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Marin Leovac

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Marin Leovac (Croatian pronunciation: [mâriːn lěoʋats];[2][3] born 7 August 1988) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a left back for Lokomotiva.

Marin Leovac
Leovac with Austria Wien in 2013
Personal information
Date of birth (1988-08-07) 7 August 1988 (age 36)
Place of birth Jajce, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s) Left back
Team information
Current team
 Lokomotiva
Number 4
Youth career
1997–2001 Sportunion Aschbach
2001–2002 USV Oed/Zeillern
2002–2007 Austria Wien
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2009 Austria Wien II 66 (2)
2009–2013 Austria Wien 52 (0)
2013–2015 Rijeka 44 (3)
2015–2018 PAOK 65 (4)
2018 → Rijeka (loan) 9 (0)
2018–2022 Dinamo Zagreb 47 (3)
2022–2023 Osijek 27 (2)
2023– Lokomotiva Zagreb 5 (0)
International career
2014–2019 Croatia 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 November 2023

Early career

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Leovac began his career in July 1997 in Austria with Sportunion Aschbach and signed in March 2001 with USV Oed/Zeillern. After only one year left USV Oed/Zeillern and signed in August 2002 a contract with Austria Wien.[4]

Club career

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Austria Wien

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Leovac spent three seasons playing for the Austria Wien II, before making debut for the first team in 2009–10 season. He made his debut for Austria Wien in Europa League match against SV Werder Bremen, playing 90 minutes in eventual 2-0 loss. In his first season with Austria he made 8 Bundesliga appearances.

 
Leovac playing for Austria Wien in 2013.

In 2013–2014 he helped Austria Wien reach UEFA Champions League group stage, when he netted the opening goal in 0-2 win over Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb in Champions League Play-off match played in Zagreb. He made four appearances in 2013–2014 Champions League Group G.

Rijeka

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In January 2014 Leovac signed with Croatian Prva HNL team HNK Rijeka, for a reported fee of €250,000. In his first half season with Rijeka he made 11 appearances in Prva HNL and helped the team win Croatian Cup.

PAOK

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According to reports in Croatia PAOK are set to complete a deal for the Rijeka left back Marin Leovac. It is believed that the talks between the two parties are in an advanced stage and the clubs are due to agree a fee in the region of €1 million. PAOK manager Igor Tudor is a big admirer of the 26-year-old left back and the move, according to the Croatian reports, will be finalised soon.[5] On 8 August 2015, according to reports in Croatia, HNK Rijeka left back Marin Leovac is heading to PAOK. Croatian reports believe that the 26-year-old left back has already agreed terms with PAOK and he is likely to complete the move imminently.[6] Eventually, on 11 August 2015, PAOK have officially announced the transfer of Croatian left back Marin Leovac. The 27-year-old has signed a 4-year contract with the Greek club.[7] On 13 September 2015, Leovac injured during a Super League game against Veria. PAOK have been expecting updates on Leovac's injury and Igor Tudor was hopeful that it would not be anything serious. However the scans revealed that the problem was bigger than expected and it will force Leovac out of action for at least a month.[8]

Leovac, who is in his third season with PAOK, is ready to leave Thessaloniki. Unable to cope with Răzvan Lucescu's demands, Leovac wants to find a new club for himself, claiming that PAOK cannot meet his expectations. Lucescu has inserted Vieirinha in the left-back role in place of Leovac and Dorian Lévêque, but PAOK understand their need to strengthen this area of the pitch if they're to have any chance of claiming an historic league title.[9]

On 6 February 2018, PAOK reached an agreement with Leovac's ex-club HNK Rijeka on a six months loan until the end of the season, with a €1.3 million purchase option. Leovac remaining season's annual fee will be paid from his former club, as the player gave €150,000 of his contract, to sign with Rijeka.[10]

Dinamo Zagreb

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On 18 June he signed a contract with champions Dinamo Zagreb for an estimated amount of €500,000.[11] Leovac scored his first goal for Dinamo in a 3–0 win over Istra 1961, on 3 August 2018.[12][13]

