From War-Torn Roots to Glory: The Ajdin Hrustic Story

Ajdin Hrustic is not just a standout in Australian football; he also has a compelling background story that sets him apart. This article traces the journey of a young boy who went from being overlooked to rising as a hero for the Socceroos. For much of his early career, Ajdin Hrustic remained under the radar, but a dramatic resurgence catapulted him back into the spotlight.

Hrustic’s story begins with his parents, who fled the horrors of the Yugoslav civil war, seeking safety and a new life in Melbourne, Australia. Born in 1996, five years after the conflict started, Ajdin Hrustic was the son of refugee parents who made immense sacrifices to provide him with a better future. From these humble beginnings, Ajdin worked his way up, overcoming numerous challenges to achieve success on the football field.

This biography delves into Ajdin Hrustic’s inspiring journey, exploring how he transformed from a forgotten talent into a celebrated Australian football hero.

Preamble:

This article on Ajdin Hrustic’s biography goes beyond his career statistics to tell you the full story of his life. It includes facts about his childhood, early life, and family background, detailing his Bosnian father and Romanian mother. You’ll also learn about his siblings, wife, lifestyle, personal life, religion, net worth, and salary breakdown.

We begin by exploring notable events from Ajdin Hrustic’s boyhood and early life, highlighting the challenges and triumphs he faced. Next, we delve into his early soccer career, including his long journey to find stability during his teenage years. Finally, we’ll discuss how this Dandenong native rose above all odds to achieve success in the beautiful game.

To give you a glimpse of Ajdin Hrustic’s journey, we present a photo gallery showcasing his early life and rise to fame. From his boyhood days at Heatherton United to the moment he became a recognized football star, Ajdin’s journey is a testament to perseverance and hard work.

Yes, football is the sport most played in Australia, with around one million people lacing up boots each season.

This Great Baller, Hrustic, is one of the best 11 males and, arguably, one of the Socceroos’ most important stars. Ajdin excels best in terms of vision, skill, shot power, and movement.

Despite the many praises heaped on this footballer, we found a knowledge gap regarding enquiries on his life history.

The truth is, not many football fans have read an in-depth version of Ajdin Hrustic’s Biography. So, without further ado, let’s begin the history of the Aussie celeb.

Ajdin Hrustic Childhood Story:

For Biography starters, the Cancer-born footballer holds the nicknames “Ache Airlines” and “Ashtray”. Ajdin Hrustic was born on the 5th day of July 1996 to a Bosnian Father and a Romanian Mother in Dandenong, Victoria, Australia.

Growing-Up:

Research indicates that the Australian professional footballer is one of three siblings born to his parents. Ajdin Hrustic is his parents’ first child and son, and he has a little brother and a sister whose names are unknown. Among his siblings, he happens to be the only professional footballer.

Ajdin Hrustic spent his childhood years on the outskirts of Melbourne, Australia. His Bosnian and Romanian parents raised him and his siblings in Melbourne’s suburb of Heatherton.

As a boy, Ajdin (in his early football commitment) shuttled between Springvale to Dandenong. These places – which are nine minutes apart, will forever remain a great part of his childhood memory.

Ajdin Hrustic Early Life:

The Socceroos star once told Bild, a German tabloid newspaper. He revealed that as a child, playing soccer at his family’s apartment was a constant.

Ajdin Hrustic’s mother chased him to the garden when her son used his ball to break something special to her. While in the garden, the youngster began practising freekicks using his magical left foot.

In his family’s garden, there was a window that had to be changed often because he broke them with his ball. When their son’s football escapades went out of hand, Ajdin Hrustic’s parents agreed to make him join a soccer team.

Luckily, they found a team rich in Bosnian culture, with lots of refugee children who wanted to play soccer for a living.

Ajdin Hrustic Family Background:

The first thing to know about members of his household is that his Bosnian Dad was a former footballer.

