Richie Alagich

Richie Alagich
Richie Alagich
Born	October 30, 1973 (age 53); Woodville, South Australia, Australia
Occupation	Professional football player (former)
Years active	1990–2008
Known for	Australian professional football player

Richie Alagich (born 30 October 1973) is a former Australian professional football player.

Early years

Hailing from Woodville, South Australia, Alagich represented his state in football between 1985 and 1991. His professional journey began at age 16 in 1990 with the Port Adelaide Lions, competing in the South Australia Super League, where he stayed until 1993.

West Adelaide

Advancing to the National Soccer League, Alagich joined West Adelaide SC after representing Australia at both schoolboy and under-20 levels. He made his debut for the Australian under-23 squad, known as the "Olyroos," in 1993, maintaining regular appearances until 1996 and contributing to their qualification for the 1996 Olympic Games, although he did not participate in the tournament itself.

In domestic competition, West Adelaide secured a fifth-place finish in the 1994–95 season, advancing to the NSL finals where Alagich featured in both matches of their elimination final loss against Sydney United. The subsequent season saw the club narrowly miss out on finals qualification, and they ultimately folded before the commencement of the 1999–2000 season.

South Melbourne

After West Adelaide's dissolution, Alagich signed with the reigning NSL champions, the South Melbourne Lakers, for the 1998–99 season. The team topped the 1999 pre-season Tynan-Eyre Cup but were unable to compete in the final due to their participation in the 1999 Oceania Club Championship. Triumphing in this competition earned them a spot at the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship, where they finished tenth overall. During this tournament held in Brazil, Alagich appeared once, in a 1–3 defeat to Mexican club Necaxa. In the following 2000–01 NSL season, he made two substitute appearances as South Melbourne finished first on the ladder but were defeated by the Wollongong Wolves in the Grand Final.

Brisbane Strikers

For the 2001–02 season, Alagich transferred to the Brisbane Strikers, playing in 24 matches and helping his team reach the Minor Semifinals. He added another ten appearances during the 2002–03 campaign.

Adelaide United

Following the withdrawal of Adelaide Force from the NSL, Alagich returned to South Australia to join Adelaide United for their inaugural 2003–04 season. He featured in 28 games and scored three goals, including a crucial penalty during extra time that secured a place in the preliminary final. That season marked his milestone of reaching 200 NSL appearances, concluding with a total of 202 matches and seven goals. His outstanding contributions were recognized with both Club Champion and Players' Player accolades. After the NSL was discontinued for the 2004–05 season, he briefly returned to state-level football with the Adelaide Raiders.

With the debut of the A-League in 2005–06, Alagich rejoined Adelaide United, participating in 23 of their 24 fixtures as they claimed the league’s first Premiership but narrowly missed out on reaching the Grand Final. Notably, he became the first player to receive a red card in an A-League match following a foul against Melbourne Victory. Despite this setback, he was selected as right back in Australian FourFourTwo magazine’s "A-League Dream Team" for that season.

During the A-League 2006–07 campaign, Alagich made 21 appearances and scored during Adelaide’s penalty shootout victory over Newcastle Jets in the preliminary final. He concluded his professional career by helping Adelaide United advance to the quarter-finals of the 2008 Asian Champions League, featuring in a goalless draw against Changchun Yatai. On 22 May 2008, he retired after amassing over 100 appearances for Adelaide United across four seasons.

Club statistics

(Information accurate as of 2 January 2009)

Club	Season	League¹		Cup		International²		Overall
Club	Season	Appearances	Goals	Appearances	Goals	Appearances	Goals	Appearances	Goals
Adelaide United	2005–06	23	0	3	0	0	0	29	0
	2006–07	21	0	6	0	0	0	27	0
	2007–08	21	2	5	1	6	0	32	3
	2008–09	0	0	0	0	4	1	4	1
Career total								92	4

¹ – includes statistics from A-League finals series
² – encompasses FIFA Club World Cup data; AFC Champions League figures are recorded in the season following the group stage (e.g., 2008 ACL counted in 2008–09 season)

Coaching career

Alagich took on the role of assistant coach for the Adelaide United women's team, working alongside Michael Barnett. Additionally, he contributed as a scout during Adelaide's victorious Asian Champions League campaign, conducting opposition analysis on teams such as Japan’s Kashima Antlers. In his debut coaching season, the women's squad ended last in the W-League standings, concluding with a seven-match losing streak.

Personal life

Richie Alagich is sibling to Matilda international player Dianne Alagich and is the father of Ethan Alagich, who also represents Adelaide United.

Honours

Adelaide United

A-League Premiership: 2005–06

South Melbourne

Oceania Club Championship: 1999

Individual

Adelaide United Club Champion: 2003–04