Mate Maleš

Mate Maleš

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Personal information
Date of birth	(1989-03-11) 11 March 1989
Place of birth	Šibenik, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Rijeka
Number	26
Youth career
1999–2007	Šibenik
2007–2008	Hajduk Split
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2006–2007	Šibenik	3	(0)
2007–2008	Hajduk Split	0	(0)
2008–2010	Dinamo Zagreb	1	(0)
2008–2010	→ Lokomotiva (loan)	26	(0)
2010–2013	Lokomotiva	40	(0)
2011–2012	→ Zagreb (loan)	21	(0)
2013–	Rijeka	38	(1)
International career‡
2014	Croatia	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13 December 2015 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 3 November 2015

Mate Maleš (born 11 March 1989 in Šibenik), is a Croatian player who plays for NK Rijeka of the MAXtv Prva Liga.

Club career

Maleš started his football career with HNK Šibenik, debuting for the first team at the age of 17, on 4 August 2006 against Dinamo Zagreb. His team-mates in HNK Šibenik included Ante Rukavina and Gordon Schildenfeld.

In 2007, Hajduk Split acquired Maleš and introduced him to their youth system. He was set to sign his first professional contract in February 2008, after a tournament in Hong Kong in which he played for the first team. Instead, he opted to sign a five-year deal with Dinamo Zagreb. After only two matches for his new team in the early stages of the 2008–09 season, he was loaned to Lokomotiva. In the summer of 2010, his contract with Dinamo was cancelled and Maleš signed a three-year contract with Lokomotiva. He spent one of these three seasons on loan with NK Zagreb.

In June 2013, Maleš signed a two-year deal with HNK Rijeka. He was a regular starter in his first season with the club. However, following a serious ankle injury, he had to undergo two surgeries, followed by long recovery periods. As a consequence, he did not play a single match from 26 March 2014 until 2 August 2015, in process missing the entire 2014–15 season, with the exception of one Rijeka II appearance in 3. HNL. Nevertheless, in May 2015, the club renewed his contract for another two years. He scored his first ever Prva HNL goal in Rijeka's 2–1 away win against Lokomotiva on 17 October 2015.

International career

In 2006, Mate Maleš was selected for the national under-21 team, but despite being a regular U19 player, he never got a cap for the U21s. However, he has been called up to the Croatia squad and was in the squad for the 2014 World Cup Qualifying match against Iceland, on 19 November 2013.

He made his international debut on 5 March 2014, aged 24, in a friendly away match against Switzerland, where he was in the starting line-up and eventually replaced by Luka Modrić in 56th minute. The match ended in a 2–2 draw. He missed the 2014 FIFA World Cup due to injury.

Career statistics

Season	Club	League	League		Cup		Europe		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
2006–07	Šibenik	1. HNL	1	0	–		–		1	0
2007–08	Hajduk Split		–		–		–		0	0
2008–09	Dinamo Zagreb		1	0	–		1	0	2	0
2008–09	Lokomotiva	2. HNL	15	0	–		–		15	0
2009–10		1. HNL	11	0	–		–		11	0
2010–11			17	0	2	0	–		19	0
2011–12			2	0	–		–		2	0
	Zagreb		21	0	5	0	–		26	0
2012–13	Lokomotiva		21	0	8	2	–		29	2
2013–14	Rijeka		22	0	3	0	12	0	37	0
2014–15	Rijeka II	3. HNL	1	0	–		–		1	0
2015–16	Rijeka	1. HNL	16	1	2	0	–		18	1
Career total			128	1	20	2	13	0	161	3
Last Update: 13 December 2015.

External links

• Mate Maleš at the Croatian Football Federation website (Croatian)
• UEFA player profile (English)
• HNK Rijeka player profile (Croatian)