Josip Keran (born March 25, 1985) is a former Croatian footballer who played as a defender.

Josip Keran
Keran in 2011
Personal information
Date of birth (1985-03-25) 25 March 1985 (age 39)
Place of birth Split, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
NK Split
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2011 Dugopolje
2011–2015 Toronto Croatia
2014 RWB Adria
2016 Hamilton City
2017 SC Waterloo Region
2017–2018 Toronto Croatia (indoor)
2018–2019 Mississauga MetroStars (indoor) 18 (6)
2019 CSC Mississauga
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

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Croatia

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Keran began playing at the youth level with NK Split.[1][2] In 2008, he played in the 3. HNL with NK Dugopolje.[3] He would re-sign with the club the following season.[4] He helped the club to achieve promotion to the 2. HNL by winning the league title.[5][6][7] He resumed playing with Dugopolje in the second tier for the 2010–11 season.[8] In his final season in the Croatian circuit, he appeared in 2 matches.[9]

Toronto Croatia

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In 2011, he played abroad in the Canadian Soccer League with Toronto Croatia.[10] In his debut season with Toronto, he assisted the club in securing a postseason berth by finishing as runner-up in the First Division.[11] Throughout the postseason Keran assisted the Croats in claiming the CSL Championship after defeating Capital City F.C.[12][13] The next season saw Croatia claim further silverware by clinching the First Division title.[14] In the playoffs, the Croats successfully defended their championship title by defeating the Montreal Impact Academy.[15][16]

He re-signed with Toronto for the 2013 season.[17] His third season with Croatia witnessed the club securing another playoff berth by finishing third in the top division. However, their quest to successfully defend their championship title was thwarted after losing in a penalty shootout to SC Waterloo Region in the semifinal round.[18] The 2014 season marked his fourth consecutive season with the organization.[19] Croatia produced notable results throughout the campaign as it produced an eight-game undefeated streak and finished as runner-up in the division.[20][21][22] He also made his third championship final appearance where Toronto faced the divisional champions York Region Shooters but was defeated in a penalty shootout.[23] For his contributions throughout the season, he was named the league's defender of the year.[23]

The Croats re-signed the defender for the 2015 season and was given the team captaincy.[24][25] Once more Toronto remained competitive throughout the division as it finished as runner-up and accumulated the largest number of goals scored.[26] Keran significantly contributed to the club's scoring record as he finished the campaign with 10 goals.[27] In the second round of the playoffs, he recorded a goal that assisted the club in advancing to the championship final for the second consecutive year.[28] He participated in the championship final where Toronto successfully defeated Waterloo giving Keran his third playoff title.[29][30] After the conclusion of the season, he was named the league's MVP.[29][25]

Throughout his tenure with Croatia, he played twice in the international Croatian World Club Championship both in the 2015 and 2019 editions.[31][32]

Later career

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In May 2014, he played in the 2014 U.S. Open Cup with Chicago-based RWB Adria.[33] He played in the opening round of the national tournament where Adria defeated Detroit City in a penalty shootout.[34] Adria would ultimately reach the third round of the tournament where Keran played against Pittsburgh Riverhounds of the USL PRO.[35] After a close match, Adria was eliminated after a 3–2 defeat.[35]

For the 2016 CSL season, he signed with expansion franchise Hamilton City.[36] After a season with Hamilton, he signed with league rivals SC Waterloo Region in 2017 where he appeared in the opening match of the playoffs against the Serbian White Eagles.[37] His final run in the CSL was in the 2019 season when he played with CSC Mississauga.[38]

Indoor soccer

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He played at the indoor level in the winter of 2017–18 in the Mississauga-centered Arena Premier League with Croatia AC.[39] In their debut season, the Croats managed to win the championship title.[40]

