Asian Cup 2015: Socceroo Tomi Juric thanks family in celebration, tips his brother as a future star

SOCCEROOS Goalscorer Tomi Juric reckons there is a teenage Aussie striker who could take his Socceroos spot in the next few years — his brother Deni.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 13: Tomi Juric of Australia reacts after missing an opportunity during the 2015 Asian Cup match between Oman and Australia at ANZ Stadium on January 13, 2015 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Munoz/Getty Images)

SOCCEROOS Goalscorer Tomi Juric reckons there is a teenage Aussie striker who could take his Socceroos spot in the next few years.

His name is Deni Juric, aka Tomi’s little brother.

It was teenage Deni, 17, that Juric acknowledged after scoring 27 minutes after coming on for Tim Cahill, via written message under his Socceroos shirt.

It read “mama, tata, braco”, Croatian for “mum, dad, little brother”, who were watching on live TV in Croatia.

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Tomi Juric thanks his family while Matthew Leckie celebrates his goal.

A member of second division Radnik Sesvete’s youth side — a feeder club for Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb — Deni is on the verge of breaking into senior football.

“I hear he is (better),’’ the Socceroo said.

“I haven’t seen him for a while, but I used to watch him and he’s got a lot more technical ability than myself.

“He’s 17, almost taller than me.

“He’s a striker, he seems to be an exciting player.’’

Is he a potential Socceroo?

“It depends who’s the selector I guess, but we’ll have to give him time and wait and see,’’ said Juric, who netted his second Socceroos goal in just his seventh game.

Born in Croatia, Juric’s parents migrated to Australia, where Tomi and Deni were born, but after playing juniors at Sydney United and Sydney Olympic, the family returned to Europe in 2008.

It is there that the brothers’ soccer career flourished.

Now 23, the elder Juric was described as “a new Viduka” by a senior official Lokomotiva, who are also a Dinamo feeder club.

While he broke into the first team and then played games for fellow first division side Inter Zapresic, he had to return to Australia in search of regular games.

He signed for Adelaide United before Western Sydney signed him in 2013, and it’s there he’s shown extended flashes of his huge potential.

Tomi Juric runs clear to score Australia's fourth goal.

“My family’s in Zagreb, they’re watching from there,’’ Juric said.

“When I was young they moved there.

“It was the whole experience, to get in and experience something new and it was good for me and my younger brother to learn the language.

“While we were there we had a crack at football. There were a lot of ups and downs.’’

Juric has had at least two multimillion-dollar offers tabled from China, and is weighing them up despite a fortnight ago declaring that his preference was to move to Europe.

It appears as though the Wanderers expect to lose Juric, having just announced the signing of former Young Socceroos striker Kerem Bulut and Japanese attacker Yojiro Takahagi.

Tim Cahill celebrates with Tomi Juric after a big win for the Socceroos.

Juric is confident his best is yet to come.

“I need to improve every part of my game, from tactically to physically, to consistency,’’ Juric said.

“Once I start doing that I’ll start improving quicker and better. I’m young and I’ve still got a long way to go.

“If I can keep going and get a lot of games under my belt I think I can go a long way.

“The most important person in my development is me. Someone’s there to teach you but it’s up to you to listen.

“If had some good teachers and I’ve got great teachers now with Popa, Ange and the (Socceroos) coaching staff, so it’s up to me to listen and learn.’’

Robbie Kruse, man of the match in the Socceroos’ 4-0 win over Oman, joins the Fox Football Podcast to reflect on the performance. Adam Peacock is joined in studio by Sasa Ognenovski and The Daily Telegraph’s Tom Smithies, and on the phone by Ned Zelic, to dissect the game, and the tournament thus far, from all angles.

Originally published as Asian Cup 2015: Socceroo Tomi Juric thanks family in celebration, tips his brother as a future star