Roberto Punčec

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Roberto Punčec
Punčec in Botev Plovdiv
Personal information
Date of birth (1991-10-27) 27 October 1991 (age 32)
Place of birth Varaždin, Croatia
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Botev Plovdiv
Number 44
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– Botev Plovdiv 37 (0)
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 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 27 May 2015

Roberto Punčec (Croatian: [pûːntʃeːts]; born 27 October 1991) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Bulgarian First League club Botev Plovdiv.

Club career[edit]

A 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[edit]

Punčec 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
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
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[edit]

Rijeka[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Punčec, Roberto". Nogometni magazin (in Croatian). Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  2. ^ Strahija, Ivana (31 August 2011). "Punčec u Maccabiju". Sportnet.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 31 August 2011.
  3. ^ "1. FC Union Berlin e.V. leiht Roberto Puncec von Maccabi Tel Aviv" (in German). 1. FC Union Berlin. 16 July 2012.
  4. ^ Vujnović, Korado (16 June 2017). "Roberto Punčec novi igrač Rijeke". Radio Rijeka (in Croatian). Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  5. ^ "Sporting Kansas City sign Croatian defender Roberto Puncec". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. 4 December 2019.
  6. ^ "Roster decision deadline: Sporting KC, FC Dallas, Austin FC announce moves | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer.
  7. ^ "Ботев Пловдив подписа с Роберто Пунчец" (in Bulgarian). 7dnisport.bg. 14 February 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  8. ^ Roberto Punčec – FIFA competition record (archived)
  9. ^ "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]

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