Vero Salatić
Veroljub "Vero" Salatić (Serbian Cyrillic: Верољуб Веро Салатић; born 14 November 1985) is a Bosnian-born Swiss footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Grasshopper Club Zürich.
 Salatić with Ufa in 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Veroljub Salatić | ||
| Date of birth | 14 November 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Zvornik, SFR Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Grasshopper | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1992–1994 | SC Zug | ||
| 1994–2000 | Zug 94 | ||
| 2000–2003 | Grasshopper | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2003–2011 | Grasshopper | 229 | (12) |
| 2011–2012 | AC Omonia | 25 | (1) |
| 2012–2015 | Grasshopper | 72 | (5) |
| 2015–2017 | Sion | 77 | (4) |
| 2017–2019 | Ufa | 30 | (0) |
| 2019– | Grasshopper | 21 | (2) |
| National team | |||
| 2004–2006 | Switzerland U-21 | 25 | (2) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:09, 9 March 2020 (UTC) | |||
Career
A Bosnian Serb, Salatić moved to Switzerland as a child and started training with local team SC Zug in 1992, aged 7. In 2000, he moved on to Grasshopper Club Zürich. In the 2003–04 season he broke into the first team. He is used mostly as a holding midfielder or as a central defender.
AC Omonia
In July 2011, he signed a contract with Cypriot side AC Omonia.
Ufa
On 31 August 2017, Salatić signed for Russian Premier League side FC Ufa.[1] He left Ufa on 3 June 2019 upon the expiration of his contract.[2]
Return to Grasshoppers
On 17 June 2019, he returned to Grasshopper Club Zürich for the second time, signing a 2-year contract.[3]
International career
Salatić has represented Switzerland at various levels including at the U-19 European Championship in 2004 in Switzerland. In 2005, he starred at the FIFA U-20 World Cup. The side were managed by Pierre-André Schürmann. Salatić starred alongside a Swiss team including Blerim Džemaili, Tranquillo Barnetta and Valon Behrami.
His success has not gone unnoticed by the Football Association of Serbia who have twice attempted to call him up, both times he refused saying he wished to play for Switzerland. He played his last match for the U21 side against England in 2006 and since then neither Köbi Kuhn or Ottmar Hitzfeld have shown any interest in calling him up.
As an ethnic Serb from Bosnia, he first expressed his desire to play for Serbia[4] but he was never called, so he later stated that he would like to play for national team of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[5][6]
Honours
Career statistics
Club
- As of 13 May 2018
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Grasshoppers | 2003–04 | Swiss Super League | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 11 | 0 | |
| 2004–05 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 33 | 0 | ||||
| 2005–06 | 30 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 2 | – | 39 | 5 | |||
| 2006–07 | 27 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 1 | – | 40 | 3 | |||
| 2007–08 | 33 | 2 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 36 | 2 | ||||
| 2008–09 | 32 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 | – | 41 | 4 | |||
| 2009–10 | 34 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 36 | 3 | ||||
| 2010–11 | 31 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | – | 36 | 3 | |||
| Omonia | 2011–12 | Cypriot First Division | 25 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 37 | 3 |
| Grasshoppers | 2012–13 | Swiss Super League | 31 | 3 | 5 | 0 | – | – | 36 | 3 | ||
| 2013–14 | 31 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | 37 | 1 | |||
| 2014–15 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 13 | 1 | |||
| Total (2 spells) | 301 | 17 | 24 | 3 | 33 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 358 | 25 | ||
| Sion | 2014–15 | Swiss Super League | 16 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 19 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | 32 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 1 | – | 43 | 4 | |||
| 2016–17 | 29 | 1 | 4 | 1 | – | – | 33 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 77 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 95 | 6 | ||
| Ufa | 2017–18 | Russian Premier League | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 19 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 421 | 22 | 42 | 6 | 45 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 509 | 34 | ||
Notes
- One appearance in the Cypriot Super Cup
References
- Веролюб Салатич в Уфе!. fcufa.pro (in Russian). FC Ufa. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
- Веролюб Салатич покидает ФК «Уфа» [Veroljub Salatić leaves Ufa] (in Russian). FC Ufa. 3 June 2019.
- "VEROLJUB SALATIC RETURNS TO GC". Grasshopper Club Zürich. 17 June 2019.
- Tandem iz Grashopersa želi da igra za Republiku Srpsku i Srbiju
- Salatić: Iz BiH me nikada niko nije zvao, ali imam bh. pasoš i veliku želju da zaigram za Zmajeve!
- Na pomolu novi Zmaj: Bila bi mi čast otići u Brazil sa BiH
External links
- Profile at GCZ.CH (in German)
- Vero Salatic at soccerbase.com
- Vero Salatić at Soccerway