Mario Maloča (born 4 May 1989) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for First Football League club Jarun.
Club career Maloča spent most of his youth career at Dinamo Zagreb and had spells with youth teams at NK Zagreb, Inter Zaprešić and Kamen Ingrad. In 2007, Maloča signed for Hajduk Split.
He made his Prva HNL debut with Hajduk at the age of 18 against Šibenik in the 2007–08 season and soon became a first team regular, playing alongside renowned defenders such as Igor Tudor, Goran Sablić and Boris Živković. After the season ended he signed a five-year contract with Hajduk, binding him to Poljud until 2013. In April 2015, he was dropped to B team for a short time, and in July 2015 he left Hajduk.
In July 2017, Maloča joined 2. Bundesliga side SpVgg Greuther Fürth on loan for the 2017–18 season.
In May 2019, it was confirmed that he had rejoined Lechia Gdańsk on a three-year contract.Oficjalnie: Mario Maloca wraca do Lechii Gdańsk! "Zdecydowaliśmy z moją rodziną, że to najlepsze rozwiązanie", dziennikbaltycki.pl, 22 May 2019
International career Maloča also earned 13 caps for Croatia's U-19 and U-21 teams and took part in Croatia's 2008 Under-19 European Championship campaign where he scored a goal against Albania. In August 2012, he was called to the Croatia national football team by Croatian manager Igor Štimac. He debuted in a friendly match against Switzerland, where he started and was substituted by Ante Vukušić at the start of the second half.
Career statistics
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsHajduk Split2007–08Prva HNL12041——1612008–09Prva HNL160513Appearances in UEFA Europa League0—2412009–10Prva HNL2006020—2802010–11Prva HNL27010901Appearance in Croatian Football Super Cup03802011–12Prva HNL1413020—1912012–13Prva HNL2316040—3312013–14Prva HNL3012041—3622014–15Prva HNL2815160—392Total1704323301102338Lechia Gdańsk2015–16Ekstraklasa28200——2822016–17Ekstraklasa31210——3222017–18Ekstraklasa1000——10Total604100000614Greuther Fürth2017–182. Bundesliga31210——3222018–192. Bundesliga24010——250Total552200000572Lechia Gdańsk2019–20Ekstraklasa27040001Appearance in Polish Super Cup03202020–21Ekstraklasa15100——1512021–22Ekstraklasa31020——3302022–23Ekstraklasa271204000371Total10028040101172Gorica2023–24Prva HNL30020——320Total300200000320Career total415124533412049616
Personal life Despite being born in Zagreb and part of Dinamo Zagreb youth team in his early years, Maloča opted to play for Hajduk Split. Maloča married his childhood sweetheart Ivana in June 2012. The couple had their first child, Tea, on 21 March 2013.
Honours Hajduk Split Croatian Cup: 2009–10, 2012–13
Lechia Gdańsk Polish Super Cup: 2019
References
External links
Mario Maloča at Sportnet.hr