Marko Pjaca facts for kids
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Pjaca playing for Croatia at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 6 May 1995 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Zagreb, Croatia | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.86 m | |||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Winger | |||||||||||||||
| Club information | ||||||||||||||||
| Current club | Dinamo Zagreb | |||||||||||||||
| Number | 20 | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2009 | Dinamo Zagreb | |||||||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | ZET | |||||||||||||||
| 2010–2012 | Lokomotiva Zagreb | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | Lokomotiva Zagreb | 49 | (9) | |||||||||||||
| 2014–2016 | Dinamo Zagreb | 61 | (19) | |||||||||||||
| 2016–2023 | Juventus | 14 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2018 | → Schalke 04 (loan) | 7 | (2) | |||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | → Fiorentina (loan) | 19 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2020 | → Anderlecht (loan) | 4 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | → Genoa (loan) | 35 | (3) | |||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | → Torino (loan) | 24 | (3) | |||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | → Empoli (loan) | 17 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Rijeka | 27 | (7) | |||||||||||||
| 2024– | Dinamo Zagreb | 16 | (4) | |||||||||||||
| National team‡ | ||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | Croatia U17 | 8 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2012 | Croatia U18 | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2012 | Croatia U19 | 1 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2013–2015 | Croatia U20 | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2013–2017 | Croatia U21 | 7 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2014– | Croatia | 28 | (1) | |||||||||||||
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Honours
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† Appearances (Goals). |
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Marko Pjaca (born on May 6, 1995) is a Croatian professional footballer. He plays as a left winger for the Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb. He also plays for the Croatia national team.
Marko started his club career in Croatia with Lokomotiva Zagreb in 2012. He then moved to Dinamo Zagreb in 2014. With Dinamo, he won two league titles and two cups. In 2016, he joined Juventus in Italy. He won a league title and a cup there too.
However, injuries made it tough for him to play regularly. So, he was loaned to six different clubs. These included Schalke 04, Fiorentina, Anderlecht, Genoa, Torino, and Empoli.
Marko Pjaca has also played for Croatia internationally. He played in UEFA Euro 2016 and the 2018 FIFA World Cup. At the 2018 World Cup, Croatia reached the final!
Contents
Early Life and Family
Marko Pjaca comes from a family of athletes. His father, Željko, was a wrestler. His mother, Višnja, was a judoka. He has two older sisters named Martina and Iva. When he was a child, Marko also tried other sports. He trained in handball, basketball, and table tennis before focusing on football.
Club Career Highlights
Starting at Lokomotiva
Marko Pjaca began his professional football journey with Lokomotiva Zagreb in Croatia. He made his first team debut in February 2012. In that game, he even got an assist! The next season, he played more often. By the 2013–14 season, he was scoring many goals. His great performances caught the eye of bigger clubs.
Success with Dinamo Zagreb
In the summer of 2014, Marko joined Dinamo Zagreb. They were the champions of the Croatian league. He scored in his very first game for Dinamo. In December 2014, he scored three goals in a UEFA Europa League match against Celtic.
He helped Dinamo win the league title for the tenth time in a row. They also won the Croatian Cup. In July 2016, Marko played his last game for Dinamo. He scored two goals and got a standing ovation from the fans.
Moving to Juventus
On July 21, 2016, Marko Pjaca signed a five-year contract with Juventus in Italy. This was a big move for him. He became the most expensive player ever sold by Dinamo Zagreb.
He made his debut for Juventus in August. He scored his first goal for the club in a UEFA Champions League match. However, he faced some tough luck with injuries. He suffered a leg injury and then a serious knee injury (ACL). These injuries kept him off the field for many months.
Loan Spells to Gain Experience
After his injuries, Marko was loaned out to several clubs to get more playing time.
- In January 2018, he joined Schalke 04 in Germany. He scored his first goal for them in his second game.
- In August 2018, he moved to Fiorentina in Italy for a season.
- In January 2020, he went to Anderlecht in Belgium.
- In September 2020, he was loaned to Genoa in Italy. He scored on his debut for them.
- In July 2021, he joined Torino on loan.
- In September 2022, he moved to Empoli on loan.
Time at Rijeka
On September 1, 2023, Marko Pjaca signed a three-year contract with Rijeka back in Croatia. He played well there, scoring 7 goals in 27 league games.
