*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 5 August 2014 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 5 August 2014
Mehmet Duraković (Albanian: Mehmet Duraku,[2] born 13 October 1965) is a football coach and former player. Born in Titograd, Yugoslavia, now Podgorica, Montenegro, he spent his playing career as a defender for several clubs in the Australian National Soccer League (NSL), with a brief stint in Malaysia with Selangor FA. Duraković made 64 appearances and scored six goals for the Australian national team.
Mehmet Duraković was born in Montenegro into an Albanian family.[2] Early in Duraković's childhood, his family left Yugoslavia and emigrated to Australia[2] to seek better work and opportunities for their growing children. Duraković's official playing days began with the Footscray juniors, and he moved on to Port Melbourne juniors when his family moved to the inner-city suburbs. He was with Port Melbourne from Under-10s to Under-16s.
After living in Australia for ten years, Duraković's parents moved back to Montenegro. Although Duraković was unhappy, he began to take soccer more seriously and played with local clubs in lower divisions. However, in just over a year Budućnost Titograd, who played in the Yugoslav First League, asked him to join them.[3] Duraković returned to Australia in 1984 by himself and immediately joined the Port Melbourne senior team. After a month, he had been signed by NSL club Brunswick Juventus.
Duraković was a defender for Brunswick Juventus from 1985 to 1988, making 61 appearances and scoring two goals for the club. He spent most of his first year at Juventus in the reserves or on the bench for the seniors. He came off the bench a couple of times in 1985 but did not make his full debut until late that season. His second game for Juventus was the grand final against Sydney City. He was part of Juventus' 1985 NSL Championship winning team.
Brunswick was relegated from the NSL by 1988. Duraković was loaned out to Footscray JUST in 1988 for one year. He made 25 appearances and one goal before moving to South Melbourne.
South Melbourne Hellas
Durakovic made 138 appearances and scored five goals in his first sting at the club from 1989 to 1995. He was part of South Melbourne's famous 1991 NSL Championship winning team led by Ferenc Puskas.
Durakovic's performances at the club led him to becoming one of Australia's top defenders and a fan favourite at the club. Durakovic would depart South for Malaysia.
In his final move, Duraković returned to South Melbourne in 2000. He was named as part of South's Team of the Century in 2000.[4]
Despite his age, Durakovic led South to a top of the table finish in 2000/01, narrowly losing the Grand Final to Wollongong.
Durakovic announced that he would retire at the conclusion of the 2003/04 NSL season. At South Melbourne's final home National League Soccer match, the Hellas fans stormed the field at full time and carried Durakovic off.
Durakovic would make a further 98 appearances for Hellas scoring one goal.
Later Career
In 1994, Duraković moved to Malaysia, where he played for Selangor until he returned to Australia and joined Sydney Olympic in 1998. His next NSL club was the Gippsland Falcons, where he returned as the Falcons' key defender, sparking renewed interest from across the NSL despite being in his mid-thirties.
Under Duraković as caretaker head coach, Melbourne Victory won one of their remaining Asian Champions League fixtures and tied the others. Subsequently, in June 2011, Duraković was named as Merrick's permanent replacement.[7][8]
Under the weight of expectation, particularly in light of Kewell's arrival, Melbourne Victory started the 2011–12 A-League season poorly, failing to score in their first three games and remaining without a win until Round 4. As the season progressed, Melbourne Victory's performances remained inconsistent, and following successive away losses against Brisbane Roar and Central Coast Mariners which saw Victory fall to the eighth position, in January 2012 Duraković was sacked.[15]
In February 2017, Duraković took over as head coach of another Malaysian Super League side, Perak F.C., after the club terminated their former head coach's contract.[18] In October 2018, Duraković brought Perak to the 92nd Malaysia Cup finals and won against Terengganu on penalties with a score of 3–3. He also lead Perak to the 2019 FA Cup finals. In February 2021, Duraković and Perak agreed on mutual termination of contract, days before the start of the 2021 league season.[19]
^Muzaffar Musa (22 February 2021). "Perak FC sah tamatkan kontrak Mehmet Durakovic" [Mehmet Durakovic contract termination confirmed by Perak FC]. www.stadiumastro.com (in Malay). Retrieved 19 January 2023.