Eli Babalj

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Eli Babalj
Personal information
Full name Eli Babalj
Date of birth (1992-02-21) 21 February 1992 (age 34)
Place of birth Sarajevo, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
Position Striker
Youth career
2007–2008 FW NTC
2008–2009 Perth Glory
2009–2010 AIS
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2012 Melbourne Heart 35 (11)
2012–2013 Red Star Belgrade 6 (1)
2013 Melbourne Heart 9 (1)
2013–2016 AZ Alkmaar 0 (0)
2015 → PEC Zwolle (loan) 4 (0)
2015–2016 → Adelaide United (loan) 5 (0)
2017 Adelaide United 4 (0)
2017–2018 Mladá Boleslav 2 (0)
2018 ATK 3 (0)
2019 Brisbane Roar 4 (0)
2019 Chainat Hornbill 7 (1)
2021–2022 Newcastle Jets 10 (1)
International career
2007–2009 Australia U17 8 (2)
2009–2011 Australia U20 11 (6)
2012 Australia 2 (2)
Managerial career
2023–2024 Newcastle Jets (Assistant)
2024– Perth Glory U20
Medal record
Representing File:Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia
Men's Association football
AFC U-20 Asian Cup
Runner-up 2010 China
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 14 April 2022

Eli Babalj (born 21 February 1992) is a footballer who plays as a striker.[1] Born in Sarajevo, he has represented Australia at international level. Alongside Robert Cornthwaite and Sasa Ognenovski, Babalj, at 1.95 m is the joint third tallest player to have represented the Australia national association football team, behind Zeljko Kalac (2.02 m) and Harry Souttar (1.98 m).[2]

Club career

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Born in Sarajevo, SFR Yugoslavia, Babalj has spent the majority of his life in Australia and started off playing with Perth SC. In 2008, he was signed by Perth Glory for their Youth League team. However, he was signed by the AIS for the 2009–10 season in which the AIS came last, however Babalj managed to find the net 9 times.

Melbourne Heart

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On 26 December it was announced that A-League expansion club Melbourne Heart had signed the then 17-year-old for their inaugural A-League 2010–11 season.[3] He made his debut for the club in a friendly against Geelong All Stars XI and also scored his first goal in that match.[4] He also took part in the friendly against Everton FC in which Heart lost 2–0.[5] He made his debut for Melbourne Heart in the opening round of the 2010–11 A-League season against Central Coast Mariners at AAMI Park.[6] During May 2012 it was announced that Serbian side Red Star Belgrade was scouting him.[7]

Red Star Belgrade

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On 7 June 2012 it was announced he had signed with Serbian Superliga contender Red Star Belgrade.[8][9] He made his debut on 31 August 2012, against Bordeaux in the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League play-off round. He scored his first goal on his league debut against FK Smederevo on 29 September 2012.

Melbourne Heart

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Eli Babalj made his return appearance to the A-League for the Melbourne Heart away to the Western Sydney Wanderers on Australia Day, 26 January 2013 as a 2nd half substitution.

AZ

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On 19 April 2013, Dutch club AZ Alkmaar completed the signing of Eli for a fee believed to be in the region of $200,000.[10]

Loan to PEC Zwolle

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On 2 February 2015, Babalj was sent on loan at PEC Zwolle for the rest of the season.[11] Eli Babalj made his Eredivisie debut for PEC Zwolle at home to the Go Ahead Eagles on 15 February 2015 as a 70th-minute substitute for Maikel van der Werff.

Loan to Adelaide United

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On 24 July 2015, Alkmaar confirmed that they would allow Babalj to go out on loan back to Australia to Adelaide United for the 2015–16 A-League season. This would be Guillermo Amor's first signing for Adelaide as the new manager.[12][13] Babalj made his debut for Adelaide United as a substitute in the 2015 FFA Cup in Darwin against Darwin Olympic. He also scored his first goal to help Adelaide to a 6–1 win.

