Josip Skoko prepares for his farewell match against Argentina

Josip Skoko has retired from the Socceroos in style, putting in a classy midfielder’s performance against the might of Argentina in front of over 70,000 fans in his home town stadium, the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Skoko steps down from the national team with an imposing 51 caps and 9 goals.  Presently playing with Wigan Athletic in the English Premier League, Skoko has plied his trade in Croatia, Belgium and Turkey.  He has represented Australia on some of its most famous and successful occasions, including the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup and, of course, the 2005 FIFA World Cup qualifying victory over Uruguay.

A natural leader held in high regard by his team mates, Josip has actively contributed to the activities of the PFA, and has always been available to assist and mentor younger players in the pursuit of their careers.

The PFA looks forward to Josip continuing his outstanding career in England, perhaps with a view to him returning to Australia with the A-League in coming seasons.

Match Details:

Qantas Socceroos     0

Argentina                  1 ( MartinDemichelis 49 ‘)

Tuesday 11th September 2007

Melbourne Cricket Ground

Referee: Mike Dean (England)

Assistant Referees: Ben Wilson & Nathan Gibson

Fourth Official: Simon Pryzadcz

Crowd: 70,171

Qantas Socceroos: 1.Mark SCHWARZER (gk), 2.Lucas NEILL, 4.David CARNEY,
5.Jason CULINA, 6.Michael BEAUCHAMP, 7.Luke WILKSHIRE, 8.Josip SKOKO
(17.Carl VALERI  51 ‘), 9.Joshua KENNEDY (22.Nik MRDJA 82′), 11.Archie
THOMPSON (19.Nick CARLE 62′), 13.Vincenzo GRELLA, 23.Marco BRESCIANO
(10.Brett HOLMAN 58’).

Substitutes not used:

3.Patrick KISNORBO, 14.Alex BROSQUE, 15.Michael THWAITE, 18.Clint BOLTON
(gk), 20.Simon COLOSIMO, 21.Dean HEFFERNAN.

Yellow Cards:   Brett Holman 60 ‘, Vince Grella87 ‘

Argentina: 13.Roberto ABBONDANZIERI (gk)  2 .Martin DEMICHELIS,
6.Gabriel HEINZE, 8.Javier ZANETTI, 11.Carlos TEVEZ (84′), , 14.Javier
MASCHERANO, 15.Gabriel MILITO, 17.Nicolas BURDISSO, 18.Jonas GUTIERREZ
(5.Fernando GAGO 72′), 19.Lionel MESSI (91′), 20.Federico INSUA
(16.Cristian LEDESMA 80’) .

Substitutes not used:

1.Oscar USTARI (gk), 4.Fabricio COLOCCINI, 12.Sergio ROMERO.

Yellow Cards: Gabriel Heinze 53