Ante Rukavina

Ante Rukavina
	Rukavina playing for Dinamo Zagreb in 2011
Personal information
Date of birth	18 June 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth	Šibenik, SR Croatia, Yugoslavia
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team
2004–2007	Šibenik
2007–2008	Hajduk Split
2008–2010	Panathinaikos
2010–2016	Dinamo Zagreb
2014–2015	→ Lokomotiva (loan)
2015–2016	→ Viborg (loan)
Total
International career
2006–2007	Croatia U20
2007–2008	Croatia U21
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14 September 2016

Ante Rukavina (born 18 June 1986) is a Croatian retired footballer. He played for HNK Šibenik, Hajduk Split, and Dinamo Zagreb as well as Greek club Panathinaikos.

Club career

Rukavina started his professional career with his hometown club HNK Šibenik. He made his debut for Šibenik on 29 July 2006 under coach Ivan Pudar against NK Osijek, having turned 20 years old just one month earlier. After making a name for himself as one of the hottest young prospects in the Croatian First Football League, he moved down the Croatian coast to Split side Hajduk in a deal worth around €400,000 in January 2007. Over the next 18 months at Hajduk, Ante continued impressing European scouts by scoring 9 goals in 34 appearances in what was a difficult time for the Croatian giants.

On 5 July 2008, he signed for the Greek side Panathinaikos FC who saw him as a 'useful addition to their offensive lineup for the next season', considering him to be an 'impressive young prospect'. The four-year deal was reportedly worth €2.8 million. In two seasons at Panathinaikos, Rukavina managed 11 goals in 55 appearances but was ultimately judged as a flop considering his high fee and high expectations when he arrived at the Greek side.

Dinamo Zagreb

On 26 July 2010, Rukavina returned to Croatia and signed for champions Dinamo Zagreb in a transfer worth €700,000.^[2]

He made his debut for the club on 4 August 2010 at home to Moldovan side Sheriff Tiraspol in the return leg of the third qualifying round for the UEFA Champions League. On 7 August 2010, he made his domestic league debut for Dinamo in a 1–1 draw at NK Varaždin, netting the opening goal of the match in the fifth minute. Later that month, he scored a brace to give the club a 2-0 win at Hungarian Győr FC in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League play-offs. He went on to make five appearances in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League, scoring the opening goal in a 2-0 win at home to Villarreal on 16 September 2010.

On 18 July 2012, Rukavina scored a last-minute goal against Bulgarian club Ludogorets Razgrad in a Champions League match to help his team to a 1–1 draw. He also netted twice in the return leg held a week later, which was won in a dramatic fashion by the Croatian side by a score of 3–2.

In January 2014, it was decided by Dinamo's sporting director and manager Zoran Mamic that Rukavina was surplus to the club's requirements. He was sent home early from Dinamo's winter training camp in Turkey and was told he was free to find a new club.^[3]

In August 2014 he moved to NK Lokomotiva on a loan.^[4]

In August 2015 he moved to Viborg FF in the Danish Superliga on loan, but only played 5 matches as substitute and not scoring any goals.

International career

Rukavina played for the Croatian national under-21 team between 2007 and 2008, Rukavina was called up to the senior side squad for the first time on 12 March 2007,^[5] but did not appear for his country at full international level.

Career statistics

As of 26 October 2012

Club	Season	League		Cup		Supercup		Europe		Total
Club	Season	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
HNK Šibenik	2006–07	7	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	6
HNK Hajduk Split	2006–07	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
HNK Hajduk Split	2007–08	26	9	0	0	0	0	2	0	28	9
Panathinaikos	2008–09	25	7	3	1	0	0	7	0	35	8
Panathinaikos	2009–10	11	0	2	2	0	0	7	1	20	3
GNK Dinamo Zagreb	2010–11	21	4	6	0	0	0	8	3	35	7
	2011–12	19	5	2	0	0	0	10	1	31	6
	2012–13	23	4	1	0	0	0	9	3	33	7
	2013–14	6	1	3	0	0	0	6	1	15	2
Total		144	36	17	3	0	0	49	9	210	48

Honours

Panathinaikos

Superleague Greece (1) : 2009–10
Greek Football Cup (1) : 2009–10

Dinamo Zagreb

Croatian First League (4) : 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14
Croatian Cup (2) : 2010–11, 2011–12
Croatian Supercup (1) : 2013

Individual

Croatian Hope of the Year : 2006

References

^ "Ante Rukavina". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
^ Attias, Vedran (26 July 2010). "Rukavina potpisao za Dinamo!". Sportnet.hr (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 30 July 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
^ "Rukavina se vraća u Zagreb i može naći novi klub" (in Croatian). GNK Dinamo Zagreb. 22 January 2014. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
^ Rukavina moved to NK Lokomotiva on a loan Archived 8 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 5 August 2014
^ Rukavina earns maiden Croatia call Archived 2 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine, UEFA.com, 12 March 2007

Mensah og Rukavina færdige i Viborg‚ bold.dk, 3 May 2016

External links

Ante Rukavina at Soccerway.com
Ante Rukavina at WorldFootball.net
Ante Rukavina at FBref.com
Ante Rukavina at the Croatian Football Federation
Ante Rukavina at AS.com (in Spanish)

[1] "Ante Rukavina". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2010.

[sportnet-2] Attias, Vedran (26 July 2010). "Rukavina potpisao za Dinamo!". Sportnet.hr (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 30 July 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2010.

[3] "Rukavina se vraća u Zagreb i može naći novi klub" (in Croatian). GNK Dinamo Zagreb. 22 January 2014. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2014.

[4] Rukavina moved to NK Lokomotiva on a loan Archived 8 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 5 August 2014

[5] Rukavina earns maiden Croatia call Archived 2 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine, UEFA.com, 12 March 2007

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