- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Adelaide United coach and former Socceroo Aurelio Vidmar has bounced back from his side’s Asian Champions League disappointment to win Australian soccer’s highest accolade today.
Vidmar was inducted into the sport’s Hall of Fame as part of its Hall Of Champions at a function in Melbourne.
He played 53 times for the Socceroos, scoring 18 goals, and was a part of three World Cup campaigns.
Vidmar also played successfully overseas for nearly a decade, including stints with Dutch giant Feyenoord and in Belgium, Switzerland and Japan.
He is also the first coach to guide an Australian club to the Asian Champions League final, although his Adelaide United side lost 5-0 on aggregate to Japanese side Gamba Osaka in the two-legged final decided this week.
As former Socceroos including Mark Bosnich, Paul Okon and Eddie Krncevic watched on, the 41-year-old said he was honoured and eternally grateful for his accolade.
“There is a common theme in here today of everyone trying to do their best and make the game go forward – everyone’s doing something that they love,” Vidmar said.
“It’s been a pretty hectic year actually, because I was inducted into the South Australian Hall of Fame, then the Asian Champions League and now this – 2008’s been pretty good.”
Vidmar’s coaching feats with Adelaide have also earned him a nomination for the Asian Football Confederation’s coach of the year award to be announced later this month.
Vidmar becomes the 21st Australian player to be inducted into the Hall of Champions, alongside greats such as the late Johnny Warren, Joe Marston and Frank Farina.
Also honoured in this year’s Hall of Fame awards was former Matildas captain Julie Murray, who received the Medal of Excellence for her services to women’s football.
Other players recognised in the 2008 Hall of Fame induction were ex-Socceroos Cliff Almond and George Keith and former Matilda Tracey Wheeler.
Non-playing inductees were former referee John De Witt, journalist Peter Desira, administrators John Thomson, George Dick and Don Di Fabrizio and former national coaching director Mike Wells.
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.