Wally Savor

Wally Savor (born 21 June 1959) is an Australian former international soccer player who played professionally as a defender or midfielder for Sydney Croatia. He played 23 times for the Australia men's national soccer team between 1984 and 1989.^[1][2]

Wally Savor

Personal information
Date of birth	(1959-06-21) 21 June 1959 (age 65)
Place of birth	Italy
Position(s)	Defender / Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1978–1980	Sydney Croatia
1981	Riverwood
1982–1991	Sydney Croatia	165+	(8+)
International career
1984–1989	Australia	23	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Early life

Savor was born in Italy to parents of Croatian ancestry and arrived in Australia as a child.^[3][4]

Playing career

Savor began his senior career for Sydney Croatia in the New South Wales State League, playing for the club between 1978 and 1980.^[3]

In 1981, Savor played for Riverwood, before returning to Sydney Croatia. In 1984, Sydney Croatia joined the National Soccer League (NSL). Between 1984 and 1991, Savor played 165 times in the NSL for Sydney Croatia.^[3][5]

In November 1984, Savor made his debut for Australia against China in Beijing.^[6]

Savor was a late withdrawal from Australia's 1988 Summer Olympics team when he injured his right knee in the 1988 NSL grand final.^[7][8][9]

Honours

Sydney Croatia

• NSL Cup: 1987^[3]

Individual

• Soccer Australia Hall of Fame: 2003^[10]

References

1. "Australian Player Database - Savor, Wally". OzFootball. Retrieved 31 March 2009.
2. Howe, Andrew. "The Australian National Men's Football Team: Caps And Captains" (PDF). Football Federation Australia. Retrieved 8 January 2014 – via OzFootball.
3. Micallef, Philip (25 February 2020). "Socceroos Greats - Where are they now: Wally Savor". SBS.com.au. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
4. "Croatia to throw Savor into fray". The Sydney Morning Herald. 9 August 1987. p. 75. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
5. "Aussie Footballers - Wally Savor". OzFootball. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
6. Warren, Johnny (4 November 1984). "Socceroos' reputation on the line". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 29. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
7. Cockerill, Michael (6 September 1988). "Van Egmond aims to savour his big chance". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 47. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
8. Murray, Les (4 September 1988). "Savor's exit a blow for Arok". The Sun Herald. p. 99.
9. "Savor ruled out". The Canberra Times. Vol. 62, no. 19, 324. Australian Capital Territory. 2 September 1988. p. 18. Retrieved 20 April 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
10. Toutsidis, Meno (11 September 2003). "Ivanovic inducted to the Hall of Fame". The Advertiser. p. 89. Former Socceroo Milan Ivanovic heads the annual list of inductees into the Soccer Australia Hall of Fame...The full list of inductees is: Milan Ivanovic, Col Bennett, Gary Cole, Steve O'Connor, Roy Crowhurst, David Harding, Percy Lennard, Wally Savor, Theresa Deas (all former internationals), Peter Gray, Betty Hoar, Les Murray, Sydney Storey, Ken Allen, Vito Cilauro, Denis Harlow, Jospeh J. Honeysett and Peter van Ryn.