Dandenong City Soccer Club has undergone many changes since its formation in 1981, namely a merger in 2008 that saw the relocation and name change of the club formerly known as Chelsea Hajduk. One constant, however, has been the club’s status as a bastion of Melbourne’s South-East Croatian Community.
In that time, the likes of Eugene Galekovic, Ljubo Milicevic, Antun Kovacic, Anthony Pelikan, Joey Rajher and David Davutovic all came through the youth system, with current NPL stars Steven Topalovic, Stipo Andrijasevic, Damian Miskulin and Nick Glavan also starting their senior careers with City.
Another sight etched in the Hajduk faithful’s memories is a curly haired Dario Matkovic running up and down the pitch in the red, white and blue. The 30-year-old began his association with the club as a five year-old in 1990 and is still ever present 25 years later, hoping to play his part in taking Hajduk to the top flight of Victorian football.
While Matkovic’s story began at Chelsea Hajduk at the start of the 1990s, his most prominent chapter was a stint at the Melbourne Knights between 2002 and 2008, where he made his NSL debut before a long-term injury ruled him out of early A-League contention. Matkovic resumed his career and starred for the Knights when the two-time NSL champions returned to the Victorian Premier League in 2005, though the club itself struggled to adjust to the rigours of state league football. With the appointment of Chris Taylor as manager in 2007, the Knights again became title-chasers, though during this time a mystery illness derailed Matkovic’s career again and forced him to spend months away from the game.
A move to the Oakleigh Cannons in 2009 followed as Matkovic looked to regain his best form. However, the demands of a full-time job saw the former Knights winger drop down a couple of divisions back to Dandenong City, where he has since been helping the club establish itself as one of the premier sides in the local region.
The beginning
Matkovic started off at his local club as a starry-eyed five year old, introduced to the world game by his doting family. “Chelsea were a pretty strong team back then, playing in State League One at the time,” he recalls. “I played juniors for the club for seven years before moving to Box Hill where I spent three years playing in the Super League for them.”
Like many young Australian footballers of Croatian heritage, Dario’s football upbringing involved sitting at home before school watching his parents’ homeland finish third in their debut appearance at the 1998 World Cup, led by Dario’s idols, captain Zvonomir Boban and fellow midfielder Aljosa Asanovic.
Melbourne Knights
As a teenager, Dario crossed the West Gate Bridge to continue his junior development at Melbourne Knights’ academy, attempting to break into the senior side during the final years of the NSL. “I moved into their youth team as a 16 year old and spent four years with them, with the latter two years spent training with the senior team before breaking into that side and making a few appearances in the NSL,” he says.
The midfielder made his senior debut just before turning 18, coming on as a substitute in a grudge match away to Perth Glory. “We had some great players at the Knights then, the likes of Joel Porter, the Vargas brothers, Sasa Ognenovski and Tota da Costa, an ex-Portuguese international who played with the likes of Luis Figo and co,” he says.
“At the time it was the best competition in Australia and playing in it as teenager was a big thing. We had a good coach in Ian Dobson, and making an appearance for the club in the National League was a dream come true for me, considering the history of the club and the pedigree of the players they had produced.”
Matkovic’s time with the club in the National League was cut short when he injured his medial ligaments in a clash against Parramatta Power in his first starting appearance for the club. His injury lay-off extended through to the transition year between the NSL and the A-League, after which he returned for Knights as they joined the Victorian state league. “There was always talk about an A-League offer but no concrete approach from any of the clubs,” he says.
The talented youngster refocused his efforts on helping the Knights re-establish themselves as Victorian powerhouses, but the Sunshine-based club struggled to impose themselves in their first two VPL seasons, narrowly avoiding relegation from the top flight in 2006 – a year which included a 7-0 loss to rivals South Melbourne. Despite the setbacks, including several managerial changes, Matkovic was one of the best performers throughout the campaigns for the Knights. “We struggled particularly in that second season with included that heavy loss to South, and in the end I think we only stayed up by a point,” he says.
The appointment of Chris Taylor in 2007 led to a change in fortunes, with the English-born coach bringing in stability to the club as they once again returned to the summit of the VPL. However, this period proved to be a bittersweet spell for Dario, as he spent much of that time on the sidelines due to a mystery illness.
As a talented Knights squad – featuring the likes of Pelikan, former Socceroo Joe Spiteri, the experienced Alex Kiratzoglou, star defender Tomi Milardovic and emerging youngsters Ivan Franjic, Cameron Watson, Mate Dugandzic and Daniel Visevic – fell agonisingly short of a Grand Final appearance at the hands of Preston Lions in the preliminary stage, Matkovic was recovering from an illness which, to this day, he knows little about. “It was pretty serious as I could not eat or drink for a period, lost weight and also lost some vision while having to take time off both work and football,” he says.
“Three or four doctors did not know what I had going on and the only possible explanation was. It was maybe a build-up of too much work and football and not having the right amount of rest with my diet poor resulting in a body shut down. It was obviously very frustrating seeing the team doing so well and not being able to play my part.”
Matkovic made his comeback in 2008, but struggled to force his way into a talented and settled starting 11, as the Knights lost to an extra-time Carl Recchia strike in the 2008 VPL Grand Final. “We had a very good team at the Knights in those two years, and an excellent coach in Chris Taylor,” he reflects. “In the end we were unfortunate that we could not go all the way and win the Grand Final on at least one occasion.”