Roberto Punčec (Croatian: [pûːntʃeːts]; born 27 October 1991) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Šibenik.
 Punčec in Botev Plovdiv | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 27 October 1991 | ||
| Place of birth | Varaždin, Croatia | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Šibenik | ||
| Number | 24 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1999–2002 | Trnje Trnovec | ||
| 2002–2009 | Varteks | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2008–2011 | Varteks / Varaždin | 53 | (1) |
| 2011–2013 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 18 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | → Union Berlin (loan) | 21 | (0) |
| 2013–2017 | Union Berlin | 100 | (1) |
| 2017–2019 | Rijeka | 58 | (1) |
| 2019–2021 | Sporting Kansas City | 23 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | Botev Plovdiv | 44 | (0) |
| 2024– | Šibenik | 11 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2005 | Croatia U14 | 2 | (0) |
| 2007 | Croatia U16 | 4 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | Croatia U17 | 4 | (0) |
| 2009 | Croatia U18 | 7 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Croatia U19 | 10 | (0) |
| 2011 | Croatia U20 | 3 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | Croatia U21 | 6 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 May 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 27 May 2015 | |||
Club career
editA product of NK Varteks youth academy, Punčec joined the first team in the 2008–09 season and had his professional debut on 2 November 2008 in a league match against Hajduk Split.[1] He went on to appear in 27 matches for the club in his first two professional seasons, with the club changing its name to NK Varaždin in mid-2010.[1]
After filing for arbitration to Croatian Football Federation his contract with the financially troubled Varaždin was terminated due to unpaid wages, and on 31 August 2011, Punčec signed a two-year contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv.[2]
In July 2012, Punčec joined Union Berlin on a season-long loan with the option to buy.[3] Following five years with Union Berlin, in June 2017, Punčec joined Rijeka on a three-year deal as a free-agent.[4]
On 4 December 2019, it was announced Punčec would join Major League Soccer club Sporting Kansas City ahead of the 2020 season.[5] Following the 2021 season, Punčec's contract option was declined by Kansas City.[6] In February 2022, he signed a contract with Bulgarian club Botev Plovdiv.[7]
International career
editPunčec has been capped at the Croatia national team at every youth level, and was part of the Croatia squad at the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia, playing in all three of their group stage matches.[8]
Career statistics
edit- As of 3 November 2019
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Varteks | 2008–09 | Prva HNL | 6 | 0 | – | – | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | 21 | 1 | 5 | 0 | – | 26 | 1 | |||
| Varaždin | 2010–11 | 25 | 0 | 6 | 2 | – | 31 | 2 | ||
| 2011–12 | 1 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||
| Varteks / Varaždin total | 53 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 66 | 3 | ||
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 2011–12 | Premier League | 18 | 0 | – | 5 | 0 | 23 | 0 | |
| Union Berlin | 2012–13 | 2. Bundesliga | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 23 | 0 | |
| 2013–14 | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 23 | 0 | |||
| 2014–15 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 31 | 0 | |||
| 2015–16 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 23 | 1 | |||
| 2016–17 | 26 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 28 | 0 | |||
| Total | 121 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 128 | 1 | ||
| Rijeka | 2017–18 | Prva Liga | 27 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 33 | 1 |
| 2018–19 | 22 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 16 | 2 | ||
| Total | 58 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 77 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 250 | 3 | 28 | 4 | 16 | 0 | 294 | 7 | ||
Honours
editRijeka
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Punčec, Roberto". Nogometni magazin (in Croatian). Retrieved 25 July 2010.
- ^ Strahija, Ivana (31 August 2011). "Punčec u Maccabiju". Sportnet.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 31 August 2011.
- ^ "1. FC Union Berlin e.V. leiht Roberto Puncec von Maccabi Tel Aviv" (in German). 1. FC Union Berlin. 16 July 2012.
- ^ Vujnović, Korado (16 June 2017). "Roberto Punčec novi igrač Rijeke". Radio Rijeka (in Croatian). Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ "Sporting Kansas City sign Croatian defender Roberto Puncec". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. 4 December 2019.
- ^ "Roster decision deadline: Sporting KC, FC Dallas, Austin FC announce moves | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer.
- ^ "Ботев Пловдив подписа с Роберто Пунчец" (in Bulgarian). 7dnisport.bg. 14 February 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
- ^ Roberto Punčec – FIFA competition record (archived)
- ^ "KRAJ U PULI: Rijeka na krilima Simona Sluge i Zorana Kvržića stigla do sedmog Kupa u povijesti!". Novilist.hr (in Croatian). 22 May 2019.
External links
edit- Roberto Punčec at Soccerway.com
- Roberto Punčec at WorldFootball.net
- Roberto Punčec at FBref.com
- Roberto Punčec at the Croatian Football Federation
- Roberto Punčec at Major League Soccer
- Roberto Punčec at Croatian Football Statistics (archived) (in Croatian)
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