| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mario Jozef Ilich1 | ||
| Date of birth | (1995-06-23) 23 June 1995 | ||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)1 | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Auckland City | ||
| Number | 2 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Central United | |||
| –2012 | Auckland City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2014 | Auckland City | 3 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | Wanderers SC | 12 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | WaiBOP United | 14 | (3) |
| 2016 | Eastern Suburbs | 2 | (0) |
| 2017 | Auckland City | 2 | (0) |
| 2017 | Central United | ||
| 2017–2019 | Team Wellington | 36 | (2) |
| 2019 | Bentleigh Greens | ||
| 2019– | Auckland City | 136 | (13) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 9 May 2026 | |||
Mario Jozef Ilich (born 23 June 1995)2 is a semi-professional association football player from New Zealand who plays as a midfielder and captains Auckland City.34
Club career
Early career
Growing up in Auckland, Ilich played his youth football for Central United and Auckland City.56
Ilich spent time at a number of New Zealand Football Championship clubs, before spending a short spell at Bentleigh Greens in the NPL Victoria.7
Auckland City
After leaving Bentleigh Greens, Ilich joined Auckland City, for the third time on 23 September 2019.8 He has since played in three international FIFA tournaments, the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup, 2023 FIFA Club World Cup, 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.910
Personal life
Ilich works as a supermarket sales representative for Coca-Cola.311 Ilich has Croatian roots.12
Career statistics
- As of match played 9 May 2026
Club
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Auckland City | 2011–12 | Premiership | 2 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2013–14 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Wanderers SC | 2014–15 | Premiership | 12 | 0 | — | — | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| WaiBOP United | 2015–16 | Premiership | 14 | 3 | — | — | — | 14 | 3 | |||
| Eastern Suburbs | 2016–17 | Premiership | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Auckland City | 2016–17 | Premiership | 2 | 0 | — | 1a | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| Team Wellington | 2017–18 | Premiership | 18 | 0 | — | 8a | 1 | 2b | 0 | 28 | 1 | |
| 2018–19 | 18 | 2 | — | 5a | 1 | 3c | 0 | 26 | 2 | |||
| Total | 36 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 55 | 4 | ||
| Auckland City | 2019–20 | Premiership | 14 | 1 | — | 3a | 0 | — | 17 | 1 | ||
| 2020–21 | 11 | 0 | — | — | 2b | 0 | 13 | 0 | ||||
| 2021 | National League | 9 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| 2022 | National League | 20 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 5a | 2 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 5 | |
| 2023 | National League | 27 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4a | 0 | 1d | 0 | 32 | 1 | |
| 2024 | National League | 26 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2a | 1 | 1e | 0 | 32 | 3 | |
| 2025 | National League | 22 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4f | 0 | 26 | 5 | |
| 2026 | National League | 7 | 1 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 8 | 1 | |||
| Total | 136 | 13 | 15 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 164 | 15 | ||
| Career total | ||||||||||||
- Appearance in OFC Champions League
- Appearances in New Zealand Football Championship play-offs
- Two appearances; one goal in New Zealand Football Championship play-offs; one appearance in FIFA Club World Cup
- Appearance in FIFA Club World Cup
- Appearance in FIFA Intercontinental Cup
- Three appearances in FIFA Club World Cup; one appearance in FIFA Intercontinental Cup
Honours
Auckland City
Individual
References
References
- "FIFA Club World Cup 2025: Squad List" (PDF). FIFA. 11 June 2025. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
- "Mario Jozef Ilich". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
- Borrowdale, James (14 June 2025). "Auckland City aiming to do amateur football proud in Bayern Munich mismatch". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
- "Mario Ilich". Oceania Football Centre. 14 December 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
- "The Skipper at the Heart our Club World Cup Journey". Auckland City FC. 30 May 2025. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
- "GOOD LUCK SUPER MARIO!!! 💛💛". Central United F.C. 1 June 2025. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
- Saltori, Rafael (27 November 2019). "Mario Ilich: the new Auckland City man shares his experiences". Oceania Football Centre. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
- "Mario Ilich makes Navy Blues return". Auckland City FC. 23 September 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
- "Auckland City confirm Club World Cup squad". Oceania Football Confederation. 27 November 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
- "Mario Ilich - Auckland City Midfielder". ESPN. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
- Fleming, Rory (13 June 2025). "Meet the amateur New Zealand team aiming to topple soccer's biggest names at the FIFA Club World Cup". CNN. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
- "The amateur New Zealand club with Croatian roots to take on giants at FIFA Club World Cup". croatiaweek.com. 14 June 2025. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
- "Auckland City FC Claim Back-to-Back Dettol National League Championships With Penalty Shootout Win Over Wellington Olympic". New Zealand Football. 13 December 2025. Retrieved 17 December 2025 – via Instagram.