Michael Zullo
{{short description|Australian soccer player}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Michael Zullo
| image = Michael Zullo.jpg
| image_size = 220
| caption = Zullo playing for Brisbane Roar in 2008
| fullname = Michael Anthony Zullo
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1988|9|11|df=y}}
| birth_place = Brisbane, Australia
| height = 1.70m
| position = Left-back
| currentclub =
| clubnumber =
| youthyears1 = |youthclubs1 = Brisbane City
| years1 = 2005–2007 |clubs1 = Brisbane Strikers |
| years2 = 2007–2010 |clubs2 = Brisbane Roar |caps2 = 53 |goals2 = 2
| years3 = 2010–2015 |clubs3 = Utrecht |caps3 = 34 |goals3 = 0
| years4 = 2013–2014 |clubs4 = → Adelaide United (loan) |caps4 = 24 |goals4 = 0
| years5 = 2015–2016 |clubs5 = Melbourne City |caps5 = 15 |goals5 = 0
| years6 = 2016–2022 |clubs6 = Sydney FC |caps6 = 85 |goals6 = 2
| totalcaps = 211
| totalgoals = 4
| nationalyears1 = 2008 |nationalteam1 = Australia U23 |nationalcaps1 = 6 |nationalgoals1 = 1
| nationalyears2 = 2009–2013 |nationalteam2 = Australia |nationalcaps2 = 10 |nationalgoals2 = 0
| pcupdate = 17 May 2022
| ntupdate = 6 February 2013
}}
Michael Zullo (born 11 September 1988) is an Australian professional footballer who last played as a left-back for Sydney FC of the A-League.{{cite news|title=Brisbane trio sign for FC Utrecht |url=http://brisbaneroar.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=33316 |date=2 April 2010 |access-date=6 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110226055137/http://www.brisbaneroar.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=33316 |archive-date=26 February 2011 }}
Club career
After being signed by the former Brisbane Roar coach Frank Farina on a two-year contract, Zullo played five of the six opening games of the season, coming on as a substitute. On his first eleven debut against Wellington Phoenix, his sixth appearance for Queensland, he scored in the opening minutes of the game and set up a first half added-time goal for fellow youngster and close friend Robbie Kruse.[http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/56042,zullo-roars-into-suncorp.aspx Zullo roars into Suncorp"] Australian FourFourTwo
He previously played in the Brisbane Premier League for the Brisbane Strikers
During a match against Sydney FC, Zullo limped off the field with a torn thigh muscle which ruled him out for 6 weeks.[http://foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,22851793-5000940,00.html Further month off for injured Zullo] Fox Sports
At the end of the 2008–09 season, Zullo received offers from Dutch Eredivisie clubs FC Groningen and NEC Nijmegen but declined both offers and cited his preference to stay in the A-League for another season.[http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/100679,zullo-declines-to-go-dutch.aspx Zullo Declines To Go Dutch]
On 2 April 2010, along with fellow Roar players, Thomas Oar and Adam Sarota, Zullo joined Dutch side Utrecht on a three-year deal, in a collective transfer deal rumoured to be worth in excess of A$1.8 million.{{in lang|nl}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20110724152129/http://fcutrecht.nl/nieuws/actueel/2715/australisch-trio-tekent-contract Australisch trio tekent contract][http://a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=33317 Roar cop triple blow] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929121312/http://a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=33317 |date=29 September 2011 }} He made his debut for Utrecht in a 1–1 draw with NEC Nijmegen on 28 February 2011, coming off the bench on the 81st minute.
On 29 August 2013, he signed a one-year loan deal with Australian A-League club Adelaide United.{{cite web |url=http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/adelaideunited/news-display/Reds-secure-Socceroo-Zullo-on-loan/73797 |title=Reds secure Socceroo Zullo on loan - Adelaide United FC 2014 |website=www.footballaustralia.com.au |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408220935/http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/adelaideunited/news-display/Reds-secure-Socceroo-Zullo-on-loan/73797 |archive-date=2014-04-08}}
On 14 July 2015, Zullo signed a one-year deal with Melbourne City.{{cite news|title=Michael Zullo signs one-year deal with A-League's Melbourne City|newspaper=ABC News|date=14 July 2015|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-14/socceroo-michael-zullo-signs-for-melbourne-city/6619548|publisher=abc.net.au|access-date=14 July 2015}}
On 11 May 2016, Zullo signed a two-year deal with Sydney FC.{{cite web|url=http://www.a-league.com.au/article/transfer-news-sydney-fc-sign-socceroos-defender-michael-zullo/1d4gt884ruf3v1kcgnbetfhez0|title=Transfer news: Sydney FC sign Socceroos defender|publisher=A-League|date=12 May 2016}} In his first season at the Sky Blues, he played an influential role as an attacking fullback, assisting three goals and forming a good partnership with left winger Miloš Ninković.
