- Marko Bedenikovic
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Marko Bedenikovic 
Personal information Full name Marko Bedenikovic Date of birth June 18, 1984 Place of birth Mississauga, Canada Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Playing position Defensive Midfield Club information Current club Portugal FC Number 23 Youth career 2001-2002 San Francisco Dons Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 2002-2003 Toronto Olympians - (-) 2004 Toronto Croatia - (-) 2005 Oakville Blue Devils 16 (2) 2006 Toronto Lynx 27 (1) 2007- Baltimore Blast 10 (9) 2008 Toronto Croatia 12 (0) 2009-2010 Integrál-DAC 14 (1) 2010- Portugal FC 25 (4) National team 2001 Canada U-17 4 (0) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2010-05-12.
† Appearances (Goals).Marko Bedenikovic (born June 18, 1984 in Mississauga[1]) is an Canadian soccer player currently playing for Portugal FC.
Contents
Playing career
He began playing soccer at the college level for the San Francisco Dons in 2001, and 2002, before turning professional in 2003 with Toronto Olympians of the Canadian Professional Soccer League. After an unsuccessful tenure with the Olympians, Bedenikovic became an free agent in 2004 and signed a contract with Toronto Croatia. Though he featured sporadically in the starting line up, Bedenikovic managed successful to contribute by securing a playoff berth for Toronto by concluding the season with a second place finish in the Western Conference. In the playoff round 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 the newly expansion franchise the Oakville Blue Devils. Making his Oakville debut on August 4, 2005 against the Toronto Supra. Under the guidance of head coach Duncan Wilde, Bedenikovic made the transition to an established 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. 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.
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.[2] 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.[3] He was twice named USL First Division Player of the Week,[4] 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. Throughout the regular season assisted the club by setting a record for a 10 game undefeated streak at home. After the 2006 season the Lynx franchise dropped two divisions down to the USL Premier Development League, thus releasing Bedenikovic from his Toronto contract. Following his release he was given a trial with Toronto FC, but failed to receive a contract.
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.[5] 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. Was a major part of the power play, and sixth attacker for the Blast. The Baltimore Blast were crowned 2007/2008 MISL Champions for their 4th Championship in 6 years.
In 2009, he traveled to aboard to Europe 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.[6]
Honors
Toronto Croatia
- CPSL Championship (1): 2004
- Croatian World Club Championship (1): 2007
Oakville Blue Devils
- CPSL Championship (1): 2005
References
- ^ Playerhistory Profile
- ^ VETERAN TRIO RESIGN FOR 2006
- ^ August 27, 2006 USL game between Toronto Lynx and Puerto Rico Islanders
- ^ TWO MORE NAMED TO USL-1 TEAM OF THE WEEK
- ^ Badenikovic scores
- ^ "CSL game of Saturday May 8, 2010 between TFC Academy and Portugal United". Rocket Robin. http://22066.vws.magma.ca/reports/10csl016.htm. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
External links
Categories:- 1984 births
- Living people
- Baltimore Blast (2001–2008 MISL) players
- Canadian expatriate soccer people in the United States
- Canadian expatriate soccer players
- Canadian Professional Soccer League (1998–2005) players
- Canadian Soccer League (2006–present) players
- Canadian soccer players
- Canadian people of Croatian descent
- Expatriate soccer players in the United States
- Association football defenders
- Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008) players
- Oakville Blue Devils players
- Soccer people from Ontario
- People from Mississauga
- Toronto Croatia players
- Toronto Lynx (USL First Division) players
- University of San Francisco alumni
- USL First Division players
- Canadian expatriates in Hungary
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