Alen Halilović

Alen Halilović (Croatian pronunciation: [ǎlen xalǐːloʋitɕ];[2] born 18 June 1996) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Eredivisie club SC Heerenveen, on loan from A.C. Milan of Serie A.

Alen Halilović
Halilović training with Barcelona in 2015
Personal information
Full name Alen Halilović
Date of birth (1996-06-18) 18 June 1996
Place of birth Dubrovnik, Croatia
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Playing position(s) Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
 SC Heerenveen (on loan from A.C. Milan)
Number 10
Youth career
Dinamo Zagreb
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2014 Dinamo Zagreb 44 (7)
2014–2015 Barcelona B 30 (4)
2015–2016 → Sporting Gijón (loan) 36 (3)
2016–2018 Hamburger SV 6 (0)
2017–2018 → Las Palmas (loan) 38 (2)
2018– A.C. Milan 1 (0)
2019 → Standard Liège (loan) 14 (0)
2019– → SC Heerenveen (loan) 17 (1)
National team‡
2010 Croatia U14 2 (1)
2010–2011 Croatia U15 6 (3)
2012 Croatia U16 4 (1)
2012–2013 Croatia U17 13 (3)
2014–2019 Croatia U21 17 (4)
2013– Croatia 10 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10:14, 18 March 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21 June 2019

As the Prva HNL's youngest ever goalscorer and the youngest ever debutant for the Croatian national team, he was considered to be one of the most promising young talents of European football.[3][4]

On 27 March 2014, Barcelona reached an agreement with Dinamo Zagreb for a five-year transfer to the club.[5] He would make one appearance for the senior team (in the Copa del Rey), spending most of the season with the B-team. He then had a season-long loan to Sporting Gijón, before signing for Hamburg in July 2016.

Club career

Dinamo Zagreb

On 27 September 2012, he made his debut for the first team in the "Eternal derby" win over Hajduk Split (3–1), when he replaced Sammir for the final ten minutes of the match.[6] 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.[7] In November 2012, he scored his second league goal for Dinamo in a 5–0 win against NK Zadar, from outside of the box on an assist provided by Kovačić.[8] In his first professional season with Dinamo, he also managed to participate in UEFA Champions League. On 24 October 2012, he made his European debut in the 90th minute of the encounter against the French team Paris Saint-Germain at Maksimir Stadium, coming on as a substitute for 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 the UEFA Champions League.

Barcelona

On 27 March 2014, FC Barcelona reached an agreement with Dinamo Zagreb for Halilović to join Barcelona in July 2014 at the start of the summer transfer window. He signed a five-year contract for an initial amount of €2.2 million, set to increase if he secures a spot on the first team, and was assigned to the reserves in Segunda División.[5]

On 2 April 2014, FIFA announced that Barcelona would be banned from buying players until summer 2015 after illegally signing underaged players, putting the move in doubt.[9] On 23 April 2014, FC Barcelona's transfer ban was suspended pending an appeal, allowing the transfer to go ahead for the time being.[10] On 2 May 2014, Halilović signed for Barcelona on a five-year contract for €2.2 million.[11]

Halilović made his first appearance for Barcelona's senior team on 15 January 2015, replacing Adama Traoré for the last 28 minutes of a 4–0 away win against Elche CF in the last 16 of the Copa del Rey.[12][13]

Sporting Gijón (loan)

On 21 August 2015, he was loaned to fellow league team Sporting de Gijón, in a season-long deal.[14] On 29 August, Halilović made his La Liga debut, coming on as a second-half substitute for Carlos Carmona in a 0–0 away draw against Real Sociedad.[15] His first goal in the category came on 3 October, opening a 2–1 win away to RCD Espanyol,[16] and on 1 November he netted the only goal of a win against Málaga CF at El Molinón.[17]

Halilović was a half-time substitute for Nacho Cases on 15 December in the national cup last-32 second leg and scored twice – one a penalty kick – to ensure a 3–3 home draw against Real Betis, who advanced 5–3 on aggregate.[18]

Hamburger SV

On 19 July 2016, it was announced that Halilović would join Bundesliga side Hamburger SV for €5.5 million, with a buy-back clause for Barcelona worth €10 million.[19] Two days later the move was confirmed, with Halilović signing a four-year deal.[20] Halilović scored his first goal for the club on his debut in a DFB-Pokal cup match against FSV Zwickau on 22 August 2016. This was the only goal of the match and helped Hamburg to the next round.[21][22] He had to wait until 10 September to make his league debut, however, which was in the second league game of the season against Bayer Leverkusen.[23]

Las Palmas (loan)

In January 2017, Halilović joined Las Palmas for 18 months in a loan deal, with an option for Las Palmas to buy him.[24]

In the first game of the 2017/18 season for Las Palmas, playing against Valencia, Halilović received a straight red card for a tackle on José Gayá, in the 33rd minute.[25]

A.C. Milan

On 3 July 2018, Alen Halilović joined Serie A club A.C. Milan on a free transfer.[26] He signed a contract until 30 June 2021.[27]

Standard Liège (loan)

On 31 January 2019, Halilović joined Standard Liège on loan with an option to buy until 30 June 2020.[28]

SC Heerenveen (loan)

Starting September 2019, Halilović's loan to Standard Liége got cancelled and he went on loan to the Dutch team SC Heerenveen for the duration of a year.[29]

International career
Halilović playing for Croatia in 2013

Halilović represented Croatian national team at various youth levels. In March 2013, he was a member of Croatia U17 that qualified for the European Under-17 championship in Slovakia.[30] On 10 June 2013, Halilović made his debut for the senior team against Portugal in a friendly match as a 50th-minute substitute for Ivan Strinić. At age 16, he became the youngest debutant in the history of Croatia.[31][32]

