Kristian Sarkies
Encyclopedia
Kristian Sarkies is an Australian football (soccer)
player who currently plays for Melbourne Heart. He grew up in Dingley Village
, a suburb in Melbourne's South-East.
with Melbourne Victory
, he scored his third goal for the club in his team's 6-0 thrashing of Adelaide in the 90th minute and scoring from long range. However it was upon collecting his premiership medal that he made headlines around the country by kissing Australian Prime Minister John Howard
on his bald head.
, Nathan Burns
and Robert Cornthwaite
. Days after his arrival, captain Ross Aloisi
signed with new team Wellington Phoenix, paving the way for Sarkies to become a key player in the Reds midfield brigade. On the 28th December after Adelaide's loss to Sydney 3-1 at Adelaide Oval
in which Sarkies scored a goal; he complained of a sore arm during the game and was later hospitalized then diagnosed with a Deep Vein Thrombosis
(DVT) in his arm at the end of December.
Sarkies signed a new deal with United in May 2008 which will keep him at the club until the end of the A-League 2009-10 season. Sarkies set up Sasa Ognenovski
from a well taken free kick to score a goal in his 50th A-League
game in Adelaide's 2-0 win over Sydney FC
Despite an inauspicious start to his Adelaide career Sarkies influence on the team began to show with the injury to fellow playmaker
Diego
culminating with his first goal of the 2008–09
season which turned out to be the only goal of the round 17 clash against Perth Glory at Members Equity Stadium
. He followed it up a week later providing assists for both goals in the 2-0 win over Sydney FC at Adelaide Oval
on 3 January 2009.
After a mixed year with injuries, and not having cemented himself in Adelaide's first XI, he was heavily linked with a move to the new Melbourne Heart A-league side coming into the competition in the 2010-11 season. The move was confirmed on November 24, 2009 with Sarkies becoming the club's first signing.
to be part of the "train-on" squad leading up to Australia's appearance at the 2006 FIFA World Cup
. He won his first cap in the dying minutes of Australia's 3-1 friendly win against Liechtenstein
on the 8th of June 2006.
He was then kept in Germany with the Socceroos after he was given a personal invitation from Guus Hiddink
to stay with the team until after the first group match with Japan.
Sarkies has represented his country at all youth levels and was involved in Australia's qualifying campaign for the Beijing 2008 Olympics. The first game of this campaign was against Chinese Taipei
at Hindmarsh Stadium
on 7 February 2007. Australia won the match 11-0, with Sarkies scoring four goals.
1 - includes A-League
final series statistics
2 - includes FIFA Club World Cup
statistics; AFC Champions League
statistics are included in season commencing after group stages (i.e. 2008 ACL in 2008-09 A-League season etc.)
: A-League Championship: 2006-2007
A-League Premiership: 2006-2007
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
player who currently plays for Melbourne Heart. He grew up in Dingley Village
Dingley Village, Victoria
Dingley Village is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 22 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Kingston...
, a suburb in Melbourne's South-East.
Club career
After starting his career with South Melbourne, Sarkies played in the A-league Grand FinalA-League 2006-07
The 2006–07 A-League season was the second season of the Australian football competition, the A-League. Football Federation Australia hoped to build on the success of the first season and on the interest generated by the Socceroos competing in the 2006 FIFA World Cup...
with Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, that plays in the A-League....
, he scored his third goal for the club in his team's 6-0 thrashing of Adelaide in the 90th minute and scoring from long range. However it was upon collecting his premiership medal that he made headlines around the country by kissing Australian Prime Minister John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
on his bald head.
Adelaide United
On the 30th of March 2007, Sarkies signed a one year deal with Adelaide United, linking up with his Australian U23 team mates Bruce DjiteBruce Djite
Bruce José Djite is an American-born Australian football striker who currently plays for Adelaide United F.C. in the A-League.-Club career:...
, Nathan Burns
Nathan Burns
Nathan Burns is an Australian international football player currently playing as a right winger for AEK Athens F.C. in the Greek Super League.-Adelaide United:He formerly played for Parramatta Eagles and trained at the AIS....
and Robert Cornthwaite
Robert Cornthwaite
Robert Richard Cornthwaite is an English-Australian football player. He is a centre back or right full back who currently plays for Chunnam Dragons in the South Korean K-League....
. Days after his arrival, captain Ross Aloisi
Ross Aloisi
Ross Aloisi is a former Australian football player who was known for being the captain of Adelaide United in the Hyundai A-League - a team he guided to a minor premiership, a pre-season cup and earning entry into 2 Asian Champions League campaigns...
signed with new team Wellington Phoenix, paving the way for Sarkies to become a key player in the Reds midfield brigade. On the 28th December after Adelaide's loss to Sydney 3-1 at Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
in which Sarkies scored a goal; he complained of a sore arm during the game and was later hospitalized then diagnosed with a Deep Vein Thrombosis
Deep vein thrombosis
Deep vein thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot in a deep vein. Deep vein thrombosis commonly affects the leg veins or the deep veins of the pelvis. Occasionally the veins of the arm are affected...
(DVT) in his arm at the end of December.
Sarkies signed a new deal with United in May 2008 which will keep him at the club until the end of the A-League 2009-10 season. Sarkies set up Sasa Ognenovski
Sasa Ognenovski
Saša Ognenovski is an Australian football player who currently plays as a central defender for Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma and the Australia national team. Since moving to South Korea, Ognenovski's success has rapidly risen. In 2010, he was named Asian Footballer of the Year, won a position in the...
from a well taken free kick to score a goal in his 50th A-League
A-League
The A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...
game in Adelaide's 2-0 win over Sydney FC
Sydney FC
Sydney FC is a professional football club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and competes in the country's premier football competition, the A-League...
