Eli Babalj
Eli Babalj | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 21, 1992 Sarajevo, SFR Yugoslavia |
| Occupation | Professional soccer player |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Known for | Striker for various clubs and Australia national team |
| Height | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) |
Eli Babalj (born 21 February 1992) is a professional soccer player who operates as a striker. Originally from Yugoslavia, he has represented Australia at the international level. Standing at 1.95 m, Babalj ranks among the tallest individuals to play for the Australian national team, alongside Robert Cornthwaite and Sasa Ognenovski, placing third behind Zeljko Kalac (2.02 m) and Harry Souttar (1.98 m).
Club career
Hailing from Sarajevo, SFR Yugoslavia, Babalj relocated to Australia where he spent the majority of his formative years, starting his football journey with Perth SC. In 2008, he became part of Perth Glory's Youth League squad before moving to the AIS for the 2009–10 season. Despite AIS finishing at the bottom of the table, he managed to net 9 goals.
Melbourne Heart
On 26 December, the newly established club Melbourne Heart secured the signing of the then 17-year-old for their debut A-League 2010–11 campaign. Babalj made an immediate impact by scoring in a friendly match against Geelong All Stars XI and also featured in a 2–0 pre-season defeat to Everton FC. His official A-League debut came in the first round of the 2010–11 season facing off against Central Coast Mariners at AAMI Park. In May 2012, reports indicated that Serbian outfit Red Star Belgrade had scouted him.
Red Star Belgrade
Eli Babalj officially joined Serbian Superliga club Red Star Belgrade on 7 June 2012. He made his first appearance on 31 August 2012 during the UEFA Europa League play-off against Bordeaux and scored his inaugural league goal on 29 September 2012 against FK Smederevo.
Melbourne Heart
Babalj made his return to the A-League with Melbourne Heart on 26 January 2013, coming on as a substitute in the second half during a match versus Western Sydney Wanderers.
AZ
Dutch side AZ Alkmaar acquired Babalj on 19 April 2013 for an estimated transfer fee of $200,000.
Loan to PEC Zwolle
On 2 February 2015, Babalj was sent on loan to PEC Zwolle until the end of that season. He debuted in the Eredivisie on 15 February 2015 as a substitute in a game against Go Ahead Eagles.
Loan to Adelaide United
For the 2015–16 A-League season, AZ arranged a loan move for Babalj to Adelaide United FC on 24 July 2015, marking coach Guillermo Amor’s inaugural signing. His first appearance was in the 2015 FFA Cup against Darwin Olympic, where he scored in a commanding 6–1 victory. Unfortunately, on 22 January 2016, Babalj sustained an anterior cruciate ligament rupture during a match with Brisbane Roar, which ruled him out for the remainder of the season.
Adelaide United
After training with Adelaide United since late January, Babalj officially re-signed with the club on 7 February 2017 until the conclusion of that season.
Mladá Boleslav
Babalj inked a deal with Czech team Mladá Boleslav on 7 August 2017.
ATK
For the 2018–19 season, Babalj joined Indian Super League franchise ATK. He made his debut on 28 November 2018 against FC Goa, coming off the bench in the 68th minute during a goalless draw.
Newcastle Jets
On 12 October 2021, following previous spells at Brisbane Roar and Chainat Hornbill, Babalj returned to Australia by signing with Newcastle Jets for the 2021-22 A-League Men campaign after impressing during a trial period.
International career
Babalj featured for Australia's U-20 squad during the 2010 AFC U-19 Championship qualification, where he found the net three times across four appearances. Additionally, he participated in the AFF U-19 Youth Championship, scoring against Vietnam and delivering the decisive goal in the final versus Thailand. His debut with the senior Australia side occurred on 14 November 2012 in a friendly match against South Korea. During the East Asian Cup qualifiers, he was named in the starting lineup against Guam, contributing two goals in a commanding 9–0 triumph before being substituted.
International goals
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 8 December 2012 | Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | Template:Fb | 2–0 | 9–0 | 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup |
| 2. | 8 December 2012 | Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | Template:Fb | 4–0 | 9–0 | 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup |
Career statistics
| 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) | |
| Brisbane Roar | 2018-19 | A-League | 4 | |||||||
| Chainat Hornbill | 2019 | Thai League 1 | 7 | (1) | ||||||
| Newcastle Jets | 2021-22 | A-League Men | (10) | (1) | ||||||
| Career total !89!15!7!1!5!1!101!17 | ||||||||||
Honours
Adelaide United
Australia U-20
- AFC U-20 Asian Cup runner-up: 2010
- AFF U-19 Youth Championship: 2010
External links
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1992 births
- Living people
- Footballers from Sarajevo
- Australian men's soccer players
- Australia men's international soccer players
- Men's association football forwards
- Melbourne City FC players
- Red Star Belgrade footballers
- AZ Alkmaar players
- PEC Zwolle players
- Adelaide United FC players
- FK Mladá Boleslav players
- Brisbane Roar FC players
- A-League Men players
- Czech First League players
- Eredivisie players
- Indian Super League players
- ATK (football club) players
- Newcastle Jets FC players
- Expatriate men's footballers in Serbia
- Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands
- Expatriate men's footballers in India
- Australian people of Bosnia and Herzegovina descent
- Australian people of Serbian descent
- Bosnia and Herzegovina emigrants to Australia
- Australian Institute of Sport soccer players
- Yugoslav Wars refugees
- Soccer players from Perth, Western Australia
- Expatriate men's footballers in the Czech Republic
- Australian expatriate sportspeople in the Czech Republic
- Australian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands
- Australian expatriate sportspeople in India
- Australian expatriate sportspeople in Serbia
- Australian expatriate men's soccer players
- 21st-century Australian sportsmen