| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Josip Skoko[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1975-12-10)10 December 1975 (age 49) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Mount Gambier, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Central midfielder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1991 | North Geelong Warriors | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1992–1993 | AIS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1995 | North Geelong Warriors | 32 | (8) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1999 | Hajduk Split | 97 | (20) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2003 | Genk | 100 | (8) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2005 | Gençlerbirliği | 58 | (4) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2008 | Wigan Athletic | 45 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006 | →Stoke City (loan) | 9 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | Hajduk Split | 52 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | Melbourne Heart | 22 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 415 | (43) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1995 | Australia U20 | 11 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000 | Australia Olympic (O.P.) | 3 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–2007 | Australia | 51 | (9) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North Geelong Warriors (youth) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Josip Skoko (born 10 December 1975) is an Australian former professionalsoccer player who played as acentral midfielder forNorth Geelong Warriors,Hajduk Split,Genk,Gençlerbirliği,Wigan Athletic,Stoke City andMelbourne Heart. Skoko has been described as a central midfielder with "superb on-ball ability, inch perfect passing, and his ability to turn defence to attack in an instant."[3] Skoko is currently the Director of Football atNorth Geelong Warriors FC.[4]
Skoko was born inMount Gambier, to a Croatian family.[5] He played for Mt Gambier Croatia until he was 9 years old when he and his family moved toGeelong. Skoko played forNorth Geelong Warriors before moving to Croatian sideHajduk Split in 1995. After four years atStadion Poljud he signed for Belgium clubGenk. At Genk he was made captain and helped the team win the title in2001–02. He joined Turkish clubGençlerbirliği in 2003 where he spent two years before moving to English football.
Skoko joinedPremier League clubWigan Athletic for €1 million at the beginning of the2005–06 season, although he initially failed to maintain a regular place in the first team. On 7 January 2006, Skoko signed forFootball League Championship sideStoke City on loan until the end of the 2005–06 season.[6] He played nine times for Stoke and scored twice againstSheffield United andCrystal Palace.[7][8]
In the 2006–07 season,Paul Jewell showed renewed faith in Skoko giving him an extended run in the side. The transfers ofJimmy Bullard andGraham Kavanagh toFulham andSunderland, respectively, in the summer of 2006 left a gap in Wigan's midfield and this led to him becoming a mainstay in the Wigan Athletic midfield, partneringPaul Scharner andDenny Landzaat. He signed a new contract deal keeping him at Wigan until 2008. However, at the end of the season it became clear that Skoko had played his last game for the club. The two main reasons were because he did not play enough games for Wigan to trigger a clause in his contract and also the impossibility of receiving a visa for his stay in England due to his international retirement with Australia.[9] It was decided in May 2008 that Skoko's contract would not be renewed and he was subsequently released by Wigan.
Due to various work permit issues when playing in Europe, it took a longer than expected time for Skoko to put pen to paper with a club of his choice. However, on 21 July, and after several weeks of speculation, Skoko had finally signed a two-year deal with former clubHajduk. The decision, he said, took only minutes for the club and himself to agree terms. Skoko is relishing the chance to return to the side he made more than 100 appearances for between 1995 and 1999, with a club he describes as "a second home".[10]
Skoko's return home to Australia to play forA-League newcomersMelbourne Heart was confirmed by the club on 19 May 2010.[11] The club signed the former Socceroo for one season as their inauguralAustralian marquee player.[12] He was also named as one of the initial members of the leadership group.[13] In his second game for Melbourne Heart, he suffered a hamstring injury, which forced him out of the side for at least one month.[14] In February 2012, Skoko came out of retirement to take part in the2012 Hawaiian Island Invitational before retiring for good.
Skoko was a member of theAustralia senior team for ten years, from 1997 to 2007. He made his debut for Australia againstMacedonia in 1997 and was a mainstay of theSocceroos side from then on, participating in twoWorld Cup qualifying campaigns. He also represented his country at theOlympics in 2000.
In November 2005, Skoko came on as a substitute in Australia'splayoff victory overUruguay to qualify for the2006 FIFA World Cup. He also captained a weakened Australian side againstBahrain in anAsian Cup qualifier in 2006.
