By David Manuca
MATE Dugandzic knows what it’s like being the youngest in the family.
He grew up in a family of six, with an older brother and two older sisters. Not that he is complaining.
“I was the youngest in the family, but it was pretty good,” Dugandzic said .
“You could say I am kind of spoilt, well maybe a lot, so I am very fine with being the youngest.”
Dugandzic was born and raised in St Albans, and still lives in the area today. He grew up around the corner from the St Albans Football Club, which he joined at the age of seven.
“Coming from a Croatian background, and the St Albans Saints being a Croatian club I really had no choice but to play for them,” he said.
“Also being the youngest, I always wanted to copy and do whatever my older brother was doing, so he was playing soccer and I wanted to as well.”
To this day he still goes to games at Churchill Reserve, and admits he will be attending many more next season when the Saints are playing in the Victorian Premier League.
The 21-year-old made his professional debut for the Melbourne Knights in 2006, at the age of 16, which came as a surprise to him.
“I was playing for the reserves for the Knights at the time, and I went to a game expecting to play in the reserves. I got to the stadium and I was told I would be playing for the senior squad,” he said.
“It came as such a surprise I didn’t really have any time to prepare properly or even get nervous.”
“I think I played alright though, because I was given more chances in the next few games.”
He impressed many and was then sold to Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia in 2008, before being loaned out to Lokomotiva Zagreb, which is owned by Dinamo, making a few appearances in the youth team.
“I got loaned out to Lokomotiva with about six or seven players, and made a few appearances in the youth team where I scored a few goals,” Dugandzic explained.
But things didn’t work out for him in Europe and he eventually moved back to the Knights where he played out a whole season.
Melbourne Victory was interested in the youngster and signed him to the youth team in September 2009.
Dugandzic was given the opportunity to train with the senior side, and was then given a game off the bench against Gold Coast later that month.
Just four weeks later he made his starting debut for the Victory against Adelaide United at Etihad Stadium, scoring two goals.
“It was absolutely sensational. To have a game like that on my debut was special,” he said.
“Although my first goal did take a deflection which the commentators didn’t pick up, so I was kind of lucky. But I’ll take it.”
“I didn’t expect Hernandez to pass it to me for my second goal either. I was there to pick it up if Hernandez’s shot was saved or something, but he passed it to me and I had an easy tap-in.”
Dugandzic made his international debut for Australia on 20 September, making an appearance off the bench against North Korea.
He described the experience as “incredible”.
“It was “an honour to represent my country and play at the highest level possible,” he said.