Personal life

His father, Sejad Halilović, is a Bosniak, while his mother Vanessa is a Croat. His father is a former Bosnian and Croatian international who also played for Dinamo Zagreb.[33] The entire family relocated to Spain when he was signed by FC Barcelona, with his two younger brothers, Dino and Damir, also being signed to play for one of the club's youth teams.[33] He is a supporter of Bosnian club FK Sarajevo.[34]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 7 March 2020[35]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] Europe Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Dinamo Zagreb 2012–13 182003[lower-alpha 2]0—212
2013–14 265618[lower-alpha 3]01[lower-alpha 4]0416
Total 4476111010628
Barcelona B 2014–15 304—304
Barcelona 2014–15 001000—10
Sporting Gijón (loan) 2015–16 36312—375
Hamburger SV 2016–17 6011—71
Las Palmas (loan) 2016–17 18000—180
2017–18 20210—212
Total 38210—392
A.C. Milan 2018–19 00003[lower-alpha 5]0—30
Standard Liège (loan) 2018–19 14000—140
SC Heerenveen (loan) 2019–20 17130—201
Career total 185171341401021321
  1. Includes Croatian Football Cup, Copa del Rey
  2. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  3. Three appearances UEFA Champions League, five appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. Appearances in Croatian Football Super Cup
  5. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International
As of 18 June 2019[36]
Croatia national team
YearAppsGoals
201330
201440
201620
201910
Total100

Honours
Source:[37]

Dinamo Zagreb

  • Prva HNL: 2012–13, 2013–14
  • Croatian Supercup: 2013

Barcelona

References
  1. "Alen Halilović". Archived from the original on 29 June 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  2. "Hàlīl". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 19 March 2018. Halílović
  3. Sharland, Peter. "Stars of the future: A look at some of European football's most talented 16-year-olds". GiveMeFootball. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  4. "Sky Sports Scout – Alen Halilovic". Sky Sports. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  5. "Agreement with Dynamo Zagreb for Alen Halilovic transfer". FC Barcelona official website. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  6. Dominik, Ivan (29 September 2012). "Alen Halilović debitirao za Dinamo u derbiju: "Osjećaj je fenomenalan i presretan sam"". Sportnet.hr. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  7. "Halilović postao najmlađi strijelac u povijest HNL-a: 'Hvala Čačiću i Beqiraju'". Sportske novosti. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  8. "Halilović nakon golčine Zadru: "Lijepo mi je". Index.hr. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  9. "Barcelona hit with a year-long transfer ban for breaching rules on youngsters". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  10. "Barcelona transfer ban suspended". Goal.com. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  11. "Alen Halilovic signs till 2019: "It's a great day"". FC Barcelona official website. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  12. "Cuando el trámite se convierte en un placer" [When the procedure becomes a pleasure]. Marca (in Spanish). 15 January 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  13. "Elche - Barcelona". BBC Sport. 15 January 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  14. "Agreement for Halilovic loan to Sporting Gijón". Barcelona's official website. 21 August 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  15. "Illarra no es suficiente" [Illarra is not enough]. Marca (in Spanish). 29 August 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
  16. Malgón, Manuel (3 October 2015). "Álex Menéndez vuelve a valer tres puntos" [Álex Menéndez returns to be worth three points]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  17. "Alen Halilovic on target as Sporting Gijon edge past Malaga". ESPN. 1 November 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  18. "Halilovic: "Jugamos mucho mejor que el Betis"" [Halilović: "We played much better than Betis"] (in Spanish). Estadio Deportivo. 15 December 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  19. "Alen Halilović ide u HSV, Barcelona prihvatila ponudu" (in Croatian). Vecernji list. 19 July 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  20. HSV Fußball AG (publisher) (21 July 2016). "HSV verpflichtet Alen Halilovic". Hamburger SV (in German). Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  21. "Spieltag". DFB - Deutscher Fußball-Bund e.V. 10 May 2014.
  22. "HSV in Runde 2 - Traumtor-Debüt für Halilovic". bild.de.
  23. "Spieltag/Tabelle". DFB - Deutscher Fußball-Bund e.V. 18 March 2014.
  24. "Alen Halilovic joins Las Palmas on loan from Hamburg". ESPNFC.com.
  25. "Valencia CF vs UD Las Palmas - LaLiga Santander". Página web oficial de LaLiga | Liga de Fútbol Profesional.
  26. "Halilović signed for Milan" (in Italian). Retrieved 3 July 2018.
  27. "Halilović contract until 2021". Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  28. "UFFICIALE: Milan, Halilovic in prestito allo Standard Liegi" (in Italian). Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  29. "Heerenveen huurt voormalig toptalent Halilovic" (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  30. "Hrvatska na Euru U-17 u skupini s Italijom, Rusijom i Ukrajinom". Večernji list. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  31. "Croatia vs Portugal". Soccerway. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  32. "Transfer news: Barcelona complete signing of Croatian starlet Alen Halilovic from Dinamo Zagreb in €2.2m (£1.8m) deal". Independent. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  33. "totalBarça (@totalBarca) | Twitter". www.totalbarca.com. Archived from the original on 1 February 2015.
  34. "Alen Halilović: Uvijek sam navijao za Sarajevo, reći ću i Messiju" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  35. Alen Halilović at Soccerway
  36. "Alen Halilović". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman.
  37. "Alen Halilović" (in Portuguese). ZeroZero. 27 January 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
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