When it comes to sitting down for one of our infamous ‘One-on-One' sessions it is always best when you have an experienced player with a colourful career who is not afraid to speak their mind. This makes former AC Milan and Socceroos stopper Zeljko ‘Spider' Kalac a near perfect candidate.

Arriving at our offices in McMahons Point in good spirits, a friendly Kalac is happy to wade through your questions and never hold back on what he really thinks. We only wish we could have published some of his off-the-record comments too!

There is plenty to discuss with the outspoken Kalac in a career which spanned over two decades in Australia, Netherlands, Italy and Greece (but the latter is something he'd rather forget it seems!), plus Australia's first World Cup in 32 years.

From life as a 16-year old Sydney United keeper, to UK permit snubs, winning the Champions League, his rivalry with Schwarzer, that Croatia mistake, gambling every day and growing a beer belly...

Were any other sports a possibility for you? At 6ft 7in you could have been a basketball star surely?
Jack Allard, Port Hedland
There was never any other sport for me. I came from a footballing background and I could never run, so other sports were out of the question. I played everything when I was at school like tennis, golf, rugby league, cricket and AFL. I played the lot when I had to at school, but when it came to the weekend it was only ever football.

What was it like being thrown into NSL action with that Sydney United team as a 16 year-old when regular goalkeeper Tony Franken was injured? Did you hope he'd remain crocked?
Mike Bosch, Streaky Bay
At the time the coach Ron Corry believed in using young players at every opprounity. It was an unbelievable feeling for me to play for a club that I'd always loved at the tender age of 16. Tony had a bad injury which I think was his cruciate and he was out for around nine months. When he did recover and was ready to play football again, he never took my spot from me.

What was special about the Sydney United keeper set up in the early '90s? Producing yourself, Bozza and Tony Franken, there must have been something in the water!?
Josh Kelly, Adelaide Hills
We had an unbelievable goalkeeper coach in Ron Corry, he was the start of it all. When I was only 14 I used to train with Steve Watson and Greg Woodhouse, who were the goalkeepers at Sydney United at the time. Ron Corry then took over as head coach and Steve Watson took over as goalkeeping coach, so there was this continued flow of good goalkeeper coaches.

During the 1993/94 season you kept an NSL record 12 clean sheets in 26 games for Sydney United, but only finished third in the league. Did the strikers not match your goalkeeping skills?
Bojan Kvesic, Punchbowl
That was the year we just couldn't score - I think we played a record of eight 0-0s or something! Not that the strikers weren't good, we just couldn't put the ball in the net. It was a young team and I was always busy in goal. That was the year we beat Adelaide City in Adelaide 1-0 and I played unbelievable. We didn't cross halfway, then we grabbed a goal in the only time we did get out of our half for a 1-0 win. They hated me in Adelaide as it was one of those places I always played well. The Sydney United days were different class though and I had a lot of friends that played there.

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When you were at Leicester City briefly, how surprised were you when Martin O'Neill put you on in the final minute of the 1996 Division One play-off final? Were you annoyed that Leicester scored with the last kick of the game and you didn't get to become a penalty hero?
Joshua Waite, Orange
I wasn't surprised as that was the gameplan. During the week we'd done penalty shoot-outs and I was pretty good at saving penalties. The day before the match we did a penalty shoot-out and I saved about nine of the 15 penalties taken. So O'Neill told me that if it went to penalties I was coming on. To be honest I've never been so tired in my life. I ran on, ran to my goal, we scored so I ran up the other end to celebrate and then had to run all the way back to my goal. I was desperate for full-time!

You were supposed to be transferred from Leicester to Wolves with Steve Corica in 1996, but didn't get a UK work permit. Why not? Did you expect to have one granted? How disappointing was it returning to Sydney United?
Ethan Veale, Bowen
I spent about two years trying to get a UK work permit and that shows to the younger kids out there that they shouldn't just put their mind in one place as we've been bought up being told to go to England. I went to Leicester, but I had the choice to go to Leeds United and Celtic too. I chose Leicester as a platform to play and get some experience. Going back to Sydney United was disappointing as I left as the biggest ever transfer to leave Australia, only to be in England for six months. You start wondering if the chance will come again.

You nearly made it back to England in 1997 when then Socceroos coach Terry Venables wanted to take you to Portsmouth. Are you bitter you never got to play in England?
Sophie Townsend, Albury
England almost destroyed my career. I don't want to talk about sour grapes, but red tape cost me two years of my career. I'm actually glad I didn't play in England. My career taught me so many new cultures, I already know the English culture as we live it here in Australia. I got a taste of different cultures and lifestyles at my different clubs.

