Marko Lešković
Marko Lešković (Croatian pronunciation: [mâːrko lěʃkoʋitɕ];[1][2] born 27 April 1991) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters.
| Lešković with Kerala Blasters in 2021 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 27 April 1991 | ||
| Place of birth | Našice, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Kerala Blasters | ||
| Number | 55 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2002–2009 | Osijek | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2013 | Osijek | 56 | (5) |
| 2010–2011 | → Suhopolje (loan) | 14 | (4) |
| 2013–2016 | Rijeka | 62 | (3) |
| 2016–2021 | Dinamo Zagreb | 51 | (3) |
| 2020–2021 | → Lokomotiva (loan) | 17 | (1) |
| 2021– | Kerala Blasters | 33 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2009 | Croatia U18 | 2 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Croatia U19 | 3 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | Croatia U20 | 2 | (1) |
| 2012–2013 | Croatia U21 | 2 | (0) |
| 2014–2017 | Croatia | 4 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:46, 3 January 2023 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:44, 28 March 2017 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Lešković started his career playing at youth level for Osijek, with whom he signed a professional contract in December 2009.
In the first part of the 2010–11 season he was loaned to Druga HNL side Suhopolje where he was featured in 14 games scoring four times.
He returned to Osijek after the winter break and made his debut for the first team as a late substitute in the 2–1 win against Istra 1961 on 5 March 2011. He made one further appearance that season.[3][4][5] In the 2011–12 season, Lešković was much more involved in the first team, making eight starts and eleven appearances off the bench. He scored his first goal in Prva HNL in a 2–2 draw with NK Zagreb on 20 March 2012.[6]
In the 2012–13 season, Marko truly broke out as a player. He made 35 appearances for Osijek, playing in a range of positions including LB, CB and DM. He also scored four goals in the league as his side finished in 8th position.
In the summer of 2013, Lešković finalised a transfer to HNK Rijeka, signing a four-year contract. Lešković managed 25 appearances in his first season. The following season, Marko made 41 appearances as Rijeka qualified for the group stages of the Europa League and finished runners up in the 1. HNL.
In July 2016, after three seasons with Rijeka, Lešković was transferred to Dinamo Zagreb.[7]
In January 2021, Lešković was loaned out to NK Lokomotiva until the end of the season.[8]
On 15 September 2021, Kerala Blasters announced that Lešković had joined the Indian Super League club on a one-year deal.[9][10][11] He made his debut for the club on 19 November in the 2021–22 Indian Super League season opener against ATK Mohun Bagan FC, which they lost 4–2.[12][13] He formed a formidable and successful partnership with Hormipam Ruivah and emerged as one of the best centre back pairs in the league.[14] After a successful individual and collective season, Lešković signed a two-year contract extension for the Blasters until 2024 on 5 May 2022.[15] On 11 November 2022, he scored his debut goal for the Blasters against the southern rivals Bengaluru FC, where he scored in the 25th minute as the Blasters won the match 3–2 at ful-time.[16]
International career
Lešković has represented Croatia at all youth national levels from U18 to U21. He made his debut for the senior national team against Argentina in 2014 and earned a total of 4 caps, scoring no goals. His latest international was a March 2017 friendly match against Estonia.[17]
Career statistics
- As of match played 19 December 2022[18]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Suhopolje (loan) | 2010–11 | Croatian Second Football League | 14 | 4 | 3 | 0 | – | 17 | 4 | |
| Osijek | 2010–11 | Croatian First Football League | 2 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | 19 | 1 | 6 | 0 | – | 25 | 1 | |||
| 2012–13 | 28 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 35 | 6 | ||
| Total | 49 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 62 | 7 | ||
| Rijeka | 2013–14 | Croatian First Football League | 15 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 25 | 2 |
| 2014–15 | 27 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 41 | 4 | ||
| 2015–16 | 20 | 1 | – | 1 | 0 | 21 | 1 | |||
