 | 1 | 17 | 1 | ||||||
| 1991–92 | 20 | 1 | 20 | 1 | ||||||
| 1992–93 | 24 | 2 | 24 | 2 | ||||||
| 1993–94 | National Soccer League | 27 | 2 | 27 | 2 | |||||
| 1994–95 | 25 | 3 | 25 | 3 | ||||||
| 1995–96 | 29 | 4 | 29 | 4 | ||||||
| 1996–97 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 2 | ||||||
| Total | 162 | 15 | 162 | 15 | ||||||
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 1997 | J1 League | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| 1998 | 25 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 30 | 6 | ||
| 1999 | 23 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 6 | ||
| 2000 | 21 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 26 | 5 | ||
| 2001 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| Total | 87 | 13 | 10 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 109 | 17 | ||
| Crystal Palace | 2001–02 | First Division | 20 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 2 | ||
| 2002–03 | 36 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 40 | 4 | ||||
| 2003–04 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 1 | ||||
| 2004–05 | Premier League | 23 | 0 | 23 | 0 | |||||
| 2005–06 | League Championship | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 0 | |
| Total | 119 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 119 | 7 | ||||
| Al-Arabi | 2006–07 | Qatar Stars League | 17 | 2 | 17 | 2 | ||||
| Sydney FC | 2007–08 | A-League | 20 | 1 | 20 | 1 | ||||
| 2008–09 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 27 | 1 | 27 | 1 | ||||||
| Career total | 412 | 38 | 15 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 439 | 42 | ||
International Appearances and Goals
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 1995 | 8 | 0 |
| 1996 | 10 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1998 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1999 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 10 | 5 | |
| 2002 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 4 | 1 | |
| Total | 58 | 8 | |
- Scores and results list Australia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Popovic goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 June 2000 | Papeete, Tahiti |  Cook Islands |
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17–0 | OFC Nations Cup |
| 2 | 9 April 2001 | BCU International Stadium, Australia |  Tonga |
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22–0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 11 April 2001 | BCU International Stadium, Australia |  American Samoa |
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31–0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4 |
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| 5 | 16 April 2001 | BCU International Stadium, Australia |  Samoa |
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11–0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 6 |
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| 7 | 12 February 2003 | Boleyn Ground, London, England |  England |
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3–1 | Friendly |
| 8 | 7 September 2006 | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Australia |  Paraguay |
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1–1 | Friendly |
Managerial Statistics
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||
 Western Sydney Wanderers |
17 May 2012 | 1 October 2017 | 180 | 77 | 40 | 63 | 42.78 |
 Karabükspor |
1 October 2017 | 15 December 2017 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 27.27 |
| Perth Glory |
11 May 2018 | 2 September 2020 | 60 | 30 | 13 | 17 | 50.00 |
 Xanthi |
2 September 2020 | 22 February 2021 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 44.44 |
| Melbourne Victory |
21 April 2021 | 12 June 2024 | 94 | 40 | 26 | 28 | 42.55 |
| Australia |
23 September 2024 | Present | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 62.50 |
| Total | 362 | 159 | 85 | 118 | 43.92 | ||
Awards and Achievements
As a Player
Australia
- FIFA Confederations Cup: 3rd place in 2001
- OFC Nations Cup: Won in 1996 and 2000
As a Manager
Western Sydney Wanderers
- A-League Men: Premiers in 2012–13; runner-up in 2013–14 and 2015–16
- A-League Men Finals runner-up: 2013, 2014, 2016
- AFC Champions League: Won in 2014
Perth Glory
- A-League Men: Premiers in 2018–19
- A-League Men Finals runner-up: 2019
Melbourne Victory
- A-League Men Regular Season runner-up: 2021–22
- A-League Men Finals runner-up: 2024
- Australia Cup: Won in 2021
As an Assistant Coach for Sydney FC
- A-League Premiership: Won in 2009–10
- A-League Championship: Won in 2009–10
Individual Awards
- A-League Men Coach of the Year: 2012–13, 2018–19, 2021–22
- PFA A-League Manager of the Season: 2012–13, 2018–19
- AFC Coach of the Year: 2014
See also
In Spanish: Tony Popovic para niños
