Mile Sterjovski

Mile Sterjovski (/ˈmɪlə stɜːrˈdʒɒvski, ˈmɪleɪ -/ MIL-ə stur-JOV-skee, MIL-ay-; born 27 May 1979) is a retired Australian football (soccer) player. Sterjovski played mainly as a right winger or as a second striker, but also played as a left winger and central midfielder.

Mile Sterjovski
Sterjovski training for the Australian national team
Personal information
Full name Mile Sterjovski
Date of birth (1979-05-27) 27 May 1979
Place of birth Wollongong, Australia
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Right Winger / Second Striker
Youth career
1985–1988 Wollongong Olympic Junior Soccer Club
1988–1993 Lake Heights JFC
1993–1995 Wollongong Wolves
1996–1998 AIS
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–1996 Wollongong Wolves 2 (0)
1997 Wollongong United 3 (3)
1997–1999 Sydney United 37 (20)
1999–2000 Parramatta Power 31 (11)
2000–2004 Lille 91 (15)
2004–2007 FC Basel 73 (31)
2007–2008 Hacettepe 24 (8)
2008–2009 Derby County 27 (2)
2009–2012 Perth Glory 63 (15)
2012 Dalian Aerbin 14 (0)
2012–2014 Central Coast Mariners 50 (4)
Total 415 (109)
National team‡
1998–1999 Australia U-20 7 (3)
1998–2000 Australia U-23 7 (0)
2000–2010 Australia 43 (8)
Teams managed
2020– Macarthur (Assistant)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16 March 2014
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20 January 2010

Sterjovski played youth football with Wollongong Wolves and the AIS before making his senior debut for Wolves in the National Soccer League. After also playing for Wollongong United, Sydney United and Parramatta Power, Sterjovski moved overseas to play for French club Lille OSC. He also spent time in Switzerland (with Basel) and Turkey (with Hacettepe) before joining Derby in the English Premier League. He eventually returned to Australia to play in the A-League for Perth Glory and Central Coast Mariners, separated by a period playing for Dalian Aerbin in the Chinese Super League. He then returned to the A-league to win the championship with the Central Coast Mariners.

He played for the Australian national team from 2000 to 2010, making 43 appearances and scoring 8 goals, including 3 games at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and an international hat-trick against Tahiti.[1]

Club career

Junior Club

Sterjovski began playing as a junior with the Wollongong Olympic Junior Soccer Club Lake Height Junior Football Club.

Early career

Sterjovski began his career in Australia at Wollongong Wolves and briefly played for Illawarra Lions before making a name for himself with successful spells at Sydney United and Parramatta Power.

Lille OSC

Sterjovski's performances and record of 31 goals in 68 games in three National Soccer League (NSL) seasons earned him a move to French Ligue 1 side Lille in 2000. After 4 seasons at Lille, Sterjovski moved to Swiss side FC Basel.

FC Basel

Sterjovski remained at FC Basel for three seasons. In his first season at St. Jakob-Park, he won the Swiss Super League and in his second season was part of the team that reached the UEFA Cup Quarter-finals. Sterjovski moved to Turkey in the summer of 2007.

Gençlerbirliği

On 2 September 2007, Sterjovski scored on his debut after coming off the bench for his new club Gençlerbirliği OFTAŞ (now called Hacettepe Spor Kulübü) in their match against Fenerbahçe.

Derby County

On 9 January 2008, Sterjovski announced his plan to leave Turkey for personal reasons relating to his family. He announced that he was in negotiations with Premier League side Derby County and joined them after work permit problems on 24 January 2008.[2] He made his debut as a substitute against Tottenham in a 3–0 defeat, and was a regular in the side towards the end of the season, usually playing out on the right wing.[3]

In the 2008–09 season, Sterjovski was largely frozen out of the Derby squad by manager Paul Jewell, his first appearance of the season coming on 21 October 2008 against Blackpool, in which he scored his first goal for Derby.[4] However, following Jewell's departure, he produced an impressive performance against Manchester United in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final under caretaker manager David Lowe. New Derby manager Nigel Clough was watching in the stands. Following the match, Sterjovski said: "Now I am glad there is a new manager. It’s a new start for me and, hopefully, I will get more chances."[5] Sterjovski went on to make 14 further appearances before the end of the season, scoring once and playing well in the middle of the injury-hit Derby midfield.