| Total | 62 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 15 | 1 | 87 | 7 | ||
| Dinamo Zagreb | 2016–17 | Croatian First Football League | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | 17 | 1 | |
| 2017–18 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 2 | ||
| 2019–20 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| Total | 51 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 65 | 3 | ||
| Lokomotiva Zagreb (loan) | 2020–21 | Croatian First Football League | 17 | 1 | – | – | 17 | 1 | ||
| Kerala Blasters | 2021–22 | Indian Super League | 21 | 0 | – | – | 21 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | Indian Super League | 10 | 1 | – | – | 10 | 1 | |||
| Total | 31 | 1 | – | – | 31 | 1 | ||||
| Career total | 224 | 17 | 32 | 5 | 23 | 1 | 279 | 23 | ||
Honours
Osijek
- Croatian Football Cup runner-up: 2012
Rijeka
Dinamo Zagreb
- Prva HNL: 2017–18, 2018–19
- Croatian Football Cup: 2017–18; runner-up: 2016–17, 2018–19
- Croatian Football Super Cup: 2019[19]
Kerala Blasters
- Indian Super League runner-up: 2021–22[20]
References
- ^ "Mȃrko". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian). from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
Mȃrko
- ^ "lijéska". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian). from the original on 17 March 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
Lèšković
- ^ Keler, Dalibor (17 December 2009). "Na Gavrića se računa, Prijić i Buljević ostaju na posudbama". Glas Slavonije (in Croatian). from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
- ^ Plavčić, Mario (5 March 2011). "Istra 1961 pala i u Osijeku". Sportnet.hr (in Croatian). from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
- ^ Lekšan, Dražen (26 July 2011). "Ponosan i počašćen sudjelovanjem na svjetskoj smotri". Glas Slavonije (in Croatian). from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
- ^ Bradovski, Mihaela (20 March 2012). "Zagreb i Osijek proradili u nastavku". Sportnet.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- ^ "LEŠKOVIĆ NA KORAK DO DINAMA!". gnkdinamo.hr (in Croatian). 22 July 2016. from the original on 25 July 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
- ^ Službeno: Marko Lešković ima novi klub 9 September 2022 at the Wayback Machine at Germanijak
- ^ "KERALA BLASTERS FC SIGN CROATIAN DEFENDER MARKO LEŠKOVIĆ". Kerala Blasters FC. 15 September 2021. from the original on 16 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
- ^ Waseem Zaidi (18 September 2021) Profile: Who is Kerala Blasters’ latest foreign signing Marko Leskovic? 5 December 2021 at the Wayback Machine Khel Now. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
- ^ "KERALA BLASTERS ANNOUNCED TWENTY EIGHT MEMBER SQUAD FOR ISL". kolkatafootball.com. from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
- ^ "ATK Mohun Bagan trounce Kerala Blasters in ISL 8 opener | Goal.com". www.goal.com. from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^ "ISL 2021-22, ATK Mohun Bagan vs Kerala Blasters Highlights: Hugo Boumous Stars as ATKMB Beat KBFC 4-2". News18. 19 November 2021. from the original on 19 November 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
- ^ Banerjee, Soumik (25 March 2022). "Kerala Blasters: 'I just want to keep learning,' says Ruivah Hormipam". thebridge.in. from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ "KBFC extends contract with Croatian defender Marko Lešković". Kerala Blasters FC. 5 May 2022. from the original on 5 May 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- ^ Rayan, Stan (11 December 2022). "ISL 2022-23: Kerala Blasters beat Bengaluru FC 3-2 to extend winning run". sportstar.thehindu.com. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
- ^ "Player Database". EU-football. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
- ^ Marko Lešković at Soccerway
- ^ "Maksimirski dvoboj Dinama i Rijeke za trofej Superkupa" (in Croatian). Croatian Football Federation. 10 July 2019. from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
- ^ "ISL Final 2021-22 Hyderabad FC vs Kerala Blasters FC Highlights: Hyderabad defeats Kerala 3-1 on penalties to lift maiden ISL title". Sportstar. from the original on 23 March 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
External links
- Marko Lešković at Soccerway
- Marko Lešković at National-Football-Teams.com
- at Croatian Football Statistics (archived) (in Croatian)
- Marko Lešković at the Croatian Football Federation