Tom Pondeljak

Pondeljak in the jersey of Melbourne Victory ( 2010)

Tomislav "Tom" Pondeljak ( born January 8, 1976 in Melbourne) is an Australian football player. The attacking midfielder has won four Australian championships during his career.

Club career

Successes in the NSL

Pondeljak visited between 1992 and 1993, the Victorian Institute of Sport before he played for St Albans in the Victorian Premier League. In 1995 he moved to the Melbourne Knights in the National Soccer League ( NSL) and won in the 1995/96 season his first championship. In 1999 he went to Sydney, where he played for two years for Sydney United and then at Sydney Olympic. With Sydney Olympic, which had been renamed for the season 2001/ 02 in Olympic Sharks, he won by a 1-0 final victory over Perth Glory his second championship title. As with the success of 1996, he was a finalist in the starting lineup.

In 2003 he left Sydney and moved to Perth Glory. Also in Perth Pondeljak belonged to the permanent staff, and reached again at the last date of discharge of the NSL Cup finals. By a 1-0 win against Parramatta Power Pondeljak won his third title in eight years.

Time in the A-League

After setting the NSL at the end of the 2003/ 04 Pondeljak left Australia for some time and played in Malaysia at Johor FA. He returned in 2005 and signed a contract with the newly established for the A-League club Central Coast Mariners. 2006 and 2008 he reached with the Mariners in each case the Cup Final, but lost both times scarce.

In February 2008 Pondeljak signed a two - year deal with Premier League rivals Melbourne Victory and thus returned to his hometown. In his first season in Melbourne, he was again in the Grand Final. Through his Weitschusstor in the 59th minute Pondeljak secured his team a 1-0 win over Adelaide. He was honored at the game as the best player of the game with the Joe Marston Medal in port. In the following season he reached with the Melbourne Cup final, but could in the defeat against rivals Sydney FC not participate because of a muscle injury.

National

Pondeljak came during the OFC Nations Cup 2002 for the first time in the Australian national team deployed, including in the 0-1 final defeat by New Zealand. It was not until nearly seven years later it was used as part of qualifying for the Asian Cup again in 2011 the national team.

Achievements

At club level:

  • Master of the A-League: 2008/ 09
  • Master of the NSL: 1995/96, 2001/ 02, 2003 /04
  • A-League Premiership: 2007/ 08, 2008/ 09
  • Vice- champion of the A-League: 2005/ 06, 2007/ 08, 2009/10
  • Vice- champion of the NSL: 2002 /03

Individual:

  • Joe Marston Medal: 2008/ 09
Melbourne Knights FC Perth Glory FC Central Coast Mariners FC Melbourne Victory FC National Premier Leagues Victoria 2005–06 A-League 2007–08 A-League 2008–09 A-League
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