Zullo scored his first goal for Sydney FC in a 3–2 win over Wellington Phoenix.
In January 2018, Zullo committed his future to Sydney FC for a further two seasons.
On 16 May 2022, Zullo departed Sydney FC after six seasons with the club.{{Cite web |date=2022-05-16 |title=News - Championship Winner Michael Zullo To Leave Club |url=https://sydneyfc.com/news/championship-winner-michael-zullo-to-leave-club |access-date=2022-05-16 |website=Sydney FC}}
International career
Due to outstanding form since making his debut for Brisbane Roar, Zullo was called up for the first time for the Australia national under-23 football team before their qualifier against Iraq, in which they won 2–0.
He was also a train-on player with the national U-17 squad, the Joeys, at 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Peru.
On 28 January 2009, Zullo made his full international debut, coming on as a substitute in a 0–0 draw with Indonesia in the group stage of qualifying for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup.{{cite news |title=Socceroos settle for draw in Asian Cup qualifier against Indonesia |url=http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,24978410-5014539,00.html |work=AAP |publisher=AAP |date=29 January 2009 |access-date=29 January 2009 }}
Personal life
Zullo attended Villanova College in the Brisbane suburb of Coorparoo, playing for the schools first XI.
Zullo and his wife Georgia have three children, one set of twin boys and one other boy.{{cite web |last1=Rugari |first1=Vince |title='Something I wasn't willing to risk': Sydney FC star to skip ACL to be with pregnant wife |url=https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/something-i-wasn-t-willing-to-risk-sydney-fc-star-to-skip-acl-to-be-with-pregnant-wife-20201108-p56cko.html |website=Sydney Morning Herald |date=8 November 2020 |publisher=Fairfax Media |access-date=22 December 2020}}
Career statistics
=Club=
{{Updated|match played 17 May 2022}}{{Soccerway|michael-zullo/17612}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition | |||||||
| rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season !rowspan="2"|Division ! colspan="2" |League ! colspan="2" |Cup ! colspan="2" |Continental ! colspan="2" |Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps||Goals||Apps||Goals||Apps||Goals||Apps||Goals | |||||||
| rowspan="4"|Brisbane Roar
|rowspan=3|A-League |17 | 1 | 2 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 19 | 1 | |
| 2008–09
|23 | 1 | 2 | 1 | colspan="2"|— | 25 | 2 | |
| 2009–10
|13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 13 | 0 | |
| colspan="2"|Total
!53||2||4||1||colspan="2"|—||57||3 | |||||||
| rowspan="4"|FC Utrecht
|rowspan=3|Eredivisie |6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 2011–12
|15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 16 | 0 | |
| 2012–13
|13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| colspan="2"|Total
!34||0||2||0||0||0||35||0 | |||||||
| Adelaide United
|A-League |24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 24 | 0 | |
| rowspan="1" |Melbourne City
|A-League |15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 15 | 0 | |
| rowspan="7" |Sydney FC
| rowspan="6" |A-League |28 | 0 | 3 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 31 | 0 | |
| 2017–18
|20 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 29 | 1 |
| 2018–19
|25 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 34 | 1 |
| 2019–20
|11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| 2020–21
|1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 1 | 0 | |
| 2021–22
|0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| colspan="2" |Total
!85||2||14||0||10||0||109||2 | |||||||
| colspan="3" |Career total
!211||4||21||1||10||0||240||5 |
=International=
{{updated|match played 6 February 2013}}{{NFT|29804}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year | |||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| rowspan="4"|Australia
|2009 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | |
| colspan="2"|Total | 10 | 0 |
Honours
=Club=
- Brisbane Premier League Premiership: 2006
- Brisbane Premier League Championship: 2006
=Individual=
External links
- [http://www.qldroar.com.au/default.aspx?s=qldfc_playerprofile_item&pid=1384 Brisbane Roar profile]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110527200709/http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/MensU23/default.aspx?s=aus_u23men_player_profile&pid=1384&tid=112 FFA - Olyroo profile]
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkMpRiFVMzs First Goal against Wellington Phoenix] on YouTube
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20150402103533/http://en.fcutrecht.nl/teams/fcutrecht1/204/michael-zullo/typeId=1 FC Utrecht profile]
References
{{reflist}}
{{Sydney FC squad}}
{{2016–17 A-League PFA Team of the Season}}
{{2017–18 A-League PFA Team of the Season}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zullo, Michael}}
Category:People educated at Brisbane Boys' College
Category:People educated at Villanova College (Australia)
Category:Men's association football fullbacks
Category:Soccer players from Brisbane
Category:Australian men's soccer players
Category:Brisbane Strikers FC players
Category:Brisbane Roar FC players
Category:Australian expatriate men's soccer players
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands
Category:Australia men's international soccer players
Category:Brisbane City FC players
Category:Australian people of Italian descent
Category:Sportspeople of Italian descent
Category:Adelaide United FC players