Andrija Balić

Andrija Balić (Croatian pronunciation: [ǎndrija bǎːlitɕ, - bǎ-];^[1][2][3] born 11 August 1997) is a Croatian footballer who plays as a midfielder for ViOn Zlaté Moravce.

Andrija Balić

Balić with Croatia U19 in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Andrija Balić
Date of birth	(1997-08-11) 11 August 1997 (age 26)
Place of birth	Split, Croatia
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	ViOn Zlaté Moravce
Number	99
Youth career
2004–2007	Dugopolje
2007–2014	Hajduk Split
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2016	Hajduk Split.	32	(6)
2016–2020	Udinese	29	(1)
2019	→ Fortuna Sittard (loan)	13	(1)
2019	→ Perugia (loan)	10	(0)
2020	→ DAC Dunajská Streda (loan)	7	(1)
2020–2023	DAC Dunajská Streda	47	(9)
2023	→ Dukla Banská Bystrica (loan)	12	(5)
2023–2024	Zrinjski Mostar	1	(0)
2024–	Zlaté Moravce	4	(0)
International career^‡
2011	Croatia U14	2	(0)
2012	Croatia U15	2	(0)
2012–2013	Croatia U16	4	(0)
2013	Croatia U17	5	(0)
2014	Croatia U18	3	(0)
2014–2016	Croatia U19	12	(0)
2015–2018	Croatia U21	11	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 March 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 27 March 2019

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

As of match played 15 March 2019^[21]

Club	Season	League			Cup		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Hajduk Split	2013–14	Croatian First Football League	2	0	–		–		2	0
	2014–15		14	4	3	2	–		17	6
	2015–16		16	2	2	0	8	2	26	4
	Total		32	6	5	2	8	2	45	10
Udinese	2016–17	Serie A	4	1	–		–		4	1
	2017–18		21	0	3	0	–		24	0
	2018–19		4	0	1	0	–		5	0
	Total		29	1	4	0	0	0	33	1
Fortuna Sittard (loan)	2018–19	Eredivisie	6	0	–		–		6	0
Career total			67	7	9	2	8	2	84	11

Honours

Individual

• Slovak Super Liga Goal of the Month: October 2020,^[22] April 2021^[23]

References

1. "Àndrija". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 19 March 2018. Àndrija
2. "bàlija". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 19 March 2018. Bálić
3. "Bȁltazār". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 19 March 2018. Bàlić
4. "Hajduk predstavio trio svojih bisera: Upoznajte ih!" (in Croatian). Gol.hr. 16 January 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
5. "Statistics - Caps: Andrija Balić". Croatian Football Federation. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
6. "Potpisali Vlašić, Hairlahović i Balić: Očekujemo puno od njih" (in Croatian). 24sata. 16 January 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
7. "Pašalić donio pobjedu Hajduku u gradskom derbiju" (in Croatian). Slobodna Dalmacija. 13 April 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
8. "Neriješeno na Poljudu, "bijeli" nadoknadili dva gola zaostatka" (in Croatian). Slobodna Dalmacija. 1 March 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
9. "Andrija Balić dogovorio ostanak u Hajduku do ljeta 2018. godine" (in Croatian). Sportnet.hr. 4 March 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
10. "Official: Udinese sign Balic". Football Italia. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
11. "Balic è bianconero" (in Italian). Udinese Calcio. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
12. "UFFICIALE: Udinese, Balic prestato al Fortuna Sittard" (in Italian). Retrieved 25 January 2019.
13. "BENVENUTO AD ANDRIJA BALIC" (Press release) (in Italian). Perugia. 30 August 2019.
14. Nagy, Krisztián. "Z Udinese prichádza Andrija Balić". FC DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
15. . ulk.futbalnet.sk (in Slovak). Archived from the original on 27 February 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
16. "FC Spartak Trnava - FK DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda | 0 - 2". ulk.futbalnet.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 31 July 2020.^{[permanent dead link]}
17. "FK DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda - FK Poprad | 2 - 0". sfz.futbalnet.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 31 July 2020.^{[permanent dead link]}
18. . sfz.futbalnet.sk (in Slovak). Archived from the original on 28 June 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
19. "Andrija Balić ima novi klub, potpisuje na tri sezone". Germanijak. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
20. "Andrija Balić novi fudbaler Zrinjskog". SportSport.ba. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
21. "Andrija Balic > Club Matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
22. "Gól mesiaca".
23. "Andrija Balič víťazom ankety Gól mesiaca". www.fortunaliga.sk.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Andrija Balić.

• at Croatian Football Statistics (archived) (in Croatian)
• Andrija Balić at hajduk.hr
• Andrija Balić at the Croatian Football Federation