On 22 January 2016, Babalj ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament against Brisbane Roar, ruling him out for the remainder of the A-League season.[14]

Adelaide United

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On 7 February 2017, after training with Adelaide United since late January, Babalj joined Adelaide United once more until the end of the season.[15]

Mladá Boleslav

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On 7 August 2017, Babalj signed with Czech club Mladá Boleslav.[16]

ATK

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Babalj signed with Indian Super League club ATK for the 2018–19 season.[17] He made his first appearance on 28 November 2018 against FC Goa, coming on as a substitute in the 68th minute. The match ended 0–0.

Newcastle Jets

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On 12 October 2021, after stint's with Brisbane Roar and Chainat Hornbill Babalj returned to Australia and signed with Newcastle Jets for the 2021-22 A-League Men season after a successful trial at the club.[18]

International career

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He has represented Australia at U-20 level during the 2010 AFC U-19 Championship qualification for the 2010 AFC U-19 Championship. He played in 4 qualification games, scoring 3 goals, against Singapore, and two against Chinese Taipei.[19] Babalj also represented Australia at the AFF U-19 Youth Championship. He scored against Vietnam and the winning goal in the final of the AFF U-19 Youth Championship against Thailand.[20] He made his debut for Australia's senior team on 14 November 2012 in a friendly against South Korea.[21] Babalj was selected in the Socceroos squad for the East Asian Cup qualification round. He started his first game for Australia against Guam in a 9–0 win, scoring a double before being substituted.[22]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of 12 May 2022
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Melbourne Heart 2010–11 A-League 13 2 0 0 0 0 13 2
2011–12 22 9 0 0 0 0 22 9
Melbourne Heart total 35 11 0 0 0 0 35 11
Red Star Belgrade 2012–13 SuperLiga 6 1 1 0 1 0 8 1
Melbourne Heart 2012–13 A-League 9 1 0 0 0 0 9 1
AZ Alkmaar 2013–14 Eredivisie 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2014–15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PEC Zwolle (loan) 2014–15 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Adelaide United (loan) 2015–16 A-League 5 0 3 1 0 0 8 1
Adelaide United 2016–17 4 0 0 0 4 1 8 1
Adelaide total 9 0 3 1 4 1 16 2
Mladá Boleslav 2017–18 Czech First League 2 0 1 0 0 0 3 0
ATK 2018–19 Indian Super League 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Brisbane Roar 2018–19 A-League 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Chainat Hornbill 2019 Thai League 1 7 1 1 0 0 0 8 1
Newcastle Jets 2021–22 A-League Men 10 1 1 0 0 0 11 1
Career total 89 15 7 1 5 1 101 17

International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year[23]
National team Year Apps Goals
Australia 2012 2 2
Total 2 2
Scores and results list Australia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Babalj goal.
List of international goals scored by Eli Babalj
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 7 December 2012 Hong Kong Stadium, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong File:Flag of Guam.svg Guam 2–0 9–0 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup qualification [24]
2 4–0

Honours

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Adelaide United

Australia U-20

References

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  6. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  7. ^ Ilija Babalj pred Marakanom Archived 25 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine at Kurir, retrieved 30-5-2012 (in Serbian)
  8. ^ http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/melbourneheart/news-display/Heart-Confirms-Babalj-To-Red-Star-Transfer/47661 [dead link]
  9. ^ Red Star sign Australian hope Eli Babalj Archived 10 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine; Footballcracy, 8 June 2012
  10. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  11. ^ PEC Zwolle strikt bij AZ overbodige aanvaller, komst Necid uitgesloten Archived 3 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine (Dutch). Voetbalprimeur. 2 February 2015.
  12. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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  21. ^ [1] Archived 18 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine Zurnal (Serbian): Бабаљ умало стрелац за Кенгуре на дебију – 14 November 2012.
  22. ^ Sportske (Serbian) – Babalj dva puta u metu... Archived 10 December 2012 at the Wayback Machine 8 December 2012
  23. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
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