Nikola Petkovic (current whereabouts unknown, formerly Sydney FC)

Transfer alert.

The former Sydney FC defender - only 32 - appears without a club right now after exiting his Thai club recently. Sky Blues fans will attest to the Serbian’s quality, the aggressive defender revelled in the white-hot atmosphere of the big Sydney Derbies and spent two years at Moore Park from 2013, fitting in well with the physical nature of the Aussie league.

His career since leaving in 2015 has been a mixture: China, Belgium, Serbia, and Thailand. He turns 33 in March but a one-year deal in the A-League for next season could make him a valuable acquisition.

Sydney FC's Petkovic bossing Eden Hazard in a friendly at ANZ Stadium

Jerome Polenz (formerly Western Sydney Wanderers, now said to be retired)

Highly rated and popular at Wanderers where he won a championship in 2013, the Berliner was very much a part of the club’s initial golden years under Tony Popovic.

His wife was building a profile on TV, too, but their time in Western Sydney didn’t last. After leaving Wanderland in 2014 as part of Popa's big clearout, things haven’t really panned out for the full back. 

A short stint in Norway with Sarpsborg followed, then the ponytailed former German youth international with Algerian heritage returned to the A-League at Brisbane Roar in 2015, but it turned out to be a disaster.

Signed by the previous coaching staff, he was unwanted by John Aloisi who was frustrated at Polenz’s inability to fit into his game plan. He left Brisbane in 2016 with a year remaining on his contract.

Polenz’s time in the Sunshine State was hardly happy, punctuated by rows with Aloisi as his return to Australia was, seemingly, his last port of call as a player. At the relatively young age of 32, it’s believed he has now retired.

Polenz in his pomp at Wanderers

Alex Rodriguez-Gorrin (formerly Wellington Phoenix, now Motherwell)

Interestingly, Gorrin is now teammates at Motherwell with another ex-A-League man, former Melbourne City and Central Coast Mariners striker Ross McCormack.

Gorrin arrived at Phoenix with a decent pedigree having captained Sunderland’s youth sides from 2011. He landed in New Zealand in 2014 as a 20-year-old still finding his feet in professional football (he didn’t establish himself in the Sunderland first team) and left in 2017 for Portuguese club Boavista.

Did he set the team and league alight? Not really. The Tenerife-born central midfielder looked promising but didn’t stamp his authority on the team in just over 70 appearances in the A-League.

Following his NZ stint, a six-month stint in Portugal and a year with a Transylvanian outfit - the beautifully named Asociația Club Sportiv Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe - Gorrin appeared to be treading water.

But now at Motherwell, he seems to have got his career back on track. He joined the Scottish club in the last European summer and has made 12 appearances with one assist at Fir Park, adding a little more depth to a youthful squad.

And ‘Well stopper Trevor Carson was a former teammate of Rodriguez at the Stadium of Light. 

Playing for the Steelmen in the Scottish Premiership may have toughened up Gorrin, and with the Spaniard out of contract on May 31 this year, it’ll be interesting to see where the now 25-year-old former Phoenix man ends up next.

Gorrin against Corey Brown of Roar

Robert Koren (formerly Melbourne City, now Dravograd)

Coming towards the end of his playing career, Koren was an international marquee for the A-League in 2014, after playing in England since 2007 for West Brom and Hull City, both in the English Premier League.

Koren played 61 games for Slovenia and scored against Algeria in the 2010 World Cup. At West Brom, the box-to-box midfielder caught the eye alongside former Manchester United man Jonathan Greening. Koren was also an important member of Hull City’s subsequent EPL campaign.

Koren ended up playing around 30 times for City - and scored a hat-trick in Newcastle - but like the club itself, failed to make a dent on the A-League despite his undoubted qualities. He left the Cityzens in 2016.

After being clubless, he joined Slovenian outfit Dravograd in 2017 aged 36. It’s believed he’s still at the club where he could be transitioning into coaching.

Koren scored a hat-trick against the Jets

Michael Mifsud (formerly Melbourne Heart, now Birkirkara FC)

One of the most infamous footballers in A-League history, the Maltese legend is still going strong at 37 with domestic outfit Birkirkara FC (fun fact: former Liverpool hero Jon Arne Riise is the club’s sporting director)

The “Maltese Messi” - capped an extraordinary 136 times for his nation with 40 goals - failed to live up to the hype in Heart colours in 2013/14 after arriving with a big reputation as a marquee signing. 

He famously scored a brace for Coventry against Manchester United in the League Cup in 2007 - spawning his Messi moniker - but couldn’t find his feet or the net in Australia more than once that season.

Mifsud departed after his one-season contract in the A-League expired and has enjoyed a good few seasons back home in Malta, with Sliema Wanderers and Valletta respectively. 

Now, two months shy of his 38th, the Maltese sporting icon is part of the Birkirkara FC squad with a contract until mid-2019.

Melbourne's "Maltese Messi"

Franz Straka (currently Al Ansar, formerly North Queensland Fury)

From Townsville to Beirut: want to travel the world in your 40s, 50s, and 60s? Be a coach like Frantisek “Franz” Straka and you can.

The youthful-looking Czech (he’s 60 now!) with the pearly whites, flashy jacket, and the media-friendly persona took the Townsville job in 2010. After a season he was off on another adventure.

Since then he’s coached Arka Gdynia in Poland, Slavia Prague and FK Pribram back home, Slovan Bratislava in Slovakia, followed by Egyptian clubs Ismaily and Smouha before his current club, who he joined mid last year, Beirut outfit Al Ansar in Lebanon’s top tier.

Clearly a project coach, it’s his 17th head coach coaching appointment in a career that includes one game as manager of the Czech Republic a decade ago.

Straka was a popular figure in Townsville