Stadion Baru Belum Selesai, Sudah Ambruk

REUTERS/Nacho Doce

Piala Dunia 2014- Persiapan Brasil menuju Piala Dunia 2014 kembali dapat gangguan dengan ambruknya atap salah satu stadion. Diharapkan tak akan ada lagi hal demikian ke depannya yang bisa mengancam perhelatan tersebut.

Hal itu disampaikan oleh kapten Brasil saat menjuarai Piala Dunia 2002, Cafu, pasca insiden jatuhnya crane dan menimpa salah satu sisi Itaquerao Stadium yang terletak di dalam Corinthians Arena, Sao Paulo, tempat yang bakal jadi venue pembukaan pesta sepakbola dunia musim panas mendatang.

Stadion yang belum juga rampung dikerjakan itu memakan korban tiga orang tewas akibat tertimpa atap stadion. Insiden ini pula yang membuat Brasil kembali diragukan bakal bisa menghelat Piala Dunia dengan baik dan nyaman untuk seluruh kontingen maupun suporter.

Sebab ada saja halangan yang terjadi selama persiapan dalam beberapa tahun terakhir. Sebelum ambruknya stadion, ada aksi mogok dari para pekerja yang merasa tak puas dengan bayaran yang diberikan.

Belum lagi persoalan transportasi dan keamanan yang masih jadi PR besar bagi pemerintah Brasil.

"Saya pikir bahwa kecelakaan seperti itu bisa terjadi di manapun. Jika Anda membangun rumah, maka sesuatu yang tragis bisa saja terjadi," ujar Cafu seperti dikutip Soccerway.

"Apakah Anda bisa bayangkan konstruksi dari bangunan sebesar itu? Arena Corinthians merupakan bangunan konstruksi luar biasa, jadi saya pikir wajar terjadi demikian. Saya pikir ini tidak harus sampai menganggu persiapan kami untuk Piala Dunia," sambungnya,

"Jelas kami berduka mengenai para pekerja dan keluarga yang kehilangan. Orang-orang inilah yang membantu membangun Arena Corinthians agar selesai tepat waktu. Jadi kami turut berduka cita untuk keluarga mereka."

Lain halnya dengan bek senior Brasil, Lucio, yang khawatir bakal ada keraguan dari duniar luar akan kemampuan negaranya menghelat Piala Dunia. Ia pun mencontohkan Jerman yang di 2006 mampu menggelarnya turnamen itu dengan sangat baik, meski diakuinya secara luas negara Jerman lebih kecil dibanding Brasil.

"Jelas bakal ada yang ketakutan dan khawatir soal kemampuan kami menggelar event ini usai apa yang terjadi. Saya pikir kami mampu menggelarnya tapi seberapa bagus nantinya event ini? Itu pertanyaan lain," ungkap Lucio.

"Kami tanyakan apakah suporter akan punya transportasi publik bagus, lingkungan nyaman, dan tidak ada satupun yang bisa menjawabnya."

"Kami harap bisa melakukannya, tapi jelas tak diragukan lagi bahwa di level yang sama seperti sekarang, Jerman selangkah di depan kami," demikian Lucio.

Tim-Tim Italia Butuh Keajaiban Untuk Lolos Ke 16 UCL

Liga Champions -- Defender Juventus Giorgio Chiellini menilai pihaknya harus berjuang ekstra di Liga Champions musim ini menyusul undian yang menempatkan mereka pada grup yang sulit.

Belum lagi, menurut Chiellini, klub-klub Italia dituntut untuk berjuang lebih dari biasanya di UCL musim ini karena alasan ranking koefisien UEFA Serie A Italia.

"Kami mestinya memilki undian yang bisa lebih baik, sama halnya Milan, kami juga berusaha berjuang keras untuk diri kami sendiri dengan hasil-hasil mengecewakan di babak grup," ujar Chiellini.

"Napoli menjadi unggulan keempat, dan justru dipasangkan dengan dua tim tangguh seperti Arsenal dan Borussia Dortmund, sekarang kami perlu keajaiban untuk lolos," tandasnya.

Ronaldo Cedera, Masih Aada Bale

REUTERS/Susana Vera

Liga Spanyol - Pelatih Real Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti, tahu bahwa absennya Cristiano Ronaldo akan berdampak baik untuk timnya terkait motivasi untuk pemain lainnya. Boleh jadi Gareth Bale lah yang paling termotivasi dengan absennya CR7.

