From the National Soccer League to the Champions League Final and the Socceroos, Frank Juric has had a long and storied career in football.
Earlier this week, Juric was appointed as Goalkeeping Coach for the Subway Socceroos, joining new Head Coach Tony Popovic's backroom staff for the next instalment of Australian football.
The 1.95-metre-tall goalkeeper enjoyed a playing career alongside some greats of the game in Europe and, since retiring, has imparted his skills to many more young players in Australia.
Juric now joins the make-up of a new Socceroos coaching staff with his former teammates Popovic, Paul Okon and Hayden Foxe.
In the beginning
For Juric, it all started in Melbourne, where his skills and physique garnered him an opportunity to play for storied NSL club Melbourne Knights.
There he won two league titles before he moved to nearby Collingwood Warriors for what was their solitary season of existence in 1996/97.
Juric would go on to set the appearance record for the club at 25 and they would win the NSL Cup that year.
A move to Germany
Despite the Warriors disbanding, Juric had caught the eye of then 2. Bundesliga club Fortuna Düsseldorf, and he joined them ahead of the 1997/98 season.
That first season was a success for Juric as he established himself in the first team squad and made seven appearances as Düsseldorf finished seventh in the league.
From there, Juric became Düsseldorf’s number one the following season and made 31 appearances in all competitions.
Unfortunately, Fortuna Düsseldorf would be relegated that season, but Juric’s impressive performances earned him a move to the German top flight.
A Champions League transfer
That move was to the then Bundesliga runners-up, Bayer Leverkusen, with Juric joining the German outfit to become their back-up keeper behind Polish international Adam Matysek.
Juric made his debut for the club in a 3-1 win over Hertha Berlin on February 26, 2000, and went on to make three more appearances that season, winning all three games.
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Over those five seasons at Leverkusen, Juric would make 11 appearances for the first team and a further 17 for Bayer Leverkusen II.
The Aussie keeper was part of the Leverkusen squad in their memorable 2001-02 Champions League campaign, when they went all the way to the final, ultimately losing out 2-1 to Real Madrid. There were stars aplenty in the final, with Zinedine Zidane and Raul, then Lucio, all on the scoresheet for Real and Leverkusen respectively. Juric featured in the matchday squad for every game, including the final.
In the 2002/03 season, Juric would go on to make two appearances in the Champions League, one against Olympiacos and the other versus Manchester United.
Leverkusen lost both of those games, but in the match against the Red Devils, Juric came up against a plethora of stars in David Beckham, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Laurent Blanc, Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs, just to name a few.
Final years
In June 2004, Juric headed north to Hannover in the Bundesliga, where he was the back-up keeper to German international Robert Enke.
Over a four-year spell there, the Australian would appear once in the league – this was as a result of persistent injuries leaving him on the sidelines for large parts of his time in Hannover.
Then, in May 2008, Juric returned home to Australia, signing for A-League club Perth Glory, where he would make four appearances in purple and orange.
Socceroos playing days
Socceroo #411, Juric was capped twice in 'A' internationals for his country throughout his career and went to some major international tournaments in that time.
His debut came in October 1995 in an OFC Nations Cup match against New Zealand which finished goalless.
A year later, he competed in the 1996 Olympics, and he was a member of the squad in the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup where the Socceroos finished in third place.
Also, in that side for the Confederations Cup were Popovic, Okon and Foxe, as Australia stunned reigning world champions France and then Brazil in the third-place playoff.
Shift to coaching
After his first season with Perth Glory, Juric retired as a player and in May 2009 he became goalkeeping coach at the same club.
From there, he became an assistant coach at Melbourne Knights, the club where it all started for him, from 2012 to 2016.
Since then, he has been a goalkeeping coach at Adelaide United, Western United, and most recently, Brisbane Roar.
Back to the current day, where Juric will join his former Socceroos teammate Tony Popovic’s coaching staff as they prepare for the remaining Round Three AFC Asian Qualifiers™.