When Ange Postecoglou decided against renewing Ante Covic’s contract at Melbourne Victory in 2012, most would have expected the then 36-year-old to fade into the Australian footballing landscape.
Two years on, the former Hurstville Zagreb number one is on the verge of Asian football supremacy.
Inaugural Western Sydney Wanderers manager Tony Popovic signed the well travelled goalkeeper with the expectation that he would be the vital third cog in the middle of the Wanderers backline, along with Michael Beauchamp and Nikolai Topor-Stanley.
Covic’s career spans back to 1996 where he debuted for APIA Leichhardt in Sydney’s west, and he has since plied his trade in Greece, Croatia and Sweden. His most profitable period was his five-season spell at Swedish outfit Hammarby where he earned a place in Guus Hiddink’s Socceroos squad.
Covic made his debut in an Asian Cup qualifier against Bahrain months before the 2006 World Cup where he was selected as Hiddink’s third choice shot stopper.
He returned to Australia after the World Cup and seven years overseas, signing for the Newcastle Jets in the 2006-07 A-League season. He spent two and a half seasons at the club where he played a key role in the side winning the 2007-08 Championship. His success at the Jets earned him a second cap in a friendly against Singapore that saw him pull on the captain’s armband in the second half.
He signed for Swedish club IF Elfsborg in 2009 and spent three seasons at the club, keeping 29 clean sheets in 76 matches. He returned back to the A-League in 2011 with Melbourne Victory where he earned two man of the match awards in his first three games. This brilliant start failed to eventuate into a successful season for the 6″4′ giant, with Victory finishing eighth in the league and only keeping four clean sheets.
His career was on the edge when Popovic came calling and no one would have anticipated the impact that Covic would have on a club that has changed the face of Australian club football. The free transfer has proved to be one of Popovic’s most impressive with Covic playing 71 of the Wanderers’ 74 competitive fixtures, including an incredible 28 clean sheets.
Covic’s role can not be understated. He has a presence in his 18-yard box that intimidates opposing players and is vociferous in the way he commands his defence. All the great defensive teams thrive on the knowledge that they have a solid goalkeeper behind them.
As the Wanderers take to the King Fahd Stadium pitch in Riyadh on Sunday morning, Covic will know that one more clean sheet will make his club the champion club in Asia. One more clean sheet in front of 70,000 screaming fans will etch the name ‘Ante Covic’ into Australian footballing folklore.
Covic has never really been seen as a serious contender for the Socceroos number one jersey but one more clean sheet will put him alongside goalkeeping legends such as Jack Reilly, Zeljko Kalac and Mark Schwarzer. All this after one more clean sheet.
Ange Postecoglou put Covic on the scrap heap at the Victory but there would certainly be some sense in bring Covic back into the Socceroos squad for the Asian Cup. Australia is blessed with goalkeepers across Europe – Matthew Ryan, Mitchell Langerak and Adam Federici – but none have the natural presence and authority of Covic who is enjoying some of the best years of his career.
The Ante Covic story is one of many at the Wanderers, a team who were seen to be comprised of misfits and lost causes when they entered the competition. Now they are on the brink of immense glory that would rival any Socceroos moment for the greatest in our nation’s footballing history.
Good luck Wanderers and good luck Ante Covic. One more clean sheet!
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