Sasa Ognenovski
Australian footballer
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Sasa Ognenovski (Macedonian: Саша Огненовски, romanized: Saša Ognenovski; born 3 April 1979) is an Australian former soccer player who played as a centre-back for the Australia national team. In 2010, he was named the Asian Footballer of the Year by Asian Football Confederation after helping K League club Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma win the AFC Champions League.[2] This achievement led him to be included in the Australian squad for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. Alongside Robert Cornthwaite and Eli Babalj, Ognenovski is the joint third tallest soccer player to have played for the Australia national team at 1.95 m, behind 2.02-m-tall Zeljko Kalac and 1.98-m-tall Harry Souttar.[3]
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Ognenovski in 2012 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sasa Ognenovski[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 3 April 1979[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Centre-back | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Macarthur FC (head coach) | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1997–2000 | Preston Lions | 73 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2000–2002 | Melbourne Knights | 46 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | Panachaiki | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | Preston Lions | 36 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2005 | Fawkner-Whittlesea Blues | 32 | (8) | ||||||||||||||
| 2006–2008 | Queensland Roar | 35 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Adelaide United | 20 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2009–2012 | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 80 | (9) | ||||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | Umm Salal | 29 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Sydney FC | 15 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Preston Lions | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Preston Lions | 7 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 377 | (26) | |||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2013 | Australia | 22 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Dandenong City (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | Dandenong City | ||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Preston Lions (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2026 | Preston Lions (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2026– | Macarthur FC | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20 August 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 9 December 2013 | |||||||||||||||||
Club career
Ognenovski played for Macedonian Australians' club Preston Lions for four years early in his career before joining National Soccer League club Melbourne Knights in 2000. He moved to Greek side Panahaiki in 2002, but returned to Preston Lions the next year after making only two Alpha Ethniki appearances.[4]
In 2006, Ognenovski transferred to Queensland Roar, started to play at the A-League.[4] In the 2008–09 season, he participated as an Adelaide United player in the 2008 AFC Champions League final and was selected for the A-League Team of the Season by Professional Footballers Australia.[5][6] He was also voted the second best Macedonian footballer behind Lazio's forward Goran Pandev.[7]
In January 2009, Ognenovski received an offer from Shin Tae-yong, then manager of K League club Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma and former coach of Queensland Roar.[8] On 13 January 2009, Adelaide United revealed he would join Seongnam at the end of the 2008–09 season on a two-year deal. He gave a glowing tribute to the club upon the announcement saying, "I've met some great people, the owners Nick and Dario are probably the best people I've met in football so it is a tough decision but obviously I have to secure my future and look after my family so that was the main reason that I took up the offer".[9]
In his first season at Seongnam, Ognenovski played both legs of the 2009 K League Championship final against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, but lost 3–1 on aggregate. The next year, he captained the club and led them to win the 2010 AFC Champions League. He was selected as the Man of the Match in the 3–1 final win over Zob Ahan, where he scored the opening goal, and furthermore, he was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.[10] In 2011, he was criticised for attempting to transfer to league rivals FC Seoul,[11] but repaid the club for their trust by bringing a Korean FA Cup title.[12] Australian soccer players gained popularity with K League clubs due to his success at the time.[13]
On 7 July 2012, Ognenovski moved to Qatar Stars League club Umm Salal.[14] On 21 October, he made his debut for Umm Salal in a 1–1 draw with Al Kharaitiyat.[15][16]
On 4 February 2014, Ognenovski signed for Sydney FC, moving back to the A-League. On 22 February, he scored his first goal for Sydney assisted by Alessandro Del Piero in a 2–0 win over Newcastle Jets. He and his partner Nikola Petković were in charge of Sydney's rearguard,[17] and both were appointed the club's vice-captains on 8 October.[18] However, he was sidelined after suffering from a thigh injury in a match against Melbourne Victory on 15 November.[19] On 3 June 2015, he was released from the club.[20]
International career
Ognenovski was eligible to represent Australia, but after not being selected for 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification matches against Indonesia and Kuwait, he expressed his disappointment and put himself up for selection for the country of his heritage, Macedonia (now North Macedonia). Although not available to play (due to not having yet received FIFA clearance), Ognenovski was called by Srečko Katanec to play for Macedonia in the match against Moldova on 11 February 2009, although he did not feature due to issues with his eligibility.[21][22]
After dashing his hopes for playing for the Socceroos under the late Pim Verbeek, new manager Holger Osieck called him up for a friendly against Egypt in Cairo, Egypt,[23][24] and he was subsequently named in the 23-man 2011 AFC Asian Cup squad. Throughout the AFC Asian Cup, he started every match and developed a solid defensive partnership with Lucas Neill, and scored the second goal in Australia's 6–0 defeat of Uzbekistan in the semi-finals.