On 25 May 2006, Skoko scored a cracking volley from 25m for Australia in a 1–0 friendly victory overGreece in front of 95,103 spectators at theMelbourne Cricket Ground, which he regards as "the most legendary moment of all time". He was selected in the squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany but did not play in any of Australia's four games.
After being named in the Australian side for a friendly match againstArgentina on 11 September 2007, Skoko stated that the game would be his home farewell from international football.[15] Skoko ended his international career 51 minutes into the match in Melbourne when he was replaced by midfielderCarl Valeri.
Josip's sonsNoa andLuka Skoko are also professional footballers.[16]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| North Geelong Warriors | 1993 | Victoria Premier League | 22 | 6 | — | — | 22 | 6 | ||
| 1994 | Victoria Premier League | 10 | 2 | — | — | 10 | 2 | |||
| Total | 32 | 8 | — | — | 32 | 8 | ||||
| Hajduk Split | 1995–96 | 1. HNL | 14 | 1 | — | — | 14 | 1 | ||
| 1996–97 | 1. HNL | 27 | 10 | — | — | 27 | 10 | |||
| 1997–98 | 1. HNL | 26 | 5 | — | — | 26 | 5 | |||
| 1998–99 | 1. HNL | 24 | 3 | — | — | 24 | 3 | |||
| 1999–2000 | 1. HNL | 6 | 1 | — | — | 6 | 1 | |||
| Total | 97 | 20 | — | — | 97 | 20 | ||||
| Genk | 1999–2000 | Belgian First Division | 9 | 1 | — | — | 9 | 1 | ||
| 2000–01 | Belgian First Division | 29 | 3 | — | — | 29 | 3 | |||
| 2001–02 | Belgian First Division | 32 | 2 | — | — | 32 | 2 | |||
| 2002–03 | Belgian First Division | 30 | 2 | — | — | 30 | 2 | |||
| Total | 100 | 8 | — | — | 100 | 8 | ||||
| Gençlerbirliği | 2003–04 | Süper Lig | 28 | 2 | — | — | 28 | 2 | ||
| 2004–05 | Süper Lig | 30 | 2 | — | — | 30 | 2 | |||
| Total | 58 | 4 | — | — | 58 | 4 | ||||
| Wigan Athletic | 2005–06 | Premier League | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 2006–07 | Premier League | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | |
| 2007–08 | Premier League | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 | |
| Total | 45 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 53 | 0 | ||
| Stoke City (loan) | 2005–06 | Championship | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
| Hajduk Split | 2008–09 | 1. HNL | 29 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | 1. HNL | 23 | 1 | — | — | 23 | 1 | |||
| Total | 52 | 1 | — | — | 52 | 1 | ||||
| Melbourne Heart | 2010–11 | A-League | 22 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 415 | 43 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 423 | 43 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 1997 | 6 | 0 |
| 1998 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1999 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 10 | 4 | |
| 2005 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 6 | 2 | |
| 2007 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 51 | 9 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 February 2000 | Üllői úti stadion,Budapest, Hungary |  Hungary | 2–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 30 May 2001 | Suwon World Cup Stadium,Suwon, South Korea |  Mexico | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup |
| 3 | 31 May 2004 | Hindmarsh Stadium,Adelaide, Australia |  Tahiti | 2–0 | 9–0 | 2004 OFC Nations Cup |
| 4 | 9 October 2004 | Lawson Tama Stadium,Honiara, Solomon Islands |  Solomon Islands | 1–0 | 5–1 | 2004 OFC Nations Cup |
| 5 | 3–0 | |||||
| 6 | 16 November 2004 | Craven Cottage,London, England |  Norway | 2–1 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 7 | 15 June 2005 | Waldstadion,Frankfurt, Germany |  Germany | 1–1 | 3–4 | 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup |
| 8 | 22 February 2006 | Bahrain National Stadium,Manama, Bahrain |  Bahrain | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
| 9 | 25 May 2006 | Melbourne Cricket Ground,Melbourne, Australia |  Greece | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
Genk
Australia
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