Hello from the Netherlands! We still remember you fondly. How do you recall your time at Roda JC?
René Held, Netherlands
Roda was the best four years of my career. My time there was unbelievable, I probably would have never left if the President wasn't such a tight arse and had put in some more money to buy the players we needed. We should have been a Champions League team, but the club didn't want to invest. Once they wouldn't add those one or two players which would have made us a Champions League side, then I was gone. I had some great mates there, we got close to the Champions League two years in a row and we won the Dutch Cup without conceding a goal which is a record. Great times!

Was getting relegated to Serie C1 with Perugia the lowest point of your career? And did you then expect it to suddenly turn into the highest point of your career when AC Milan hired you?
Will Thurgood, Mintabie
Perugia going bankrupt and getting relegated was my saviour actually. Panathinaikos offered €2.5m for me, Fiorentina offered €2.8m for me, but I was playing regularly at Perugia and they were not going to let me go. I didn't get paid for a year before the Milan offer came in. I was in Germany at the Confederations Cup when I got a phonecall telling me a big club in Italy was interested in me, so I assumed it was going to be a club like Fiorentina or Napoli. I said I was interested, but the club would have to pay Perugia a transfer fee. I was told the club that was interested would have no problem covering a transfer fee. When I got told it was AC Milan, I said, "Yeah right". However they flew to Germany and we did the deal.

Why did you move to Milan? Wouldn't have playing consistently been more appealing than riding the pine?
Tommy Sepentulevski, Casula
I'd had four fantastic years at Perugia and played really well, but I was getting to an age where I could have gone to Roma as first keeper as they offered me that, or go be second keeper at the biggest club in the world. The decision was quite easy really. Being second choice at Milan is much better than being first choice at a smaller club.

You've got Champions League, European Super Cup and Club World Cup winners medals. How proud do you feel as the only Australian with all three? Where do you keep them? Are they on display in 'Casa del Spider'?
Jordan Stutchbury, Horsham
We've only just got back to Australia so they're not on display at the moment. I did take them onto SBS once to show people what they were playing for in the Champions League final. Once I get my house sorted they will go on display.

You described yourself as a bit of a team clown while you were at AC Milan. What was your best prank? Did they get your Aussie humour?
Shane Rule, Halls Creek
It took them a while to get my humour as it is the type of club where everything is so serious, but slowly they got used to my mentality and how I liked to do things to keep everyone happy, even after bad results. However I wasn't much of a prankster, I was just someone who wanted to make sure the place was fun.

After leaving Milan in 2009, why did you opt to play in the Greek Super League over the A-League?
George Constantinides, Melbourne
I didn't really opt to play there, my goalkeeper coach talked me into it. I'd done the pre-season with Milan over in America and once I got back I said, "I don't want this anymore, that'll do me". Milan then let me go for free, that's the sort of great club they are, and then I received a lot of calls from clubs. I ended up signing for Kavala, but the day I did I knew I'd done the wrong thing. I didn't want to come back to the A-League simply because I had a lot of niggling injuries, I'd dislocated my finger and had a problem with my knee. I didn't want to come back to the hard grounds of Australia, my reputation was so good and I saw what happened with John Aloisi.

You spent 14 years as a Socceroos goalkeeper, but only got just over 50 caps, should you have got more?
Mitchell Phillips, Longreach
Yeah, I should have got a lot more. I was at my peak as a player when Frank Farina was in charge, prior to him it was me and Bozza as the regular keepers. As soon as Farina came in, it was a Marconi keeper
in Schwarzer who jumped in front of everyone else and Farina never gave anyone else a chance.

Honestly, who was the best: Bosnich, Schwarzer or Kalac?
Nathan Quinn, Luddenham
As a shot-stopper, Bozza. He was a freak, simply amazing. Bozza got stuffed up by the new rule where you couldn't pick up the ball from a pass-back. When you had to use your feet that caused him a lot of havoc. In general play we all had different aspects. I always played for open teams at club level, so as an all-round keeper I had more quality. Schwarzer plays in defensive teams which provide good cover.

You've been quite vocal in your criticism of Schwarzer, how highly do you rate him as a goalkeeper? Do you like him as a person? Are you on speaking terms?
Tyler Nixon, Blackall
Me and Schwarzy still speak. We don't have a problem with each other. You have the Kalac supporters and the Schwarzer supporters. The way Guus Hiddink played both of us irritated both of us. We'd always exchange comments about each other through the papers and that was the beauty of the relationship. There are no problem and we still speak today.

How did you feel when Guus signalled for you to warm up just prior to the Uruguay penalties?
Ashley Symons, Frankston
Emmo [Brett Emerton] stuffed me. He came down with cramp. F**king hell Emmo, you cost me! That cost me my spot at the beginning of the World Cup too, as Schwarzer became the hero of the nation by saving the penalties. After that Hiddink had no choice but to play him. Leading into the World Cup I was on much better form. I'd even told Schwarzer which way to dive for the Zalayeta penalty as he was my teammate at Perugia.

