Dion Drena Beljo

Dion Drena Beljo (born 1 March 2002) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a forward for German Bundesliga club Augsburg and the Croatia national team.

In this Croatian name, the surname is Beljo.
Dion Drena Beljo
Personal information
Date of birth (2002-03-01) 1 March 2002[1]
Place of birth Zagreb, Croatia[2]
Height 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Augsburg
Number 7
Youth career
2010–2019 Cibalia
2019–2021 Osijek
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2019 Cibalia 24 (9)
2019–2021 Osijek II 38 (9)
2020–2023 Osijek 31 (9)
2021–2022 → Istra 1961 (loan) 34 (15)
2023– Augsburg 25 (5)
International career‡
2018 Croatia U16 2 (0)
2018 Croatia U17 4 (0)
2019 Croatia U18 2 (0)
2019–2021 Croatia U19 5 (2)
2021– Croatia U21 12 (3)
2023– Croatia 2 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Croatia
UEFA Nations League
Runner-up2023 Netherlands
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 October 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 October 2023

Club career

Born in Zagreb, Beljo started his career with Cibalia, playing for the club's youth teams. In the 2018−19 season, he started playing for the Cibalia first team in the Druga NL, the third tier of the Croatian football league system. In his debut season, he amassed ten goals and nine assists, while his team finished in first place and secured promotion to the Prva NL.[3] In 2019 he moved to first division club NK Osijek, and in June 2020, he signed a professional contract with the club.[4] In July 2021, he was loaned out to Istra 1961 for the 2021–22 season.[5] Beljo was a starter for Istra, appearing in 34 league matches, in which he scored 15 goals. After the end of his loan spell, he returned to Osijek, where he scored eight goals in 15 appearances during the first half of the 2022–23 season.[2]

On 13 January 2023, Beljo joined FC Augsburg on a four-and-a-half year contract for €3 million fee.[6] He made his Bundesliga debut on 22 January in a 3–4 loss against Borussia Dortmund. On 4 March 2023, he scored his first goal in a 2-1 win over SV Werder Bremen.

International career

In June 2023 he was called up to the senior Croatia squad for the 2023 UEFA Nations League Finals.[7]

Personal life

Beljo is named Dion after Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, while Drena was his grandfather's nickname.[8]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 7 October 2023[9]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Osijek II 2019–20 2. HNL 144––144
2020–21 2. HNL 245––245
Total 3890000389
Osijek 2019–20 1. HNL 60000060
2020–21 1. HNL 911000101
2022–23 1. HNL 168211[lower-alpha 1]0199
Total 31930103510
Istra 1961 (loan) 2021–22 1. HNL 341535–3720
FC Augsburg 2022–23 Bundesliga 183––183
2023–24 Bundesliga 7210–52
Total 25510–265
Career total 12538751013344
  1. Appearance in UEFA Europa Conference League

Honours

Croatia

Individual

References
  1. "Dion Drena Beljo | Croatia | UEFA Nations League". UEFA. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  2. Dion Drena Beljo at WorldFootball.net
  3. Begović, Damir (2 November 2021). "Tandem Dabro-Beljo u Cibalijinom dresu? Snovi su barem besplatni…" [The Dabro-Beljo tandem in Cibalia's jersey? Dreams are at least free…]. vinkulja.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  4. "Pogled u budućnost: Dion Drena Beljo potpisao prvi profesionalni ugovor s Osijekom". telesport.telegram.hr (in Croatian). 10 June 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  5. "Welcome Dion Drena Beljo". nkistra.com. 14 July 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  6. "FCA sign promising Croatian striker Dion Beljo". Augsburg. 13 January 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  7. "Here is #Croatia squad". Twitter. HNS.
  8. "Talentirani napadač, koji ima dva (neobična) imena, potpisao ugovor s Osijekom" [The talented striker, who has two (unusual) names, signed a contract with Osijek]. gol.dnevnik.hr (in Croatian). 11 June 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  9. Dion Drena Beljo at Sofascore
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