He also spent time in Switzerland (with Basel) and Turkey (with Hacettepe) before joining Derby in the English Premier League.

He played for the Australia national team from 2000 to 2010, making 43 appearances and scoring 8 goals, including three games at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and an international hat-trick against Tahiti.

Sterjovski began his career in Australia at Wollongong Wolves and briefly played for Illawarra Lions before making a name for himself with successful spells at Sydney United and Parramatta Power.

Sterjovski's performances and record of 31 goals in 68 games in three National Soccer League (NSL) seasons earned him a move to French Ligue 1 side Lille in 2000.

But with two victories, 2–1 away against Ferencvárosi TC and 1–0 at home against Feyenoord, saw Basel rise to third place in the group table and advance to the knock-out stage.

[8] Basel completed all the 2004–05 Super League season's seventeen home games undefeated, winning thirteen and drawing four.

[11] Subsequently Basel dropped into the 2005–06 UEFA Cup, where against Široki Brijeg in the first round, they sealed a 6–0 aggregate win to qualify for the Group stage.

But then a last-minute goal from Zürich's Iulian Filipescu meant the final score was 2–1 in favour of the away team and it gave FCZ their first national championship since 1980–81.

[13] The last minute loss of the Championship and the subsequent riots, the so-called Basel Hooligan Incident, meant that the club would suffer the consequences.

In the second qualifying round they were drawn against FC Vaduz from Liechtenstein, narrowly progressing on the away goals rule after a 2–2 aggregate draw.

[18] On 2 September 2007, Sterjovski scored on his debut after coming off the bench for his new club Gençlerbirliği OFTAŞ (now called Hacettepe Spor Kulübü) in their match against Fenerbahçe.

On 9 January 2008, Sterjovski announced his plan to leave Turkey for personal reasons relating to his family.

He announced that he was in negotiations with Premier League side Derby County and joined them after work permit problems on 24 January 2008.

[19] He made his debut as a substitute against Tottenham in a 3–0 defeat, and was a regular in the side towards the end of the season, usually playing out on the right wing.

[21] However, following Jewell's departure, he produced an impressive performance against Manchester United in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final under caretaker manager David Lowe.

"[22] Sterjovski went on to make 14 further appearances before the end of the season, scoring once and playing well in the middle of the injury-hit Derby midfield.

In the build-up, he made an appearance in the Australia vs. Greece friendly at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and also played against Liechtenstein, scoring the first goal for the Socceroos in a 3–1 win.

On 10 June 2009, Sterjovski notched his 9th goal for Australia in a 2–0 win over Bahrain at the ANZ Stadium in Sydney, in his 41st appearance for his national side.