Bruno Petković
FullnameBruno Petković[1]
Upright0.9
Birth date16 September 1994 (age 32)[2]
Birth placeMetković, Croatia
Height1.93 m[3]
PositionStriker
CurrentclubKocaelispor
Clubnumber9
Youthyears 12003–2006
Youthclubs 1ONK Metković
Youthyears 22006–2007
Youthclubs 2Neretva
Youthyears 32007–2009
Youthclubs 3Dinamo Zagreb
Youthyears 42009–2010
Youthclubs 4NK Zagreb
Youthyears 52010–2011
Youthclubs 5HAŠK
Youthyears 62011–2012
Youthclubs 6Hrvatski Dragovoljac
Youthyears 72012–2013
Youthclubs 7Catania
Years 12013–2016
Clubs 1Catania
Caps 15
Goals 10
Years 22014
Clubs 2→ Varese (loan)
Caps 28
Goals 21
Years 32015
Clubs 3→ Reggiana (loan)
Caps 315
Goals 34
Years 42015
Clubs 4→ Virtus Entella (loan)
Caps 413
Goals 41
Years 52016–2017
Clubs 5Trapani
Caps 535
Goals 510
Years 62017–2019
Clubs 6Bologna
Caps 621
Goals 60
Years 72018
Clubs 7→ Hellas Verona (loan)
Caps 716
Goals 70
Years 82018–2019
Clubs 8→ Dinamo Zagreb (loan)
Caps 814
Goals 86
Years 92019–2025
Clubs 9Dinamo Zagreb
Caps 9166
Goals 951
Years 102025–
Clubs 10Kocaelispor
Caps 1013
Goals 106
Nationalyears 12013
Nationalteam 1Croatia U21
Nationalcaps 11
Nationalgoals 11
Nationalyears 22019–
Nationalteam 2Croatia
Nationalcaps 242
Nationalgoals 211
Club-update24 January 2026
Nationalteam-update12 October 2024

Bruno Petković (brǔːno pêtkoʋitɕ;[4] born 16 September 1994) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a forward for the Turkish Süper Lig club Kocaelispor and Croatia national team.

Early career

Petković was born in Metković, Croatia. His father Jakov Petković hails from Metković and his mother Ruža Nižić is a Herzegovinian Croat from Crveni Grm near Ljubuški.[5][6] His childhood football idols were Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimović.[7]

He began his youth career with his hometown clubs ONK Metković and NK Neretva, before he went to Dinamo Zagreb in 2007. He remained there until 4 September 2009, when he transferred across town to the youth academy of city rivals NK Zagreb. In the next two seasons, he represented NK HAŠK (2010–11) and Hrvatski Dragovoljac (2011–12), prior to his transfer to Italy, with Serie A side, Catania.[citation needed]

Club career

Calcio Catania

On 27 August 2012, Petković officially transferred to Calcio Catania. The transfer fee involved was undisclosed, though Petković was inserted directly into the club's youth academy following his arrival. His first call-up to the senior squad arrived on 27 January 2013, in a 2–1 home victory over Fiorentina in league play.[8] His league debut came on the final matchday of the 2012–13 Serie A campaign, when he appeared as an 89th minute substitute in a 2–2 away draw with Torino.[9] Ahead of the 2013–14 Serie A season, Petković was officially promoted to the first team, and assigned the number 32 jersey.[10]

Trapani and Bologna

In January 2016, Petković moved to Serie B side Trapani. He scored seven goals in the second round of the Serie B season, as the Sicilian team nearly gained promotion to Serie A, failing only in the final play-off match against Pescara. The following season he scored three goals in the first round of the 2016–17 Serie B season. On 12 January 2017, Petković was purchased by Serie A team Bologna, for 1.2 million euros. He made a total of 21 Serie A appearances for the team before being loaned to Hellas Verona on 11 January 2018.