Despite an inauspicious start to his Adelaide career Sarkies influence on the team began to show with the injury to fellow playmaker
Playmaker
In association football, a playmaker is a player who controls the flow of the team's offensive play, and is often involved in passing moves which lead to goals....
Diego
Diego Walsh
Diego Walsh is a Brazilian footballer currently playing for TOT S.C. in the Thai Premier League.-Youth and College:...
culminating with his first goal of the 2008–09
A-League 2008-09
The 2008–09 A-League season was the fourth season of the Australasian A-League association football competition. Two new clubs, North Queensland Thunder and Gold Coast Galaxy had received tentative licences from the FFA but these were revoked for the 2008–09 season on 12 March 2008. Expansion...
season which turned out to be the only goal of the round 17 clash against Perth Glory at Members Equity Stadium
Members Equity Stadium
Perth Oval, known by its sponsored name nib Stadium since July 2010, is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. It has been the home of A-League club Perth Glory since 1996 and has housed the administrative facilities of the Western Australia Rugby League since 2003...
. He followed it up a week later providing assists for both goals in the 2-0 win over Sydney FC at Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
on 3 January 2009.
After a mixed year with injuries, and not having cemented himself in Adelaide's first XI, he was heavily linked with a move to the new Melbourne Heart A-league side coming into the competition in the 2010-11 season. The move was confirmed on November 24, 2009 with Sarkies becoming the club's first signing.
International career
Sarkies was called up by coach Guus HiddinkGuus Hiddink
Guus Hiddink is a Dutch football manager and former player. He was the most recently manager of the Turkish national football team. He is considered to be one of the best managers of his generation and was the best-paid coach in international football in 2009...
to be part of the "train-on" squad leading up to Australia's appearance at the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
. He won his first cap in the dying minutes of Australia's 3-1 friendly win against Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein
The Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...
on the 8th of June 2006.
He was then kept in Germany with the Socceroos after he was given a personal invitation from Guus Hiddink
Guus Hiddink
Guus Hiddink is a Dutch football manager and former player. He was the most recently manager of the Turkish national football team. He is considered to be one of the best managers of his generation and was the best-paid coach in international football in 2009...
to stay with the team until after the first group match with Japan.
Sarkies has represented his country at all youth levels and was involved in Australia's qualifying campaign for the Beijing 2008 Olympics. The first game of this campaign was against Chinese Taipei
Chinese Taipei
Chinese Taipei is the designated name used by the Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan, to participate in some international organizations and almost all sporting events, such as the Olympics, Paralympics, Asian Games and Asian Para Games...
at Hindmarsh Stadium
Hindmarsh Stadium
Hindmarsh Stadium is a rectangular stadium located in Adelaide, South Australia. It is the home of the Australian A-League team, Adelaide United....
on 7 February 2007. Australia won the match 11-0, with Sarkies scoring four goals.
Career statistics
(Correct as of 29 December 2008)| Club | Season | League1 | Cup | International2 | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, that plays in the A-League.... |
2005–06 A-League 2005-06 The 2005-06 season was the first season of the A-League, a domestic club competition for football in Australia. After over 12 months without a national professional club competition, the first match in the A-League was played on 26 August 2005... |
18 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| 2006–07 A-League 2006-07 The 2006–07 A-League season was the second season of the Australian football competition, the A-League. Football Federation Australia hoped to build on the success of the first season and on the interest generated by the Socceroos competing in the 2006 FIFA World Cup... |
17 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 3 | |
| Total | 44 | 3 | |||||||
| Adelaide United | 2007–08 A-League 2007-08 The A-League 2007-08 season was the third season of the Australian A-League football competition, won by the Newcastle Jets. Football Federation Australia hoped to build on the success of the previous two seasons and on the interest generated by and playing in the 2007 AFC Champions League, and... |
11 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 2 |
| 2008–09 A-League 2008-09 The 2008–09 A-League season was the fourth season of the Australasian A-League association football competition. Two new clubs, North Queensland Thunder and Gold Coast Galaxy had received tentative licences from the FFA but these were revoked for the 2008–09 season on 12 March 2008. Expansion... |
11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 17 | 1 | |
| 2009–10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 80 | 6 | |||||||
1 - includes A-League
A-League
The A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...
final series statistics
2 - includes FIFA Club World Cup
FIFA Club World Cup
The FIFA Club World Cup is a football competition between the champion clubs from all six continental confederations.The first FIFA Club World Championship took place in Brazil in January 2000...
statistics; AFC Champions League
AFC Champions League
The AFC Champions League is the premier Asian club football competition hosted annually by Asian Football Confederation . The tournament is contested among the top thirty-two clubs from the top 10 Asian leagues, two of which must qualify through the playoffs...
statistics are included in season commencing after group stages (i.e. 2008 ACL in 2008-09 A-League season etc.)
Honours
With Melbourne VictoryMelbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, that plays in the A-League....
: A-League Championship: 2006-2007
A-League 2006-07
The 2006–07 A-League season was the second season of the Australian football competition, the A-League. Football Federation Australia hoped to build on the success of the first season and on the interest generated by the Socceroos competing in the 2006 FIFA World Cup...
A-League Premiership: 2006-2007
A-League 2006-07
The 2006–07 A-League season was the second season of the Australian football competition, the A-League. Football Federation Australia hoped to build on the success of the first season and on the interest generated by the Socceroos competing in the 2006 FIFA World Cup...