Luka Menalo
Personal information
Date of birth (1996-07-22) 22 July 1996 (age 27)
Place of birth Split, Croatia
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s) Winger
Team information
Current team
 Celje
(on loan from Dinamo Zagreb)
Number 70
Youth career
HNK Višići[2]
Čapljina
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014 Čapljina 12 (2)
2014–2018 Široki Brijeg 71 (28)
2018– Dinamo Zagreb 59 (5)
2019 → Slaven Belupo (loan) 12 (0)
2019–2020 → Olimpija Ljubljana (loan) 33 (10)
2020 Dinamo Zagreb II 2 (0)
2020–2021 → Rijeka (loan) 28 (6)
2024– → Celje (loan) 1 (1)
International career‡
2014–2015 Bosnia and Herzegovina U19
2017–2018 Bosnia and Herzegovina U21[a] 7 (2)
2018– Bosnia and Herzegovina 15 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11 February 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 4 October 2023

Luka Menalo (Croatian pronunciation: [lûːka měnalo]; born 22 July 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Slovenian PrvaLiga club Celje, on loan from Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb. Born in Croatia, he plays for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.

Menalo started his senior career at Čapljina, before joining Široki Brijeg in 2014. A former youth international for Bosnia and Herzegovina, he made his senior international debut in 2018.

Club career

Early career

Menalo was born in Split, but grew up in Čapljina.[3] He made his senior debut for HNK Čapljina against Mladost on 2 March 2014 at the age of 17.[4] On 14 May, he scored his first senior goal against Igman Konjic.[5]

In the summer of 2014, Menalo switched to Široki Brijeg.[6] In January 2015, he signed a professional contract with the team until 2020.[7] Menalo scored his first career hat-trick on 21 September 2016, in a game against his former club Čapljina.[8] Menalo was voted the best young player of the league in his last two seasons with Široki Brijeg.[9]

Dinamo Zagreb

In February 2018, Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb announced that Menalo would join them the following season on a five-year contract.[10] He made his competitive debut for the club against Rudeš on 27 July 2018.[11]

In January 2019, Menalo was loaned to Slaven Belupo until the end of the 2018–19 season.[12]

In July 2019, he was sent on a season-long loan to Slovenian PrvaLiga side Olimpija Ljubljana.[13]

Menalo scored a hat-trick in the 2020–21 Croatian Cup win over Ferdinandovac on 26 September 2020, which were his first goals for Dinamo Zagreb.[14]

In October 2020, he was sent on a season-long loan to Rijeka.[15] He scored 10 goals in 36 appearances for the club in all competitions.[16]

After returning from loan, Menalo scored a brace for Dinamo in a triumph over Hrvatski Dragovoljac in October 2021, his first league goals with the club.[17]

International career

Menalo represented Bosnia and Herzegovina at under-19 and under-21 level.[18][19] As he was born in Croatia and is of Croatian descent, he could have represented Croatia, but declined the offers.[20][21]

In January 2018, he received his first senior call-up, for friendly games against the United States and Mexico.[22] Menalo debuted in a goalless draw against the former on 28 January.[23] On 7 September 2021, Menalo scored his first goal for the national team in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Kazakhstan, putting Bosnia and Herzegovina 2–1 ahead in an eventual 2–2 draw.[24]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 28 May 2023[1][16]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[b] Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Čapljina 2013–14 First League of FBiH 12 2 — — 12 2
Široki Brijeg 2014–15 Bosnian Premier League 4 2 2 0 — 6 2
2015–16 Bosnian Premier League 16 4 4 4 — 20 8
2016–17 Bosnian Premier League 28 10 7 4 2[c] 0 37 14
2017–18 Bosnian Premier League 23 12 1 0 4[c] 0 28 12
Total 71 28 14 8 6 0 91 36
Dinamo Zagreb 2018–19 Croatian First League 10 0 2 0 0 0 12 0
2020–21 Croatian First League 1 0 1 3 0 0 2 3
2021–22 Croatian First League 22 3 2 1 13[d] 2 37 6
2022–23 Croatian League 22 2 3 0 4[e] 0 29 2
Total 55 5 8 4 17 2 80 11
Slaven Belupo (loan) 2018–19 Croatian First League 12 0 — — 12 0
Olimpija Ljubljana (loan) 2019–20 Slovenian PrvaLiga 33 10 1 0 4[c] 1 38 11
Dinamo Zagreb II 2020–21 Croatian Second League 2 0 — — 2 0
Rijeka (loan) 2020–21 Croatian First League 28 6 4 3 4[c] 1 36 10
Career total 213 51 27 15 31 4 271 70
  1. ^ Official competitive UEFA matches only.
  2. ^ Includes Bosnian Cup, Croatian Cup, Slovenian Cup
  3. ^ a b c d Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ Seven appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, six appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
  5. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 11 September 2023[25]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Bosnia and Herzegovina
2018 2 0
2019 0 0
2020 0 0
2021 6 2
2022 5 1
2023 2 0
Total 15 3
Scores and results list Bosnia and Herzegovina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Menalo goal.[25]
List of international goals scored by Luka Menalo
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 7 September 2021 Bilino Polje, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina  Kazakhstan 2–1 2–2 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 13 November 2021 Bilino Polje, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina  Finland 1–2 1–3 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
3 11 June 2022 Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro  Montenegro 1–0 1–1 2022-23 UEFA Nations League B