Dinamo Zagreb

2018–19 season

On 6 August 2018, he joined Dinamo Zagreb on a season-long loan with Dinamo holding an obligation to buy his contract out at the end of the loan if certain conditions are met.[11] On 25 August, he scored his first hat trick for Dinamo in a 3–0 home win over Lokomotiva. As the season wore on, Petković became more important to the squad and played the starring role in the peak of Dinamo Zagreb season, the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League Round of 32 home fixture against Viktoria Plzeň, when he assisted the first goal and scored the third in the 4–0 win.[12] In the Round of 16 home fixture against Benfica he scored the only goal in the 2–0 win.[13] However, Benfica came back beating Dinamo 3–0 at Estádio da Luz after extra time.[14] He finished his first season in the club with 7 goals and 3 assists in 34 matches in all competitions.

2019–20 season

Petković was instrumental to Dinamo Zagreb's successful Champions League qualifying campaign, scoring four goals against Saburtalo Tbilisi home and away, Ferencváros away, and Rosenborg home. His performances earned him a new contract with Dinamo, signed on 13 September 2019, which keeps him in the club until 2024.[15]

He made his Champions League debut on 18 September 2019 in a 4–0 home win over Atalanta and scored his debut goal on 6 November in a 3–3 home draw with Shakhtar Donetsk.

On 17 June 2020, he scored a last minute goal in a 3–2 home victory over Slaven Belupo, the first home game of Dinamo's new manager Igor Jovićević.[16] On 27 June, he suffered an injury in a goalless draw with Osijek that ruled him out for the rest of the season.[17]

2020–21 season

After missing the first Dinamo's game of the season against Lokomotiva due to the injury, Petković returned on 21 August for a game against Istra 1961, coming off the bench and scoring the only goal in the 1–0 victory.[18] During the season, Petković was the target of criticism from the media and fans due to his inconsistency and poor form.[19] However, on 18 February 2021, in the Europa League Round of 32, he scored a brace and provided Luka Ivanušec with a pre-assist for Iyayi Atiemwen's third goal as Dinamo defeated Krasnodar 3–2 away.[20]

2021–22 season

On 30 September 2021, he scored two goals from the penalty spot in a 3–0 away win over Genk in the Europa League.[21]

2022–23 season

On 2 November 2022, he scored a goal in a 2–1 away defeat against Chelsea in the Champions League.[22]

International career

Youth

At youth level, he was not capped as he was not good enough for Croatia U21.

Senior

Petković received his first senior Croatia call-up as a replacement for the injured Marko Livaja, for UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Hungary in March 2019.[23] On 21 March, he debuted in a 2–1 victory against the former opponent.[24] Petković scored his first goal for the national team on 11 June in a friendly loss to Tunisia.[25]

Petković turned out to be instrumental to Croatia's successful UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying campaign, scoring four goals and assisting one.[26] However, following the tournament's postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Petković was heavily criticized for his inefficiency in the national team during Croatia's disappointing 2020–21 Nations League campaign where they managed to win only three points in six games.[27][28]

In the 2022 FIFA World Cup quarter-final on 9 December, Petković scored the equalizing goal against Brazil to take the game to penalties.[29]

Personal life

On 3 April 2021, Petković and his partner Iva Šarić became parents of a baby boy, whom they named Adrian.[30]

Petković is an active amateur chess player and he regularly participates in humanitarian chess tournaments organised by Croatian chess grandmaster and Vice President of European Chess Union, Alojzije Janković.[citation needed]

Petković was an inspiration for a scene in the first episode of RTL Televizija's comedy drama show San snova, where Marko Braić's character's reaction to being interviewed by reporters was identical to that of Petković from the Zagreb Airport in 2022.[31]

