1990–91 Sydney Croatia FC season

Sydney Croatia
1990-1991 season
Chairman	Laurie Grgić/Tomislav Curić
Manager	Tony Vržina (Rd 1-18), Steve Watson (Rd 19-26)
Stadium	Sydney Croatian Sports Centre
National Soccer League	7th
1990-91 NSL Cup	Second Round
Top goalscorer	Tony Krslovic (12)
Highest home attendance	5,372 vs. Melbourne Croatia; (16 January 1991); National Soccer League
Lowest home attendance	1,632 vs. Preston Makedonia; (10 March 1991); National Soccer League
Average home league attendance	3,839
Biggest win	4–1; vs. Wollongong City; (16 December 1990); National Soccer League
Biggest defeat	0–5 ; vs. Sunshine George Cross; (24 February 1991); National Soccer League
	← 1989–90 1991-92 →

The 1990-91 season saw Sydney Croatia embark on its eighth campaign in the NSL. Ultimately, they finished 7th out of 14 teams.

The team commenced the new season with Tony Vržina at the helm, having retained his position as coach from the previous year, but a poor streak of results prompted a coaching change, with assistant Steve Watson assuming the role from Round 19 onwards. Despite showing improvement in their results, heavy home losses to Sunshine George Cross and St George BSC saw Sydney Croatia fail to secure a spot in the final series for the third consecutive season.^[1]

Players

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	DF	AUS	Mark Babic
—	MF	AUS	Paul Carter
—	GK	AUS	Tony Franken
—	MF	AUS	Andrew French
—	MF	AUS	John Gibson
—	DF	AUS	Mike Grbevski
—	DF	AUS	Craig Jones
—	DF	CRO	Zeljko Jurin
—	GK	AUS	Zeljko Kalac
—	FW	AUS	Clayton Koch
—	FW	AUS	Tony Krslovic
—	DF	AUS	Velimir Kuprešak
—	FW	PNG	Manis Lamond


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	FW	CHI	Héctor Pérez
—	MF	CRO	Ivan Petković (Captain)
—	MF	AUS	Tony Popovic
—	MF	AUS	Pedro Ricoy
—	DF	CRO	Ante Rumora
—	DF	AUS	Robert Runje
—	MF	AUS	Wally Savor
—	FW	SCO	Gordon Scott
—	DF	AUS	Robert Stanton
—	MF	ARG	Marcelo Toscanelli
—	MF	AUS	Ned Zelic
—	DF	AUS	Ante Zizic (Youth)

Transfers in

Pos.	Name	Age	Moving from	Type	Transfer window	Transfer fee	Source
DF	Robert Runje	21	Preston Makedonia	Transfer	Pre-season	$17,000	^[2]
DF	Ned Zelic	19	Canberra Croatia	Loan return	Pre-season		^[2]
DF	Paul Carter	27	Blacktown City Demons	Loan	Pre-season	Free	^[3]^[4]
MF	John Gibson	20	Blacktown City Demons	Loan	Pre-season	Free	^[2]^[5]^[6]
FW	Gordon Scott	30	Morwell Falcons	Transfer	Pre-season	$12,000	^[7]^[2]
FW	Clayton Koch	20	Pine Rivers United	Transfer	Pre-season	$7,000	^[2]^[8]
DF	Robert Stanton	18	AIS	Transfer	Pre-season	Free	^[2]^[9]
DF	Craig Jones	19	AIS	Transfer	Pre-season	Free	^[2]^[10]
FW	Héctor Pérez		Magallanes	End of Contract	Round 3	Free	^[11]^[2]
MF	Marcelo Toscanelli	27	Colorado Foxes	End of Contract	Round 3	Free	^[12]^[13]
FW	Tony Krslovic	21	St George BSC	Transfer	Mid-season	$35,000	^[14]^[15]

Transfers out

Pos.	Name	Age	Moving to	Type	Transfer window	Transfer fee	Source
FW	Graham Arnold	25	Roda JC	Transfer	Pre-season	$105,000	^[16]^[2]
FW	David Seal	18	Marconi Fairfield	Transfer	Pre-season	$35,000	^[16]^[2]^[17]
DF	Mark Jones	24	Marconi Fairfield	Transfer	Pre-season	$20,000	^[18]^[2]^[17]
FW	David Batten	26	APIA Leichhardt	End of Contract	Pre-season	Free	^[19]^[20]
MF	Steve Gojevic	24	Wollongong Macedonia	End of Contract	Pre-season	Free	^[21]
GK	John Krajnovic	24	free agency	End of Contract	Pre-season	Free	^[22]
DF	Alan Hunter	26	Melita Eagles	Transfer	Round 6	$16,000	^[23]^[24]
DF	Zeljko Jurin	30	Wollongong Macedonia	Transfer	Mid-season	Free	^[25]