Because of the Yugoslav Wars, Ajdin Hrustic’s Father could not achieve his football dreams. The never-give-up Dad is a man with a strong mentality, an ex-footballer who transferred the spirit of soccer into his son.

While writing this Bio, you may have observed that the Hrustics are a refugee family. Ajdin Hrustic’s parents abandoned their countries during the Yugoslav Civil War.

To this day, his entire family thank the Australian government for giving them shelter. This is one of the reasons why Ajdin Hrustic decided to play for the Socceroos.

Preparing for their son’s future:

From the moment he began breaking glass (with his ball) at his family home, this Bosnian Dad and Romanian Mum devised a plan. From what we’ve gathered, Ajdin Hrustic’s parents are very much attached to the Bosnia & Herzegovina refugee community. This community has a sporting base at Springvale, a suburb in Melbourne.

So early in their son’s life, Ajdin Hrustic’s parents approved him to enroll him at a soccer school with more children from Bosnian refugee parents.

This sport’s institution is the Bosnia and Herzegovina Sports Centre at Springvale Road, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

The photo evidence below shows little Ajdin at the institution, which is comprised of persons of similar Bosnian ethnic groups to his.

For his parents, it was a perfect football school for their son to lay his career foundation. We have the following names from the second row – Damir Halilovic, Said Pozderovic, Izet Pasic, Samir Ramic and Nezir Camo.

From the front row, we have Bahrudin Pozderovic ( the boy’s first Coach). Also included are Damir Ramiz, Muhammed Osmanovic, Andrew Alex, Edvin Pozderovic, Ajdin Hrustic, Dzenan Mujcic and Elvedin Ramiz (the Team Manager).

Ajdin Hrustic Family Origin:

In addition to his Australian citizenship, the soccer midfielder holds two other nationalities. Because Ajdin Hrustic’s father has Bosnian origin, he identifies himself as a Bosnia citizen. Secondly, Ajdin Hrustic’s family (from his mother’s side) have Romania origins. This map shows you the geographic location of his Dad and Mum’s origins.

Ajdin Hrustic Ethnicity:

First, the footballer is part of a Bosnian Australian demographic group in Australian. Ajdin Hrustic joins about 28,246 people Australians who have Bosnian ancestry. Bosnians arrived in Australia after 1992, with most of the community living in the southeast of Melbourne, where the footballer grew up.

Also, from an ethnic point of view, Ajdin Hrustic is a Romanian Australian. Through his mum, he joins around 18,320 people from Romanian family roots who are citizens of Australia. Just like the Bosnians, the largest Romanian-Australian communities are found in Melbourne.

Ajdin Hrustic Education:

The Australian professional footballer is a product of Ante Gale Soccer School. When Ajdin Hrustic’s parents lived in Austria, he attended this institution at Neuwaldegger Street. 57A, 1170 Wien, Austria. Here is Ajdin, at the time he was a student at Ante Gale Soccer School.

Research also has it that he and Leroy Sane attended the same school while they both played for FC Schalke 04 youth academy. While at school, both Ajdin and Leroy supported each other linguistically. Hrustic’s English was good, but not his German. So Leroy offered to teach him German in return for English language lessons.

Career Buildup:

Just 35 kilometres from Melbourne city centre, a boy’s destiny began. Ajdin Hrustic wanted nothing other than for their son to become a professional in the sport. His Bosnian Dad fueled his desire to become a footballer.

In BH Center Springvale, Ajdin was recognizable for his football knowledge and the need for him to always be with the ball. He was better than everyone on the team, and he played against older boys without any problems.

In addition, the boy was also noted for his slightly longer blonde hair. Ajdin would sometimes tie his hair in a ponytail during matches.

In 2007, Ajdin Hrustic left Heatherton United for South Melbourne FC academy. Two years later, he progressed to Sandringham, a soccer academy that gave him a gateway for his European trip. That defining moment for Ajdin Hrustic came when he was aged 15.

At that age, Ajdin travelled with his parents to England. Unknown to the youngster, it was just the beginning of his very long journey in his youth football.