Career statistics

Club

[32]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cup[a]EuropeOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Catania2012–13Serie A1000——10
2013–14Serie A4000——40
Total5000——50
Varese (loan)2014–15Serie B8110——91
Reggiana (loan)2014–15Lega Pro15400—30184
Virtus Entella (loan)2015–16Serie B13100——131
Trapani2015–16Serie B18700—3[b]0217
2016–17Serie B17300——173
Total711600—307816
Bologna2016–17Serie A12000——120
2017–18Serie A9010——100
Total21010——220
Hellas Verona (loan)2017–18Serie A16000——160
Dinamo Zagreb2018–19[c]Prva HNL259519[d]2—3912
2019–20Prva HNL2572112[e]51[f]04013
2020–21Prva HNL2594113[g]4004214
2021–22Prva HNL3071014[h]4—4511
2022–23HNL28102012[e]41[f]04314
2023–24HNL27113013[i]71[f]04418
2024–25HNL204105[e]2—266
Total1965718378283029588
Kocaelispor2025–26Süper Lig13620——156
Career total30679223782890415110
  1. ^ Includes Coppa Italia and Croatian Cup
  2. ^ Appearances in Serie B promotion play-offs
  3. ^ Part of this season was spent on loan from Bologna
  4. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  6. ^ Appearance in Croatian Super Cup
  7. ^ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, eleven appearances and four goals in UEFA Europa League
  8. ^ Seven appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, seven appearances and three goals in UEFA Europa League
  9. ^ Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League, seven appearances and seven goals in UEFA Europa Conference League

International

[33]

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Croatia201985
202051
202180
202281
202353
202481
Total4211
Scores and results list Croatia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Petković goal.[33]
List of international goals scored by Bruno Petković
No.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
111 June 2019Stadion Varteks, Varaždin, Croatia3Tunisia1–11–2Friendly
26 September 2019Anton Malatinský Stadium, Trnava, Slovakia4Slovakia3–04–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying
310 October 2019Stadion Poljud, Split, Croatia6Hungary2–03–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying
43–0
516 November 2019Stadion Rujevica, Rijeka, Croatia8Slovakia2–13–1UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying
65 September 2020Estádio do Dragão, Porto, Portugal9Portugal1–31–42020–21 UEFA Nations League A
79 December 2022Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar27Brazil1–11–12022 FIFA World Cup
814 June 2023De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands30Netherlands3–24–22023 UEFA Nations League Finals
98 September 2023Stadion Rujevica, Rijeka, Croatia32Latvia1–05–0UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
103–0
1127 March 2024New Administrative Capital Stadium, New Administrative Capital, Egypt36Egypt2–14–22024 FIFA Series

