On Saturday afternoon, Danny Vukovic will notch his 300th Isuzu UTE A-League appearance. The Central Coast Mariners goalkeeper says it’s only fitting his milestone match takes place at the very same venue where his career began.
Danny Vukovic was enjoying a relaxing afternoon at Terrigal Beach when he received the phone call that would launch his career.
The 20-year-old would soon regret what he’d eaten for lunch.
“I was on Terrigal Beach on gameday having fish and chips,” Vukovic recalled. “Not the best pre-match meal!”
At the time, Vukovic was second-choice to Mariners No.1 John Crawley. It was September of 2005, and in a matter of hours, Central Coast Mariners would play host to Melbourne Victory at Industree Group Stadium.
What came next turned a well-fed Vukovic into a nervous wreck. On the eve of his 300th Isuzu UTE A-League appearance, he can look back now and laugh at what transpired in the lead-up to his first.
“Not expecting to play, I got a phone call from (Mariners head coach) Lawrie McKinna,” Vukovic added. “He was informing me that John Crawley wasn’t good to play and that I’d be playing. So from that moment on, until kick-off – I think it was a nighttime kick-off – I was very nervous.
“I thought I did well in my first game, and that was the start of bigger and better things.”
Vukovic added: “We made it to a grand final in my first season. It was the start of an amazing ride for me and my family, and it’s quite fitting I’m going to be playing my 300th game at the same stadium where it all began.”
Vukovic admits it will be an emotional occasion at Industree Group Stadium on Saturday afternoon, when he leads the Mariners out for what will be his 300th A-League Men appearance.
But in a domestic career that has spanned five clubs, 13 seasons and nearly two decades, Vukovic is still enjoying new experiences: “I’ll be emotional. I’m walking out on the pitch with my two boys (Harley and Axel). I’ve not done that before.”
In the stands, meanwhile, family and friends will gather to watch the Mariners skipper reach the immense milestone. Those in attendance will include a former A-League Men star who, in the third season of the competition’s existence, enacted grand final heartache on the Mariners gloveman in the 2008 decider.
“My best mate, who is actually going to be at the game tomorrow, is Mark Bridge,” Vukovic explained. Bridge was playing for Newcastle Jets on that day in February 2008. By that time Vukovic had become a Mariners mainstay, and in just his 40th league appearance was donning the gloves for Central Coast in a grand final for the second time.
Bridge’s strike in the 2008 grand final was the only goal in the title decider.
“Bridgey played throughout the A-League at Newcastle Jets, Sydney FC and finally Western Sydney, and he’ll always have one up on me because he scored the goal in that season three grand final.”
“We’re friends for life. He was my best man, he’s godfather to my kids. That’s the beauty of football: you meet so many people.”
Vukovic will lead his side out in Gosford on Saturday afternoon with the Mariners eager to rebound after a shock 2-0 loss to bottom-placed Melbourne Victory before the international break. It was a result which left the Mariners sat precariously in fourth spot, level on points with Wellington Phoenix who play Victory in the early kick-off on Saturday.
One of Vukovic’s regrets from his initial five-season stint at the Mariners was failing to lift the A-League Men champions trophy at the club where his footballing journey began. “But we have the chance this year,” he said, “and we feel we can do it. Hopefully this year will be my year to win a championship at the Mariners.”
It’s a belief shared by Central Coast head coach Nick Montgomery – and a goal he recruited the experienced gloveman to help his side achieve.
“After losing a lot of big players last year in Kye Rowles and (Mark) Birighitti, Lewis Miller, Garang Kuol, the list is endless,” Montgomery said. “What we needed at the time was a bit of stability and a leader, someone that could communicate – and Danny fit that mould.
“Before you talk about him as a footballer, as a person he’s a family man, he’s a fantastic personality. For us to bring him in I thought was a really good signing for us – I think he’s proven that already, and long may it continue.”
Montgomery added: “He’s a fantastic person, and he’s had a wonderful career.
“I think the milestone of 300 A-League games, that’s testament to Danny and his professionalism, and the fact he’s the captain here at the club. We’ve got everything to play for this season, we’ve got a really young squad.
“He’s a bit of a grandad in the team, but he’s still youthful and full of enthusiasm. He looks after himself, which everyone can see. I think it’s a wonderful achievement for him, and there’s no sign of him slowing down.”
