# 1989-90 Sydney United 58 FC season

The 1989-90 season saw Sydney Croatia embark on its seventh campaign in the NSL. Ultimately, they finished 7th out of 14 teams.
The team commenced the season with former player Ron Corry at the helm, but his tenure was short-lived, as he was let go after Round 9 due to disappointing results. In response, Graham Arnold stepped into a player-coach role for Rounds 10-11, before Tony Vržina took the reins for the remainder of the season.
Meanwhile, Sydney Croatia's young striker, 18-year-old David Seal, made a significant impact, finishing as the league's top goal scorer in the 1989-1990 NSL season with 15 goals.

## Players

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | FW | AUS | Graham Arnold |
| — | DF | AUS | Mark Babic |
| — | MF | AUS | David Batten |
| — | GK | AUS | Tony Franken |
| — | MF | AUS | Andrew French |
| — | MF | AUS | Steve Gojevic |
| — | DF | AUS | Mike Grbevski |
| — | DF | AUS | Alan Hunter |
| — | DF | AUS | Mark Jones |
| — | DF | AUS | Zeljko Jurin |
| — | GK | AUS | Zeljko Kalac |
| — | GK | AUS | John Krajnovic |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | AUS | Velimir Kuprešak |
| — | FW | PNG | Manis Lamond |
| — | MF | AUS | Ivan Petković |
| — | MF | AUS | Tony Popovic |
| — | MF | AUS | Pedro Ricoy |
| — | DF | CRO | Ante Rumora |
| — | GK | AUS | John Russell |
| — | MF | AUS | Wally Savor |
| — | FW | AUS | David Seal |
| — | MF | AUS | Ned Zelic |
| — | DF | AUS | Ante Zizic |

### Transfers in

| Pos. | Name | Age | Moving from | Type | Transfer window | Transfer fee |
| DF | Mike Grbevski | 23 | St George BSC | Transfer | Pre-season | $25,000 |
| MF | Pedro Ricoy | 22 | APIA Leichhardt | Transfer | Pre-season | |
| FW | Steve Gojevic | 24 | Heidelberg United | Transfer | Pre-season | $12,000 |
| DF | Velimir Kuprešak | 26 | St Albans Dinamo | Transfer | Pre-season | $12,000 |
| GK | John Russell | 18 | West Wallsend | Transfer | Pre-season | |
| MF | David Batten | 25 | Wollongong City | Transfer | Mid-season | |
| DF | Zeljko Jurin | 29 | Brunswick Juventus | Transfer | Mid-season | |

### Transfers out

| Pos. | Name | Age | Moving to | Type | Transfer window | Transfer fee |
| FW | Robbie Slater | 24 | Anderlecht | Transfer | Pre-season | |
| DF | Graham Jennings | 29 | APIA Leichhardt | Transfer | Pre-season | |
| DF | Shane Clinch | 25 | APIA Leichhardt | Transfer | Pre-season | |
| MF | Craig Foster | 20 | Sunshine George Cross | End of Contract | Pre-season | |
| FW | Tony Krslovic | 20 | St George BSC | End of Contract | Pre-season | Free |
| MF | Blago Milicevic | 18 | St George BSC | End of Contract | Pre-season | Free |
| MF | David Rezo | 27 | Free Agency | End of Contract | Pre-season | Free |
| DF | Burim Zajmi | 29 | Free Agency | End of Contract | Pre-season | Free |

### Overview

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| National Soccer League | 5 November 1989 | 22 April 1990 | Matchday 1 | 7th | 26 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 40 | 39 | +1 | 038.46 |
| NSL Cup | 14 February 1990 | 14 March 1990 | Round Two | | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 050.00 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 28 | 11 | 6 | 11 | 44 | 42 | +2 | 039.29 |
Last updated: complete Source: Competitions

#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Marconi Fairfield | 26 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 51 | 24 | +27 | 38 | Qualification for the Finals series |
| 2 | South Melbourne | 26 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 42 | 23 | +19 | 36 | Qualification for the Finals series |
| 3 | Melbourne Croatia | 26 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 49 | 26 | +23 | 35 | Qualification for the Finals series |
| 4 | Adelaide City | 26 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 39 | 23 | +16 | 34 | Qualification for the Finals series |
| 5 | Sydney Olympic (C) | 26 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 40 | 25 | +15 | 31 | Qualification for the Finals series |
| 6 | APIA Leichhardt | 26 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 36 | 25 | +11 | 31 | |
| 7 | Sydney Croatia | 26 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 40 | 39 | +1 | 26 | |
| 8 | Parramatta Eagles | 26 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 26 | |
| 9 | Preston Makedonia | 26 | 9 | 5 | 12 | 33 | 35 | −2 | 23 | |
| 10 | St George-Budapest | 26 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 35 | 44 | −9 | 21 | |
| 11 | Wollongong City | 26 | 8 | 4 | 14 | 30 | 48 | −18 | 20 | |
| 12 | Sunshine George Cross | 26 | 6 | 5 | 15 | 24 | 49 | −25 | 17 | |
| 13 | West Adelaide (R) | 26 | 5 | 4 | 17 | 21 | 54 | −33 | 14 | Relegation to the South Australian Division 1 |
| 14 | Blacktown City (R) | 26 | 4 | 4 | 18 | 30 | 55 | −25 | 12 | Relegation to the NSW Division 1 |

