1. Tony Popovic was born on 4 July 1973 and is an Australian association football manager and former player.
28 Facts About Tony Popovic
1. 2.
Tony Popovic is currently head coach of the Australia national football team.
3.
Tony Popovic appeared with the Australian national team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, where he played against reigning World Champions Brazil.
4.
Tony Popovic is the father of Kristian and Gabriel Popovic, both of whom are professional footballers.
5.
Tony Popovic was born in Sydney to a Croatian family, and grew up in Fairfield, New South Wales.
6.
Tony Popovic rose through the youth ranks, making 162 appearances in seven years for the first team, before moving to play in the J1 League.
7.
Tony Popovic signed with Sanfrecce Hiroshima where he stayed for five years scoring 13 goals in 94 appearances.
8.
Tony Popovic signed for Crystal Palace on a free transfer in August 2001 from Sanfrecce Hiroshima.
9.
Tony Popovic became an integral part of the Palace defence, eventually becoming club captain.
10.
Tony Popovic played more than 120 matches for Crystal Palace.
11.
In 2007, with the growth of the A-League and slight homesickness, Tony Popovic moved to Sydney FC, signing a two-year deal, with coach Branko Culina announcing him the club's captain.
12.
Tony Popovic announced his retirement on 11 November 2008 after nearly 20 years as a professional footballer.
13.
Tony Popovic competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona for the Australia U23 team.
14.
Tony Popovic began his full international career in 1995 with the Australia national team.
15.
The highlight of Tony Popovic's career came in 2006 when the Australian national team qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup under the management of Guus Hiddink.
16.
Tony Popovic took part in both legs in the qualifying match against Uruguay.
17.
Tony Popovic suffered a calf injury 40 minutes into the game and was replaced by Mark Bresciano for the second half.
18.
Tony Popovic's injury ruled him out of Australia's last match in the group stage, against Croatia, and their second round loss against eventual winners, Italy.
19.
On 4 October 2006, Tony Popovic announced his retirement from the Socceroos.
20.
Tony Popovic's final game was a friendly against Paraguay that month.
21.
On 17 May 2012, Tony Popovic was announced as inaugural manager of A-League club Western Sydney Wanderers.
22.
Tony Popovic joined the club on a four seasons deal after requesting to be released from the final year of his contracted role as assistant manager of Crystal Palace.
23.
In Wanderers' first season, Tony Popovic was named A-League Coach of the Year after finishing first in the league.
24.
On 1 October 2017, Tony Popovic made a shock announcement that he had resigned from Western Sydney Wanderers to coach Turkish Super Lig club Karabukspor.
25.
Tony Popovic lasted five months, being sacked with the club in 5th place and four points from the top.
26.
Goalkeeping coach Zeljko Kalac stated later that Tony Popovic was sabotaged and fired due to the owners wanting more control over decisions.
27.
Tony Popovic had early success, bringing the club back to the top of the A-League table after eight games and winning the 2021 FFA Cup on 5 February 2022.
28.
Tony Popovic was named as the head coach of the Australian national team on 23 September 2024.