Marko Bedenikovic

Marko Bedenikovic (born June 18, 1984 in Mississauga[1]) is a Canadian soccer player who last played professionally for Florida Tropics SC in the Major Arena Soccer League.

Marko Bedenikovic
Bedenikovic in 2005
Personal information
Full name Marko Bedenikovic
Date of birth (1983-06-18) June 18, 1983
Place of birth Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s) Defensive Midfield
Youth career
2001–2002 San Francisco Dons
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2003 Mississauga Olympians
2004 Toronto Croatia 10 (0)
2005 Oakville Blue Devils 16 (2)
2006 Toronto Lynx 27 (1)
2007–2008 Baltimore Blast (indoor) 10 (9)
2008 Toronto Croatia 12 (0)
2009–2010 Integrál-DAC 14 (1)
2010–2011 Portugal/SC Toronto 25 (4)
2012 HNNK Zagreb
2018 CSC Mississauga
2018 Florida Tropics SC (indoor) 1 (0)
National team
2001 Canada U-17 4 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2019 November 27

Playing career

He began playing soccer at the college level for the San Francisco Dons from 2001 till 2002.[2] He signed his first professional contract in 2002 with Mississauga Olympians in the Canadian Professional Soccer League.[3] After a two-year tenure with the Olympians, he became a free agent in 2004 and signed a contract with Toronto Croatia. Though he featured sporadically in the starting line up, but managed to contribute by securing a playoff berth for Toronto by concluding the season with a second-place finish in the Western Conference. In the postseason the Toronto side claimed its second CPSL Championship, by defeating Vaughan Shooters by a score of 4-0.

The following season he was transferred to expansion franchise the Oakville Blue Devils.[4] Making his Oakville debut on June 5, 2005 against the Vaughan Shooters.[5] Under the guidance of head coach Duncan Wilde, he made the transition to a defensive midfielder with a secured position in the starting eleven. Throughout the regular season Oakville dominated the Western Conference, and managed a second-place finish. In the post season the Blue Devils managed to capture his first championship in club history by defeating Vaughan by a score of 2-1.[6] The victory marked his second consecutive championship in a row. Bedenikovic appeared in all three matches, which included a goal scored in a match against Hamilton Thunder in the semi-finals.[7]

When Wilde was appointed the new head coach of the Toronto Lynx one of his first acquisitions was the signing of Bedenikovic on April 6, 2006.[8][9] He made his Lynx debut on April 22, against Virginia Beach Mariners, and scored his first goal in a 1-0 victory over the Puerto Rico Islanders on September 3, 2006.[10] He was twice named USL First Division Player of the Week,[11] and he helped the Lynx reach the Open Canada Cup finals for the first time in franchise history. Their opponents were Ottawa St. Anthony Italia, but unfortunately the Lynx were defeated by a score of 2-0. Following his release he was given a trial with Toronto FC, and played with the reserve team.[12]

On June 24, 2007 he returned to Toronto Croatia for a brief stint, and scored the winning goal against Gradiscanski Hrvat in a 1-0 victory in the Croatian World Club Championship. During the tournament he scored a single goal in a 9-0 thrashing of Croatia Esseen, and helped Toronto Croatia claim the Championship by scoring a goal in the final against Canberra Croatia in a 3-1 victory.[13] After training in his ancestral home in Croatia, he returned to North America to sign with the Baltimore Blast of the MISL in September 2007, where he recorded 9 points in his rookie season.[14] The Baltimore Blast were crowned 2007/2008 MISL Champions for their 4th Championship in 6 years.

In 2009, he traveled aboard to sign with Hungarian side Integrál-DAC, where he appeared in 14 matches and scored a single goal. The club ceased operations in later 2009, which resulted in the termination of his contract. Bedenikovic returned to Canada in 2010 to sign with Portugal FC, where he made his debut for the club on May 8, 2010 in a match against TFC Academy.[15] His greatest accomplishment with Portugal FC was in the 2011 season where the club achieved a twelve-game undefeated streak, and brought home the regular season championship. Bedenikovic would later play in the Ontario Soccer League with HNNK Zagreb in 2012.[16]In 2018, he returned to the Canadian Soccer League to play with CSC Mississauga.[17]

On December 6, 2018, Bedenikovic and six other players were signed by the Major Arena Soccer League's Florida Tropics SC. The high volume of signings was necessitated by issues with Canadian immigration laws, as the Tropics were due to play the Mississauga MetroStars on December 8.[18]

Honors

Toronto Croatia

Oakville Blue Devils

References
  1. "Playerhistory Profile". Playerhistory.com.
  2. "San Francisco Dons - All-Time Roster". University of San Francisco Athletics. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  3. Glover, Robin. "May 24, 2002 CPSL York Region Shooters vs Mississauga Olympians (by Rocket Robin)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  4. "Canadian Professional Soccer League - Clubs". web.archive.org. December 25, 2005. Archived from the original on December 25, 2005. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  5. Glover, Robin. "June 5, 2005 CPSL Vaughan Shooters vs Oakville Blue Devils (by Rocket Robin)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  6. Glover, Robin. "October 10, 2005 CPSL Vaughan Shooters vs Oakville Blue Devils (by Rocket Robin)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  7. Glover, Robin. "October 8, 2005 CPSL Hamilton Thunder vs Oakville Blue Devils (by Rocket Robin)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  8. Irwin, Rob. "April 6, 2006 Lynx re-sign veteran players (from Lynx media release)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  9. "Marco Bedenikovic | SoccerStats.us". soccerstats.us. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  10. Glover, Robin. "August 27, 2006 USL Toronto Lynx vs Puerto Rico Islanders (by Rocket Robin)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  11. Irwin, Rob. "August 30, 2006 USL Toronto Lynx news (from Lynx media release)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  12. "Marko Bedenikovic | SoccerStats.us". soccerstats.us. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  13. "Canadian Soccer League - News". September 28, 2007. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  14. "Marko Bedenikovic | SoccerStats.us". soccerstats.us. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  15. "CSL game of Saturday May 8, 2010 between TFC Academy and Portugal United". Rocket Robin. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  16. Guelph Rangers fall to HNNK Zagreb in OSL play
  17. "CSC Mississauga – Canadian Soccer League". Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  18. "Tropics Add Multiple Players Ahead of Canada Showdown". FLTropics.com. Florida Tropics SC. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
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