Richie Alagich (born 30 October 1973, in Adelaide) is a retired Australian footballer. Club career Early career Born in Woodville, South Australia, Alagich played representative football for his home state from 1985 through to 1991. He started his professional football career with the Port Adelaide Lions in the South Australia Super League in 1990 at the age of 16, continuing until 1993. West Adelaide Alagich then moved into the National Soccer League with West Adelaide SC, having already represented Australia at schoolboys and under-20 levels. Although he was unable to help West Adelaide reach the finals series that season, 1993 also marked his debut with the Australian under-23 team (the "Olyroos"). Alagich played regularly with the Olyroos up until 1996, and helped them qualify for the 1996 Olympics but did not play in the actual tournament where Australia were unable to progress past the group stage. Domestically, the West Adelaide Sharks finished 5th to qualify for the NSL finals in 1994–95, with Alagich playing in both legs of their elimination final against Sydney United, which the Sharks lost 2–1 on aggregate. The following season West Adelaide missed the finals by a single point, and did not qualify for another one up until the club folded prior to the 1999–2000 season. South Melbourne The collapse of the Sharks forced Alagich to move to the South Melbourne Lakers, who had won the 1998–99 NSL Championship. South Melbourne finished first in the 1999 pre-season Tynan-Eyre Cup (held between Victorian NSL teams), but could not take part in the final of the tournament due to commitments to the 1999 Oceania Club Championship. A win in the Oceania Club Championship put South Melbourne into the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship, but they finished a disappointing 10th in the NSL before leaving for Brazil. Alagich played in one match of the tournament, South Melbourne's 1–3 loss to Mexican team Necaxa, and made only a further two substitute appearances for South Melbourne in 2000–2001 as they finished on top of the table before falling to the Wollongong Wolves in the Grand Final. Brisbane Strikers Alagich then moved to the Brisbane Strikers for the 2001–02 season, playing in 24 matches as the Strikers made it through to the Minor Semifinals. He played a further 10 matches for Brisbane in 2002–03, Adelaide United The withdrawal of Adelaide Force from the NSL and subsequent introduction of Adelaide United FC gave