Andrija Balić Explained

Andrija Balić
Fullname:Andrija Balić
Birth Date:11 August 1997
Birth Place:Split, Croatia
Height:1.78m
Position:Midfielder
Currentclub:ViOn Zlaté Moravce
Clubnumber:99
Youthyears1:2004–2007
Youthclubs1:Dugopolje
Youthyears2:2007–2014
Youthclubs2:Hajduk Split
Years1:2014–2016
Clubs1:Hajduk Split.
Caps1:32
Goals1:6
Years2:2016–2020
Clubs2:Udinese
Caps2:29
Goals2:1
Years3:2019
Clubs3:Fortuna Sittard (loan)
Caps3:13
Goals3:1
Years4:2019
Clubs4:Perugia (loan)
Caps4:10
Goals4:0
Years5:2020
Clubs5:DAC Dunajská Streda (loan)
Caps5:7
Goals5:1
Years6:2020–2023
Caps6:47
Goals6:9
Years7:2023
Clubs7:Dukla Banská Bystrica (loan)
Caps7:12
Goals7:5
Years8:2023–2024
Clubs8:Zrinjski Mostar
Caps8:1
Goals8:0
Years9:2024–
Clubs9:Zlaté Moravce
Caps9:13
Goals9:0
Nationalyears1:2011
Nationalteam1:Croatia U14
Nationalcaps1:2
Nationalgoals1:0
Nationalyears2:2012
Nationalteam2:Croatia U15
Nationalcaps2:2
Nationalgoals2:0
Nationalyears3:2012–2013
Nationalteam3:Croatia U16
Nationalcaps3:4
Nationalgoals3:0
Nationalyears4:2013
Nationalcaps4:5
Nationalgoals4:0
Nationalyears5:2014
Nationalcaps5:3
Nationalgoals5:0
Nationalyears6:2014–2016
Nationalcaps6:12
Nationalgoals6:0
Nationalyears7:2015–2018
Nationalcaps7:11
Nationalgoals7:0
Pcupdate:28 June 2024
Ntupdate:27 March 2019

Andrija Balić (pronounced as /hr/;[1] [2] [3] born 11 August 1997) is a Croatian footballer who plays as a midfielder for ViOn Zlaté Moravce.

Club career

Early career

Born in Split but living in nearby Dugopolje,[4] Balić started to train football at the local NK Dugopolje, before moving to the Hajduk Split academy in 2007.

Passing through the ranks, he became a youth international, playing for all Croatian selections between U14 and U19.[5]

In the 2013–14 season he formed a potent midfield partnership for the Hajduk U17 team with Nikola Vlašić, which resulted in the team finishing the first half of the season in first place, without a single loss. The two then received and signed professional contracts,[6] until 2017 and were moved to the U19 team. Balić made his first team debut in the 1–0 home win against RNK Split, coming in the 76th minute of the match for Temurkhuja Abdukholiqov.[7]

Hajduk Split

He had to wait until December to make his first appearance of the 2014–15 season, but then became a much more prevalent member of the first team. He got his first start for Hajduk on 18 February 2015, in a 3–0 away loss to Rijeka. He scored his first goal for Hajduk on 1 March 2015 in a 2–2 draw against Zadar, helping his side claw a point after being 2–0 down.[8] His bigger impact on the first team led Balić to be rewarded with a new contract ending in mid-2018.[9]

Udinese

On 1 February 2016, he signed for Udinese in a €4 million deal.[10] [11] In his first half-season with Udinese, Balić made the bench on 15 occasions, but failed to make a first team appearance. The next season was much the same for Balić, sitting on the bench 28 times without making an appearance before making his senior team debut on 7 May 2017 in a 1–1 draw with Atalanta Bergamo at the Stadio Friuli, playing the first 60 minutes before being replaced by Sven Kums. He would go on to appear in the three following matches and score his first goal for Udinese in a 5–2 loss to Inter Milan at the San Siro. Balić made just one appearance in the first 11 rounds of the 2017–18 Serie A season, but following the appointment of Massimo Oddo, he became more prevalent in the first eleven once more.