Honours

Dinamo Zagreb

Croatia

Individual

References

  1. ^ "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Squad list: Croatia (CRO)". FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 8. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. ^ "Bruno Petković | Croatia". UEFA. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  3. ^ "Bruno Petković". GNK Dinamo Zagreb. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  4. ^ "Pètar" (in Croatian). Hrvatski jezični portal. Retrieved 19 March 2018. Pȅtković
  5. ^ Tolić, Josip (22 January 2020). "Petković: Bio sam ministrant, a ponosan sam na oca branitelja" (in Croatian). 24sata. Archived 23 January 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  6. ^ Čutura, Vlado (19 January 2020). "BRUNO PETKOVIĆ, NOGOMETAŠ HRVATSKE REPREZENTACIJE I »DINAMA« »Neprestance svaki dan zahvaljujem Bogu«" (in Croatian). Glas Koncila. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  7. ^ "PETKOVIĆ U PODCASTU SN Prvi napadač Dinama i Vatrenih otkrio hoće li igrati u utorak; JOVIČEVIĆ 'Prednost Šahtara je i jedan čovjek na njihovoj klupi'". Sportske novosti. 18 October 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  8. ^ "Catania vs. Fiorentina - 27 January 2013 - Soccerway". Us.soccerway.com. 27 January 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  9. ^ "Torino vs. Catania - 19 May 2013 - Soccerway". Us.soccerway.com. 19 May 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  10. ^ "Numerazione ufficiale maglie da gioco per la stagione sportiva 2013/2014" (in Italian). Ilcalciocatania.it. 21 August 2013. Archived 3 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  11. ^ "Petkovic joins Dinamo Zagreb". Bologna. 6 August 2018.
  12. ^ "Europa League: Dinamo Zagreb Moves into Last 16!". Total Croatia News. 21 February 2019. Archived from the original on 28 June 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  13. ^ "Petković from Metković: Tata je bio u pravu, Bruno je zabio!". 24sata. 8 March 2019.
  14. ^ "Benfica-Dinamo Zagreb 2019 History". UEFA. 14 March 2019.
  15. ^ "BRUNO PETKOVIĆ POTPISAO NOVI UGOVOR". Dinamo Zagreb. 13 September 2019.
  16. ^ Hudika, Drago & Hina (17 June 2020). "Dinamo se namučio protiv Slavena, plave u 90. minuti spasio Petković" (in Croatian). Večernji list. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  17. ^ Ničota, Tomo (27 June 2020). "Strah u Maksimiru: Petković u bolovima nakon utakmice, postoji bojazan da bi ozljeda mogla biti teška!" (in hr-hr). Sportske novosti. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  18. ^ Ničota, Tomo (21 August 2020). "VIDEO: Ipak pobjeda! Petković ušao u igru prvi put ove sezone i spasio Dinamo golom iz jedanaesterca" (in hr-hr). Sportske novosti
  19. ^ Ničota, Tomo (19 February 2021). "Mamić nije odmah kliknuo s Petkom, no bio je strpljiv i dobio je genijalca, a Dalić zicer za EURO!" (in hr-hr). Sportske novosti. Archived 19 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  20. ^ Olivari, Davorin (18 February 2021). "Bruno Petković je nogometni Bog! Bio je Mbappe, Messi i Ronaldo, a Dinamo je bogatašima - očitao lekciju" (in hr-hr). Sportske novosti. Archived 18 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  21. ^ "Genk 0–3 Dinamo Zagreb". UEFA. 30 September 2021.
  22. ^ "Chelsea 2–1 Dinamo Zagreb". BBC Sport. 2 November 2022.
  23. ^ "Pjaca otpao s potpisa, Petković pozvan: "Reprezentacija mi je jedan od najvećih sportskih ciljeva u karijeri"" (in Croatian). Sportnet Croatia. 11 March 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  24. ^ Bradovska, Mihaela (22 March 2019). "Petković: "Gledajući na sve što mi se događa u zadnje vrijeme, mogu biti samo ponosan"" (in Croatian). Sportnet
  25. ^ "Africa Cup of Nations: Tunisia beat World Cup finalists Croatia in warm-up game". BBC Sport. 12 June 2019.
  26. ^ "Pojavio se Preko Noći i Postao Svjetska Klasa, Danas je Vatrena Jedanaestroka Nezamislivabez Njega: "On mene jako podsjeća na Ibrahimovića"" (in Croatian). Sportske novosti. 19 November 2019.
  27. ^ Ničota, Tomo (24 November 2020). "Petković je u Osijeku najavio buđenje, je li vrijeme za konačno veliku partiju i to već u Austriji?" (in Croatian). Sportske novosti. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  28. ^ "Zlatko Dalić kritizirao Brunu Petkovića: Pa ne možeš takav doći u reprezentaciju" (in Croatian). Večernji list. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  29. ^ "Brazil out of World Cup as Croatia win on penalties". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  30. ^ "Neočekivan ispad Brune Petkovića: Fotoreporteru ispred rodilišta pokazao srednji prst" (in Croatian). Večernji list. 7 April 2021. Archived 7 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  31. ^ "VIDEO Znate li tko je inspirirao ovu scenu iz serije 'San snova'? Alen Stošić reagirao kao Bruno Petković" (in Croatian). RTL Televizija. 29 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  32. ^
  33. ^ "Bruno Petković profile". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  34. ^ "DINAMO - ISTRA 1961 6:3" (in Croatian). HNS-CFF. 19 May 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  35. ^ Smyth, Rob (17 December 2022). "Croatia 2-1 Morocco: World Cup 2022 third-place playoff – as it happened". the Guardian. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  36. ^ "Bruno Petkovic voted Croatian player of the year by captains". CroatiaWeek.com. 17 December 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  37. ^ "CIES odabrao najbolju momčad sezone u HT Prvoj ligi" (in Croatian). HNTV. 24 May 2022. Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2022.