Adam Bugarija Cardeno [1] (born 22 February 2005) is an Australian soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Perth Glory in the A-League Men.
Born in Baulkham Hills in New South Wales, [1] Bugarija was a youth player at Sydney United and played for two years at Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia before returning to Sydney to play for Western Sydney Wanderers in 2023. [2]
Bugarija played for Western Sydney Wanderers' reserve team in the National Premier Leagues NSW before joining fellow A-League Men team Perth Glory on a three-year deal in June 2024, having been convinced to join by director of football Stan Lazaridis. [3] He made his debut on 3 August in the round of 32 of the Australia Cup, at home to Melbourne City; coming on in the 70th minute, he scored the equaliser as the match finished 4–4 in regulation time, with the Western Australian side scoring the winning goal in extra time. [4] In the next round 25 days later away to Moreton City Excelsior of the National Premier Leagues Queensland, he was sent off for two yellow cards in 42 minutes in a 3–2 loss. [5]
Bugarija made his A-League debut on 20 October as the season opened with a 6–1 loss away to Macarthur. He came on as a half-time substitute and scored a consolation goal. [6] He was one of 18 teenagers in the league, a record for an opening day of the league season. [7]
In July 2024, Bugarija was called up by the Australia under-19 team for the 2024 ASEAN U-19 Boys Championship in Indonesia. [8] Five months later, he was one of three Perth Glory teammates called up for the 2025 AFC U-20 Asian Cup in China. [9] He was an unused substitute as Australia won the title for the first time, defeating Saudi Arabia in the final. [10]