Adrian Segecic

Adrian Segecic (born 1 June 2004), is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Dutch Eerste Divisie club Dordrecht on loan from Sydney FC. [1] Segecic spent most of his youth years with Lidcombe Waratah and Parramatta FC before joining Sydney FC in October 2016. He has represented Australia at youth level since 2019.

Adrian Segecic
Personal information
Date of birth (2004-06-01) 1 June 2004
Place of birth Westmead, Australia
Height 1.69 m (5 ft 6+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Dordrecht
(on loan from Sydney FC)
Number 16
Youth career
Lidcombe Waratah Junior SC
2016 Parramatta FC
2017– Sydney FC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020–2023 Sydney FC NPL 30 (15)
2021– Sydney FC 22 (1)
2023– → Dordrecht (loan) 1 (1)
International career‡
2019 Australia U17 5 (1)
2022– Australia U20 7 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2 September 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 4 March 2023

Early life

Born in Westmead and raised in Lidcombe, Adrian Segecic developed a passion for football from a young age, idolising Argentine footballer Lionel Messi who he bases his playing style from.[2] Segecic received his education at Trinity Catholic College, a prominent educational institution located in New South Wales (NSW). His father played a significant role when Adrian played football, watching every game he played and providing help and feedback after each game to aid his development.[2] Segecic is of Croatian descent, through his grandparents who originated from the country.[3]

He trialed for multiple clubs in Europe with the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City, Leeds, Chelsea, Wolves, Ajax, Dinamo Zagreb and Rangers.[4] During his trial with Rangers, a leaked photo showed him walking onto the pitch at Ibrox Stadium while being announced on the big screen.[5] Many fans speculated that he was a new signing, even though the club did not make an official announcement.[6][7][8]

Club career

Sydney FC

After winning the MVP award at a football camp, Segecic made a strong impression on Sydney FC, who subsequently invited him to join the academy squad.[2] In October 2016, he accepted and was officially announced as part of the squad list on 29 January 2016.[9][10] In January 2020, He featured briefly for Sydney FC Youth in the final round of the A-League Youth against Canberra United.[11] He was called up again in August after turning 16 a month before, making his NPL NSW debut against North Shore Mariners.[10][12]

Segecic earned his first call-up to the A-League squad in the Finals series semi final against Adelaide United.[13][14] He was on the bench in the Grand Final against Melbourne City.[15] By the end of the 2020–21 campaign, Segecic won the club's Rising Star Award.[16] On 26 December 2021, Segecic made his professional league debut against Macarthur FC, coming off the bench in the 76th minute in a 3–0 away win.[17][18] He made his AFC Champions League debut in a play-off match against Kaya.[19][20] On 7 April 2022, Sydney FC announced Segecic among the ten youth players registered for the AFC Champions League ahead of the group stage.[21][22] After featuring in a number of games at the age of 17, on 9 May 2022, he was offered his first professional contract that was set to expire in 2025.[23]

Segecic made his first start for Sydney FC in a match against Central Coast Mariners in the Round of 32 of the Australia Cup.[24] In this match, he contributed an assist to Adam Le Fondre for the team's third goal, helping them secure a 3–3 draw and a win in the penalty shoot-out.[25] His performance from last match earnt him a starting place in the next round against Bentleigh Greens, scoring his first senior goal for the club in a 2–1 win by full time.[26][27] He would score again against Oakleigh Cannons, but only a consolation goal as his side lost in a 2–1 upset and getting knocked out of the competition.[28][29][30] Segecic made his Big Blue debut in the opening round of the 2022–23 A-League season playing in front of 21,840 fans as his side lost 3–2 at home.[31][32] On 29 October, Segecic scored his first league goal, being on the receiving end of a cross by Jaiden Kucharski to make it 3–1 against Macarthur.[33] The final score was 3–2 at Campbeltown.[34][35] After an impressive display against Newcastle Jets, Segecic assisted a goal to contribute a 2–0 victory and received Player of the match.[36][37]

Loan to Dordrecht

On 30 August 2023, Segecic joined Dutch club Dordrecht on loan with an option to buy.[38]

International career

Youth

In July 2019, Segecic received his first call-up to the Australia U15 for the 2019 AFF U-15 Championship hosted in Thailand.[39] He would feature in all group matches, scoring a goal in a 3–0 win against Laos.[40]

In September 2022, Segecic was called up to the Australia U20 for the U-20 Costa Cálida Supercup in Spain.[41] He would make his debut in a 3–0 loss against England.[42] Segecic would remain with Australia squad, alongside teammate Jake Girdwood-Reich, to play in the 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup in hopes of qualifying to the U-20 World Cup.[43][44] On 4 March 2023, he scored two goals, one being a free-kick, in a 3–2 victory against Iran in their second match of the tournament.[45] Australia progressed to the quarter-finals of the AFC Championship but were knocked out by Uzbekistan in a penalty shoot-out.[46] After the shoout-out led 5–4, Segecic missed the deciding penalty, leading to his team missing out on a place in the U-20 World Cup.[47]

Career statistics
As of 14 May 2023[1]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Sydney FC 2021–22[48] A-League 4[lower-alpha 1]0———40
2022–23[49] A-League 17[lower-alpha 2]1322[lower-alpha 3]01[lower-alpha 4]0233
Career total 211322010273
  1. 4 appearances in A-League Men
  2. 16 appearances in A-League Men and 1 appearance in A-League Men Finals
  3. 2 appearances in AFC Champions League
  4. Appearance in Sydney Super Cup