#### Matches
### NSL Cup
## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

Players with no appearances not included in the list.
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | National Soccer League | National Soccer League | NSL Cup | NSL Cup | Total | Total |
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| — | FW | | Graham Arnold | 25 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 5 |
| — | DF | | Mark Babic | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| — | MF | | David Battan | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| — | GK | | Tony Franken | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| — | DF | | Mike Grbevski | 25 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 27 | 3 |
| — | MF | | Andrew French | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| — | MF | | Steve Gojevic | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| — | DF | | Alan Hunter | 22 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 2 |
| — | DF | | Mark Jones | 26 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 4 |
| — | DF | | Zeljko Jurin | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| — | GK | | Zeljko Kalac | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| — | GK | | John Krajnovic | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| — | DF | | Velimir Kuprešak | 18 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 1 |
| — | FW | | Manis Lamond | 23 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 3 |
| — | MF | | Eddie Pervan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| — | MF | | Ivan Petković | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 1 |
| — | MF | | Tony Popovic | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| — | MF | | Pedro Ricoy | 22 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 23 | 4 |
| — | DF | | Ante Rumora | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| — | MF | | Wally Savor | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 0 |
| — | FW | | David Seal | 26 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 15 |
| — | MF | | Ned Zelic | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
* ↑ Nimac, Ivan; Dusevic, Sime; Lozina, Leonard; Nimac, Tony (2008). More Than a Game: 50 Years of Sydney United (First Edition 2008 ed.). Sydney, NSW, Australia: Sydney United. pp. 166–168. ISBN 978-0-646-50046-1.
* ↑ Stock, Greg. "1989/90 National Soccer League Top Goalscorers". ozfootball. ozfootball. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
* ↑ Gauter, Lou. "A transition season for Sydney Croatia". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 403. Foreign Language Publications Pty. Ltd.
* ↑ Nimac, Ivan; Dusevic, Sime; Lozina, Leonard; Nimac, Tony (2008). More Than a Game: 50 Years of Sydney United (First Edition 2008 ed.). Sydney, NSW, Australia: Sydney United. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-646-50046-1.
* ↑ Gauter, Lou. "A transition season for Sydney Croatia". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 403. Foreign Language Publications Pty. Ltd.
* ↑ Nimac, Ivan; Dusevic, Sime; Lozina, Leonard; Nimac, Tony (2008). More Than a Game: 50 Years of Sydney United (First Edition 2008 ed.). Sydney, NSW, Australia: Sydney United. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-646-50046-1.
* ↑ Soccer Weekly, Australian. "Chit Chat...Chit Chat...Chit Chat...". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 399. Foreign Language Publications Pty. Ltd.
* ↑ Nimac, Ivan; Dusevic, Sime; Lozina, Leonard; Nimac, Tony (2008). More Than a Game: 50 Years of Sydney United (First Edition 2008 ed.). Sydney, NSW, Australia: Sydney United. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-646-50046-1.
* ↑ Gauter, Lou. "A transition season for Sydney Croatia". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 403. Foreign Language Publications Pty. Ltd.
* ↑ Soccer Weekly, Australian. "Chit Chat...Chit Chat...Chit Chat...". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 397. Foreign Language Publications Pty. Ltd.
* ↑ Soccer, Aussie (1990). Aussie Soccer (8 ed.). Melbourne, Australia: Derwent Lane Pty Ltd. p. 39.
* ↑ Footballers, Aussie. "David Batten". Australia's Premier Football Player Archive. Australia's Premier Football Player Archive. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
* ↑ Soccer Weekly, Australian. "Chit Chat... Chit Chat... Chit Chat...". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 420). Foreign Language Publications Pty. Ltd.
* ↑ Footballers, Aussie. "Zeljko Jurin". Australia's Premier Football Player Archive. Australia's Premier Football Player Archive. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
* ↑ Nimac, Ivan; Dusevic, Sime; Lozina, Leonard; Nimac, Tony (2008). More Than a Game: 50 Years of Sydney United (First Edition 2008 ed.). Sydney, NSW, Australia: Sydney United. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-646-50046-1.
* ↑ Gautier, Lou. "A transition season for Sydney Croatia". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 403. Foreign Language Publications Pty. Ltd.
* ↑ Nimac, Ivan; Dusevic, Sime; Lozina, Leonard; Nimac, Tony (2008). More Than a Game: 50 Years of Sydney United (First Edition 2008 ed.). Sydney, NSW, Australia: Sydney United. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-646-50046-1.
* ↑ Simmons, Ted. "Huge task for Schaefer's APIA". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 403. Foreign Language Publications Pty. Ltd.
* ↑ Nimac, Ivan; Dusevic, Sime; Lozina, Leonard; Nimac, Tony (2008). More Than a Game: 50 Years of Sydney United.|publisher=Sydney United |location=Sydney, NSW, Australia |isbn=978-0-646-50046-1 |page=166 |edition=First Edition 2008}}
* ↑ Simmons, Ted. "Huge task for Schaefer's Apia". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 403. Foreign Language Publications Pty. Ltd.
* ↑ Blake, Greg. "Another struggle for George Cross". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 403. Foreign Language Publications Pty. Ltd.
* ↑ Economos, John. "Can Saints do it again?". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 403. Foreign Language Publications Pty. Ltd.
* ↑ Footballers, Aussie. "Blago Milicevic". Australia's Premier Football Player Archive. Australia's Premier Football Player Archive. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
* ↑ Economos, John. "Can Saints do it again?". Australian Soccer Weekly. No. 403. Foreign Language Publications Pty. Ltd.
* ↑ Footballers, Aussie. "David Rezo". Australian Premier Football Player Archive. Australian Premier Football Player Archive. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
* ↑ Footballers, Aussie. "Burim Zajmi". Australian Premier Football Player Archive. Australian Premier Football Player Archive. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
* ↑ "The 1990/91 Season". ozfootball.net.
* ↑ "1990/91 National League Cup Results". ozfootball.net. Retrieved 10 March 2025.