Ante Covic

This article is about the Australian football (soccer) player. For the Croatian football player, see Ante Čović (Croatian footballer).

Ante Covic

Covic as goalkeeper for the Wanderers in 2013
Personal information
Full name	Ante Covic [1]
Date of birth	(1975-06-13) 13 June 1975 (age 49)
Place of birth	Sydney, Australia
Height	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
1995	Hurstville Zagreb
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1996–1997	APIA Leichhardt Tigers	23	(0)
1997–1999	Marconi Stallions	46	(0)
1999–2001	PAOK	8	(0)
2000	→ AO Kavala (loan)	15	(0)
2001–2002	Dinamo Zagreb	0	(0)
2002–2007	Hammarby IF	121	(0)
2007–2009	Newcastle Jets	54	(0)
2009–2011	IF Elfsborg	59	(0)
2011–2012	Melbourne Victory	24	(0)
2012–2015	Western Sydney Wanderers	78	(0)
2015–2016	Perth Glory	28	(0)
2017–2018	Rockdale City Suns	49	(0)
2018	Wellington Phoenix	0	(0)
Total		505	(0)
International career
2006–2008	Australia	2	(0)
Managerial career
2018–2023	Marconi Stallions (goalkeeping coach)
2024–	Bankstown City (Women)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ante Covic (born 13 June 1975) is an Australian football manager and former soccer goalkeeper, and is the current manager of Bankstown City (Women) in NSW League One. Covic was a member of the Australian national team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany and represented Australia on two occasions. In 2014 he was named Player of the Tournament for the 2014 AFC Champions League, keeping 8 clean sheets in 12 matches with the Western Sydney Wanderers as they defeated Al-Hilal in the final.

Personal life

Covic is of Croatian heritage. He is married to Vanessa Covic and has two children, Emelie and Christopher. ^[2]

Club career

He formerly played for Marconi Stallions and Sydney Olympic in Australia's National Soccer League, PAOK Salonika and AO Kavala in Greece and Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia.

Hammarby IF

After Australia in 1999, Covic made numerous appearances for various European clubs before arriving in Hammarby IF, a Swedish club based in Stockholm. There he battled Erland Hellström for the spot as first keeper. About a month into the Swedish Allsvenskan series, Covic made his debut between the posts (however, not his debut game with Hammarby as he made an appearance roughly three weeks earlier in a cup game) and after that he was more or less given in the starting eleven.

Covic left Hammarby in 2006 after having played 121 games – a feat that has only been surpassed by three other goalkeepers in the club's history. ^[3]

Newcastle Jets

Ante Covic training with Newcastle in 2008.

Covic made his A-League debut in a 3–2 loss to Adelaide United in December 2006 at Hindmarsh Stadium. Čović was the starting goalkeeper for Newcastle Jets in the 2007 season, in which he won the A-League championship. On 17 March 2009, it was announced that Covic was leaving the Jets for a three-year deal with Swedish club IF Elfsborg.

Melbourne Victory

On 4 October 2011, Covic signed a one-year deal with Melbourne Victory as an injury replacement for Tando Velaphi, who was ruled out for 12 weeks. Čović debuted in the opening game of the A-League season against Sydney FC at the Etihad Stadium. Covic achieved instant hero status with the home fans when he saved Emerton from the penalty spot in the 33rd minute, he was named man of the match in the 0–0 draw. He was again named man of the match after the Melbourne Derby two weeks later.

In the A-League fifth round match between Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory in 2011, Covic, along with fellow Victory defender Matthew Foschini, were controversially sent off by referee Ben Williams for challenges against Roar defenders, reducing the Victory to playing with nine men throughout the match. ^[4]

On 1 May 2012, it was announced new Melbourne Victory coach Ange Postecoglou would not resign the veteran goalkeeper, opting to stay with younger goalkeepers Lawrence Thomas and Tando Velaphi. This decision followed Covic winning the Player's Player of the Year award at the Melbourne Victory Awards Dinner.

Western Sydney Wanderers

On 2 July 2012, Covic joined A-League expansion club Western Sydney Wanderers on a free transfer. ^[5] The Wanderers performed above expectations and won the Premier's Plate in their maiden season, ^[6] with Čović being named in the inaugural A-League All-Star team. ^[7] He helped his side to win 2014 AFC Champions League, keeping 8 clean sheets in 12 matches. The Wanderers defeated Al-Hilal in the final, after which he was named as MVP of the tournament.

Perth Glory

On 8 July 2015, Covic joined Perth Glory. ^[8]

Rockdale City and retirement

In June 2016, at the end of his contract, Covic decided to leave Perth Glory to return east to be closer to his family, ^[9] and joined Rockdale City Suns in January 2017. ^[10] He retired from football at the end of the 2018 NPL season in November 2018, after two seasons at the club, to take a position as goalkeeper coach for Marconi Stallions. ^[11] In December, he joined Wellington Phoenix as short-term injury cover following an injury to first-choice goalkeeper Filip Kurto. ^[12] He remained on the bench for the duration of the side's 3–1 win over Sydney FC. ^[13]

International career

He was part of the Australian squad for the 2006 World Cup play-offs against Uruguay and was Australia's third choice goalkeeper behind Mark Schwarzer and Zeljko Kalac for the finals in Germany.

He made his debut for Australia against Bahrain on 22 February 2006 in an Asian Cup qualifier. On 22 March 2008 he earned his second and last cap against Singapore in an international friendly and was captain for part of the second half after Harry Kewell and Jade North left the field.