Ronaldo absen saat Madrid menghadapi Galatasaray di matchday V Liga Champions dinihari WIB tadi karena bermasalah dengan hamstring kirinya, pasca laga kontra Almeria akhir pekan lalu.

Belum diketahui berapa lama Ronaldo harus absen dan kabarnya pemain Portugal itu diragukan bakal main di laga kontra Real Valladolid akhir pekan ini. Bisa saja Ronaldo lebih lama menepi dari lapangan hijau.

Namun, Madrid tak usah khawatir tak diperkuat Ronaldo meski ia adalah topskorer klub ini dengan 25 gol dari 18 penampilan. Sebab mereka punya banyak pemain top dan bukti bahwa di dua laga terakhir, Los Blancos membuat sembilan gol.

Salah satu pemain yang mendapat perhatian lebih ketika Ronaldo absen tentunya Bale, yang musim ini jadi pemain termahal dunia. Mau tak mau Bale kurang mendapat "porsi" di media ketika Ronaldo bermain.

Tapi Bale sudah membuktikan bahwa Madrid bisa survive tanpa Ronaldo dan dirinya siap diandalkan untuk jadi pendulang gol. Dalam dua laga terakhir, Bale bikin dua gol.

Setelah masa-masa sulit di awal kariernya bersama Madrid, pemain asal Wales itu kini punya empat gol dari lima laga terakhirnya di seluruh kompetisi.

"Dia lebih berbahaya dan lebih nyaman bermain di kanan karena ketika dia menusuk ke dalam, dia punya kesempatan untuk menembak. Di babak kedua dia bermain lebih ke tengah dan dia tampil sangat baik," puji Ancelotti soal Bale di situs resmi tim.

Maka wajar ketika komentator salah satu televisi Eropa berkomentar demikian "Siapa Butuh Cristiano Ronaldo?", usai Bale merayakan gol tendangan bebasnya dari jarak 30 yard ke gawang Galatasaray dinihari WIB tadi.

Andre Villas-Boas Bakal Dipecat ?

Stu Forster/Getty Images

London - Laju kurang apik plus hasil buruk di pertandingan terakhir membuat manajer Tottenham Hotspur Andre Villas-Boas diduga mulai tak dipercaya klub. Namun orang Portugal itu membantahnya.

Spurs menjalani awal musim ini dengan kurang mulus. Dari 12 partai Premier League yang telah berjalan, The Lilywhites tercecer di posisi sembilan klasemen. Puncaknya adalah saat kalah telak 0-6 di kandang Manchester City akhir pekan lalu.

Yang lebih mengejutkan, Spurs cuma bisa mencetak sembilan gol dari jumlah laga tersebut, terendah di antara tim-tim 10 besar. Selisih gol mereka juga jadi satu-satunya yang minus dalam koridor tim 10 besar, yakni -3.

Padahal tim ini dibangun pada awal musim dengan gelontoran dana lebih dari 100 juta poundsterling. Tim London utara itu mendatangkan sejumlah bintang di antaranya Erik Lamela, Roberto Soldado, Christian Eriksen, dan Paulinho.

Maka tak mengherankan jika kemudian muncul isu bahwa AVB mulai diragukan kemampuannya, melihat skuat yang berkualitas namun hasilnya kurang oke. Bahkan sudah ada dua nama yang mulai disebut-sebut sebagai calon pengganti mantan manajer Chelsea itu, yakni pelatih Celta Vigo, Luis Enrique, dan manajer Swansea City, Michael Laudrup. Sosok Enrique sendiri dekat dengan Direktur Teknik Spurs, Franco Baldini.

"Saya punya kepercayaan dari dewan direksi. Saya punya kepercayaan dari para pemain dan saya harus melangkah untuk melakukan pekerjaan yang benar," ungkapnya seperti dikutip Sky Sports.