Overview

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
National Soccer League	7 October 1990	31 March 1991	Matchday 1	7th	26	8	10	8	27	33	−6	030.77
NSL Cup	21 November 1990	21 November 1990	First round	First Round	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	000.00
Total					27	8	10	9	27	34	−7	029.63

Last updated: complete
Source: Competitions

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Melbourne Croatia	26	15	7	4	55	39	+16	37	Qualification for the Finals series
2	South Melbourne (C)	26	14	6	6	45	33	+12	34
3	Adelaide City	26	12	9	5	40	24	+16	33
4	Marconi Fairfield	26	14	3	9	48	33	+15	31
5	Parramatta Eagles	26	10	9	7	38	31	+7	29
6	Sydney Olympic	26	8	13	5	31	25	+6	29
7	Sydney Croatia	26	8	10	8	27	33	−6	26
8	Preston Makedonia	26	8	9	9	26	27	−1	25
9	Wollongong City	26	8	8	10	32	34	−2	24
10	St George-Budapest (R)	26	6	10	10	34	41	−7	22	Relegation to the NSW Division 1
11	APIA Leichhardt	26	7	7	12	27	28	−1	21
12	Heidelberg United	26	6	9	11	26	37	−11	21
13	Sunshine George Cross (R)	26	7	3	16	39	53	−14	17	Relegation to the Victorian Premier League
14	Wollongong Macedonia (R)	26	3	9	14	23	53	−30	15	Relegation to the NSW Division 1

Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Matches

7 October 1990 1	Sydney Croatia	1-0	Marconi Fairfield	Sydney
	Scott 65'	Report		Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre Attendance: 5,246 Referee: Richard Lorenc

14 October 1991 2	Melbourne Croatia	2-0	Sydney Croatia	Melbourne
	Milosevic 52' Selemidis 78'	Report		Stadium: Somers St Attendance: 4,500 Referee: Peter Spiers

21 October 1990 3	Sydney Croatia	1-1	Melita Eagles	Sydney
	Ricoy 69'	Report	Brown 87'	Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre Attendance: 3,879 Referee: Peter Hulme

31 October 1990 4	Adelaide City	1–1	Sydney Croatia	Adelaide
	Tapai 18'	Report	Gibson 45'	Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium Attendance: 2,500 Referee: David Mortimer

4 November 1990 5	Sydney Croatia	2-1	Wollongong Macedonia	Sydney
	Scott 4' Ricoy 46'	Report	Thornthwaite 24'	Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre Attendance: 3,777 Referee: Richard Lorenc

11 November 1990 6	Sydney Croatia	0–0	South Melbourne	Sydney
		Report		Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre Attendance: 3,579 Referee: Richard Lorenc

18 November 1990 7	Sydney Olympic	1–1	Sydney Croatia	Sydney
	Ironside 70'	Report	Kupresak 15'	Stadium: St George Stadium Attendance: 4,933 Referee: Chris Bambridge

25 November 1990 8	Sunshine George Cross	1-1	Sydney Croatia	Melbourne
	Ketsakidis 38'	Report	Popovic 20'	Stadium: Skinner Reserve Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Rob Davies

2 December 1990 9	Sydney Croatia	2-1	APIA Leichhardt	Sydney
	Krslovic 64', 86'	Report	McQuarrie 51'	Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre Attendance: 3,852 Referee: Dennis Voutsinas

9 December 1990 10	Preston Makedonia	1-0	Sydney Croatia	Melbourne
	Trajanovski 88'	Report		Stadium: B.T Connor Reserve Attendance: 2,800 Referee: Chris Bambridge

16 December 1990 11	Sydney Croatia	4-1	Wollongong City	Sydney
	Krslovic 2', 68', 74' Lamond 23'	Report	Brodnik 10'	Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre Attendance: 3,625 Referee: Richard Lorenc