Return to Australia: Perth Glory

After initial speculation linking Sterjovski with a move to Gold Coast United,[6] he moved to Perth Glory on 11 June 2009 for an undisclosed fee on a three-year contract as their marquee player.[7]

Central Coast Mariners

On 6 July 2012 it was announced he had signed one-year deal to play for Central Coast Mariners.[8] On 5 February 2014, Sterjovski announced that he will retire at the end of the season.[9]

International career
Sterjovski with Australia in 2007

Sterjovski made his Australian national team debut against Scotland in 2000. Sterjovski was selected to represent Australia at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. In the build-up, he made an appearance in the Australia vs. Greece friendly at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and also played against Liechtenstein, scoring the first goal for the Socceroos in a 3–1 win. In the finals he started in the games against Brazil and against Croatia.

Sterjovski was selected for the first group match in Australia's 2007 Asian Cup campaign, starting against Oman and substituted in the 46th minute, which Australia drew 1–1. Due to illness Sterjovski did not feature further in Australia's failed campaign in its first Asian Cup. Sterjovski scored against Ghana during a friendly match at the Sydney Football Stadium, but was sent off in the 85th minute after receiving a second yellow card for a tackle on Ghana's Richard Manu. He scored again on 20 August in a friendly against South Africa in which the Socceroos drew 2–2. On 10 June 2009, Sterjovski notched his 9th goal for Australia in a 2–0 win over Bahrain at the ANZ Stadium in Sydney, in his 41st appearance for his national side.

Personal life

Sterjovski and his wife Sharon have two sons and a daughter - Luka, Sonny and Lilly.

A-League career statistics
As of 16 March 2014
Club Season League Finals Asia Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Perth Glory 2009–10 22610--236
2010–11 235----235
2011–12 17400--174
Total 621510006315
Central Coast Mariners 2012–13 1912050261
2013–14 233--12245
Total 4242012456
A-League total 104193062 11321

Chinese League career statistics

(Correct as of 24 June 2012)

Season Club League League CFA Cup CSL Cup Asia Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
2012 Dalian Aerbin Chinese Super League 14000----140
Total 14000000014 0

National team statistics

International appearances

[10]

Australia national team
YearAppsGoals
200010
200120
200200
200320
2004103
200540
200691
200751
200862
200921
201020
Total438

International goals
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
131 May 2004Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide, Australia Tahiti5-09-02004 OFC Nations Cup
26-0
37-0
47 June 2006Donaustadion, Ulm, Germany Liechtenstein1-13-1Friendly
52 June 2007Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia Uruguay1-01-2Friendly
623 May 2008Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, Australia Ghana1-01-0Friendly
719 August 2008Loftus Road, London, England South Africa1-12-2Friendly
810 June 2009Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia Bahrain1-02-02010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

Honours

Sydney United
  • NSL Minor Premiership:
    • Winner (1): 1999

FC Basel

Derby County

Perth Glory
  • Club Golden Boot Award: 2010

Central Coast Mariners

International

References
  1. "Player Profile". fifa.com. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  2. "Derby complete Sterjovski signing". BBC Sport. 24 January 2008. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
  3. "Sterjovski delighted to be a Ram". BBC Sport. 5 February 2008. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
  4. "Blackpool 3–2 Derby". BBC. 21 October 2008. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
  5. "Mile relishing fresh chance with the Rams". Derby Evening Telegraph. Archived from the original on 4 March 2009.
  6. "Derby County: Aussie clubs could move to take Mile back home". This is Derbyshire.
  7. "Sterjovski seals Perth Glory move". BBC Sport. 11 June 2009. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
  8. "Sterjovski signs with Mariners". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  9. "Mile Sterjovski to retire". Football Federation Australia. 5 February 2014. Archived from the original on 25 March 2014.
  10. "Mile Sterjovski". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman.
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