"Satu-satunya percakapan (dengan dewan direksi) yang terjadi baru-baru ini adalah dua atau tiga hari lalu. Mereka punya pendapat sama dengan saya bahwa segalanya berjalan salah dan kami berharap mendapatkan sejumlah respon ke depannya. Itu adalah pertemuan biasa. Kami hanya berbicara sangat singkat soal pertandingan," tambahnya

Lebih lanjut AVB menegaskan bahwa satu-satunya tekanan yang muncul kepadanya adalah dari media. Tapi ia pribadi mengaku sudah kebal dengan kritikan sejak menukangi The Blues sebelumnya.

"Saya kebal (terhadap kritik) sekarang. Saya dulu membaca banyak situasi seperti ini, membaca titik-titik tekanan ketika saya masih berada di Chelsea, tapi sekarang tidak lagi. Saya sangat tak peduli.

"Hanya ada satu area di mana saya mendapatkan tekanan, itu adalah pers," ungkap pria 36 tahun ini.

Isco Mulai Terlihat Lagi

REUTERS/Juan Medina

Liga Spanyol - Isco sempat bersinar di awal musim dan kemudian tenggelam seiring menurunnya performa si pemain. Namun dalam dua laga terakhir bersama Real Madrid, Isco membuktikan bisa unjuk gigi lagi.

Isco didatangkan dari Malaga dengan harapan jadi dirijen baru lapangan tengah Madrid sepeninggal Mesut Oezil. Pemain 21 tahun itu membuktikannya di enam laga pertama berseragam Los Blancos di mana ia bikin lima gol dan satu assist.

Situs Whoscored pun memberi nilai untuknya di laga-laga itu minimal di atas 7 dan yang tertinggi di laga perdananya (lawan Real Betis) dengan nilai 9,39. Tapi mulai akhir September tiba-tiba saja Isco menghilang.

Carlo Ancelotti tak lagi memasangnya sebagai pemain inti dan cedera juga membuat penampilannya menurun. Apalagi Ancelotti harus mengorbankan Isco karena punya Gareth Bale dan Cristiano Ronaldo di lini depan, yang membuat posisi Isco harus digantikan gelandang yang lebih bertahan.

Tapi cedera Sami Khedira membawa berkah untuk Isco karena di dua laga terakhir Madrid, ia kembali mendapat posisi starter dan bermain penuh 90 menit. Seakan ingin membayar tuntas penampilan buruk di delapan laga sebelumnya, Isco bikin dua gol dan satu assist.

Yang terbaru adalah saat Madrid menang 4-1 atas Galatasaray di mana Isco mencetak gol penutup timnya. Di laga sebelumnya kontra Almeria, Whoscored memberi nilai 10 untuk performa Isco.

"Laga menjadi sulit ketika ada kartu merah (untuk Sergio Ramos) tapi tim tahu bagaimana harus meresponnya. Nilai kami 10 dari 10 di babak kedua. Yang terpenting adalah tim sudah bereaksi dengan baik dan kami harus bangga akan hal itu," ujar Isco seperti dilansir AS.

"Aku merasa lebih nyaman bermain lebih dekat ke kotak penalti lawan, tapi kami harus mengikuti perintah manajer dan aku bermain sesuai instruksinya," demikian dia.

Profil Timnas Australia : Mark Schwarzer

Mark Schwarzer

Schwarzer in 2008
Personal information
Full name	Mark Schwarzer
Date of birth	6 October 1972 (age 41)
Place of birth	Sydney, Australia
Height	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Chelsea
Number	23
Youth career
	Colo Cougars
	Penrith
	Blacktown Association
	Marconi Stallions
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1990–1994	Marconi Stallions	58	(0)
1994–1995	Dynamo Dresden	2	(0)
1995–1996	1. FC Kaiserslautern	4	(0)
1996–1997	Bradford City	13	(0)
1997–2008	Middlesbrough	367	(0)
2008–2013	Fulham	172	(0)
2013–	Chelsea	0	(0)
National team‡
1989	Australia U17	6	(0)
1990–1991	Australia U20	8	(0)
1993–2013	Australia	109	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:17, 9 July 2013 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 26 September 2013

Mark Schwarzer OAM (born 6 October 1972) is an Australian association football player who plays as agoalkeeper for Premier League club Chelsea. He represented Australia at international level from 1993 to 2013, and was selected for both the 2006 and 2010 World Cups.

