Duje Ćaleta-Car

Duje Ćaleta-Car (Croatian pronunciation: [dǔːje tɕâleta tsâr];[2][3] born 17 September 1996) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Marseille and the Croatia national team.[4] He was a member of the Croatian squad which ended as runners-up to France in the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Duje Ćaleta-Car
Ćaleta-Car warming up for Red Bull Salzburg in 2017
Personal information
Full name Duje Ćaleta-Car
Date of birth (1996-09-17) 17 September 1996
Place of birth Šibenik, Croatia
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)[1]
Position(s) Centre-back
Club information
Current team
 Marseille
Number 15
Youth career
2005–2012 Šibenik
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 Šibenik 17 (0)
2013–2014 Pasching 15 (3)
2014–2018 Red Bull Salzburg 84 (4)
2014–2015 → Liefering (loan) 20 (0)
2018– Marseille 63 (3)
National team‡
2012–2013 Croatia U17 12 (1)
2013–2014 Croatia U18 4 (0)
2014–2015 Croatia U19 10 (2)
2014–2019 Croatia U21 15 (3)
2018– Croatia 10 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 3 February 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14 November 2020

Club career

Ćaleta-Car joined FC Liefering in 2014 from FC Pasching. He made his Austrian Football First League debut with FC Liefering on 25 July 2014 against FAC Team für Wien.[5]

Red Bull Salzburg

During the 2017–18 season Salzburg had their best ever European campaign. They finished top of their Europa League group, for a record fourth time, before beating Real Sociedad and Borussia Dortmund thus making their first ever appearance in a UEFA Europa League semi-final.[6] On 3 May 2018, he played in the Europa League semi-final as Olympique de Marseille played out a 1–2 away loss but a 3–2 aggregate win to secure a place in the 2018 UEFA Europa League Final.[7]

Olympique de Marseille

On 20 July 2018, Ćaleta-Car joined Olympique de Marseille on a five-year deal for a transfer fee of €19 million. Upon his arrival, Ćaleta-Car was given the squad shirt number 15.[8]

On 29 September 2019, he scored his first goal for Marseille, the equalizer in a 1–1 draw with Rennes.[9]

At the start of the 2020–21 season, Ćaleta-Car scored a brace against Brest, converting assists of Florian Thauvin, as Marseille won 3–2.[9]

International career

In October 2015, Ćaleta-Car received a first call-up for the senior national team for the Euro 2016 qualifying matches against Bulgaria and Malta, as a replacement for injured Jozo Šimunović.[10] He was in the first 27 players team called for the Euro 2016 but was dropped along with midfielder Alen Halilović and goalkeeper Dominik Livaković.

In May 2018, he was named in Croatia's preliminary 32-man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.[11] On 3 June, he made his international debut in a friendly match against Brazil, coming on as a substitute for Vedran Ćorluka in the 52nd minute.[12]

Ćaleta-Car was eventually selected in the 23 man squad that travelled to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He made his World Cup debut in Croatia's final group game, a 2-1 win over Iceland. Croatia would go on to finish 2nd in the tournament, losing to France 4-2 in the final which was played in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, in front of a crowd of 78,011. This to date is the best performance by Croatia at a FIFA World Cup.

In June 2019, he refused to be part of Croatia squad for 2019 UEFA Under-21 Euro, citing exhaustion and the club's demand to take a rest for the upcoming season as reasons. Soon it was discovered that the real reason was a vacation in the Maldives with his club teammate Nemanja Radonjić.[13] As a disciplinary action, he was the only outfield player who wasn't given even a minute of playing time in senior Croatia squad's June fixtures against Wales and Tunisia and was completely dropped ahead of September fixtures against Slovakia and Azerbaijan.[14] In an interview with Sportske novosti, he denied going on vacation and said that the sole reason of not participating in the tournament was suggestion of his club coaches Andoni Zubizarreta and André Villas-Boas to take a rest instead since his previous season wasn't on the level it was expected to be, partially due to his participation in the World Cup the summer before, and that it wasn't his personal wish. He also claimed that the Croatia U21 manager Nenad Gračan "had lied and had disappointed him", that "it had hurt him to read the lies of the media" about the vacation, and that he accepted senior Croatia squad manager Zlatko Dalić's decision to drop him from the team.[15]

He was called up again ahead of Croatia's November fixtures against Slovakia and Georgia following suspensions of the standard starting defenders Dejan Lovren and Domagoj Vida.[16] He was a starter in the decisive match against the former opponent, that ended up as a 3–1 win and saw Croatia qualify for Euro 2020.[17]

Playing style

Ćaleta-Car is a strong and composed, natural center-back. His composure and comfort on the ball open him up as a safe back-pass option during midfield play. He also has vision and an eye for moving the ball forward with pace or precise long ball. His performance in the 2017–18 Europa League and at the 2018 World Cup impressed many, and caught the eye of several large clubs including Ligue 1's Olympique de Marseille and La Liga's Sevilla.

