A competent and unfussy shotstopper who always appears comfortable with high balls in the penalty area, Petkovic has played understudy to the likes of Mark Schwarzer and Zeljko Kalac on and off for the best part of a decade. Opportunities for the Socceroos have been extremely limited for the Perth-born custodian since making his debut against Colombia way back in February 2001.
Younger brother of Jason who played in goal for Australia during the 1990s, Petkovic was a member of the FIFA Confederations Cup Germany 2005 squad starting in the third match against Tunisia. He played one match during the qualifying campaign for South Africa when he took the field against China in Sydney in May 2008. Schwarzer will certainly be coach Pim Verbeek’s first choice custodian but Petkovic is a competent and able replacement if required.
Now 33, Petkovic has enjoyed regular game time throughout his lengthy club career both at home and abroad. He has carved out a very successful career in the Turkish top tier over eight years, helping to inspire some smaller clubs to break down the traditional monopoly, including runners-up seasons at Trabzonspor (twice) and Sivasspor in 2008/09.