Having progressed through the youth ranks of Colo Cougars, Penrith, Blacktown Association and Marconi Stallions, he turned professional for National Soccer League side Marconi Stallions in 1990. After making 58 appearances for the club, he moved to Bundesliga side Dynamo Dresden in 1994, appearing twice, and then to Bundesliga side 1. FC Kaiserslautern in 1995, appearing four times. Schwarzer joinedPremier League side Bradford City in 1996, and made sixteen appearances before joining Premier League side Middlesbrough in February 1997. He made 445 appearances for Middlesbrough, but decided to leave the club in May 2008. He then switched to Premier League side Fulham, and made 218 appearances for the club until he switched to current club Chelsea in July 2013. He is currently 8th in the all-time Premier League appearances table.^[1]

Having played for Australia at under-17 and under-20 level, Schwarzer made his full international debut in a FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Canada in 1993. During the course of his international career, he won a total of 109 caps for his country. He became Australia's most capped player when he surpassed Alex Tobin's appearance record in January 2011. In November 2013, Schwarzer announed his retirement from international football.

Early career

Schwarzer's first club was Colo Cougars in Richmond, New South Wales. Schwarzer has worn the same pair of shin pads since he started his professional career at the age of 19 with Marconi Stallions, in theNational Soccer League.^[2] He left the Sydney-based club to play in Germany with Dynamo Dresden andFC Kaiserslautern. He then travelled to England to play for Bradford City, where he eventually joinedMiddlesbrough in February 1997.^[3]

Middlesbrough

Schwarzer made his debut for Middlesbrough against Stockport County in the League Cup semi-finals. He played in the final against Leicester City, a 1–1 draw, but injury kept him out of the replay, which Middlesbrough lost. He was part of the side, however, who beat Bolton Wanderers to win the 2004League Cup Final, producing a superb display having recovered after his mistake in letting in a soft shot.

Perhaps his most important save for Middlesbrough came in the last match of the 2004–05 seasonagainst Manchester City, saving a Robbie Fowler penalty in stoppage time to preserve a 1–1 draw. The draw was sufficient to put Middlesbrough in seventh in the final league table and ensure qualification for the UEFA Cup. Had Fowler converted the penalty, Man City would have qualified for the UEFA Cup at Middlesbrough's expense.

Schwarzer was granted a transfer request by Middlesbrough late in 2005 and sought to join a new club, but he withdrew his request on 20 January 2006, and rejoined the team. A fractured cheekbone sustained against West Ham United, however, looked like it had ruled Schwarzer out for the rest of the season, but he returned for the UEFA Cup final against Sevilla, albeit playing with a protective mask. When he played in Middlesbrough's 1–0 victory over Portsmouth on 29 December 2007, he became the Premier League's longest-serving foreigner at one club beating Dennis Bergkamp's record of 315 games.^[4]

Mark Schwarzer playing for Fulham F.C.

Fulham

Schwarzer's contract with Middlesbrough expired in June 2008, and although he was offered a new contract,^[5] manager Gareth Southgate had to plan a future with a new goalkeeper, as on 21 May 2008, Schwarzer signed a two-year deal at Fulham, ending an 11-year association with the Teesside club.^[6] Schwarzer revealed in an interview with The World Game that he had received offers from Bayern Munich and Juventus but declined their offers because they could not guarantee him the position as the number-one keeper.^[7]

Schwarzer made his Fulham debut in a 2–1 defeat to newly promoted Premier League side Hull City, but he followed up by keeping a clean sheet in his next match in a 1–0 win at home to Arsenal and played every minute of the 2008–09 season. He kept ten clean sheets during the 2008–09 season in all competitions.

Schwarzer's contribution was phenomenal as his performances lead Fulham to a high seventh place finish and a place in Europe the next season, a massive improvement on Fulham's 17th place finish just a season before. Notable scalps included wins overArsenal, Manchester United and a draw with Chelsea largely due to many spectacular saves from Schwarzer. He received the Fulham Player of the Year 2008–09 in his first year at the club. He was also named the Premier League's Player of the Month for February 2010, in which he only conceded one goal in his team's two wins and two draws that month, making him the first Australian to do so.

He played an important role in Fulham reaching the Europa League Final in 2010, but Schwarzer lost his second European final with a narrow defeat to Atlético Madrid of Spain.