International career

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In November 2014, after a string of good performances for HNK Rijeka, Leovac was called up for the Croatia national team friendly match against Argentina. He played full 90 minutes in his debut for the national team on November 12, 2014, in a friendly game against Argentina. On 27 October 2016, Leovac was called up in his motherland's national squad, after more than 13 months, ahead of the upcoming World Cup qualifier against Iceland. On 15 November 2016, he was a starter in a friendly away match against Northern Ireland. He earned a total of 5 caps, scoring no goals. His final international was a March 2019 European Championship qualification match away against Hungary.[14]

Career statistics

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As of 22 May 2021[15]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Austria Wien 2009–10 Austrian Bundesliga 8 0 – 1[a] 0 – 9 0
2010–11 18 0 2 0 4[a] 0 – 24 0
2011–12 17 0 2 0 3[a] 0 – 22 0
2012–13 2 0 – – – 2 0
2013–14 7 0 – 6[b] 1 – 13 1
Total 52 0 4 0 14 1 – 70 1
Rijeka 2013–14 Prva HNL 10 0 3 0 – – 13 0
2014–15 29 2 5 0 9[a] 1 1[c] 0 44 3
2015–16 5 1 – 2[a] 0 – 7 1
Total 44 3 8 0 11 1 1 0 64 4
PAOK 2015–16 Super League Greece 25 1 4 0 2[a] 0 – 31 1
2016–17 31 2 7 0 11[d] 0 – 49 2
2017–18 9 1 – 4[a] 0 – 13 1
Total 65 4 11 0 17 0 – 93 4
Rijeka (loan) 2017–18 Prva HNL 9 0 1 0 – – 10 0
Dinamo Zagreb 2018–19 Prva HNL 12 2 1 0 10[e] 0 – 23 2
2019–20 19 1 3 0 11[b] 1 1[c] 0 34 2
2020–21 12 0 1 0 8[f] 0 0 0 21 0
Total 43 3 5 0 29 1 1 0 78 4
Career total 213 10 29 0 71 3 2 0 315 13
  1. ^ a b c d e f g Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  3. ^ a b Appearance in Croatian Football Super Cup
  4. ^ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, nine appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. ^ Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in UEFA Europa League
  6. ^ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, six appearances in UEFA Europa League

Personal life

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Leovac was born in the town of Jajce, in modern Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was at the time part of SFR Yugoslavia. He holds dual citizenship of Austria and Croatia.[16] He was eligible to represent all three countries in international football. He ultimately opted to play for Croatia national team, making his debut in 2014.

Honours

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Austria Wien

Rijeka

PAOK

Dinamo Zagreb

Individual

References

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  1. ^ Marin Leovac - Fussballdaten - Die Fußball-Datenbank
  2. ^ "Mȁrīn". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 17 March 2018. Mȁrīn
  3. ^ "Lȅo". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 17 March 2018. Lèovac
  4. ^ "FK Austria Wien Profile". Archived from the original on 13 March 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2009.
  5. ^ PAOK close to Leovac swoop
  6. ^ Leovac edging closer to PAOK
  7. ^ PAOK sign Leovac[permanent dead link‍]
  8. ^ Leovac set to stay one month on the sidelines
  9. ^ Σε απολογία ο Λέοβατς, προπονείται μόνος του; Retrieved 5 December 2017
  10. ^ Οριστικό: Ο Λέοβατς στην Ριέκα!; Retrieved 6 February 2018
  11. ^ Επίσημο: Στην Ντινάμο Ζάγκρεμπ ο Λέοβατς; Retrieved 18 June 2018
  12. ^ "Dinamo Zagreb - Istra 1961 | Dinamo Zagreb". gnkdinamo.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  13. ^ "Razigrani Plavi deklasirali Istru | Dinamo Zagreb". gnkdinamo.hr (in Croatian). 8 March 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  14. ^ "Player Database". EU-football. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  15. ^ "M. Leovac". Soccerway. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  16. ^ Dinamo face familiar foe as Austria come to town
  17. ^ "DINAMO - ISTRA 1961 6:3". HNS-CFF (in Croatian). 19 May 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
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