Armada FC Inks Local, Regional Standouts
January 14, 2015 - North American Soccer League (NASL)
Jacksonville Armada FC News Release
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (January 14, 2015) - The Armada FC, Jacksonville's new North American Soccer League team, announced on Wednesday the signing of local and regional standouts Nurdin Hrustic (NUR-din RUST-itch), Tommy Krizanovic (KRIZ-on-oh-vich) and Nico Zaldana (KNEE-co Zal-DANE-uh) to its roster.
The signings mark the launch of a long-term strategy by Armada FC Owner and CEO Mark Frisch and General Manager Dario Sala to stock the club with an abundance of Northeast Florida and greater Florida talent for years to come.
"We are excited to announce the signing of Nurdin, Tommy and Nico," Frisch said. "This is a great day for our club because it signifies the launch of our long-term vision to have much of our roster come from the Jacksonville area and greater Florida."
Sala, who himself was discovered at an open tryout before signing with Argentinian first division powerhouse San Lorenzo in 1995, believes in discovering talent through tryouts and developing a strong local talent base.
"I believe in the importance of finding and developing local talent," Sala said. "We want to eventually have a talent pipeline like FC Barcelona where a good portion of our roster is local talent. When you have players who are from your team's region, they will have a stronger sense of pride and play harder for the jersey they are defending."
Hrustic, a 26-year-old defender who moved to Jacksonville from Bosnia at the age of 10, starred at Wolfson High School from 2004-07, where he was a three-time all-district honoree and was named All-First Coast Player of the Year by The Florida Times-Union. After helping lead Wolfson to its first-ever final four playoff appearance as a senior, Hrustic moved on to Jacksonville University, where he played with his twin brother, Nedim, and helped lead the Dolphins to their first-ever NCAA appearance in 2008. Hrustic was named to the All-Atlantic Sun Conference first team and all-freshman team.
Following his lone season at JU, Hrustic signed a three-year professional contract with German side VFL Bochum in 2009. He netted one goal and recorded five assists in 47 appearances before moving on to German club KFC Uerdingen for an eight-month stint in 2012-13. Hrustic returned to Jacksonville in 2013-14 following a trial with USL PRO club Charleston Battery and made seven appearances for National Premier Soccer League club Jacksonville United FC. In June 2014, Hrustic participated in the Armada FC's first open tryout and joined the club's development squad.
Krizanovic, who will play forward for the Armada FC, moved with his family from Croatia to Jacksonville at the age of 14 and was a four-year standout at Englewood High School. Named The Florida Times-Union's 3A Player of the Year as a senior in 2003, Krizanovic is the school's all-time career goals leader with 210 and helped lead the team to three district championships and one conference title.
He followed his prep career with 38 goals and 10 assists in 35 career appearances at JU from 2004-07. Krizanovic led NCAA Division I in average goals scored per game as a junior and senior and was named A-Sun Player of the Year while earning first-team all-conference honors as a senior. After his time with the Dolphins, Krizanovic was drafted in the fourth round of the Major League Soccer entry draft by FC Dallas in 2008. After a season in Dallas, he moved on to German side Offenburger FV, where he spent the 2008-09 season.
Krizanovic, 30, returned to Jacksonville in 2009 to work as a boys youth coach for Jacksonville FC's Development Academy and owns his own mobile soccer clinic for young children called Happy Feet Soccer Jacksonville. He returned to the pitch as a player in 2011 with Jacksonville United FC, helping lead the squad to a 2011 NPSL Championship and was named the tournament's most valuable player. He helped lead Jacksonville United FC to a South Region title in the 2012 playoffs before accepting an invitation to train with the Armada FC's Development Squad in August 2014.
Zaldana, 18, is an up-and-coming midfielder who hails from Orlando and has trained with highly-regarded youth academies in Europe and the United States. He recently trained at the academy of renowned Spanish club Malaga FC after training with the Orlando City SC and FC Dallas academies. Zaldana, who began playing soccer at the age of four, began his academy training with the globally-prestigious AFC Ajax youth academy in Amsterdam when he was nine. At 10, he moved on to train with another Dutch academy, Feyenoord, where he earned several awards, including Player of the Tournament in 2007.
The Armada FC expects to round out its roster over the next several weeks and plans to announce additional local signees.
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