 Balić withCroatia U19 in 2015 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1997-08-11)11 August 1997 (age 28) | ||
| Place of birth | Split, Croatia | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Chieti | ||
| Number | 88 | ||
| 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 | 13 | (0) |
| 2024– | Chieti | 2 | (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 as of 28 June 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 27 March 2019 | |||
Andrija Balić (Croatian pronunciation:[ǎndrijabǎːlitɕ,-bǎ-];[1][2][3] born 11 August 1997) is a Croatianfootballer who plays as amidfielder for ItalianSerie D clubChieti.
Born inSplit but living in nearbyDugopolje,[4] Balić started to train football at the localNK Dugopolje, before moving to theHajduk Split academy in 2007.
Passing through the ranks, he became a youth international, playing for allCroatian selections between U14 and U19.[5]
In the 2013–14 season he formed a potent midfield partnership for the Hajduk U17 team withNikola 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 againstRNK Split, coming in the 76th minute of the match forTemurkhuja Abdukholiqov.[7]
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 toRijeka. He scored his first goal for Hajduk on 1 March 2015 in a 2–2 draw againstZadar, 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]
On 1 February 2016, he signed forUdinese 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 withAtalanta Bergamo at theStadio Friuli, playing the first 60 minutes before being replaced bySven Kums. He would go on to appear in the three following matches and score his first goal for Udinese in a 5–2 loss toInter Milan at theSan Siro. Balić made just one appearance in the first 11 rounds of the2017–18 Serie A season, but following the appointment ofMassimo Oddo, he became more prevalent in the first eleven once more.
On 24 January 2019, Balić joined to Dutch clubFortuna Sittard on loan until 30 June 2019.[12]
On 30 August 2019, he joinedSerie B clubPerugia on a season-long loan.[13]
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 toDAC 1904 Dunajská Streda, playing in theSlovakFortuna Liga.[14]
Balić made hisFortuna Liga debut in anaway fixture againstRužomberok on 22 February 2020. Balić was fielded in the starting line-up but was replaced before the second half byEric Ramírez. The match concluded in a goal-less tie.[15]
Balić scored his first and only league goal forDAC in his first game after theCOVID-19 pandemic. On 21 June 2020, DAC defeatedSpartak Trnava (2:0) atŠtadión Antona Malatinského. Balić completed the entire match scored the second goal of the match, following a pass fromMarko Divković.[16] Earlier on, on 4 March, Balić scored in a 2:0 win overPoprad in the quarterfinals of theSlovnaft Cup, scoring the second goal of the match.[17] He also appeared in a crucial 0:3 defeat againstRužomberok 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 toDAC on a permanent transfer, signing a three-season deal.[19]
In September 2021, Balić joinedBosnian Premier League clubZrinjski Mostar. He signed a two-year deal with Zrinjski,[20] where he only played one game againstAZ Alkmaar in theUEFA Conference League getting subbed off at half time forZvonimir Kožulj who proceeded to score the first and last goal in Zrinjski's 4-3 comeback.
| 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 | ||
Individual
Àndrija
Bálić
Bàlić
