Martin Pušić

Martin Pušić (born 24 October 1987) is an Austrian professional footballer of Croatian[2] origin who plays as a forward.

Martin Pušić
Pušić in 2009
Personal information
Date of birth (1987-10-24) 24 October 1987
Place of birth Vienna, Austria
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Forward[1]
Youth career
1998–2002 Austria Wien
2002–2005 First Vienna FC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2007 First Vienna FC 34 (6)
2007–2008 SK Schwadorf 25 (4)
2008–2010 Admira Wacker 47 (11)
2010–2011 SC Rheindorf Altach 15 (4)
2011–2012 Hull City 2 (0)
2012 Vålerenga 16 (3)
2012 Fredrikstad 10 (5)
2013–2014 Brann 27 (9)
2014–2015 Esbjerg fB 29 (13)
2015–2017 FC Midtjylland 53 (23)
2017 → Sparta Rotterdam (loan) 14 (6)
2017–2018 F. C. Copenhagen 6 (0)
2018 AGF 15 (6)
2018 AC Horsens 1 (0)
2019–2020 SV Mattersburg 44 (14)
2020 1860 Munich 8 (0)
International career
2007 Austria U20 1 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11:20, 8 December 2020 (UTC)

Club career

Early career in Austria

Pušić began his career in the youth team of Austria Wien. In 2004, he crossed the city to join First Vienna FC, with whom he made his professional debut in 2005 in the Austrian Regional League. His performances attracted attention from higher divisions, and in 2007 he made a switch to SK Schwadorf in the First League, the second tier of the Austrian pyramid.

In the summer of 2008, SK Schwadorf and VfB Admira Wacker Mödling merged to form the new FC Admira Wacker Mödling, and Pušić became a regular player on their left wing. In 2008–09 he managed to make 24 league appearances, scoring 7 goals. The team also reached the 2009 Austrian Cup Final, which they lost 3–1 to the club where he began his career, Austria Wien.

On 8 August 2010, he signed with SC Rheindorf Altach, initially for only half a season but with an option to extend the contract through to the end of the 2010–11 season.

Hull City

In July 2011, he began a trial with English Championship team Hull City. He played his first game for the club on 27 July 2011; a 3–1 win over Yorkshire rivals Bradford City, Pusic scored the final goal of the match.[3] On 9 August 2011, the club announced that Pušić had signed a deal until the end of the 2011–12 season.[4] He went on to make his debút on the same day in a 2–0 loss at home to Macclesfield Town in the League Cup First Round tie.[5] He made his league debut on 1 October 2011 at the KC Stadium, in a 2–1 win against Cardiff City.[6]

After injuries stalled his progression, Pušić was released from his contract at the KC Stadium on 9 January 2012.[7]

Years in Norway

On 18 March 2012, he signed a one-year contract with the Norwegian club Vålerenga.[8] He became the match winner in his first game, against FK Haugesund. However, after only five months in the club, his contract was mutually terminated by both parts. Vålerenga manager Martin Andresen stated that the termination came as a result of Pušić's unwillingness to sign a new contract with the club, combined with the fact that the club had a full foreign player quota.[9]

On 30 August 2012, the same day he was released by Vålerenga, he signed a short-term contract until the end of the season with the Norwegian club Fredrikstad in hope that he could save them from relegation. Although he stepped up the challenge and was hyped by the Norwegian media as Fredrikstad's potential saviour,[10] the club was relegated in the final match of the season, losing 2–0 at home against Molde. His short-term contract expired shortly after, and was not renewed as Pušić himself did not want to play in the Adeccoliga.

On 17 January 2013, he signed with a third Norwegian club, Brann on a free transfer. He was signed as a striker to replace Brann's previous season's top scorer Kim Ojo, following his transfer to the Belgian club KRC Genk.[11]

Top scorer in Denmark

On 16 January 2014, he signed a three-year contract with the Danish club Esbjerg fB for an unknown fee.[12] During his first season at the club, Pušić made 12 league appearances, scoring 5 goals.

Halfway through the 2014–15 Danish Superliga, Pušić was sold to FC Midtjylland, for a reported fee of 7.5 million Danish kroner (approximately £0,9 million).[13] Ultimately, Pušić scored 17 goals during the season and finished as the league overall top scorer, while Midtjylland won the championship for the first time in its history.[14]

In 2015–16, Pušić was a regular starter as Midtjylland finished third in the league. He played 25 competitive games and scored 13 goals. He was, however, deemed surplus to requirements during the following season and joined the Dutch Eredivisie club Sparta Rotterdam on a half year loan on 28 January 2017.[15]

On 26 August 2017, Pušić signed a one-year contract with the Danish defending champions F. C. Copenhagen.[16]

On 15 July 2018, AC Horsens announced they had signed Pušić on a free transfer and handed him a two-year deal.[17] Four days later, on 19 July 2018, this deal was annulled on Pušić's request.[18]

Pušić joined 3. Liga club TSV 1860 Munich on a one-year contract in summer 2020. He agreed the termination of his contract in December due to personal issues, having made 8 appearances for the club.[19]

International career

Whilst playing for Vienna in 2007, Pušić was called up to the Austrian U-20 squad in preparation for the U-20 World Cup in Canada[20] and played his first and, to date, only international game for the Austrian U-20 team. He ultimately failed to make the squad for the tournament, and was not part of the team which went on to finish fourth.

Career statistics
As of 8 December 2020
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
First Vienna FC 2006–07[21] 21——21
ASK Schwadorf 2097–08[21] Austrian First League 25500——254
Admira Wacker 2008–09[21] Austrian First League 24741——288
2009–10[21] 23421——255
Total 47116200005313
Rheindorf Altach 2010–11[22] Erste Liga 15410——164
Hull City 2011–12[22] Championship 2000—1[lower-alpha 1]030
Vålerenga 2012[23] Tippeligaen 16310——173
Fredrikstad 2012[23] Tippeligaen 10500——105
Brann 2013[23] Tippeligaen 27924——2913
Esbjerg 2013–14[22] Danish Superliga 1250021—146
2014–15[22] 1781031—219
Total 29131052003515
Midtjylland 2014–15[22] Danish Superliga 1680000—168
2015–16[22] 251300122—3715
2016–17[21] 1221060—192
Total 532310182007225
Sparta Rotterdam (loan) 2016–17[22] Eredivisie 1461000—156
Copenhagen 2017–18[21] Danish Superliga 601030—100
AGF 2017–18[22] Danish Superliga 1560000—156
AC Horsens 2018–19[22] Danish Superliga 100000—10
SV Mattersburg 2018–19[22] Austrian Bundesliga 24910001[lower-alpha 2]0269
2019–20[22] 205000000205
Total 44141000104614
1860 Munich 2020–21[22] 3. Liga 800000—80
Career total 3129917726420357110
  1. Appearance in the EFL League Cup
  2. Appearance in Austrian Bundesliga play-offs

Honours

References
  1. "Få sa.no på din hjemmeside". 19 May 2008.
  2. "Najboljeg strijelca danske lige ne žele ni Hrvatska ni Austrija, no želi ga BiH".
  3. "Tigers Enjoy Pre-Season Win". Hull City. 27 July 2011. Archived from the original on 20 August 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
  4. "Pusic Signs With City". The Tigers Official Website. Hull City A.F.C. 9 August 2011. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  5. "Hull 0 – 2 Macclesfield". BBC Sport. BBC. 9 August 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  6. "Hull 2 – 1 Cardiff". BBC Sport. BBC. 1 October 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
  7. "Hull City release Austrian winger Pusic". BBC Sport. BBC. 9 January 2012. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
  8. "Pusic klar for Vålerenga". Vålerenga Fotball. VIF Media. 18 March 2012. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  9. "Nyheter | Valerenga". Archived from the original on 23 February 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  10. "Fredrikstads redningsmann: Martin Pusic matchvinner for tredje gang på rad". 23 September 2012.
  11. "Pusic klar for sin tredje Tippeliga-klubb på under ett år". 17 January 2013.
  12. "Efb.dk".
  13. "Martin Pusic har skrevet under med FC Midtjylland". BT. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  14. "Guldfest: FC Midtjylland vinder Superligaen 2014/2015". TV2. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  15. "Pusic til hollandsk fodbold". FC Midtjylland. 28 January 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  16. "FCK henter Martin Pušić".
  17. "Martin Pusic får to år i AC Horsens". 15 July 2018.
  18. "Bombe: ACH ophæver med Martin Pusic". 19 July 2018.
  19. Eicher, Matthias (8 December 2020). "Offiziell: TSV 1860 und Martin Pusic lösen Vertrag auf". Abendzeitung München (in German). Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  20. "U20 SUCHT IN LINDABRUNN NACH DEM RICHTIGEN RHYTHMUS FÜR DIE WM (The U20s are looking for the right rhythm for the World Cup)". OEFB. n.d. Archived from the original on 3 November 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
  21. "Martin Pušić » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  22. "M. Pusic". Soccerway. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  23. "NIFS - Norsk & Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk". Norsk & Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 December 2020.
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