As part of the run-up to the 2018 FIFA World Cup, we are profiling every Australian player that has been to football's showpiece event.
The latest member in our countdown is Melbourne-born goalkeeper Jim Milisavljevic, a player whose international ambitions were cruelly curtailed by injury.
READ: FIFA World Cup: Countdown for the Caltex Socceroos
Cap number: N/A
World Cups played at: 1974
Position: Goalkeeper
Age at World Cup: 23
Clubs played for:
Footscray JUST, Carlton, Ringwood United
Best World Cup moment:
Milisavljevic was just one three players selected in the 1974 squad from outside New South Wales, joining Footscray JUST team-mate Branko Buljevic and fellow goalkeeper Jack Reilly on the roster.
The 23-year-old aggravated an existing hand injury during a pre-tournament camp in Switzerland, but he was passed fit in time for the flight to West Germany and was reportedly considered Reilly's number two, ahead of Allan Maher.
Unusually for a goalkeeper, he was one of the younger members of the roster - only Harry Williams and Peter Ollerton were a born after him, both a month later.
Career highlight:
Milisavljevic represented his home state Victoria in several tour matches, taking on the likes of Brazilian side Cruzeiro, Hungarian giants Ferencvaros and historic Polish outfit Legia Warsaw.
However, a recurring hand injury - he broke his left wrist for the third time in 1975 - unfortunately forced him to give up the gloves.
He instead returned to his junior playing position as a striker and memorably scored the winner for Footscray in their AMPOL Cup final win over South Melbourne that same year.
Did you know?
As a teenager, Milisavljevic earned his first-team opportunity at Footscray JUST in 1967 under none other than Rale Rasic.
*Photographs from the Les Shorrock, Laurie Schwab and Anton Cermak collections are used with permission from Deakin University Library, Eileen Shorrock and Mrs Jana Cermak.
