Socceroo’s goalkeeper and Football Hall of Fame WA inductee Robbie Zabica takes a seat to talk though his time on the playing field with Ashley Morrison.
Robbie is one of Western Australia’s greatest ever homegrown talents.
A formidable sight between the posts, he made 27 ‘A’ international appearances for Australia in a senior career that began at Cockburn United and Stirling Macedonia. In 1988 he joined Adelaide City where he two national league titles, in 1992 and 1994, played a then national league record of 170 consecutive games and was named the competition’s Goalkeeper of the Year in 1992.
Robbie gained his first Socceroos cap in 1990 against Moscow Torpedo. He would go on to make 42 appearances for Australia, including the 1994 World Cup qualifiers and a dramatic play-off against Argentina, where he faced the threat of Diego Maradona. Unfortunately, a serious knee injury forced him to retire from international football in 1995.
The following year Robbie returned to club football at Spearwood Dalmatinac. He enjoyed a second spells in the national league with Perth Glory, spent a season at English side Bradford City and played locally for Cockburn City, Bayswater City, Inglewood United and Fremantle City before hanging up his gloves. Robbie made six appearances for the State and was named the State League’s Goalkeeper of the Year on four occasions.
Robbie was inducted into the Hall of Champions in 2008, and elevated to the Hall of Legends in 2012.