Tara Murray
Former Socceroo Ivan Franjic and his brother Joseph Franjic are returning to the club where they made their names.
The pair were announced as the Melbourne Knights first signings for the club’s 70th season.
The brothers add a wealth of experience to the Knights defensive unit and return to the club where they grew up playing at, having played with Heidelberg United last season.
Ivan represented the Socceroos on 20 occasions, playing at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and was part of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup winning side.
He last played for the Melbourne Knights in 2008. Since then he made 242 national league appearances across stints with the Brisbane Roar, Melbourne City, Macarthur and Perth Glory, winning three championships and three premierships and Australian Cup glory.
The 35-year-old also played abroad in Korea and Russia representing Daegu FC and Torpedo Moscow.
Joseph returns for his third stint at the Knights.
He debuted for the Knights as a teenager and was a key cog in the Knights side that reached the 2019 Australia Cup round of 32.
He has also played with Hume City, Heidelberg United and Green Gully in the Victorian top flight competition.
Ivan said he is hungry for success back at the club where he played his junior football.
“It’s exciting, it’s where I played my junior football so it’s good to be back, I’m looking forward to the challenge ahead and hopefully bringing some silverware back to the club,” Ivan said.
“We’re building a strong side going into the season, we want to be performing as a team, that’s the main thing.
“Obviously, we want to challenge for top spot, that’s our aim and ambition this year so hopefully come the end of the season we’re right there playing finals.”
Joseph said he couldn’t wait to get started ahead of the Knights 70th anniversary season.
“I’m just excited to be back, working with [new coach] Ben (Cahn) who I’ve heard a lot about and know a lot of players that have played for him who have all said really positive things, so I’m very excited to work under him,” he said.
“We grew up here as young kids, coming here every weekend so to play here together is really exciting and something we dreamt about as kids.
“I want to be there competing to win, that’s why we came here because we think we’ve got a chance to do it, we’re ready to give it a real nudge.”