Fortuna Sittard (loan)

On 24 January 2019, Balić joined to Dutch club Fortuna Sittard on loan until 30 June 2019.[12]

Perugia (loan)

On 30 August 2019, he joined Serie B club Perugia on a season-long loan.[13]

DAC Dunajská Streda

Balić continued to be loaned out of Udinese, as his next half-season loan was announced on 14 February 2020, when he was loaned out to DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda, playing in the Slovak Fortuna Liga.[14]

Balić made his Fortuna Liga debut in an away fixture against Ružomberok on 22 February 2020. Balić was fielded in the starting line-up but was replaced before the second half by Eric Ramírez. The match concluded in a goal-less tie.[15]

Balić scored his first and only league goal for DAC in his first game after the COVID-19 pandemic. On 21 June 2020, DAC defeated Spartak Trnava (2:0) at Štadión Antona Malatinského. Balić completed the entire match scored the second goal of the match, following a pass from Marko Divković.[16] Earlier on, on 4 March, Balić scored in a 2:0 win over Poprad in the quarterfinals of the Slovnaft Cup, scoring the second goal of the match.[17] He also appeared in a crucial 0:3 defeat against Ružomberok in the away tie of the semifinals, ending DAC's campaign in the Cup.[18]

Of 12 eligible games in the 2019/20 season, he participated in nine matches, scoring two goals. After the conclusion of the season, he moved to DAC on a permanent transfer, signing a three-season deal.[19]

Zrinjski Mostar

In September 2021, Balić joined Bosnian Premier League club Zrinjski Mostar. He signed two-year deal with Zrinjski.[20]

Career statistics

[21]

ClubSeasonLeagueCupEuropeTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Hajduk Split2013–14Croatian First Football League2020
2014–1514432176
2015–161622082264
Total32652824510
Udinese2016–17Serie A4141
2017–1821030240
2018–19401050
Total2914000331
Fortuna Sittard (loan)2018–19Eredivisie6060
Career total67792828411

Honours

Individual

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Àndrija. Àndrija. Hrvatski jezični portal. 2018-03-19. sh.
  2. Web site: bàlija. Bálić. Hrvatski jezični portal. 2018-03-19. sh.
  3. Web site: Bȁltazār. Bàlić. Hrvatski jezični portal. 2018-03-19. sh.
  4. Web site: Hajduk predstavio trio svojih bisera: Upoznajte ih!. 16 January 2014. Gol.hr. Croatian. 16 January 2014.
  5. Web site: Statistics - Caps: Andrija Balić. Croatian Football Federation. 5 March 2015.
  6. Web site: Potpisali Vlašić, Hairlahović i Balić: Očekujemo puno od njih. 16 January 2014. 24sata. Croatian. 16 January 2014.
  7. Web site: Pašalić donio pobjedu Hajduku u gradskom derbiju. 13 April 2014. Slobodna Dalmacija. Croatian. 13 April 2014.
  8. Web site: Neriješeno na Poljudu, "bijeli" nadoknadili dva gola zaostatka. 1 March 2015. Slobodna Dalmacija. Croatian. 1 March 2015.
  9. Web site: Andrija Balić dogovorio ostanak u Hajduku do ljeta 2018. godine. 4 March 2015. Sportnet.hr. Croatian. 4 March 2015.
  10. Web site: Official: Udinese sign Balic. Football Italia. 1 December 2017. 1 February 2016.
  11. News: Balic è bianconero. 1 February 2016. 29 February 2016. Udinese Calcio. Italian.
  12. Web site: UFFICIALE: Udinese, Balic prestato al Fortuna Sittard. 25 January 2019. Italian.
  13. Perugia. BENVENUTO AD ANDRIJA BALIC. 30 August 2019. Italian.
  14. Web site: Z Udinese prichádza Andrija Balić. Nagy. Krisztián. FC DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda. 2020-02-15.
  15. Web site: MFK Ružomberok - FK DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda 0 - 0. 2020-07-31. ulk.futbalnet.sk. sk. 27 February 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200227072726/https://ulk.futbalnet.sk/zapas/426445/. dead.
  16. Web site: FC Spartak Trnava - FK DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda 0 - 2. 2020-07-31. ulk.futbalnet.sk. sk.
  17. Web site: FK DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda - FK Poprad 2 - 0. 2020-07-31. sfz.futbalnet.sk. sk.
  18. Web site: MFK Ružomberok - FK DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda 3 - 0. 2020-07-31. sfz.futbalnet.sk. sk. 28 June 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200628220653/https://sfz.futbalnet.sk/zapas/493274/. dead.
  19. Web site: Andrija Balić ima novi klub, potpisuje na tri sezone. 2020-08-03. Germanijak.
  20. Web site: Andrija Balić novi fudbaler Zrinjskog. 2023-09-04. SportSport.ba.
  21. Web site: Andrija Balic > Club Matches . worldfootball.net . 29 May 2015.
  22. Web site: Gól mesiaca.
  23. Web site: Andrija Balič víťazom ankety Gól mesiaca. www.fortunaliga.sk.