Honours

Široki Brijeg[1]

Dinamo Zagreb[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "L. Menalo". soccerway.com. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  2. ^ "FOTO: HNK Višići imaju bolji teren od većine prvoligaša!". Đaka city - Čapljina portal (in Croatian). 16 August 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  3. ^ "Otkriće Roberta Prosinečkog uzburkalo duhove u Hrvatskoj: Žele ga hrvatski velikani, a on kaže: Nisam rekao da je Hajduk najveći, u mom je gradu..." jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). 1 February 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  4. ^ "Sloboda pregazila Troglav, Jedinstvu tri boda u Srebreniku". sportsport.ba (in Bosnian). 2 March 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2014.[failed verification]
  5. ^ "Golijade u Sanskom Mostu, Orašju, Bugojnu, Konjicu..." sportsport.ba (in Bosnian). 14 May 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  6. ^ "Zvanično: Luka Menalo napustio Široki Brijeg". oslobodjenje.ba (in Bosnian). 13 February 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  7. ^ "Široki Brijeg: Profesionalni ugovori za trojicu igrača". faktor.ba (in Bosnian). 28 January 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  8. ^ "Kup BiH: Rutinske pobjede Željezničara i Širokog Brijega, čak pet premijerligaša ispalo". klix.ba (in Bosnian). 21 September 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  9. ^ "Održan izbor "Kristalnih 11", Zakarić proglašen najboljim igračem Premijer lige". sportsport.ba (in Bosnian). 14 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  10. ^ "Zvanično: Luka Menalo potpisao za Dinamo!". sportsport.ba (in Bosnian). 13 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  11. ^ "Rudeš umalo zaledio Maksimir na početku prvenstva, Fiolić spasio Dinamo". sportsport.ba (in Bosnian). 27 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  12. ^ "Zvanično: Luka Menalo pronašao novi angažman". oslobodjenje.ba (in Bosnian). 29 January 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  13. ^ "Luka Menalo karijeru nastavlja u Sloveniji". reprezentacija.ba (in Bosnian). 3 July 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  14. ^ D. S. (26 September 2020). "Reakcije igrača Dinama poslije Kupa; jedna zvijezda 'modrih' nije skrivala da zamalo nije zaplakala zbog svega što je prošla". tportal.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  15. ^ "Povremeni reprezentativac BiH Luka Menalo na posudbi u Rijeci". klix.ba (in Bosnian). 6 October 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  16. ^ a b "Luka Menalo » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  17. ^ "Luka Menalo zabio dva gola i asistirao u nevjerovatnoj pobjedi Dinama". reprezentacija.ba (in Bosnian). 3 October 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  18. ^ "Juniorska nogometna reprezentacija BiH savladala selekciju SAD-a". Klix.ba (in Bosnian). 28 April 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  19. ^ "Luka Menalo » Internationals". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  20. ^ "NA PITANJE HRVATSKA ILI BIH: Luka Menalo je dao jasan odgovor". Sportske.ba (in Bosnian). 31 January 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  21. ^ "Ima i hrvatsko državljanstvo, ali dobio poziv BiH pa poručio: Maštao sam..." vecernji.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  22. ^ "Prosinečki objavio širi spisak nogometaša za utakmice sa SAD-om i Meksikom". klix.ba (in Bosnian). 9 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  23. ^ "Prosinečki debitovao remijem: Zmajevi bez golova protiv SAD". sportsport.ba (in Bosnian). 29 January 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  24. ^ "Menalo: Nevjerovatno da ovo nismo dobili, sada nam je potrebno da se ujedinimo". klix.ba (in Bosnian). 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  25. ^ a b "Luka Menalo". eu-football.info. Retrieved 7 September 2021.

External links

NK Celje – current squad
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