Managerial career
Between 2019 and 2021, Ognenovski managed National Premier Leagues Victoria club Dandenong City.[25]
In August 2026, Ognenovski was named head coach of A-League Men club Macarthur FC, signing a two-year contract.[26]
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Preston Lions | 1997[30] | Victorian Premier League | 9 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 9 | 1 | ||||
| 1998[31] | Victorian Premier League | 20 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 20 | 0 | |||||
| 1999[32] | Victorian Premier League | 25 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 25 | 0 | |||||
| 2000[33] | Victorian Premier League | 19 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 19 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 73 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 73 | 1 | ||||||
| Melbourne Knights | 2000–01 | National Soccer League | 24 | 0 | — | — | — | 3[a] | 0 | 27 | 0 | |||
| 2001–02 | National Soccer League | 22 | 0 | — | — | — | 2[a] | 0 | 24 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 46 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | 51 | 0 | |||||
| Panachaiki | 2002–03 | Alpha Ethniki | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| Preston Lions | 2003[34] | Victorian Premier League | 18 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 18 | 1 | ||||
| 2004[35] | Victorian Premier League | 18 | 0 | — | — | — | 1[b] | 0 | 19 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 36 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 37 | 1 | |||||
| Fawkner-Whittlesea Blues | 2005[36] | Victorian Premier League | 19 | 4 | — | — | — | 1[b] | 0 | 20 | 4 | |||
| 2006[37] | Victorian Premier League | 13 | 4 | — | — | — | — | 13 | 4 | |||||
| Total | 32 | 8 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 33 | 8 | |||||
| Queensland Roar | 2006–07 | A-League | 17 | 0 | — | — | — | 5[c] | 0 | 22 | 0 | |||
| 2007–08 | A-League | 18 | 1 | — | — | — | 8[d] | 2 | 26 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 35 | 1 | — | — | — | 13 | 2 | 48 | 3 | |||||
| Adelaide United | 2008–09 | A-League | 20 | 3 | — | — | 9 | 0 | 7[e] | 0 | 36 | 3 | ||
| Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 2009 | K League | 21 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | 3[f] | 0 | 35 | 2 | |
| 2010 | K League | 24 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 3[g] | 2 | 44 | 6 | |
| 2011 | K League | 24 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 7 | |||
| 2012 | K League | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | — | 17 | 0 | |||
| Total | 80 | 9 | 12 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 129 | 15 | ||
| Umm Salal | 2012–13 | Qatar Stars League | 18 | 1 | — | 18 | 1 | |||||||
| 2013–14 | Qatar Stars League | 11 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | ||||||||
| Total | 29 | 1 | — | 29 | 1 | |||||||||
| Sydney FC | 2013–14 | A-League | 9 | 1 | — | — | — | 1[h] | 0 | 10 | 1 | |||
| 2014–15 | A-League | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | |||
| Total | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 17 | 2 | ||||
| Preston Lions[38] | 2017 | VSL 1 North-West | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2018 | VSL 1 North-West | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||||
| Preston Lions[39] | 2022 | NPL Victoria 3 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||||
| 2023 | NPL Victoria 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 377 | 26 | 15 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 25 | 2 | 34 | 4 | 466 | 34 | ||
- Appearances in National Soccer League finals series
- Appearance in Victorian Premier League finals series
- Appearances in A-League Pre-season Challenge Cup
- Five appearances and one goal in A-League Pre-season Challenge Cup, three appearances and one goal in A-League finals series
- One appearance in A-League Pre-season Challenge Cup, four appearances in A-League finals series, two appearances in FIFA Club World Cup
- Appearances in K League Championship
- One appearance and one goal in K League Championship, two appearances and one goal in FIFA Club World Cup
- Appearance in A-League finals series
International
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 January 2011 | Doha, Qatar |  Uzbekistan | 2–0 | 6–0 | 2011 AFC Asian Cup |
Honours
Adelaide United
- AFC Champions League runner-up: 2008[5]
Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma
Preston Lions
Australia
- AFC Asian Cup runner-up: 2011[41]
Individual
- A-League Team of the Season by Professional Footballers Australia: 2008–09[6]
- AFC Champions League Most Valuable Player: 2010[10]
- AFC Player of the Year: 2010[2]
- K League 1 Best XI: 2010[42]
