Nikola Moro (Italian pronunciation: [nǐkola môːro];[2][3] born 12 March 1998) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Serie A club Bologna and the Croatia national team.
 Moro with Dynamo Moscow in 2020 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 12 March 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Split, Croatia | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Bologna | ||
| Number | 6 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2004–2009 | Solin | ||
| 2009–2014 | Dinamo Zagreb | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2019 | Dinamo Zagreb II | 30 | (7) |
| 2016–2020 | Dinamo Zagreb | 87 | (10) |
| 2020–2023 | Dynamo Moscow | 58 | (4) |
| 2022–2023 | → Bologna (loan) | 26 | (1) |
| 2023– | Bologna | 23 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2012 | Croatia U14 | 2 | (0) |
| 2013 | Croatia U15 | 4 | (1) |
| 2014 | Croatia U16 | 6 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | Croatia U17 | 17 | (7) |
| 2014–2015 | Croatia U18 | 7 | (1) |
| 2016–2017 | Croatia U19 | 12 | (2) |
| 2017–2021 | Croatia U21 | 24 | (6) |
| 2022– | Croatia | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:42, 24 May 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15:53, 29 March 2022 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Dinamo Zagreb
Aged six, he started football, moving to Zagreb aged 11.[4] A Hajduk Split fan in his early days in Solin,[4] Nikola's father Miro yearned for him to contemplate a career at the Hajduk academy,[5] but he went to the Dinamo Zagreb academy instead. Nikola joined the senior Dinamo Zagreb team from the youth academy in 2014.[6]
Moro played a full 90 minutes in his league debut for his senior team versus Lokomotiva in May 2016.[7] He made his Champions League debut on 7 December, in a 2–0 away defeat to Juventus.[8][9] On 22 February 2017, he signed a new contract until 2022.[10][11]
On 27 March 2018, in an international match against Moldova U21, he suffered a severe injury after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament.[12] He came back to the team on 26 September for the Croatian Cup game against Sloga Mravince.[13] He made his Europa League debut on 14 February 2019 in a 2–1 away defeat to Viktoria Plzeň.[14]
On 6 November, in a decisive Champions League home game against Shakhtar Donetsk, he was sent off in the 74th minute with Shakhtar scoring a late equalizer for 3–3 to deny Dinamo a direct qualification for the knockout phase.[15][16][17]
Dynamo Moscow
On 17 August 2020, he signed a five-year contract with Russian Premier League club Dynamo Moscow.[18] He made his debut two days later in a 2–0 victory over Rostov, coming on for Daniil Fomin in the 69th minute.[19][20] On 18 October, he scored his first goal for the club as Dynamo lost 3–1 to CSKA Moscow.[21]
Bologna
On 29 August 2022, Moro joined Bologna in Italy on loan until the end of the 2022–23 season, with an option to buy.[22] On 2 July 2023, Bologna exercised their option and made the transfer permanent.[23]
International career
Representing Croatia at U16, U17 and U19 level, Nikola Moro made the quarter-finals of the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup eventually losing to Mali.[24][25] He also represented Croatia U21 at the 2019 and 2021 UEFA Under-21 Euros,[26][27][28] captaining the team to the quarter-finals of the latter tournament for the first time in their history.[29][30][31]
On 17 May 2021, Moro was named in the preliminary 34-man squad for the UEFA Euro 2020,[32] but did not make the final 26.[33] He earned his first call-up to the senior Croatia team on 16 August 2021, ahead of the September World Cup qualifiers against Russia, Slovakia and Slovenia.[34] However, he did not debut until 29 March 2022, when he made an appearance in a friendly 2–1 victory over Bulgaria.[35][36]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 24 May 2024[37]
| Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Dinamo Zagreb II | 2015–16 | Druga HNL | 12 | 0 | — | — | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| 2016–17 | 13 | 5 | — | — | — | 13 | 5 | |||||
| 2018–19 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | 5 | 2 | |||||
| Total | 30 | 7 | — | — | — | 30 | 7 | |||||
| Dinamo Zagreb | 2015–16 | Prva HNL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2016–17 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | — | 18 | 1 | |||
| 2017–18 | 24 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | — | 30 | 4 | |||
| 2018–19 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | — | 24 | 3 | |||
| 2019–20 | 28 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 9[b] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 41 | 2 | ||
| Total | 87 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 115 | 10 | ||
| Dynamo Moscow | 2020–21 | Russian Premier League | 24 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0[c] | 0 | — | 26 | 3 | |
| 2021–22 | 28 | 1 | 6 | 1 | — | — | 34 | 2 | ||||
| 2022–23 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 58 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 66 | 5 | |||
| Bologna (loan) | 2022–23 | Serie A | 26 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 1 | ||
| Bologna | 2023–24 | Serie A | 23 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 27 | 2 | ||
| 2024–25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 49 | 2 | 6 | 1 | — | — | 55 | 3 | ||||
| Career total | 224 | 23 | 23 | 2 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 266 | 25 | ||
International
- As of match played 29 March 2022[38]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Croatia | 2022 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
Honours
Dinamo Zagreb
Individual
References
External links
- Nikola Moro at Soccerway.com
- Nikola Moro at WorldFootball.net
- Nikola Moro at FBref.com
- Nikola Moro at the Croatian Football Federation
- Nikola Moro at Talentshunter.eu