When the Major Arena Soccer League expanded into Ontario in 2018 and granted a franchise to expansion side Mississauga MetroStars which resulted in Keran signing with the club for the 2018–19 season.[41][42] He made his debut for the MetroStars on December 1, 2018, against Baltimore Blast.[43] The following week he assisted Mississauga in securing their first victory at home against Florida Tropics SC.[44] He recorded his first goal for the club on December 23, 2018, against Orlando SeaWolves.[45] After a month's absence since February 2019, he returned on March 27, 2019, against Baltimore.[46] In total, he would appear in 18 matches and record 6 goals.[47]

Honours

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NK Dugopolje

Toronto Croatia

Individual

References

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  1. ^ Knezović, Marko (15 December 2015). "Jure Glavina najbolji igrač kanadskog prvaka Croatije" [Jure Glavina is the best player of the Canadian champion Croatia]. www.vecernji.ba (in Croatian). Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  2. ^ "Splitu kruna, Imotski drugi" [Split crown, Imotski second]. Imotske novine - neovisni imotski portal (in Croatian). 2 June 2003. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  3. ^ "Zapisnik Povjerenika za natjecanje Trece HNL – JUG" [Commissioner's Minutes for the Third HNL Competition - South]. vdocuments.net. 24 April 2009. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  4. ^ "Slobodna Dalmacija - Zagora na nogama pada Dugopolje" [Dugopolje falls on Zagora's feet]. slobodnadalmacija.hr (in Croatian). 17 October 2009. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  5. ^ "NK Omiš - NK Dugopolje 0:2". dugirat.com. 31 October 2009. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  6. ^ Lugarić, D. (12 April 2010). "Sva trojica nogometaši, ali životi su im bitno drukčiji" [All three are football players, but their lives are fundamentally different]. www.24sata.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Croatia 2009/10 - The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation". RSSSF. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  8. ^ "SLUŽBENO GLASILO DRUGE HNL" [Official Gazette of the Second HNL]. docplayer.si. 1 June 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  9. ^ "Josip Keran". semafor.hns.family (in Croatian). Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  10. ^ "2011 Toronto Croatia roster". torontocroatia.com. Archived from the original on 4 May 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  11. ^ "Soccer final hits Etobicoke this weekend". Etobicoke Guardian. 27 October 2011.
  12. ^ Barrs, Rory (30 October 2011). "Just one goal short for Capital City FC; First-year team loses CSL final". Ottawa Citizen. pp. C1.
  13. ^ a b Larson, Kurt (30 October 2011). "Defence rules the day ; Toronto Croatia holds Capital City FC goalless to win the Canadian Soccer League title". Toronto Sun. pp. S29.
  14. ^ a b "Toronto Croatia kicks off CSL title defense Oct. 14 at Centennial Stadium". Etobicoke Guardian. 11 October 2022.
  15. ^ a b "Toronto Croatia wins CSL title with a 1-0 victory over Montreal Impact Academy". The Canadian Press. 27 October 2012.
  16. ^ McGill, Aldwyn; Adamson, Stan (28 November 2012). Unstoppable: featuring Lionel Messi. Caribbean Stars Inc. p. 16.
  17. ^ Parker, Jim (2 July 2013). "Stars let lead slip away against champions; Suta, dragoi score in draw". Windsor Star. pp. C1.
  18. ^ "Soccer - SC Waterloo edges Toronto". Waterloo Region Record. 21 October 2013. pp. D2.
  19. ^ "Toronto Croatia falls short against Kingston". Mississauga News. 24 June 2014.
  20. ^ "Croatia's hot streak comes to an end". Mississauga News. 23 September 2014.
  21. ^ "York Region Shooters complete unbeaten season". Vaughan Citizen. 6 October 2014.
  22. ^ "Toronto Croatia zasjeo na drugo mjesto, u petak sa Serbian White Eagles" [Toronto Croatia took second place, on Friday with the Serbian White Eagles]. CroExpress │Informativni medij Hrvata izvan Republike Hrvatske. 9 June 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  23. ^ a b "Croatia loses CSL Championship game in a shootout". Mississauga News. 27 October 2014.