23 December 1990 12	St George BSC	2–0	Sydney Croatia	Sydney
	Bingley 11' Harper 90+5'	Report		Stadium: St George Stadium Attendance: 2,498 Referee: Gary Power

30 December 1990 13	Sydney Croatia	1-1	Heidelberg United	Sydney
	Gibson 1'	Report	Rizopoulos 26'	Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre Attendance: 2,976 Referee: John McConnell

6 January 1991 14	Marconi Fairfield	2–2	Sydney Croatia	Sydney
	Grbevski (og) 45' Jones 52'	Report	Krslovic 37', 76'	Stadium: Marconi Stadium Attendance: 6,250 Referee: John Santa Isabel

13 January 1991 15	Sydney Croatia	3-4	Melbourne Croatia	Sydney
	Kupresak 6' Krslovic 20', 90+2'	Report	Awaritefe 28', 75' Kelic 37', 85'	Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre Attendance: 5,372 Referee: Peter Spiers

20 January 1991 16	Melita Eagles	1-1	Sydney Croatia	Sydney
	Brown 75'	Report	Kupresak 74'	Stadium: Melita Stadium Attendance: 4,379 Referee: Alex Spiroski

27 January 1991 17	Sydney Croatia	0-1	Adelaide City	Sydney
		Report	Csoboth 76'	Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre Attendance: 2,849 Referee: John McConnell

3 February 1991 18	Wollongong Macedonia	1-0	Sydney Croatia	Wollongong
	Markovski 88'	Report		Stadium: Brandon Park Attendance: 3,844 Referee: Rob Davies

9 February 1991 19	South Melbourne	1-2	Sydney Croatia	Melbourne
	Michalakopoulos 78'	Report	Krslovic 49' Gibson 80'	Stadium: Middle Park Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Richard Lorenc

17 February 1991 20	Sydney Croatia	1-0	Sydney Olympic	Sydney
	Koch 36'	Report		Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre Attendance: 5,349 Referee: Peter Spiers

24 February 1991 21	Sydney Croatia	0-5	Sunshine George Cross	Sydney
		Report	Hunter 10', 85', 89' Hasler 16' Mori 82'	Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre Attendance: 1,876 Referee: Mike Ingham

13 March 1991 22	APIA Leichhardt	0-1	Sydney Croatia	Sydney
		Report	Krslovic 42'	Stadium: Lambert Park Attendance: 986 Referee: Peter Spiers

10 March 1991 23	Sydney Croatia	0-0	Preston Makedonia	Sydney
		Report		Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre Attendance: 1,632 Referee: Richard Lorenc

17 March 1991 24	Wollongong City	1-2	Sydney Croatia	Wollongong
	Hollifield 41'	Report	Grbevski 47' Stanton 90'	Stadium: Brandon Park Attendance: 2,525 Referee: Dennis Voutsinas

24 March 1991 25	Heidelberg United	1-1	Sydney Croatia	Melbourne
	Herd 90'	Report	Krslovic 52'	Stadium: Olympic Park Attendance: 2,200 Referee: Tom McRoe

31 March 1991 26	Sydney Croatia	0-3	St George BSC	Sydney
		Report	Harper 12', 83' Bingley 46'	Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre Attendance: 1,896 Referee: Peter Spiers

NSL Cup

21 November 1990 First round	Marconi Fairfield	1-0	Sydney Croatia	Sydney
	Nastevski 58'	Report		Stadium: Marconi Stadium Attendance: 1,443 Referee: Peter Spiers

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Players with no appearances not included in the list.^[26]^[27]

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	National Soccer League		NSL Cup		Total
No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
—	DF		Mark Babic	5	0	0	0	5	0
—	MF		Paul Carter	26	0	1	0	27	0
—	GK		Tony Franken	26	0	0	0	26	0
—	MF		John Gibson	22	3	1	0	23	3
—	DF		Mike Grbevski	17	1	0	0	17	1
—	FW		Clayton Koch	23	1	1	0	24	1
—	GK		Zeljko Kalac	0	0	1	0	1	0
—	FW		Tony Krslovic	16	12	0	0	16	12
—	DF		Velimir Kuprešak	19	3	1	0	20	3
—	FW		Manis Lamond	19	1	1	0	20	1
—	FW		Héctor Pérez	1	0	0	0	1	0
—	MF		Ivan Petković	26	0	1	0	27	0
—	MF		Tony Popovic	17	1	1	0	18	1
—	MF		Pedro Ricoy	22	2	1	0	23	2
—	DF		Ante Rumora	6	0	0	0	6	0
—	DF		Robert Runje	21	0	1	0	22	0
—	DF		Robert Stanton	23	1	1	0	24	2
—	MF		Wally Savor	6	0	0	0	6	0
—	MF		Gordon Scott	8	2	0	0	8	2
—	MF		Marcelo Toscanelli	1	0	0	0	1	0
—	MF		Ned Zelic	26	0	1	0	27	0
Players who left during the season
—	DF		Zeljko Jurin	6	0	1	0	7	0

