Sasa Ognenovski (; born 3 April 1979) is an Australian former soccer player who played as a centre-back for the Australia national team. In 2010, he was named the Asian Footballer of the Year by Asian Football Confederation after helping K League club Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma win the AFC Champions League. This achievement led him to be included in the Australian squad for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. Alongside Robert Cornthwaite and Eli Babalj, Ognenovski is the joint third tallest soccer player to have played for the Australia national team at 1.95 m, behind 2.02-m-tall Zeljko Kalac and 1.98-m-tall Harry Souttar.
Club career Ognenovski played for Macedonian Australians' club Preston Lions for four years early in his career before joining National Soccer League club Melbourne Knights in 2000. He moved to Greek side Panahaiki in 2002, but returned to Preston Lions the next year after making only two Alpha Ethniki appearances.
In 2006, Ognenovski transferred to Queensland Roar, started to play at the A-League. In the 2008–09 season, he participated as an Adelaide United player in the 2008 AFC Champions League final and was selected for the A-League Team of the Season by Professional Footballers Australia. He was also voted the second best Macedonian footballer behind Lazio's forward Goran Pandev.
In January 2009, Ognenovski received an offer from Shin Tae-yong, then manager of K League club Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma and former coach of Queensland Roar. On 13 January 2009, Adelaide United revealed he would join Seongnam at the end of the 2008–09 season on a two-year deal. He gave a glowing tribute to the club upon the announcement saying, "I've met some great people, the owners Nick and Dario are probably the best people I've met in football so it is a tough decision but obviously I have to secure my future and look after my family so that was the main reason that I took up the offer".
In his first season at Seongnam, Ognenovski played both legs of the 2009 K League Championship final against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, but lost 3–1 on aggregate. The next year, he captained the club and led them to win the 2010 AFC Champions League. He was selected as the Man of the Match in the 3–1 final win over Zob Ahan, where he scored the opening goal, and furthermore, he was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. In 2011, he was criticised for attempting to transfer to league rivals FC Seoul, but repaid the club for their trust by bringing a Korean FA Cup title. Australian soccer players gained popularity with K League clubs due to his success at the time.
On 7 July 2012, Ognenovski moved to Qatar Stars League club Umm Salal. On 21 October, he made his debut for Umm Salal in a 1–1 draw with Al Kharaitiyat.
On 4 February 2014, Ognenovski signed for Sydney FC, moving back to the A-League. On 22 February, he scored his first goal for Sydney assisted by Alessandro Del Piero in a 2–0 win over Newcastle Jets. He and his partner Nikola Petković were in charge of Sydney's rearguard, and both were appointed the club's vice-captains on 8 October. However, he was sidelined after suffering from a thigh injury in a match against Melbourne Victory on 15 November. On 3 June 2015, he was released from the club.
International career Ognenovski was eligible to represent Australia, but after not being selected for 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification matches against Indonesia and Kuwait, he expressed his disappointment and put himself up for selection for the country of his heritage, Macedonia (now North Macedonia). Although not available to play (due to not having yet received FIFA clearance), Ognenovski was called by Srečko Katanec to play for Macedonia in the match against Moldova on 11 February 2009, although he did not feature due to issues with his eligibility.
After dashing his hopes for playing for the Socceroos under the late Pim Verbeek, new manager Holger Osieck called him up for a friendly against Egypt in Cairo, Egypt, and he was subsequently named in the 23-man 2011 AFC Asian Cup squad. Throughout the AFC Asian Cup, he started every match and developed a solid defensive partnership with Lucas Neill, and scored the second goal in Australia's 6–0 defeat of Uzbekistan in the semi-finals.
Managerial career Between 2019 and 2021, Ognenovski managed National Premier Leagues Victoria club Dandenong City.
In August 2026, Ognenovski was named head coach of A-League Men club Macarthur FC, signing a two-year contract.
Career statistics Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsPreston Lions1997Victorian Premier League91————911998Victorian Premier League200————2001999Victorian Premier League250————2502000Victorian Premier League190————190Total731————731Melbourne Knights2000–01National Soccer League240———302702001–02National Soccer League220———20240Total460———50510Panachaiki2002–03Alpha Ethniki2020———40Preston Lions2003Victorian Premier League181————1812004Victorian Premier League180———10190Total361———10371Fawkner-Whittlesea Blues2005Victorian Premier League194———102042006Victorian Premier League134————134Total328———10338Queensland Roar2006–07A-League170———502202007–08A-League181———82263Total351———132483Adelaide United2008–09A-League203——9070363Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma2009K League2124070—303522010K League2422040112324462011K League2455240——3372012K League11010—50—170Total8091221501626212915Umm Salal2012–13Qatar Stars League181 — 1812013–14Qatar Stars League110 — 110Total291 — 291Sydney FC2013–14A-League91———101012014–15A-League6110——0071Total15210——10172Preston Lions2017VSL 1 North-West10————102018VSL 1 North-West10————10Total20————20Preston Lions2022NPL Victoria 360————602023NPL Victoria 210————10Total70————70Total3772615215025234446634
International + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsAustralia2010102011111201260201340Total221
+ List of international goals scored by Sasa Ognenovski No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition1 25 January 2011 Doha, Qatar 2–0 6–0 2011 AFC Asian Cup
Honours Adelaide United AFC Champions League runner-up: 2008
Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma AFC Champions League: 2010 Korean FA Cup: 2011
Preston Lions National Premier Leagues Victoria 3: 2022
Australia AFC Asian Cup runner-up: 2011
Individual A-League Team of the Season by Professional Footballers Australia: 2008–09 AFC Champions League Most Valuable Player: 2010 AFC Player of the Year: 2010 K League 1 Best XI: 2010
References
External links Sasa Ognenovski at Adelaide United (archived) Sasa Ognenovski at OzFootball Sasa Ognenovski at Macedonian Football (archived)