References
  1. Adrian Segecic at Soccerway
  2. Frostick, Nancy (21 December 2022). "Adrian Segecic, My Football Journey: 'I love watching Messi ... a lot of people think I play like him'". The Athletic. Archived from the original on 22 December 2022.
  3. Lulham, Amanda (9 December 2019). "Sydney FC young gun Adrian Segecic a world traveller as he hones his football skills". The Daily Telegraph. Parramatta Advertiser. Archived from the original on 27 December 2022.
  4. "Adrian Segecic is the silver lining on Sydney's dismal season". The Roar. 16 May 2022.
  5. Radcliffe, Jon (17 September 2020). "Glasgow Rangers: Gers prepare to unveil Adrian Segecic". FootballFanCast.
  6. Young, Graeme (16 September 2020). "Adrian Segecic 'announced' by Rangers as Australian star gets Ibrox big sell". Daily Record.
  7. "Rangers signing leaked? Photos emerge on social media of Australian wonderkid at Ibrox". Glasgow Times. 17 September 2020.
  8. "Photo: Rangers appear to have signed former Ajax trialist Adrian Segecic". HITC. 16 September 2020.
  9. "U13". Sydney FC. KEEPUP. 29 January 2016.
  10. "Our Academy Success Stories". Sydney FC. KEEPUP. 19 October 2020.
  11. "Young Sky Blues Finish Season In Emphatic Style". Sydney FC. KEEPUP. 26 January 2020.
  12. "Adrian Segecic - 2021 Player Statistics". GameDay.
  13. "Ins & Outs: A-League Semi-Final". Sydney FC. KEEPUP. 18 June 2021.
  14. Petrov, Petar (16 September 2021). "Who will be your club's breakout star of the 2021/22 A-League season?". The Inner Sanctum.
  15. "Melbourne City FC vs Sydney FC | Melbourne City". Melbourne City FC. 27 June 2021.
  16. "Players Of The Year 20-21 Awards Revealed". Sydney FC. KEEPUP. 12 August 2021.
  17. "Macarthur FC vs Sydney FC. Round 6, 2021-22". Ultimate A-League. 26 December 2021.
  18. "Segecic - We're Setting High Standards". Sydney FC. 21 April 2022.
  19. "Sydney FC cruise into the AFC Champions League Group Stage". Sydney FC. 8 March 2022.
  20. "Match report: Sydney FC vs Kaya FC–Iloilo - 09/03/22". Sydney FC Unofficial (SFCU). 8 March 2022.
  21. "Sydney FC Include Ten Youth Players To ACL Squad". Sydney FC. 7 April 2022.
  22. "Sydney FC announce Champions League Squad". MA Financial Group. 7 April 2022.
  23. "Young Gun Segecic Tied To Long Term Contract". Sydney FC. 9 May 2022.
  24. "Sydney FC v Central Coast Mariners". Australia Cup. 29 June 2022.
  25. Shilovsky, David (3 August 2022). "What is par for Sydney FC in 2022-23?". The Roar.
  26. "Bentleigh Greens v Sydney FC". Australia Cup. 4 August 2022.
  27. "Adrian Segecic: It was massive to score my first for the club | Bentleigh Greens v Sydney FC | Australia Cup | MyFootball". MyFootball. 10 August 2022.
  28. "Oakleigh Cannons v Sydney FC". Australia Cup. 18 August 2022.
  29. Lynch, Joey (31 August 2022). "Melbourne minnow Oakleigh Cannons stun Sydney FC in Australia Cup". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  30. "History-making Oakleigh Cannons outgun Sydney FC on way to Australia Cup semi-finals". NEOS KOSMOS. 1 September 2022.
  31. "Sydney vs Melbourne Victory". KEEPUP. 8 October 2022.
  32. "Flicker of former glory as A-League Men's returns". Code Sports. 10 October 2022. Archived from the original on 14 May 2023.
  33. "'A goal made in the Sydney academy': Why this picture should have Sky Blues fans excited". KEEPUP. 30 October 2022.
  34. "Macarthur vs Sydney". KEEPUP. 29 October 2022.
  35. Gibson, Timothy (30 October 2022). "Sydney serve Macarthur their first defeat of the season". The Football Sack.
  36. "Sydney vs Newcastle Jets". KEEPUP. 29 April 2023.
  37. "Segecic delighted after Player of the Match performance". KEEPUP. 29 April 2023.
  38. "FC Dordrecht versterkt zich met Adrian Segecic" [FC Dordrecht strengthens itself with Adrian Segecic] (in Dutch). Dordrecht. 30 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  39. "Sydney FC Dominate Another National Team Squad". Sydney FC. KEEPUP. 16 July 2019.
  40. "Joeys make it two from two with 3-0 win over Laos | Socceroos". Socceroos. 30 July 2019.
  41. "Can unfavoured Young Socceroos cause an upset in the Costa Calida Supercup?". The Roar. 14 September 2022.
  42. "England U20 - Australia U20 : Lineups". Bulinews. 28 September 2022.
  43. "Segecic eyes FIFA World Cup spot with Young Socceroos | Socceroos". Socceroos. 24 February 2023.
  44. "Two Sky Blues selected in Socceroos U20's Asian Cup Squad". Sydney FC. 8 February 2023.
  45. "WATCH: Segecic scores stunning double as Subway Young Socceroos overcome Iran | Socceroos". Socceroos. 4 March 2023.
  46. "Young Socceroos one win away from World Cup after record breaking thrashing". KEEPUP. 7 March 2023.
  47. "Penalty drama spells heartbreak for Young Socceroos at U20 Asian Cup". KEEPUP. 11 March 2023.
  48. "Adrian Segecic (Midfielder, Sydney FC): 2021-22". Ultimate A-League.
  49. "Adrian Segecic (Midfielder, Sydney FC): 2022-23". Ultimate A-League.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.