References

^ Nimac, Ivan; Dusevic, Sime; Lozina, Leonard; Nimac, Tony (2008). More Than a Game: 50 Years of Sydney United (First Edition 2008 ed.). Sydney, NSW, Australia: Sydney United. pp. 172–176. ISBN 978-0-646-50046-1.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Soccer, Aussie (1990). Aussie Soccer (8 ed.). Melbourne, Australia: Derwent Lane Pty Ltd. p. 39.
^ Nimac, Ivan; Dusevic, Sime; Lozina, Leonard; Nimac, Tony (2008). More Than a Game: 50 Years of Sydney United (First Edition 2008 ed.). Sydney, NSW, Australia: Sydney United. pp. 172–173. ISBN 978-0-646-50046-1.
^ Gilmour, Keith. "Late NSL Signings". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 448 ). Australian Post.
^ Soccer League, Australian (1990). The 1990/91 NSL Official Yearbook (1990-91 ed.). Fairfield, NSW: Just Our Publishing Co. p. 29.
^ Smedley, David. "Gibson heading for Syd Croatia". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 449 ). Australian Post.
^ Footballers, Aussie. "Gordon Scott". Australia's Premier Football Player Archive. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
^ Soccer League, Australian (1990). The 1990/91 NSL Official Yearbook (1990-91 ed.). Fairfield, NSW: Just Our Publishing Co. p. 29.
^ Soccer League, Australian (1990). The 1990/91 NSL Official Yearbook (1990-91 ed.). Fairfield, NSW: Just Our Publishing Co. p. 29.
^ Soccer League, Australian (1990). The 1990/91 NSL Official Yearbook (1990-91 ed.). Fairfield, NSW: Just Our Publishing Co. p. 29.
^ Economos, John. "Two Latinos for Croatia". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 451). Australian Post.
^ Economos, John. "Two Latinos for Croatia". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 451. Australian Post.
^ Crew, Stats. "1990 Colorado Foxes Statistics". Stats Crew. Retrieved 28 March 2025.
^ Nimac, Ivan; Dusevic, Sime; Lozina, Leonard; Nimac, Tony (2008). More Than a Game: 50 Years of Sydney United (First Edition 2008 ed.). Sydney, NSW, Australia: Sydney United. p. 177. ISBN 978-0-646-50046-1.
^ Scicluna, Frank. "$35,000 Krslovic inspires new club". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 457). Australian Post.
^ ^a ^b Nimac, Ivan; Dusevic, Sime; Lozina, Leonard; Nimac, Tony (2008). More Than a Game: 50 Years of Sydney United (First Edition 2008 ed.). Sydney, NSW, Australia: Sydney United. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-646-50046-1.
^ ^a ^b Gilmour, Keith. "$55,000 grab-Seal, Jones". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 446. Australian Post.
^ Nimac, Ivan; Dusevic, Sime; Lozina, Leonard; Nimac, Tony (2008). More Than a Game: 50 Years of Sydney United (First Edition 2008 ed.). Sydney, NSW, Australia: Sydney United. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-646-50046-1.
^ Soccer, Aussie (1990). Aussie Soccer (8 ed.). Melbourne, Australia: Derwent Lane Pty Ltd. p. 37.
^ Footballers, Aussie. "David Batten". Australian Premier Football Player Archive. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
^ Footballers, Aussie. "Steve Gojevic". Australia's Premier Football Player Archive. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
^ Footballers, Aussie. "John Krajnovic". Australia's Premier Football Player Archive. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
^ Soccer Weekly, Australian. "Chit Chat...Chit Chat...Chit Chat". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 454). Australian Post.
^ Footballers, Aussie. "Alan Hunter". Australian Premier Football Player Archive. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
^ Footballers, Aussie. "Zeljko Jurin". Australian Premier Football Player Archive. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
^ "The 1990/91 Season". ozfootball.net.
^ "1990/91 National League Cup Results". ozfootball.net. Retrieved 10 March 2025.

