Mark Bresciano

Left Midfield – Mark Bresciano

The bald beauty who could bend the ball like Beckham, Mark Bresciano will be remembered as one of the greatest Socceroos of all time. 84 caps, 13 goals and three World Cup campaigns for Australia barely does the midfield maestro justice.

With a tendency for the spectacular, ‘Spartacus’ himself scored some of the finest goals ever struck in the Green and Gold.

A stunning left-footed volley against Bahrain in 2006 takes the cake, but perhaps most importantly, Bresciano scored the only goal in Australia’s 2005 victory over Uruguay, leading to the Socceroos first World Cup qualification in 32 years.

At club level, ‘Bresc’ re-invented what success looked like for Australians in Serie A, with 330 appearances for Empoli, Parma, Palermo and Lazio after leaving the CoE in 1997.

He also had a very successful six years in the Middle East, especially compared to many of the Australians who ventured over then, and now.

His unique standing among the Socceroos golden generation saw him become one of only two regular starters in the 2006 World Cup to be retained for the 2014 tournament, with Bresciano eventually retiring a year later.

Ned Zelic

Defensive Midfield – Ned Zelic

While a media-mastermind midfield combination of Zelic and Craig Foster may be too cheesy to make this list, Zelic’s inclusion is due to his fearsome ability (as well as his fiercely bizarre commentary).

Graduating from the CoE in 1989, three years later Zelic would trailblaze a path for Langerak by devoting three very successful years to Borussia Dortmund, winning the 1995 Bundesliga and reaching a UEFA Cup final during his spell.

A hard-hitting footballer who was equally adept in defence or midfield, Zelic also notably represented Queens Park Rangers, Eintracht Frankfurt and 1860 Munich, making 102 appearances for the latter.

Zelic captained Australia to fourth at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, but received a disappointing 34 caps for the Socceroos, due in part to persistent disagreements with national team coach Frank Farina.

Regardless of his national career, Zelic’s ‘individual brilliance’ is the reason Four Four Two named him one of the 25 Greatest Australian Footballers of All Time, and the reason he’s one of the CoE’s greatest XI.