Sydney FC has appointed former Socceroo and AC Milan goalkeeper Zeljko Kalac as Hyundai A-League Goalkeeper Coach for the 2011/12 season.
Kalac, who started his career in Sydney with former NSL Club Sydney United, begins work immediately.
“This is a great opportunity for me,” Kalac said. “It-s a pleasure to come in and work for my club because I-m Sydney born and bred and Sydney FC is my team. The facilities are great and I-m looking forward to working with the goalkeepers and the rest of the coaching staff.”
The man they call “Spider” had a stellar career as a goalkeeper, playing for Leicester City (English Championship), Roda JC (Dutch Eredivisie), Perugia (Italy-s Serie A and Serie B) and Italian superclub AC Milan for four seasons before finishing his career in Greece with Kavala.
Kalac also represented Australia in 54 full internationals, including the 2006 World Cup group stage match against Croatia. The 202cm goalkeeper made his National Team debut against Malaysia in 1992 and brought the curtain down on his international career against Paraguay in 2006.
Kalac retired from football after a brief spell in Greece and despite doing some work as a football commentator and analyst signalled his intentions by completing his AFC C Licence Coaching qualification, as well as the first half of the B Licence.
“I enjoy the media work but nothing is better than being on the field,” Kalac said. “Hopefully I can use my knowledge and experience to transfer it across to the goalkeepers; not just the experienced A-League keepers I-ll be working with day-to-day but also the younger ones coming through.”
Sydney FC CEO Dirk Melton was thrilled with the appointment of Kalac, as it is in line with Sydney FC-s long term strategy of ensuring there was a future path for former players who had served the game well, particularly those born and bred in Sydney.
“As a Club, Sydney FC wants to make sure there is not only a pathway for young players who aspire to play professional football but also for former players to remain in the game and ensure there are career opportunities for those who have finished playing.
“Zeljko fits that bill perfectly as he had a long and distinguished career as a player, he is a Sydney boy, he has already started the process of becoming a coach by getting his licences and he has a wealth of experience he can now pass onto our goalkeepers.”
