Mirko Jurij (born 4 November 1973) is an Australian retired footballer who played as a defender or midfielder.

Mirko Jurilj
Personal information
Date of birth (1973-11-04) 4 November 1973 (age 51)
Place of birth Australia
Position(s) Defender, midfielder
Youth career
Hurstville Boys
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1993 Sydney Croatia
1993 Wollongong United
1995–1996 Johor FA
Sydney United
1998 Johor FA[1]
1999 Sembawang Rangers
1999–2000 Sydney United
2000 Sembawang Rangers
2001 Hurstville ZSC
2001–2002 Parramatta Eagles
2002 Fraser Park FC
2002–2003 Pietà Hotspurs
2003 Sutherland Sharks
2003 Wollongong City
St George FC
Hurstville ZSC
St George FC
2006–2007 Blacktown City FC
2008–2009 Sydney Olympic FC[2]
2010 Blacktown City FC
2011 Rockdale City Suns FC
2014 St George FC 14 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

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Singapore

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Convicted of attempting to fix a match while with Sembawang Rangers in autumn 2000,[3] Jurilj failed to make the 22000 Singaporean dollars as his three bets did not come true and was sentenced to five months' jail by December[4] where he shared a cell with six others, had to serve laundry duty, and became increasingly ill at one point.[5] Despite claiming to not tried to have fixed a match,[5] the Australian was never vindicated and was banned for life from Asian football[6] but not worldwide,[7] with FIFA saying that the ban was enough punishment.[6] However, the Australian was banned worldwide in late June 2001 for seven months,[8] which ended prematurely, ending during mid-August the same year.[9]

Malaysia

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A member of Johor in 1995 and 1996, the defender-cum-midfielder was set to be bought by the Southern Tigers for the 2004 Malaysia Premier League,[10] but they reversed on the offer at the beginning of 2004.[11]

Malta

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Transferring to Pieta Hotspurs of the Maltese Premier League in summer 2002, Jurilj was named man of the match twice in his first three outings, solidifying his place in defense for the first team and drawing comparisons with Romanian import Lucian Dronca.[12] Settling well into the country, he stated that "The overall technical ability of the players is quite good but what the teams here (in Malta) lack is physical preparation."[12] Suspended for once for making insulting remarks to the referee,[13] he split ways with Hotspurs at the start of 2003.[14]

References

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