Career statistics

As of 15 May 2015

CS = Clean Sheets

Club	Season	Division	League1		Cup		International2		Total
			Apps	CS	Apps	CS	Apps	CS	Apps	CS
Marconi Stallions	1997–98 [14]	National Soccer League	25	14	0	0	0	0	25	14
	1998–99 [14]		21	7	0	0	0	0	21	7
	Total		46	21	0	0	0	0	46	21
PAOK	1999–2000 [14] [15]	Alpha Ethniki	4	1	2	2	3	1	9	4
	2000–01 [15]		4	0	1	0	0	0	4	0
	Total		8	1	3	2	3	1	13	4
AO Kavala (loan)	1999–2000	Alpha Ethniki	15	?	0	0	0	0	15	0
	Total		15	?	0	0	0	0	15	0
Dinamo Zagreb	2001–02	Prva HNL	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Hammarby IF	2002 [14] [15]	Allsvenskan	20	0	0	0	2	0	22	0
	2003 [15]		26	12	0	0	0	0	26	12
	2004 [14] [15]		26	9	0	0	4	1	30	10
	2005 [15]		26	8	0	0	0	0	26	8
	2006 [15]		23	9	0	0	0	0	23	9
	Total		121	38	0	0	6	1	127	39
Newcastle Jets	2006–07 [16]	A-League	8	3	0	0	0	0	8	3
	2007–08 [14] [16]		25	8	5	2	0	0	30	10
	2008–09 [14] [16] [17]		21	3	3	1	2	1	26	5
	Total		54	14	8	3	2	1	64	18
IF Elfsborg	2009 [17]	Allsvenskan	29	10	2	0	6	4	37	14
	2010 [17]		17	5	0	0	4	2	21	7
	2011 [17]		13	6	2	1	3	1	18	8
	Total		59	21	4	1	13	7	76	29
Melbourne Victory	2011–12 [16]	A-League	24	3	0	0	0	0	24	3
	Total		24	3	0	0	0	0	24	3
Western Sydney Wanderers	2012–13 [16]	A-League	29	11	–	–	–	–	29	11
	2013–14 [16] [17]		28	10	–	–	12	8	40	18
	2014–15 [16] [17]		21	3	1	0	6	2	28	5
	Total		78	24	1	0	18	10	97	34
Career Total			405	121	13	4	42	21	460	145

¹ – includes A-League final series statistics
² – includes continental tournaments and FIFA Club World Cup; AFC Champions League statistics are included in season ending during group stages (i.e. ACL 2014 and A-League season 2013–14 etc.)

National team statistics

As of 23 January 2014

CS = Clean Sheets ^[17]

Australia national team
Year	Apps	CS
2006	1	0
2007	0	0
2008	1	1
Total	2	1

Honours

Covic playing for Newcastle Jets in front of the club's fans in 2007.

Club

PAOK

• Greek Football Cup: 2000–01

Newcastle Jets

• A-League Championship: 2007–08

Western Sydney Wanderers

• A-League Premiership: 2012–13
• AFC Champions League: 2014

Individual

• Melbourne Victory Victory Medal: 2011–12
• A-League Goalkeeper of the Year: 2012–13
• PFA A-League Team of the Season: 2012–13
• A-League All Star: 2013 ^[18]
• AFC Champions League Most Valuable Player: 2014

Records

• Oldest Western Sydney Wanderers player: 39 years, 326 days
• Oldest Perth Glory player: 40 years, 309 days

References

1. "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players: Australia" (PDF). FIFA. 21 March 2014. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019.
2. "Former Socceroo, Ante Covic "the Croatian community has more players play for Australia than any other nationality"". Archived from the original on 25 January 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
3. "Julkalendern lucka 12: Australien" [Christmas calendar luck 12: Australia]. Hammarby IF (in Swedish). 16 December 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
4. "Nine-Man Victory Heroically Hold Champs". FourFourTwo Australia. 5 November 2011. Archived from the original on 8 November 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
5. "Wanderers snare Covic and Haliti". Football Federation Australia. 2 July 2012.
6. "Wanderers Secure Premiership With 3–0 Win Over Newcastle!". Western Sydney Football. 29 March 2013.
7. "A-League All Star team to face Manchester United full of Mariners, Wanderers". ABC News. ABC. 20 June 2013.
8. "Ante Covic heads west for more Glory". Perth Glory. 8 July 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
9. Chadwick, Justin (24 June 2016). "Glory sign journeyman goalkeeper Reddy". Yahoo7. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
10. Parkinson, Andrew (17 January 2017). "Covic joins Rockdale". St George & Sutherland Shire Leader. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
11. "Episode 182". Bill and Boz. 13 November 2018. Fox Sports.
12. "Wellington Phoenix sign 43-year-old goalkeeper Ante Covic as injury cover". 6 December 2018.
13. "Sydney FC vs Wellington Phoenix live score, H2H and lineups | SofaScore".
14. "Ante Čović » Club matches". worldfootball.net. 19 March 2014.
15. "Ante Čović Soccer Stats". The Irish Times . Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
16. "Ante Covic (Western Sydney Wanderers)". Ultimate A-League.
17. Ante Covic at Soccerway
18. Jackson, Jamie (20 July 2013). "Manchester United thrash A-League All Stars to give David Moyes first win". The Guardian . Sydney. Retrieved 7 September 2020.

External links

• Western Sydney Wanderers profile
• Oz Football profile
• Ante Covic at National-Football-Teams.com
• Ante Covic Interview