Josip Skoko

Skoko was born in Mount Gambier, to a Croatian family.[5] He played for Mt Gambier Croatia until he was 9 years old when he and his family moved to Geelong. Skoko played for North Geelong Warriors before moving to Croatian side Hajduk Split in 1995. After four years at Stadion Poljud he signed for Belgium club Genk. At Genk he was made captain and helped the team win the title in 2001–02. He joined Turkish club Gençlerbirliği in 2003 where he spent two years before moving to English football.

Skoko joined Premier League club Wigan Athletic for €1 million at the beginning of the 2005–06 season, although he initially failed to maintain a regular place in the first team. On 7 January 2006 Skoko signed for Football League Championship side Stoke City on loan until the end of the 2005–06 season.[6] He played nine times for Stoke and scored twice against Sheffield United and Crystal Palace.[7][8]

In the 2006–07 season, Paul Jewell showed renewed faith in Skoko giving him an extended run in the side. The transfers of Jimmy Bullard and Graham Kavanagh to Fulham and Sunderland, respectively, in the summer of 2006 left a gap in Wigan's midfield and this led to him becoming a mainstay in the Wigan Athletic midfield, partnering Paul Scharner and Denny Landzaat. He signed a new contract deal keeping him at Wigan until 2008. However, at the end of the season it became clear that Skoko had played his last game for the club. The two main reasons were because he did not play enough games for Wigan to trigger a clause in his contract and also the impossibility of receiving a visa for his stay in England due to his international retirement with Australia.[9] It was decided in May 2008 that Skoko's contract would not be renewed and he was subsequently released by Wigan.

Due to various work permit issues when playing in Europe, it took a longer than expected time for Skoko to put pen to paper with a club of his choice. However, on 21 July, and after several weeks of speculation, Skoko had finally signed a two-year deal with former club Hajduk. The decision, he said, took only minutes for the club and himself to agree terms. Skoko is relishing the chance to return to the side he made more than 100 appearances for between 1995 and 1999, with a club he describes as "a second home".[10]

Skoko's return home to Australia to play for A-League newcomers Melbourne Heart was confirmed by the club on 19 May 2010.[11] The club signed the former Socceroo for one season as their inaugural Australian marquee player.[12] He was also named as one of the initial members of the leadership group.[13] In his second game for Melbourne Heart, he suffered a hamstring injury, which forced him out of the side for at least one month.[14] In February 2012, Skoko came out of retirement to take part in the 2012 Hawaiian Island Invitational before retiring for good.

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