Luka Menalo (Croatian pronunciation: [lûːka měnalo]; born 22 July 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Slovenian PrvaLiga club Celje, on loan from Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb. Born in Croatia, he plays for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 22 July 1996 | ||
| Place of birth | Split, Croatia | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Celje (on loan from Dinamo Zagreb) | ||
| Number | 70 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| HNK Višići[2] | |||
| Čapljina | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014 | Čapljina | 12 | (2) |
| 2014–2018 | Široki Brijeg | 71 | (28) |
| 2018– | Dinamo Zagreb | 59 | (5) |
| 2019 | → Slaven Belupo (loan) | 12 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | → Olimpija Ljubljana (loan) | 33 | (10) |
| 2020 | Dinamo Zagreb II | 2 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | → Rijeka (loan) | 28 | (6) |
| 2024– | → Celje (loan) | 6 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2014–2015 | Bosnia and Herzegovina U19 | ||
| 2017–2018 | Bosnia and Herzegovina U21[a] | 7 | (2) |
| 2018– | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 15 | (3) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 26 March 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 4 October 2023 | |||
Menalo started his senior career at Čapljina, before joining Široki Brijeg in 2014. A former youth international for Bosnia and Herzegovina, he made his senior international debut in 2018.
Club career
Early career
Menalo was born in Split, but grew up in Čapljina.[3] He made his senior debut for HNK Čapljina against Mladost on 2 March 2014 at the age of 17.[4] On 14 May, he scored his first senior goal against Igman Konjic.[5]
In the summer of 2014, Menalo switched to Široki Brijeg.[6] In January 2015, he signed a professional contract with the team until 2020.[7] Menalo scored his first career hat-trick on 21 September 2016, in a game against his former club Čapljina.[8] Menalo was voted the best young player of the league in his last two seasons with Široki Brijeg.[9]
Dinamo Zagreb
In February 2018, Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb announced that Menalo would join them the following season on a five-year contract.[10] He made his competitive debut for the club against Rudeš on 27 July 2018.[11]
In January 2019, Menalo was loaned to Slaven Belupo until the end of the 2018–19 season.[12]
In July 2019, he was sent on a season-long loan to Slovenian PrvaLiga side Olimpija Ljubljana.[13]
Menalo scored a hat-trick in the 2020–21 Croatian Cup win over Ferdinandovac on 26 September 2020, which were his first goals for Dinamo Zagreb.[14]
In October 2020, he was sent on a season-long loan to Rijeka.[15] He scored 10 goals in 36 appearances for the club in all competitions.[16]
After returning from loan, Menalo scored a brace for Dinamo in a triumph over Hrvatski Dragovoljac in October 2021, his first league goals with the club.[17]
International career
Menalo represented Bosnia and Herzegovina at under-19 and under-21 level.[18][19] As he was born in Croatia and is of Croatian descent, he could have represented Croatia, but declined the offers.[20][21]
In January 2018, he received his first senior call-up, for friendly games against the United States and Mexico.[22] Menalo debuted in a goalless draw against the former on 28 January.[23] On 7 September 2021, Menalo scored his first goal for the national team in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Kazakhstan, putting Bosnia and Herzegovina 2–1 ahead in an eventual 2–2 draw.[24]
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup[b] | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Čapljina | 2013–14 | First League of FBiH | 12 | 2 | — | — | 12 | 2 | ||
| Široki Brijeg | 2014–15 | Bosnian Premier League | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 6 | 2 | |
| 2015–16 | Bosnian Premier League | 16 | 4 | 4 | 4 | — | 20 | 8 | ||
| 2016–17 | Bosnian Premier League | 28 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 2[c] | 0 | 37 | 14 | |
| 2017–18 | Bosnian Premier League | 23 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | 28 | 12 | |
| Total | 71 | 28 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 91 | 36 | ||
| Dinamo Zagreb | 2018–19 | Croatian First League | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| 2020–21 | Croatian First League | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | |
| 2021–22 | Croatian First League | 22 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 13[d] | 2 | 37 | 6 | |
| 2022–23 | Croatian League | 22 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4[e] | 0 | 29 | 2 | |
| Total | 55 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 17 | 2 | 80 | 11 | ||
| Slaven Belupo (loan) | 2018–19 | Croatian First League | 12 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 0 | ||
| Olimpija Ljubljana (loan) | 2019–20 | Slovenian PrvaLiga | 33 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 4[c] | 1 | 38 | 11 |
| Dinamo Zagreb II | 2020–21 | Croatian Second League | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| Rijeka (loan) | 2020–21 | Croatian First League | 28 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 4[c] | 1 | 36 | 10 |
| Career total | 213 | 51 | 27 | 15 | 31 | 4 | 271 | 70 | ||
International
- As of match played 11 September 2023[25]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | |||
| 2018 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 6 | 2 | |
| 2022 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 15 | 3 | |
- Scores and results list Bosnia and Herzegovina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Menalo goal.[25]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 September 2021 | Bilino Polje, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina |  Kazakhstan | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 13 November 2021 | Bilino Polje, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina |  Finland | 1–2 | 1–3 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 11 June 2022 | Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro |  Montenegro | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2022-23 UEFA Nations League B |
Honours
Široki Brijeg
Dinamo Zagreb
Celje
References
External links
- Luka Menalo at National-Football-Teams.com