Return to Dinamo Zagreb
On July 3, 2024, Marko Pjaca returned to his former club, Dinamo Zagreb. It was a big moment for him to come back to where he had so much success.
International Career
Marko Pjaca first played for the Croatia national team on September 4, 2014. It was a friendly match against Cyprus. He made his first competitive start in a Euro 2016 qualifying game. On June 4, 2016, he scored his first goal for Croatia in a big 10–0 win against San Marino.
Euro 2016 Performance
Marko was part of Croatia's team for UEFA Euro 2016. He played a key role in Croatia's impressive 2–1 victory against Spain. Spain was the defending European champion at the time. Marko showed off his dribbling skills and helped create chances. Croatia later lost to Portugal in the next round.
2018 FIFA World Cup
In 2018, Marko Pjaca was chosen for Croatia's squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. This was a huge tournament! Croatia had an amazing run and reached the final. They played against France in the final match on July 15, but unfortunately lost 4–2. It was still a fantastic achievement for Croatia and Marko.
Later International Appearances
After the World Cup, Marko faced more injury challenges. He played in a UEFA Nations League game against Spain in 2018. Then, he didn't play for the national team for five years. He was called up again in November 2023 for Euro 2024 qualifying matches. He finally returned to the field in a friendly match against Egypt in March 2024.
Playing Style
Marko Pjaca is known as a very talented and promising player. He usually plays as a winger. He can play on either side of the field, but he prefers the left. From there, he likes to cut inside and shoot or create goals with his strong right foot. Sometimes, he also plays as an attacking midfielder or a second striker.
Marko is a fast, agile, and skilled player. He is good at dribbling and changing direction quickly. He often tries to beat defenders one-on-one. He is also known for making smart runs to get behind the opponent's defense.
Career Statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Lokomotiva Zagreb | 2011–12 | Prva HNL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | Prva HNL | 17 | 2 | 6 | 2 | – | – | 23 | 4 | |||
| 2013–14 | Prva HNL | 30 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 32 | 7 | ||
| Total | 48 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | 56 | 11 | |||
| Dinamo Zagreb | 2014–15 | Prva HNL | 32 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 48 | 14 |
| 2015–16 | Prva HNL | 28 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 3 | – | 43 | 12 | ||
| 2016–17 | Prva HNL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | – | 2 | 2 | ||
| Total | 61 | 19 | 10 | 1 | 21 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 93 | 28 | ||
| Juventus | 2016–17 | Serie A | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1 |
| 2017–18 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2019–20 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 1 | ||
| Schalke 04 (loan) | 2017–18 | Bundesliga | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 9 | 2 | ||
| Fiorentina (loan) | 2018–19 | Serie A | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 19 | 1 | ||
| Anderlecht (loan) | 2019–20 | Belgian Pro League | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 4 | 1 | ||
| Genoa (loan) | 2020–21 | Serie A | 35 | 3 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 38 | 3 | ||
| Torino (loan) | 2021–22 | Serie A | 24 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 26 | 3 | ||
| Empoli (loan) | 2022–23 | Serie A | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 17 | 0 | ||
| Rijeka | 2023–24 | HNL | 27 | 7 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 31 | 7 | ||
| Dinamo Zagreb | 2024–25 | HNL | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | – | 23 | 6 | |
| Career total | 272 | 49 | 30 | 3 | 34 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 337 | 63 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Croatia | 2014 | 1 | 0 |
| 2015 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 28 | 1 | |
- Scores and results list Croatia's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 June 2016 | Stadion Rujevica, Rijeka, Croatia | 8 |  San Marino |
1–0 | 10–0 | Friendly |
Awards and Honours
Marko Pjaca has won several awards and honours throughout his career:
Dinamo Zagreb
- Prva HNL (Croatian First Football League): 2014–15, 2015–16
- Croatian Cup: 2014–15, 2015–16
Juventus
- Serie A (Italian League): 2016–17, 2017–18
- Coppa Italia (Italian Cup): 2016–17
Croatia National Team
- FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2018 (Croatia finished second)
Individual Awards
- Football Oscar Best Prva HNL player: 2015, 2016
- Croatian Football League Team of the Year: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2023–24
Orders
Order of Duke Branimir: 2018 (a special award from Croatia)
See also
In Spanish: Marko Pjaca para niños
