Full name Andrija Balic 2004–2007 Dugopolje Weight 71 kg Place of birth Split, Croatia Name Andrija Balic Career start 2014 | Playing position Role Footballer Parents Ivica Balic Number 99 Height 1.8 m | |
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Date of birth (1997-08-11) 11 August 1997 (age 18) Current team HNK Hajduk Split (#99 / Midfielder) Similar People Nikola Vlasic, Mijo Caktas, Elvir Maloku, Tomislav Kis, Anton Maglica | ||
Andrija Balic vs Utrecht - Debut goal and Amazing skills - 25.4.2019
Andrija Balić (born 11 August 1997) is a Croatian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Udinese in the Serie A.
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Club career
Born in Split but living in nearby Dugopolje, Balić started to train football at the local NK Dugopolje, before moving to the Hajduk Split academy in 2007.
Passing through the ranks, he became a youth international, playing for all Croatian selections between U14 and U19.
In the 2013–14 season he formed a potent midfield partnership for the Hajduk U17 team with Nikola Vlašić, which resulted in the team finishing the first half of the season in first place, without a single loss. The two then received and signed professional contracts, until 2017 and were moved to the U19 team. Balić made his first team debut in the 1–0 home win against RNK Split, coming in the 76th minute of the match for Temurkhuja Abdukholiqov.
He had to wait until December to make his first appearance of the 2014–15 season, but then became a much more prevalent member of the first team. He got his first start for Hajduk on 18 February 2015, in a 3–0 away loss to Rijeka. He scored his first goal for Hajduk on 1 March 2015 in a 2–2 draw against Zadar, helping his side claw a point after being 2–0 down. His bigger impact on the first team led Balić to be rewarded with a new contract ending in mid-2018.
On 1 February 2016 he signed for Udinese in a €4 million deal.