After impressive displays in 2009–2010 season Schwarzer caught the eye of Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger who stated that Arsenal are in the market for a new keeper after seeing the form of Manuel Almunia and Łukasz Fabiański come into questioning. It had been reported that a bid of around £2m in May 2010 had been made for Schwarzer and second bid of around the same value had been made in August 2010, however both were rejected by Fulham.^[8]

It was reported on 11 August 2010 that Schwarzer had handed in a transfer request, paving a way for his move to Arsenal to be complete, which was later confirmed by Fulham Manager Mark Hughes who also rejected his request. On 31 August 2010, it was reported that Arsenal had made a last-ditch bid to bring Schwarzer to the Emirates Stadium before the transfer window closed, however Fulham Manager Mark Hughes denied that any approach was made.

Schwarzer signed a contract extension with Fulham on 18 January 2012, committing himself to the club until at least the summer of 2013.^[9]

Schwarzer made a notable injury-time penalty save against Mikel Arteta to help Fulham earn a 3–3 draw against Arsenal.^[10]

On 5 June 2013, Schwarzer announced he was leaving Fulham following arrival of Maarten Stekelenburg. He said, "I've been hearing that for a while," he said of Stekelenburg's arrival. "It's no great surprise and I'll be looking for another club."^[11]

Schwarzer was one of twelve players released by Fulham at the end of the 2012–2013 Premier League season.^[12]

Chelsea

On 9 July 2013, Schwarzer signed a one-year contract with Fulham's West London rivals Chelsea on a free transfer. He has been quoted saying "It's one of the biggest and best clubs in the world, and it's an honour to sign for Chelsea. I didn't take much convincing to come here".^[13][14] He made his competitive debut in a 2-0 away victory over Swindon Town in the 2013-14 Football League Cup.^{[citation needed]}

International career

Schwarzer playing for Australia in 2010

Schwarzer made his international debut for Australia against Canada in Edmonton in a 1994 World Cup qualifier. He came on as a substitute for Milan Blagojevic after first-choice Robert Zabica was sent off 17 minutes into the match.^[15] In the return leg in Sydney, he covered himself in glory when he saved two penalties to send Australia to the final phase of qualifying against Argentina. Schwarzer did not play in these matches, and Australia were defeated 2–1 on aggregate.

He was instrumental in Australia's qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, in the play-off against Uruguay. AfterUruguay won the first leg 1–0 in Montevideo, Australia won 1–0 in Sydney. In the penalty shoot-out, Schwarzer saved two penalties to see Australia victorious 4–2.

At the World Cup Finals, he played the first two games in Australia's group matches, conceding a controversial goal against Japan and two goals against Brazil. In the third match, he was replaced by Željko Kalac, but after Kalac's disappointing performance, he was reinstated for the Round of 16 match against Italy.

Even though he predicted the direction of the penalty kick, he was unable to save the penalty in the second round of the World Cup against Italy, which was scored by Francesco Totti in injury time and sent Australia out of the World Cup.

After the World Cup in 2006, he vowed to return for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. He played in all of Australia's matches in the 2007 Asian Cup. Although he performed admirably against Oman in the 1–1 draw, he made an error which led to a goal in the 3–1 loss to Iraq and could not match Japanese goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi during the penalty shootout, which saw the Socceroos crash out of the competition in their début at the tournament. Schwarzer said that the penalty shootout in the Asian Cup quarter-finals was the first penalty shoot-out in his career that he had ever lost.^[16]

Schwarzer saved an 89th minute Shao Jiayi penalty against China in Australia's 0–0 draw in the 2010 World Cup qualifier in March 2008, continuing his record of stopping penalty kicks.^[17] He received his second yellow card of the tournament against Qatar in Doha, in which Australia were 3–1 winners. He also missed Australia's second leg game against the Chinese in Sydney. He played every minute for the Socceroos in round two of qualification, conceding only one goal, which was in the final game against Japan.

Schwarzer made several vital saves to secure Australia's Asian Cup Qualifier 2–1 comeback win over Oman in Muscat after conceding from his penalty save rebound.

He was the country's first-choice keeper for all three matches of the Group Stage in the 2010 World Cup in a group composed of Australia, Germany, Ghana, and Serbia. In the first match, Australia were crushed 4–0 by the Germans, but they recovered with a 1–1 draw against Ghana in the next game. In the final match, Australia beat Serbia 2–1, thus finishing third in the group with four points, just missing qualification to the Round of 16 on goal difference with Ghana.