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 3 February 2021[4]
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Continental Other[lower-alpha 3] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Šibenik 2012–13 Druga HNL 17000———170
Pasching 2013–14 Austrian Regionalliga 15300———153
Liefering (loan) 2014–15 Erste Liga 19000———190
2015–16 1000———10
Total 20000———200
Red Bull Salzburg 2014–15 Austrian Bundesliga 7010—1[lower-alpha 4]0—90
2015–16 31240—2[lower-alpha 4]0—372
2016–17 18050—8[lower-alpha 5]0—310
2017–18 28260—19[lower-alpha 6]0—532
Total 844160—300—1304
Marseille 2018–19 Ligue 1 20010005[lower-alpha 4]0—260
2019–20 2312010——261
2020–21 20200—4[lower-alpha 7]010252
Total 63330109010773
Career total 19910190103901025910

International
As of 14 November 2020[18]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Croatia201820
201930
202050
Total100

Honours

Red Bull Salzburg

Marseille

Croatia

Orders

Notes
  1. Includes Croatian Cup, Austrian Cup and Coupe de France
  2. Includes Coupe de la Ligue
  3. Includes Trophée des Champions
  4. All appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, three appearances in UEFA Europa League
  6. Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, fifteen appearances in UEFA Europa League
  7. All appearances in UEFA Champions League

References
  1. "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia – List of Players" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  2. "Dẉjam". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Croatian). Retrieved 23 February 2020. Dúje
  3. "cȁr". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Croatian). Retrieved 23 February 2020. Cȁr
  4. "Croatia - D. Caleta-Car - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  5. "FC Liefering vs. FAC Team für Win - 25 July 2014 - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  6. UEFA.com. "Salzburg v Marseille background". UEFA.com.
  7. "FC Red Bull Salzburg 2–1 Marseille". BBC Sport. 3 May 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  8. "Duje Caleta-Car joins Les Olympiens!". Olympique de Marseille. 20 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  9. "VIDEO: Velika večer Vatrenog! Do danas je u klubu zabio samo jednom, sinoć je mrežu tresao čak dva puta". Sportske novosti (in Croatian). 30 August 2020. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  10. "Celtic defender Jozo Šimunović will miss Croatia's qualifiers against Bulgaria and Malta due to injury, with Duje Ćaleta-Car called up as his replacement". hns-cff.hr. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  11. "Revealed: Every World Cup 2018 squad - 23-man & preliminary lists & when will they be announced? - Goal.com".
  12. "Brazil vs. Croatia - 3 June 2018 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com.
  13. "Otkrivamo zašto je Ćaleta-Car otkazao reprezentaciju! Ima nevjerojatan razlog". Večernji list. 8 June 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  14. "IZBORNIK DALIĆ PROTIV JEDNOG POTEZA NIJE MOGAO PRIJEĆI I KAZNIO VATRENOG KOJEG JE VODIO U RUSIJU Morao je znati da mu takva odluka neće dobro proći..." Sportske novosti. 20 August 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  15. "ODBAČENI VATRENI SVE OTKRIO: 'POSTAO SAM GLAVNI NEGATIVAC U HRVATSKOJ, A OVO JE ISTINA' 'Gračan je lagao i razočarao me! A Dalićevu kaznu prihvaćam'". Sportske novosti. 23 August 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  16. "IZBORNIK DALIĆ OBJAVIO SLUŽBENI POPIS I POTVRDIO NAGAĐANJA Vraća u reprezentaciju 'nestašnog' braniča: Duje Ćaleta-Car pozvan za Slovačku". Sportske novosti. 28 August 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  17. "NAPOKON JE GOTOVO, HRVATSKA RIJETKO VIĐENIM PREOKRETOM IZBORILA EURO! Slovaci su zabili, a onda je Zlatko Dalić povukao potez kvalifikacija". Sportske novosti. 16 November 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  18. "Duje Ćaleta-Car". Croatian Football Federation.
  19. McNulty, Phil (15 July 2018). "France 4–2 Croatia". BBC. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  20. "News: President Decorates Croatian National Football Team Players and Coaching Staff". Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia. 13 November 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2019. the Order of Prince Branimir with Ribbon was awarded to Mr. Duje Ćaleta-Car...
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