Newcastle add Milicevic and De Groot
Fresh from the announcement that Sasho Petrovski has signed, the Newcastle Jets AFC Champions League campaign received another boost with the signing of Dutch striker Donny De Groot and former national team defender Ljubo Milicevic.
Both players have signed for one-year and will start training with the club immediately in preparation for their first match of the ACL competition in early March.
The pair, along with Petrovski, will provide a significant boost to personnel after the loss of key players during a tough season for the defending Hyundai A-League Champions.
Milicevic returns to the Hyundai A-League after being let go by Melbourne Victory at the end of the 2007/08 season, where he made just two appearances in what was unhappy time for the central defender that was punctured by injury.
One of the most naturally gifted central defenders to come out of Australia in the past decade, Milicevic made a name for himself in Switzerland after initial success with Perth Glory in the old National League.
In his six years in Switzerland, he played for FC Zurich, FC Basel, FC Thun and BSC Young Boys, the latter two as captain, including in the prestigious European Champions League competition when he wore the armband for FC Thun in 2005/06 against powerhouse clubs such as Arsenal and AFC Ajax.
His performances at club level have earned him six Socceroos caps in total, 3 of which were tallied at the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup where the team failed to make an impact in Group A of the competition.
De Groot has spent the majority of his career in his homeland, having played for Dutch Eredivisie mainstays FC Utrecht and more recently Eerste Divisie club RBC Roosendaal. He is, however, perhaps best known for his time at Doetinchem side, De Graafschap, where De Groot enjoyed two spells, firstly on loan in the Eerste Divisie in 2005/06, and again when the team gained promotion to the Eredivisie in 2007/08.
The striker concluded his time at De Graafschap with a game against Dutch powerhouse Feyenoord in December 2008.
The 29-year-old has been a consistent goalscorer for the clubs he has played for, although in the 2002/03 season he scored 30 goals in 31 games for FC Emmen, making him the Eerste Divisie-s top marksman.