After the tournament, Schwarzer declared his interest in performing at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, at which time he would be 41 years old.^[18][19] However, on 5 November 2013, Schwarzer announced his retirement from international football.

Profil Timnas Australia : Eugene Galekovic

Eugene Galeković

Personal information
Full name	Eugen-Josip Galeković
Date of birth	12 June 1981 (age 32)
Place of birth	Melbourne, Australia
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Adelaide United
Number	1
Youth career
1993–1997	Chelsea Hajduk
1997–1998	Bulleen
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2000–2001	Eastern Pride	11	(0)
2002–2004	South Melbourne	34	(0)
2004–2005	S.C. Beira-Mar	2	(0)
2005–2007	Melbourne Victory	15	(0)
2007–	Adelaide United	179	(0)
National team‡
2003–2004	Australia U-23	4	(0)
2009–	Australia	8	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:47, 25 March 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 25 July 2013

Eugen-Josip "Eugene" Galeković (Croatian pronunciation: [ˈêuːdʒinˈgalêːkoːʋitɕ]) (born 12 June 1981) is an Australian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Adelaide United in the A-League and internationally forAustralia.

Biography

Club career

Galeković's junior soccer was mostly played at Chelsea Hajduk in Melbourne's South-Eastern suburbs.

Galekovic played school soccer for St Bede's College.

Galekovic started his career with Morwell based National Soccer League (NSL) side Gippsland Falcons as a 19-year-old in December 2000 before signing with South Melbourne the following season. He stayed with South Melbourne until the NSL's closure in 2003–04 where at season's end he secured a place on the list of Beira Mar in Portugal on the back of holding the number one spot for Australia's Olympic soccer campaign in Athens in 2004.

The period at Beira Mar was generally unsuccessful for Galekovic, with him seeing little first team action and thus, he returned to Melbourne to sign for the city's inaugural A-League side Melbourne Victory for season 2005–06, debuting in the opening match against Sydney FC.

Galeković played 11 matches for the season in an unusual goalkeeper rotation policy employed by Melbourne manager Ernie Merrick in which the other 10 matches saw teammate Michael Theoklitos in goal. Galeković has been second choice keeper for the Victory in the 2006–07 season but an injury to Theoklitos gave Galeković his first start of the season in the round 13 clash against Queensland Roar atSuncorp Stadium.

Adelaide United

On 30 October, Eugene signed for Melbourne Victory arch-rivals Adelaide United as a replacement for injured keeper Daniel Beltrame and made his debut against the formally known, Queensland Roar atHindmarsh Stadium.^[1] On 20 January 2008, Galeković kept his first clean sheet for Adelaide in a 2–0 win over Brisbane at Hindmarsh Stadium. On 27 December 2008 Galeković made a string of impressive saves to ensure Adelaide kept its 1–0 advantage over Perth Glory^[2] and in the process giving him his fifth clean sheet of the league season.

In February 2010, Galekovic capped off another brilliant year by winning the Adelaide United Life FM Player of the Year Award sponsored by Payneham Road Chemplus Compounding Pharmacy.

In the middle of the 2011/2012 A-league Jon McKain gave up his role as captain at Adelaide united. It was then announced that Eugene Galeković became captain at Adelaide united.

International

Galeković has been called up for Australia in a preliminary squad with teammates Scott Jamieson and Paul Reid after impressive performances in the A-League and the Asian Champions League. He made his first senior international soccer debut for the Socceroos on 28 January 2009 in an AFC Asian Cup qualifying match versus Indonesia. He was disappointing in his last outing against Kuwait, by letting in two poor goals after Australia conceded a 2–0 advantage. After Brad Jones left the 2010 World Cup 23-man squad to help his son battle leukaemia, he was called in as a replacement, after missing selection in the 23-man squad first time around. Eugene was selected byHolger Osieck for a 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup qualifying tournament. He started the first match against hosts Hong Kong and came up with audacious stops to save Australia from humiliation as they won 1-0 with a solo effort from Brett Emerton. The other game that Galeković was a part of a 9-0 thrashing ofGuam. After a string good performances for Adelaide United, Holger Osieck selected Eugene Galeković as part of his 23-Man Squad for the decisive 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) match against Oman.