Ajdin Hrustic

Ajdin Hrustic (Bosnian: Ajdin Hrustić; born 5 July 1996) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as an attacking midfielder for Serie A club Hellas Verona and the Australia national team.

Ajdin Hrustic
Hrustic with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022
Personal information
Full name Ajdin Hrustic[1]
Date of birth (1996-07-05) 5 July 1996[1]
Place of birth Dandenong, Victoria, Australia
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
right winger
Team information
Current team
 Hellas Verona
Number 10
Youth career
2004–2007 Heatherton United
2007–2009 South Melbourne
2009–2010 Sandringham
2010–2011 Nottingham Forest
2011–2012 Austria Wien
2012–2014 Schalke 04
2014–2015 Groningen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2020 Jong Groningen 49 (8)
2017–2020 Groningen 67 (5)
2020–2022 Eintracht Frankfurt 34 (3)
2022– Hellas Verona 6 (0)
International career‡
2017–2018 Australia U23 4 (0)
2017– Australia 23 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 January 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 3 December 2022

Early life

Born in Dandenong, Victoria[3] Hrustic played youth football with South Melbourne and Schalke 04 before moving to FC Groningen, where he made his professional debut in 2017. In 2020 he signed for the German football club Eintracht Frankfurt.

Club career

Groningen

In June 2015, Hrustic signed a three-year contract with FC Groningen, his first senior professional deal.[4] He made his competitive debut for the club as a substitute in a draw against AZ Alkmaar on 2 April 2017.[5] His first goal for the club came two weeks later, with a shot from long range to seal a 5–1 win over PEC Zwolle.[6]

Eintracht Frankfurt

On 28 September 2020, Hrustic signed a contract with German Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt that will keep him at the club through to 2023, and was given the No. 7 jersey.[7][8] He made his debut on 19 December 2020 in a 2–0 victory against FC Augsburg, coming off the bench for Aymen Barkok.

Hrustic scored his first goal for Eintracht Frankfurt against Mainz 05, on 9 May 2021, with an improvised finish where he managed to chip the ball over goalkeeper Robin Zentner.[9]

On 18 May 2022, Hrustic became the first Australian player to win the UEFA Europa League in its history, after Eintracht Frankfurt triumphed over Scottish opponent Rangers in the 2022 final, winning a penalty shootout 5–4 after the match ended 1–1 after extra time, with Hrustic converting his team's second penalty of the shootout.[10] He became the first Australian since Harry Kewell in 2005 to win a major UEFA competition.[11]

Hellas Verona

On 1 September 2022, Hrustic signed a four-year contract with Hellas Verona in Italy.[12]

International career
Hrustic with Australia at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup

Due to his Bosnian and Romanian heritage, Hrustic was eligible to represent Bosnia and Herzegovina and Romania internationally, in addition to his birth country Australia. He was contacted by the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina in May 2017, but ultimately rejected the offer and expressed his wish to represent the Socceroos.[13]

Hrustic was called up to an Australian under-23 development squad in March 2017.[14] This was the first time Hrustic had been involved with Football Federation Australia in several years, having previously not been involved with the Australian setup since moving to Europe.[4]

On 22 May 2017, Hrustic was named in the Australian national side's 30-man preliminary squad for the month of June, including the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, a friendly against Brazil and a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia.[15] He was retained in the final 23-man squad.[16] He made his Socceroos debut on the losing side of a 4–0 friendly against Brazil, coming on as a 57th-minute substitute.[17]

On 4 June 2021, Hrustic scored his first goal for Australia against Kuwait in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying match, bending the ball off the inside of the post and in from a 30-odd-metre free-kick. His second goal also came off a free-kick bouncing off the crossbar to go in underneath the goal against Japan in 2021.

He was included into the 2022 FIFA World Cup squad, playing in three matches as Australia reached the round of sixteen.[18]

Personal life

Hrustic was born in Dandenong a suburb of Melbourne, Australia to a Bosnian father and a Romanian mother.[19][5]

Career statistics

Club
As of 4 January 2023[20]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Jong Groningen 2014–15 Beloften Eredivisie 20———20
2015–16 150———150
2016–17 Derde Divisie 264———264
2017–18 53———53
2019–20 Reserve Eredivisie 10———10
Total 498———498
Groningen 2016–17 Eredivisie 5100—2071
2017–18 18111—00192
2018–19 18010—20210
2019–20 25320—00273
2020–21 10———10
Total 67541—40756
Eintracht Frankfurt 2020–21 Bundesliga 11110——121
2021–22 2320050—282
Total 3431050—403
Hellas Verona 2022–23 Serie A 6000——60
Career total 10785150401209

International
As of match played 3 December 2022[21]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Australia 201710
201800
201920
202000
2021102
2022101
Total233
Scores and results list Australia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Hrustic goal.
List of international goals scored by Ajdin Hrustic[21]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
13 June 2021Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait Kuwait3–03–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification
212 October 2021Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama, Japan Japan1–11–22022 FIFA World Cup qualification
37 June 2022Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al-Rayyan, Qatar United Arab Emirates2–12–12022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Eintracht Frankfurt

See also

References
  1. "FIFA Confederations Cup Russia 2017: List of Players: Australia" (PDF). FIFA. 2 July 2017. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 December 2017.
  2. "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™: List of Players: Australia" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  3. "Ange Postecoglou has had Socceroos bolter Ajdin Hrustic on radar for almost a decade". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 22 May 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  4. Kulas, Damir (29 June 2015). "Former South Melbourne youth Hrustic pens senior deal with FC Groningen". CornerFlag.com.au. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  5. Davutovic, David (3 April 2017). "Young Aussie striker Ajdin Hrustic making waves in Europe with new Dutch club Groningen". Herald Sun. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  6. Davutovic, David (17 April 2017). "Aussie youngster Ajdin Hrustic opens professional account with tidy goal in Dutch league". Herald Sun. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  7. "Socceroo Hrustic makes Frankfurt move". The World Game. 28 September 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  8. Elliott, Binks (29 September 2020). "Bundesliga's latest Aussie star to wear No. 7 shirt". FTBL.com.au. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  9. Thomas, Josh (9 May 2021). "Socceroo Ajdin Hrustic scores stunning first Bundesliga goal for Eintracht Frankfurt". The Sporting News. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  10. "Socceroo wins Europa League in shootout thriller". 18 May 2022.
  11. "Socceroo Hrustic steps up on Europe's big stage".
  12. "Ajdin Hrustic è un nuovo centrocampista gialloblù!" (in Italian). Hellas Verona. 1 September 2022. Archived from the original on 2 September 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  13. Davutovic, David (22 May 2017). "Ajdin Hrustic tells why he chose the Socceroos over World Cup-bound Bosnia". Herald Sun. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  14. Davutovic, David (15 March 2017). "Deni Juric, the younger brother of Socceroos striker Tomi, selected for Olyroos camp in Spain". Herald Sun. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  15. "Uncapped Hrustic named in Socceroos squad". FourFourTwo. 22 May 2017.
  16. "Socceroos squad named by Ange Postecoglou for vital June clashes, Ajdin Hrustic called up". ABC News. 31 May 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  17. Kemp, Emma (13 June 2017). "Socceroos go down 4–0 to classy Brazil". Nine's Wide World of Sports. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  18. "Australia World Cup 2022 guide: Key players, injuries, tactics & tournament prediction". 12 November 2022.
  19. Kulas, Damir (2 April 2017). "Former Heatherton, South junior Hrustic makes Eredivisie debut". CornerFlag.com.au. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  20. "Ajdin Hrustić » Club matches". WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  21. "Ajdin Hrustic". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
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