  24. ^ "Shooters' winning streak comes to an end". Vaughan Citizen. 11 May 2015.
  25. ^ a b Bakić, Marijan (7 December 2015). "Čuvar hrvatskog identiteta – piše Branko Stipković, novinar SN" [Guardian of the Croatian identity]. Hrvatski zbor sportskih novinara (in Croatian). Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  26. ^ "Toronto Croatia enters playoffs with five straight wins". Mississauga News. 5 October 2015.
  27. ^ Mušlek, Ivan (26 October 2015). "Toronto Croatia osvojila naslov prvaka Kanade!" [Toronto Croatia won the title of champion of Canada!]. nogometplus.net (in Croatian). Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  28. ^ "Toronto Croatia reaches second straight CSL final". Mississauga News. 21 October 2015.
  29. ^ a b c d "Toronto Croatia captures 10th CSL title". Mississauga News. 29 October 2015.
  30. ^ "Croatia Toronto osvojila naslov prvaka Kanade" [Croatia Toronto won the title of champion of Canada]. www.index.hr (in Croatian). 26 October 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  31. ^ "Vojvođanski Hrvati i Pajde Möhlin maksimalni" [The matches of the second round of the competition by groups of the World Championship of Croatian clubs from the diaspora were played]. hns-cff.hr (in Croatian). 1 July 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  32. ^ Barisic, Ivan (30 June 2019). "SC Croat San Pedro pobjednik je 4. Svjetskog nogometnog prvenstva klubova Hrvata izvan domovine" [SC San Pedro is the winner of the 4th World Football Championship of Croatia clubs outside their homeland]. Moja Domovina (in Croatian). Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  33. ^ "Croatia - J. Keran - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  34. ^ Sharpe, Fletcher (8 May 2014). "2014 US Open Cup round 1: RWB Adria advance for first time in Modern Pro Era, eliminate Detroit City FC in PKs". thecup.us. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  35. ^ a b Sager, Joe (28 May 2014). "Riverhounds rally to advance in U.S. Open Cup tournament". www.tribliveoffers.com. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  36. ^ "Hamilton City". 2017-01-19. Archived from the original on 2017-01-19. Retrieved 2017-09-03.
  37. ^ "ОРЛОВИ КРОЗ ДРАМУ ДО ПОЛУФИНАЛА" [Eagles Through Drama to Semi-finals]. serbianwhiteeagles.ca. 15 September 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  38. ^ "2019 CSC Mississauga roster". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  39. ^ "Croatia AC roster". apl.teamsnapsites.com. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  40. ^ "Congratulations to the 2017-2018 APL Championship Winner Croatia A.C." apl.teamsnapsites.com. Archived from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  41. ^ "Mississauga MetroStars launched ahead of arena soccer season". Mississauga News. 19 September 2018.
  42. ^ Davidson, Neil (30 November 2018). "Mississauga MetroStars to kick off debut MASL season in Baltimore". The Canadian Press.
  43. ^ Rhodes, Benedict (2 December 2018). "Mississauga MetroStars 3 - 11 Baltimore Blast: MetroStars Fall In Their First-Ever Game". Waking The Red. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  44. ^ Rhodes, Benedict (8 December 2018). "Mississauga MetroStars 10 - 0 Florida Tropics: MetroStars crush Tropics for first-ever win". Waking The Red. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  45. ^ Rhodes, Benedict (24 December 2018). "Mississauga MetroStars 7 - 12 Orlando SeaWolves: MetroStars Fall In Battle Of The Expansion Teams". Waking The Red. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  46. ^ Rhodes, Benedict (27 March 2019). "Mississauga MetroStars 2-9 Baltimore Blast — William Vanzela dominates in goal as the Blast crush the MetroStars". Waking The Red. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  47. ^ "Josip Keran soccer Statistics on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
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