Mate Maleš (born 11 March 1989 in Šibenik), is a Croatian player who plays for NK Rijeka of the MAXtv Prva Liga (Croatian first league of football).
Club career
Maleš started his football career with HNK Šibenik, debuting for the first team as a cadet in the 2005/2006 season, on 4 August 2006 againstGNK Dinamo Zagreb.[1] His teammates in HNK Šibenik were Ante Rukavina and Gordon Schildenfeld.
Hajduk Split brought him to their youth system in 2007. He was all set to sign his first professional contract in February 2008, after a tournament in Hong Kong in which he played for the Hajduk Split first team, but he decided to sign a 5-years deal with Dinamo Zagreb instead. Because of that, he was eligible to play the first league football for Dinamo until June 15, 2008.
After only two matches for his new team at the beginning of the 2008/2009 season, he was loaned to NK Lokomotiva where he remained ever since. In the summer of 2010, his contract with Dinamo was cancelled and he signed a full-time contract with Lokomotiva. Mostly a substitute, he was loaned in August 2011 to NK Zagreb for a year.
He currently plays for the Croatian football club NK Rijeka on the Croatian coast, competing in Croatia's MAXtv Prva Liga and the group stage of the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League.
International career
In 2006, Mate Maleš was selected for the national under-21 team, but despite being a regular U19 player, until now he never got a cap for the U21s. However, he has been called up to the Croatia squad and was in the final list of players for the 2014 World Cup Qualifying match againstIceland,[2] which took place on November 19, 2013.
 Maleš in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 11 March 1989 | ||
| Place of birth | Šibenik, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Playing position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Rijeka | ||
| Number | 26 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1999–2007 | HNK Šibenik | ||
| 2007–2008 | Hajduk Split | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2006–2007 | HNK Šibenik | 3 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | Hajduk Split | 0 | (0) |
| 2008–2010 | Dinamo Zagreb | 1 | (0) |
| 2008–2010 | → NK Lokomotiva Zagreb (loan) | 26 | (0) |
| 2010–2013 | NK Lokomotiva Zagreb | 19 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | → NK Zagreb (loan) | 21 | (0) |
| 2013– | Rijeka | 11 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