What was going through your mind before the Kovac shot against Croatia in 2006?
Tommy Fabjancic, Blacktown
I saw the shot but it bounced in a naughty position just in front of me. It was a case of thinking if I should go down sideways or step across. I tried to go down sideways and it bounced up higher than I expected. After it went in you're filthy with the world, but it didn't cost us anything. It was one of those things, these mistakes happen. Being against Croatia wasn't ideal, but I've made worst mistakes.

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How relieved were you when Harry Kewell got the goal to send Australia through after your mistake? Was it fair enough when Schwarzer was reinstated for the next game against Italy?
Jayden Polglaze, Whyalla
I should never have played against Croatia anyway as I was carrying a back injury. I've never come out and said this before, but I had an injury and I could hardly bend over. It was the World Cup so I took a load of injections to play, but I should never have played. For the following game against Italy I couldn't even walk. Harry's goal was a saviour and you're relieved that your mate has got yourself out of a bit of strife.

In that Socceroos friendly against Paraguay in 2006 where we said goodbye to Tony Popovic, Tony Vidmar, Stan Lazaridis and yourself, what did it feel like walking off the pitch in the final minute for Schwarzer? Would you have preferred to play the full game or did you enjoy the reception more?
Connor Quinlivan, Sale
I thought it was great. There is nothing better than playing in front of 50,000 Aussies in your own stadium and saying thank you for all that you've done for the green and gold and for football in the country. Schwarzer and I had that rivalry for so many years, who else was going to come on? When I decided to retire I walked into the hotel and I was with Poppa [Tony Popovic] as we always roomed together. I'd been there half an hour and I saw the changing of the guard. There were new staff, new management and new everything. I looked at Poppa and said, "This is the right decision". I've been lucky in my career that I've never regretted a decision.

What is the significance behind the number 18? I understand you always liked to wear it.
Joey Coates, Katoomba
With the national team it was my number from the beginning, so I just stuck to it. I never wanted the number one as number 18 was my number and I liked it. However, I was number one at Sydney United, a mate of mine had number 18 in Holland so I was number one at Roda, and at AC Milan I was number 16 as 18 had gone already. I quite liked the number 16 though as it was my date of birth. A lot of people think it is strange that a keeper wouldn't want the number one, but I preferred the 16 or 18.

Any plans on a comeback? You're only 37, still prime age for a keeper.
Dane Baird, Cronulla
No. I've played in the first team since I was 16. I played 21 and a half years at the highest level and enough was enough. It is better to go out with people remembering how good you were than making a fool of yourself.

I remember you saying after your football retirement you were going to grow a beer belly. How is that going? Is
it large enough to hold a freestanding schooner yet?
Eddie Chi, Blakehurst
[Laughs] Not yet, but I haven't done anything since I retired. It is still quite flat, but I'm working on it. She's just not coming up at the moment.

How much do you gamble a week?
John Burney, Maroubra
I gamble every day, it just depends on what. I can start to gamble on football now too as I've retired. I've got four horses which is brilliant and I race horses with Craig Moore, Scott Chipperfield, Tony Popovic and Tony Vidmar - it is a good way to keep us together. We've got a really good horse called 'Buffering' and another good one called 'Hummer', who has won around $350,000 in prize money for us. From those winnings we bought 'Buffering' for $22,000 and we've won $340,000 from the first five starts.

Where did the nickname 'Spider' come from? If you were a spider, which species would you be?
Olivia Pyke, Tully
Graham Arnold gave me the nickname when I was 14 years old. When they used to shoot and I'd make a save, they'd all say, "F**king hell, how did this Spider save that, there's nothing of him he's just arms and legs". I'd probably be a harmless species of spider, much like a Daddy longlegs.

Where's the best cevapi [a Balkan minced beef dish] in Australia?
James Hughes, Wollongong
It would be a Grand Final between the Balkan on Oxford Street and The King Tomislav Club at Edensor Park.

As an NSL star, do you think that old 'soccer' fans have been alienated by the shiny, new marketable A-League? Andrej Fumic, St Johns Park
Yeah, I do. That is something I've spoken about quite openly since I've been here. The A-League is good, they have taken away the ethnic side, but that ethnic side was brilliant. A Sydney Olympic versus Sydney Croatia derby, or Marconi against Sydney Croatia were unbeatable. Crowds were 14-15,000 at those small stadiums and it was brilliant. The NSL days were brilliant, the problem was the financial side. The matches and supporters were great though.

Would you like to have any input in the Socceroos as a goalkeeper coach or with any of the A-League squads in the future?
Joel Holmes, Wamberal
I'd like to do something. The people from outside want you to give a helping hand, but the people that are already in there are scared you're going to take their job. The input should be there to improve the game and we need people who have had an impact on the game with a lot of knowledge. I have a lot of great ideas, it is about someone wanting to sit down and listen.

This article appeared in the August issue of FourFourTwo magazine. To buy back copies of this issue call 03-8317-8121 with a credit card to hand.