David Zdrilic
David Allen Zdrilic (Croatian: Zdrilić; born 13 April 1974) is an Australian association football coach and former player, who is currently the assistant manager of A-League Men club Sydney FC. Zdrilic is also a football presenter on the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), Most recently he was a key figure in SBS's coverage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
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Zdrilic in 2011 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | David Allen Zdrilic | ||
| Date of birth | 13 April 1974 | ||
| Place of birth | Sydney, Australia | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Sydney FC (assistant) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Greenwich | |||
| King Tomislav Sydney | |||
| Patrician Brothers' College | |||
| Sutherland Sharks | |||
| St George Saints | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1993 | St George Saints | 20 | (8) |
| 1993–1997 | Sydney United | 114 | (39) |
| 1997–1998 | FC Aarau | 25 | (2) |
| 1998–2000 | SSV Ulm | 55 | (18) |
| 2000–2002 | SpVgg Unterhaching | 23 | (1) |
| 2002–2003 | Walsall | 24 | (5) |
| 2003–2004 | Aberdeen | 31 | (8) |
| 2004 | Eintracht Trier | 11 | (0) |
| 2005–2008 | Sydney FC | 59 | (5) |
| 2009–2010 | Sydney United | 33 | (9) |
| Total | 395 | (95) | |
| International career | |||
| 1997–2005 | Australia | 30 | (20) |
| 2013 | Australia (beach soccer) | 11 | (21) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2009–2010 | Maccabi Hakoah | ||
| 2010–2011 | Sydney United | ||
| 2015–2016 | Sydney FC 1st Grade (assistant) | ||
| 2016–2017 | Sydney FC U20 | ||
| 2017–2018 | RB Leipzig U17 (assistant) | ||
| 2018–2020 | RB Leipzig U19 (assistant) | ||
| 2020–2021 | Chicago Fire (assistant) | ||
| 2021 | K.V. Oostende (assistant) | ||
| 2022–2023 | Genoa (assistant) | ||
| 2023 | Sydney FC (interim) | ||
| 2023- | Sydney FC (assistant) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Zdrilic played on 30 occasions for the Australia national soccer team, having once scored eight goals in a single match – the second highest recorded for any Australian player, behind Socceroos teammate Archie Thompson, who scored 13 goals in the same game. He was also a member of the Australia national beach soccer team, the Beach Socceroos, having captained the side. He previously played for Sydney FC in the A-League after forging a professional career in Switzerland, Germany, England and Scotland.
As a football presenter on the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), Zdrilic hosted the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil which won a Logie Award for Most Outstanding Sport Coverage as well as SBS's Friday Night A-League coverage. He has hosted games from the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, various international cup competitions and the football entertainment show Thursday FC on SBS2.
Over the last few years, Zdrilic served in a variety of coaching roles in Germany, Belgium and Italy and the MLS. In early 2022 he became assistant at Serie A club Genoa - the first Australian to coach in Serie A - after turning down the offer of coaching Australia at the 2024 Olympic Games.