Jerko Leko
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Jerko Leko | ||
Date of birth | 9 April 1980 | ||
Place of birth | Zagreb, SFR Yugoslavia | ||
Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 1+1⁄2 in) | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1999–2003 | Dinamo Zagreb | 45 | (5) |
2003–2006 | Dynamo Kyiv | 61 | (7) |
2006–2010 | Monaco | 85 | (4) |
2010–2011 | Bucaspor | 30 | (2) |
2011–2014 | Dinamo Zagreb | 63 | (5) |
2014–2016 | Lokomotiva | 55 | (4) |
Total | 339 | (27) | |
International career | |||
1999 | Croatia U19 | 2 | (0) |
2000 | Croatia U20 | 3 | (0) |
2001 | Croatia U21 | 1 | (0) |
2002–2009 | Croatia | 59 | (2) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Jerko Leko (born 9 April 1980) is a retired Croatian retired footballer. He primary played as central midfielder, but could also operate as a right one, or more defensively, as a right-back.
Club career
Leko's career began with GNK Dinamo Zagreb in 2000 in his native Croatia, although he was not an immediate success. After spending some time on loan at NK Croatia Sesvete, he became a regular starter in 2001/2002, helping Dinamo Zagreb win the Croatian Cup, scoring in the final against NK Varteks and being named Man of the Match. Leko eventually moved to Dynamo Kyiv in 2002 for €5.5m (a then club record).[1] In his first season in Ukraine, Dynamo won the double, with Leko playing 18 times.
In February 2006, it was announced that Leko would be leaving Dynamo Kyiv, having turned down a new contract offer. He subsequently signed for AS Monaco on a free transfer on 4 June 2006.
In July 2009, The Times[2] reported that he had turned down a move to English Premiership club Wolverhampton Wanderers as they would not meet his wage demands of 30,000 UK pounds per week (approx 49,000 US dollars) net. On 18 June 2010 Bucaspor signed the Croatian midfielder to a two-year deal on a free transfer from AS Monaco.[3] On 25 May, it was confirmed that Leko signed a two-year deal with GNK Dinamo Zagreb.
In August 2014 he moved to NK Lokomotiva on loan.[4] In 2015, he permanently joined Lokomotiva for the last season of his professional career.[1]
International career
Leko made his Croatia debut in 2002 against Hungary, but was not included in the 2002 World Cup squad. He scored a goal in a 4–0 victory against Belgium in a Euro 2004 qualifier, and was included in the final stage's squad, but only played 22 minutes during the tournament.
Selected to represent the nation in the 2006 World Cup, Leko made two substitute appearances, against Brazil and Australia. He was also part of the final squad for Euro 2008.
At the tournament quarter final clash between Croatia and Turkey, Leko was supposed to make his first appearance in the competition as a late substitute as Slaven Bilić wanted to put him on to hold on for a Croatian victory. However, officiating referee Roberto Rosetti disallowed the substitution from occurring as he also allowed Turkey an extra 2 minutes to find a late equalizer to send the game to a penalty shootout which Turkey eventually won.
International goals
Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 29 March 2003 | Maksimir, Zagreb | Belgium | Euro 2004 Qualifying | ||
2 | 1 February 2006 | Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | Hong Kong | Carlsberg Cup 2006 |
Honours
- Dinamo Zagreb
- Croatian First League (3) : 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14
- Croatian Cup (3): 2000–01, 2001–02, 2011–12
- Croatian Super Cup (2): 2002, 2013
- Dynamo Kyiv
- Ukrainian Premier League (2): 2002–03, 2003–04
- Ukrainian Cup (3): 2002–03, 2004–05, 2005–06
References
- ^ a b "POSLJEDNJA POLUSEZONA U BOGATOJ KARIJERI Odlazi ikona HNL-a koja je upisala 436 utakmica, 36 golova i rekordan 151 žuti karton!". jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). 16 January 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
- ^ The Times
- ^ Jerko Leko İzmir’de Archived 19 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Leko moved to Lokomotiva on a loan
External links
- Jerko Leko at the Croatian Football Federation
- Jerko Leko – FIFA competition record (archived)
- Jerko Leko at National-Football-Teams.com
- Use dmy dates from February 2013
- 1980 births
- Living people
- Croatian footballers
- Croatia under-21 international footballers
- Croatia international footballers
- Croatian expatriate footballers
- GNK Dinamo Zagreb players
- NK Lokomotiva players
- NK Croatia Sesvete players
- FC Dynamo Kyiv players
- AS Monaco FC players
- Bucaspor footballers
- UEFA Euro 2004 players
- 2006 FIFA World Cup players
- UEFA Euro 2008 players
- Sportspeople from Zagreb
- Ligue 1 players
- Croatian First Football League players
- Süper Lig players
- Ukrainian Premier League players
- Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Expatriate footballers in Ukraine
- Expatriate footballers in Monaco
- Expatriate footballers in France
- Expatriate footballers in Turkey
- Association football midfielders
- Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine
- Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Monaco
- Croatian expatriate sportspeople in France
- Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey