Matija Špoljarić
Matija Špoljarić (Greek: Ματίγια Σπόλιαριτς, born 2 April 1997) is a Cypriot professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Aris Limassol and the Cyprus national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Matija Špoljarić | ||
| Date of birth | 2 April 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Limassol, Cyprus | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Aris Limassol | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2010 | Apollon | ||
| 2010–2016 | Atlético Madrid | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2017 | Atlético Madrid | 0 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | → CD Toledo B (loan) | 16 | (1) |
| 2017–2019 | Apollon Limassol | 3 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | → Alki Oroklini (loan) | 30 | (8) |
| 2019–2021 | AEK Larnaca | 38 | (0) |
| 2021– | Aris Limassol | 52 | (12) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2014–2016 | Serbia U17 | 3 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | Serbia U19 | 3 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | Cyprus U21 | 9 | (0) |
| 2019– | Cyprus | 13 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:30, 5 September 2023 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:43, 14 November 2021 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Matija started his career from the Academies of Apollon Limassol and Atletico Madrid, in Spain, where he played for various teams. Then he came again to Apollon and in the summer of 2019, he switched to AEK Larnaca where he played for 2 years. Matija joined the newly promoted Cypriot First Division club Aris Limassol in the summer of 2021 and has significantly helped Aris finish 4th in the league (tied for their highest ever placement in the league), scoring 8 goals in total, and qualify for UEFA Europa Conference League for the first time in the club's history.
International
He made his debut for Cyprus national football team on 21 March 2019, in a Euro 2020 qualifier against San Marino, as a 54th-minute substitute for Fotios Papoulis.[1]
Personal life
Matija Špoljarić is the son of former Apollon Limassol and Cyprus international midfielder Milenko Špoljarić and he has two brothers Alexander and Danilo.[2]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 5 September 2023
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| CD Toledo B (loan) | 2016–17[3] | Tercera División | 16 | 1 | — | — | — | 16 | 1 | |||
| Apollon Limassol | 2017–18[4] | Cypriot First Division | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Alki Oroklini (loan) | 2018–19[5] | 30 | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 8 | |||
| AEK Larnaca | 2019–20 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | 26 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 38 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 42 | 0 | |||
| Aris Limassol | 2021–22 | Cypriot First Division | 28 | 8 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 8 | ||
| 2022–23 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 20 | 2 | |||
| 2023–24 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | ||
| Total | 50 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 55 | 12 | ||
| Career total | 137 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 148 | 21 | ||
- Appearance in Cypriot Super Cup
References
- "Ντεμπούτο με Εθνική για Σπόλιαριτς". www.kerkida.net (in Greek). Kerkida. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- "ΦΟΥΛ... ποδοσφαιρική οικογένεια!". www.kerkida.net (in Greek). kerkida.net. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- "Games played by Matija Špoljarić in 2016/17". www.ffcm.es/pnfg/. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- "Games played by Matija Špoljarić in 2017/18". www.cfa.com.cy. Cyprus Football Association. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- "Games played by Matija Špoljarić in 2018/19". www.cfa.com.cy. Cyprus Football Association. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- "Špoljarić, Matija". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
External links
- Matija Špoljarić at Soccerway
- Matija Špoljarić – UEFA competition record (archive)
- Matija Špoljarić at National-Football-Teams.com