Because his Dad and Mum saw the need to supervise every part of their son’s development, they moved to Europe together. In Ajdin Hrustic’s words;

My parents believed in me, and it wasn’t easy. It was really difficult. I saw my Mum and Dad leaving everything behind and coming with me to England. That’s something I will never forget.

Ajdin Hrustic Biography – Football Story:

In 2010, the youngster hoped to pursue a great career with Nottingham Forest. Sadly, the project didn’t go as planned, leaving Ajdin Hrustic’s family disappointed with the situation. To make matters worse, false promises landed his Bosnian Dad into financial difficulties.

Nottingham Forest’s previous promises to their family quickly proved overblown. In order to save his son’s career and household from financial ruin, Ajdin Hrustic decided to contact his old football friends abroad for help. In 2011, one great man (Ante Gale) offered some help.

Ante Gale, a football coach, received a call for help from England. The call was about his friend (a worried father) who was desperately looking for a soccer academy outside England where his son could continue living his dream.

Ante Gale decided to invite Ajdin and his Dad to Vienna, the capital of Austria.

“When I saw the little Ajdin, I immediately thought: this boy must be a special footballer.”

Road to Fame Story:

The Croatian coach, who owes a soccer school named after him in Vienna, took the youngster under his wing. Without Ante Gale, Ajdin Hrustic would not have made it to where he saw himself years later. As a generous coach, Ante Gale assessed the boy’s potential and concluded.

With the approval of Ajdin Hrustic’s parents, Ante Gale took their son for trials with the youth team of Wiener Austria. Thanks to his brilliance, the youngster passed with flying colours. At last, his relieved parents saw their son going for training with Austria Wien.

Despite having the boy enrolled with Wiener Austria, Ante Gale’s kindness continued. He held a special training section with Ajdin Hrustic at his football school. Because Ajdin Hrustic’s parents found their son in Ante Gale’s care, they decided to leave him at the coach’s house while they moved back to England.

The decision to leave for Germany:

In 2012, Ajdin Hrustic’s family felt the need to relocate permanently to Austria. Being the father and mother of an extremely talented kid, they expected accommodation support from their son’s club.

Unfortunately, Austria Wien refused to provide the family with an apartment. Such a decision from the club fueled the need to get another academy for the son.

Before the end of the 2011/2012 season, Ajdin Hrustic’s family moved to Germany. Again, Ante Gale (the boy’s sponsor) guided him through his football trials with top clubs like Schalke and Leverkusen. Two things fueled the youngster’s decision to join Schalke 04.

First, the German club offered Ajdin Hrustic’s family a house. Secondly, his mother was fortunate to find a good job in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. The Melbourne native also found happiness at Schalke after meeting his best friend, Leroy Sane. The two enjoyed football together at the academy and were also great pals off the pitch. In Hrustic’s words,

I and Leroy went to school together and we spent the whole day together.

While at the Royal Blues Academy, young Ajdin Hrustic helped his team win the 2013 Western Germany B-Junioren championship. In a very competitive Schalke 04 senior team that had the likes of Kevin-Prince Boateng, Julian Draxler and Leon Goretzka, Hrustic knew it would be hard for him to break into the first team.

Road to Fame Story:

So in that 2014/2015 season, he joined the Dutch club Groningen, which he saw as the perfect team to begin his senior career.

Ajdin Hrustic played for the Dutch club that received Luis Suarez from Uruguay and one that produced Dutch Legend Arjen Robben. While there, he made his breakthrough and signed his first senior professional deal.

After scoring seven goals for Groningen’s reserve team, he made his long-awaited debut for the senior team. Owing to his early career brilliance, Hrustic got the deserved call to join the Australian men’s national team.

He was called to the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and a friendly against Brazil, but he was not finally called to the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Post-Covid breakthrough:

After the end of the COVID-19 Lockdown, the midfielder moved back to Germany. Ajdin joined German Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt following the club’s sale of Luka Jovic and Sebastien Haller. He was handed the No. 7 jersey and began André Silva and Filip Kostic.