[1] Nimac, Ivan; Dusevic, Sime; Lozina, Leonard; Nimac, Tony (2008). More Than a Game: 50 Years of Sydney United (First Edition 2008 ed.). Sydney, NSW, Australia: Sydney United. pp. 172–176. ISBN 978-0-646-50046-1.

[:0-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Soccer, Aussie (1990). Aussie Soccer (8 ed.). Melbourne, Australia: Derwent Lane Pty Ltd. p. 39.

[3] Nimac, Ivan; Dusevic, Sime; Lozina, Leonard; Nimac, Tony (2008). More Than a Game: 50 Years of Sydney United (First Edition 2008 ed.). Sydney, NSW, Australia: Sydney United. pp. 172–173. ISBN 978-0-646-50046-1.

[4] Gilmour, Keith. "Late NSL Signings". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 448 ). Australian Post.

[5] Soccer League, Australian (1990). The 1990/91 NSL Official Yearbook (1990-91 ed.). Fairfield, NSW: Just Our Publishing Co. p. 29.

[6] Smedley, David. "Gibson heading for Syd Croatia". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 449 ). Australian Post.

[7] Footballers, Aussie. "Gordon Scott". Australia's Premier Football Player Archive. Retrieved 7 March 2025.

[8] Soccer League, Australian (1990). The 1990/91 NSL Official Yearbook (1990-91 ed.). Fairfield, NSW: Just Our Publishing Co. p. 29.

[9] Soccer League, Australian (1990). The 1990/91 NSL Official Yearbook (1990-91 ed.). Fairfield, NSW: Just Our Publishing Co. p. 29.

[10] Soccer League, Australian (1990). The 1990/91 NSL Official Yearbook (1990-91 ed.). Fairfield, NSW: Just Our Publishing Co. p. 29.

[11] Economos, John. "Two Latinos for Croatia". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 451). Australian Post.

[12] Economos, John. "Two Latinos for Croatia". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 451. Australian Post.

[13] Crew, Stats. "1990 Colorado Foxes Statistics". Stats Crew. Retrieved 28 March 2025.

[14] Nimac, Ivan; Dusevic, Sime; Lozina, Leonard; Nimac, Tony (2008). More Than a Game: 50 Years of Sydney United (First Edition 2008 ed.). Sydney, NSW, Australia: Sydney United. p. 177. ISBN 978-0-646-50046-1.

[15] Scicluna, Frank. "$35,000 Krslovic inspires new club". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 457). Australian Post.

[:1-16] Nimac, Ivan; Dusevic, Sime; Lozina, Leonard; Nimac, Tony (2008). More Than a Game: 50 Years of Sydney United (First Edition 2008 ed.). Sydney, NSW, Australia: Sydney United. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-646-50046-1.

[:2-17] Gilmour, Keith. "$55,000 grab-Seal, Jones". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 446. Australian Post.

[18] Nimac, Ivan; Dusevic, Sime; Lozina, Leonard; Nimac, Tony (2008). More Than a Game: 50 Years of Sydney United (First Edition 2008 ed.). Sydney, NSW, Australia: Sydney United. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-646-50046-1.

[19] Soccer, Aussie (1990). Aussie Soccer (8 ed.). Melbourne, Australia: Derwent Lane Pty Ltd. p. 37.

[20] Footballers, Aussie. "David Batten". Australian Premier Football Player Archive. Retrieved 11 March 2025.

[21] Footballers, Aussie. "Steve Gojevic". Australia's Premier Football Player Archive. Retrieved 11 March 2025.

[22] Footballers, Aussie. "John Krajnovic". Australia's Premier Football Player Archive. Retrieved 12 March 2025.

[23] Soccer Weekly, Australian. "Chit Chat...Chit Chat...Chit Chat". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 454). Australian Post.

[24] Footballers, Aussie. "Alan Hunter". Australian Premier Football Player Archive. Retrieved 11 March 2025.

[25] Footballers, Aussie. "Zeljko Jurin". Australian Premier Football Player Archive. Retrieved 11 March 2025.

[26] "The 1990/91 Season". ozfootball.net.

[27] "1990/91 National League Cup Results". ozfootball.net. Retrieved 10 March 2025.

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