,_Alen_Halilovic_-_Croatia_vs._Portugal,_10th_June_2013_(crop).jpg) Halilović playing for Croatia in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alen Halilović | ||
| Date of birth | 18 June 1996 | ||
| Place of birth | Dubrovnik, Croatia[1] | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Dinamo Zagreb | ||
| Number | 28 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Dinamo Zagreb | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2012– | Dinamo Zagreb | 31 | (2) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2010 | Croatia U14 | 2 | (1) |
| 2010–2011 | Croatia U15 | 6 | (3) |
| 2012– | Croatia U16 | 4 | (1) |
| 2012– | Croatia U17 | 12 | (4) |
| 2013– | Croatia | 3 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 December 2013 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 November 2013 | |||
Alen Halilović (born 18 June 1996) is a Croatian footballer, who plays as a attacking midfielder for Dinamo Zagreb in the Prva HNL. He is the first division's youngest ever goalscorer and also the youngest ever debutant for the Croatian national team. He is considered to be one of the greatest young talents of European football.[2][3]
Club career
Dinamo Zagreb
In June 2012, he signed a professional contract with Dinamo. On 27 September 2012, he made his debut for the first team in the "Eternal derby" win overHajduk Split (3–1), when he replaced Sammir for the final ten minutes of the match.[4] This made him the youngest debutant in the history of Dinamo Zagreb, at the age of 16 years and 101 days. In the next round match against Slaven Belupo, he again came off the bench and scored the final goal in a 4–1 victory. This made him the youngest goalscorer in the history of the league, at the age of 16 years and 112 days, breaking the record set in November 2010 by his former teammate, Mateo Kovačić.[5] In November 2012, he scored his second league goal for Dinamo in a 5–0 win against NK Zadar, scoring a goal from outside of the box on an assist provided by Kovačić.[6] In his first professional season with Dinamo, he also managed to participate in UEFA Champions League. On 24 October 2012, he made his European bow in the 90th minute of the encounter against French giants, Paris Saint-Germain, in the Maksimir Stadium, coming on as a substitute for fellow teenager, Mateo Kovačić. Thus he became the club's youngest player ever to feature in a Champions League match, and second youngest player in the history of UEFA Champions League.[7] By the end of the European season, he made two more appearances in CL, coming on as a substitute in away matches against Paris Saint-Germain and FC Porto. During his first professional season with the club, Halilović made 18 domestic league appearances and scored two goals, winning his first Prva HNL title with club.
International career
Halilović represents Croatia on international level. In March 2013, he was a member of Croatia U-17 that qualified for 2013 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship in Slovakia.[8] He scored a goal and provided an assist in Croatia 2–1 victory over Ukraine U-17. He made his senior debut in a friendly matchagainst Portugal on 10 June 2013.
Personal life
His father is Sejad Halilović, former Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatian international. His younger brother, Dino, plays for Dinamo Zagreb's youth team.