Ajdin Hrustic’s adaptability and technical skills saw him settle in perfectly at Frankfurt. The greatest moment of his time at the club came during the 21/22 Europa League season.

In that unforgettable season, he helped his Eintracht Frankfurt side defeat Xavi Hernandes’ Barcelona team. Next, Ajdin Hrustic powered their way through David Moyes’ West Ham.

In fact, Joe Aribo‘s 57-minute goal did not prevent a Scottish Rangers side from defeating his Eintracht Frankfurt at the finals. Here is Hrustic holding the biggest trophy of his career, which he, alongside Daichi Kamada (AM), Djibril Sow (CM), Filip Kostić, etc., won.

Did you know that Ajdin Hrustic made history as the first Australian player to win the UEFA Europa League? This achievement marked a significant milestone not just for him but for Australian football as a whole.

Hrustic’s accomplishment is even more impressive when you consider that he is the first Australian to win a major UEFA competition since Harry Kewell, who triumphed with Liverpool in the 2005 UEFA Champions League.

That was the unforgettable year when Steven Gerrard’s Liverpool staged a miraculous comeback to defeat AC Milan. Ajdin Hrustic has now etched his name alongside these legendary moments in football history, carrying the torch for Australian players on the European stage.

The Road to Qatar:

In addition to Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is the country of Ajdin Hrustic’s father, wanted his services. Ultimately, he chose his country of birth. Hrustic joined a team that once boasted of great talents in the prestigious European league – the likes of Mark Viduka and Tim Cahil.

The road to Qatar 2022 began on a solid note for Hrustic (as it was with Craig Goodwin, who scored the first Socceroos goal in the competition). He scored a 30-odd-metre free-kick for Australia against Kuwait in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying match.

In another heroic display, the Number 10 man was the key player in Australia’s win against UAE on the 7th of June 2022. Ajdin Hrustic’s late winner (after Jackson Irvine‘s goal) made the Socceroos stay alive in their 2022 World Cup dreams.

Watch the highlight of the Continental Playoff, where the  Socceroos defeated the UAE 2-1 at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium.

In the greatest match of all (against Peru), Ajdin Hrustic scored in the penalty kick that took Australia to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. That earned Australia a Group D place, where they would face big stars like Kylian Mbappe (France), Christian Eriksen (Denmark), etc. The rest, as we say, is now history.

Ajdin Hrustic Girlfriend:

In September of 2018, Jessica Paszka, a reality TV star, was rumoured to have fallen in love with the Dandenong native. She, who is five years older than Ajdin Hrustic, was alleged to have dated him for less than a year. Many rumours of their separation have surfaced since 2019.

Following the breakup of Ajdin Hrustic and his girlfriend, there also existed rumours of the latter being publicly emotional about it. Jessica Paszka, the ex-Bachelorette, wrote on her Instagram wall (which is now private) in the following words;

“I wanted to be honest with you that defeats are part of life. It’s not easy to find someone these days. To trust people, to trust men. You always learn.”

Since the rumoured breakup between Ajdin Hrustic and Jessica Paszka, there haven’t been any reports of him being in a new relationship. As of 2022, the Australian footballer, who does not have any children outside of marriage, has yet to reveal the identity of his future wife.

Personal Life:

Who is Ajdin Hrustic?

The Australian footballer is a gentleman who feels comfortable in his own style. Hrustic, who has forged many career victories, knows what it means to face disappointments as a young footballer.

Lifestyle:

A definition of the simple way he lives denotes finding himself in the right places and not getting into trouble. Put simply, Ajdin lives a normal lifestyle which is heavily centred on his career growth. He is not very active on social media and has never used the platform to display signs of his football wealth.

Hrustic is the kind of footballer who gets too focused on his career at the expense of other leisure activities.

Ajdin Hrustic’s salary is more than capable of getting him luxury cars and houses. Despite that, he prefers to remain a low-key footballer who only makes his performance on the pitch do the talking.

