.jpg) Bjelanović warming up forTorino in 2007 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1979-06-11)11 June 1979 (age 46) | ||
| Place of birth | Zadar,SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1996–1999 | Zadar | 76 | (18) |
| 1999 | Dinamo Zagreb | 1 | (0) |
| 1999–2000 | Istra | 18 | (4) |
| 2000–2002 | Varteks | 51 | (27) |
| 2002–2003 | Como | 15 | (2) |
| 2003 | →Chievo (loan) | 12 | (4) |
| 2003 | →Perugia (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2003–2005 | Genoa | 41 | (12) |
| 2004–2005 | →Lecce (loan) | 22 | (5) |
| 2005–2007 | Ascoli | 57 | (11) |
| 2007–2009 | Torino | 19 | (0) |
| 2008–2009 | →Vicenza (loan) | 39 | (12) |
| 2009–2010 | Vicenza | 35 | (8) |
| 2010–2011 | CFR Cluj | 13 | (3) |
| 2011 | Atalanta | 10 | (1) |
| 2011–2012 | Verona | 26 | (5) |
| 2012–2013 | CFR Cluj | 14 | (4) |
| 2013–2014 | Varese | 22 | (4) |
| 2014 | Messina | 10 | (2) |
| 2015 | Pordenone | 12 | (1) |
| International career | |||
| 2005 | Croatia | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Saša Bjelanović (Croatian pronunciation:[sǎʃabjelǎːnoʋitɕ,sâ-];[2][3][4] born 11 June 1979) is a Croatian former professionalfootballer who played as aforward.
He has held an Italian passport since 2007, as his grandmother was fromTrieste,Venezia Giulia; this made him eligible to acquire Italian nationality at birth.[5]
Saša Bjelanović started his career atZadar. At the age of 20, he had already made 76 appearances for his native club. In summer 1999, he was signed by Croatian giantDinamo Zagreb. However, he made only one appearance before being transferred toNK Istra fromPula and thenNK Varteks.[6]
On 31 May 2002,Como, at that time inSerie A, brought Bjelanović to Italy. He played 15 Serie A games for Como, and left on loan toChievo.
As Como was relegated in summer 2003, on 16 July 2003, Bjelanović was loaned toPerugia. But on 30 August 2003, he was sold toGenoa C.F.C. ofSerie B on a co-ownership deal for €1 million.[7] Genoa was owned by former Como ownerEnrico Preziosi.
Bjelanović played 41 out of possible 46 games for Genoa, and as Como was relegated again, this time toSerie C1, Genoa bought all the registration rights at the end of the season for another €150,000.[7][8]
Genoa did not win promotion in summer 2004 and Bjelanović played his second Serie A season forUS Lecce on loan.
In summer 2005, Genoa finally won promotion to Serie A, but due to match fixing scandal, Genoa was relegated to play in the Serie C1 next season. As a result, Bjelanović was sold toAscoli, the team which was promoted in Genoa's place, on a co-ownership deal.
Bjelanović scored four goals in 31 Serie A appearances for Ascoli in the 2005–06 season. He then went on to score seven goals in the 2006–07 season and became the top scorer for Ascoli for the season. This is due to players leaving the club and Ascoli relegated to Serie B after finishing at 19th.
Bjelanović signed for his 6th Italian club,Torino, along withPaolo Zanetti, on 21 June 2007, on a co-ownership deal. In June 2008 Torino full contracted with Bjelanović.
In August 2008, Bjelanović was transferred toVicenza.[9] On 1 July 2009, he joined Vicenza definitely in 3-year contract for €700,000 as part ofNicolás Gorobsov's deal (for €800,000).[10][11][12]
In June 2010 he was transferred toLiga I championsCFR Cluj for €250,000.[12][nb 1]. He played only six months in Romania, in January 2011 being sold back in Italy, to Serie B clubAtalanta for €385,000.[13] However he was transferred to Serie B clubHellas Verona F.C. for free from the 2011 Serie B champion on 31 August 2011, the last day of Italian transfer window, after a nil game in2011–12 Serie A.[13][nb 2][14] At Verona he re-joined the former Cluj coach, ItalianAndrea Mandorlini. On 3 September 2012, the last day of Romanian transfer window, he returned to Cluj for undisclosed fee.[15]
He then joinedLega Pro clubMessina for the 2014–15 season, but left the club in December 2014 by mutual consent,[16] successively signing forPordenone, another Lega Pro club, five days later.[17][18]
Bjelanović was a member of theCroatian Youth team at the1999 FIFA World Youth Championship, where he made only one appearance and scored one goal.
He made his debut for theCroatian senior national team on 9 February 2005, coming on as a second-half substitute forEduardo da Silva in a friendly match againstIsrael, which ended in a 3–3 draw.[19] In late March 2005, he was also part of the Croatian squad that playedIceland andMalta in the2006 World Cup qualifying, but remained an unused substitute in both matches.
On 25 May 2018 Bjelanović was confirmed as the Director of Football atHajduk Split.[20] Bjelanović was dismissed from the position of sports director of Hajduk after only eighteen months, without having spent a full season at the club. In June 2022, Bjelanović was appointed Director of Football Operations inNK Istra 1961 where, after just one season, he achieved historic success and fifth place in theCroatian Football League 2022–23, where they fought until the very end for the first ever appearance in any of the European competitions.
Perugia
CFR Cluj
Atalanta
Sàša
Sȁša
Bjelánović