Ajdin Hrustic Family Life:

In the course of writing the Bosnian Australians’ Bio, we realize that his family are the most sacrifice for him. This section of our memoir provides more information about Ajdin Hrustic’s siblings as well as his parents. Without further ado, let’s begin.

Ajdin Hrustic Father:

As a former professional footballer, it was hard for his Bosnian Dad to deal with the reality of not fulfilling his career ambitions. With the family breadwinner’s recent career heights, Ajdin Hrustic’s Father is super proud of reliving his dreams through his son.

Ajdin Hrustic Mother:

When her son ended up with the youth team at FC Schake 04, she was fortunate to find a job in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Together with her husband, the great Mum from Romanian origins placed her life on hold in order to pursue success for her son.

Ajdin Hrustic Sister and Brother:

When they finally got a stable place of residence in Gelsenkirchen, his siblings reportedly resumed their studies. So far as our research can tell, Ajdin Hrustic is the breadwinner of his family. His siblings are super excited to have a big brother who is making their adopted nation proud.

Ajdin Hrustic Facts:

In the final section of his Biography, we’ll tell you about the Aussie star who once tried to make a shock move after exile. Without further ado, let’s begin.

Ajdin Hrustic FIFA:

At the age of 24, the Socceroos midfielder fitted the profile of a complete footballer. Ajdin Hrustic’s FIFA profile (via SOFIFA) shows he lacks nothing (below the 50% average) in football.

Ajdin Hrustic Religion:

Our odds are in favour of the Australian footballer being a Muslim. His first name (Ajdin) is of Bosnian and Turkish origin. The name means “He who is bright, happy and lucky”. Research has it that people who bear this name are usually Muslim or Islam by religion.

EndNote:

Ajdin Hrustic was born on the 5th day of July 1996 to a Romanian mother and a Bosnian father. Like Eldor Shomurodov, he is Cancer by birth. Hrustić has other siblings, and he was raised at his birthplace of Dandenong, which is 35 kilometres from Melbourne city centre.

Regarding what Ajdin Hrustic’s parents do for a living, research shows that his Bosnian Dad was a professional footballer. The Yugoslav War that took place between 1991 to 2001 prevented him from getting the best out of his career. Ajdin Hrustic’s family are primarily refugees who fled their country to Australia as a result of the war.

From the onset, his Dad has planned his son’s career. Thanks to a strong Bosnia refugee community in Melbourne, his son registered with the community-based Heatherton United.

Between the years 2007 to 2009, the youngster journeyed through the youth ranks of South Melbourne and Sandringham before a trial took him to England – at the age of 14.

Ajdin Hrustic’s family faced disappointment with Nottingham Forest. That forced his Dad to contact his football friends abroad for assistance.

Ante Gale came to the family’s rescue as he guided poor Lad into having a successful trial with Austria Wien. With the failure of the Austrian club to provide Ajdin Hrustic’s parents with accommodation, another move was imminent.

Schalke 04 was the club that finally gave the family all that they had hoped for. They got a great academy with free accommodation, including a job for Ajdin Hrustic’s Mum.

With all the boy needed to have peace of mind, he went on to achieve a successful youth career. Ever since winning the Europa League for Frankfurt, Ajdin Hrustic has not looked back.

Appreciation Note:

Thank you for taking the time to read our version of Ajdin Hrustic’s Biography. We care about accuracy and fairness in our collective quest to deliver you Asian Oceanian soccer stories. The history of Ajdin Hrustic is part of our Socceroos Football story collection.

Kindly reach out to us via comment if you notice anything that doesn’t look right in our memoir of the FIFA World Cup qualifier hero. On another note, we’d like to hear your thoughts about our write-up on Hrustic’s Bio and his amazing career.

Aside from the Life History of the Aussie star, we’ve made other exciting soccer stories for your viewing pleasure. The History of Mitchell Duke (CF), Mathew Leckie and Aaron Mooy would surely stimulate your autobiography taste.