Duje Ćaleta-Car (Croatian pronunciation: [dǔːje tɕâleta tsâr];[2][3] born 17 September 1996) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Ligue 1 club Lyon, and the Croatia national team.[4] He was a member of the Croatian squad which ended as runners-up to France in the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Duje Ćaleta-Car
Ćaleta-Car in 2022
Personal information
Full name Duje Ćaleta-Car[1]
Date of birth (1996-09-17) 17 September 1996 (age 28)[1]
Place of birth Šibenik, Croatia
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)[1]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
Lyon
Number 55
Youth career
2005–2012 Šibenik
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 Šibenik 17 (0)
2013–2014 Pasching 15 (3)
2014–2018 Red Bull Salzburg 84 (4)
2014–2015Liefering (loan) 20 (0)
2018–2022 Marseille 103 (5)
2022–2024 Southampton 13 (1)
2023–2024Lyon (loan) 24 (0)
2024– Lyon 11 (1)
International career
2012–2013 Croatia U17 12 (1)
2013–2014 Croatia U18 4 (0)
2014–2015 Croatia U19 10 (2)
2014–2018 Croatia U21 17 (3)
2018– Croatia 29 (1)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Croatia
FIFA World Cup
Runner-up 2018 Russia
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:00, 1 December 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:12, 18 November 2024 (UTC)

Club career

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Early career

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Ćaleta-Car joined FC Liefering in 2014 from FC Pasching. He made his Austrian Football First League debut with FC Liefering on 25 July 2014 against FAC Team für Wien.[5]

Red Bull Salzburg

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Ćaleta-Car with Salzburg in 2018.

During the 2017–18 season Salzburg had their best ever European campaign. They finished top of their Europa League group, for a record fourth time, before beating Real Sociedad and Borussia Dortmund thus making their first ever appearance in a UEFA Europa League semi-final.[6] On 3 May 2018, he played in the Europa League semi-final as Marseille played out a 1–2 away loss but a 3–2 aggregate win to secure a place in the 2018 UEFA Europa League Final.[7]

Marseille

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Ćaleta-Car warming up for Marseille in 2021.

On 20 July 2018, Ćaleta-Car joined Marseille on a five-year deal for a transfer fee of €19 million. Upon his arrival, Ćaleta-Car was given the squad shirt number 15.[8]

On 29 September 2019, he scored his first goal for Marseille, the equalizer in a 1–1 draw with Rennes.[9]

At the start of the 2020–21 season, Ćaleta-Car scored a brace against Brest, converting assists of Florian Thauvin, as Marseille won 3–2.[9] At the end of the January 2021 transfer window, Premier League side Liverpool launched a £23 million bid to secure his services but the move failed to materialize as Marseille didn't have enough time to sign a replacement.[10]

Southampton

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On 1 September 2022, Ćaleta-Car joined Southampton on a four-year contract.[11] On 1 October 2022, Ćaleta-Car made his Premier League debut in a 1–2 defeat against Everton.[12] In the EFL Cup semi-final first leg against Newcastle United on 24 January 2023, Ćaleta-Car was given a second yellow card and sent off following a foul on Allan Saint-Maximan.[13] On 1 March 2023, Ćaleta-Car scored his first professional goal for Southampton in a 1–2 shock defeat to Grimsby Town in the FA Cup.[14] He scored his first league goal on 21 April 2023 in a 3–3 away draw at Arsenal.[15]

Lyon

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On 2 August 2023, Ćaleta-Car joined Lyon on a season-long loan.[16][17] Ćaleta-Car made his debut for the club on 13 August 2023 in a 2–1 defeat to Strasbourg.[18] On 8 July 2024, he joined the club permanently and signed a three-year contract.[19]

International career

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Ćaleta-Car with Croatia in 2015.

In October 2015, Ćaleta-Car received a first call-up for the senior national team for the Euro 2016 qualifying matches against Bulgaria and Malta, as a replacement for injured Jozo Šimunović.[20] He was in the first 27 players team called for the Euro 2016 but was dropped along with midfielder Alen Halilović and goalkeeper Dominik Livaković.

In May 2018, he was named in Croatia's preliminary 32-man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.[21] On 3 June, he made his international debut in a friendly match against Brazil, coming on as a substitute for Vedran Ćorluka in the 52nd minute.[22]

In June 2019, he refused to be part of Croatia squad for 2019 UEFA Under-21 Euro, citing exhaustion and the club's demand to take a rest for the upcoming season as reasons. Soon it was discovered that the real reason was a vacation in the Maldives with his club teammate Nemanja Radonjić.[23] As a disciplinary action, he was the only outfield player who wasn't given even a minute of playing time in senior Croatia squad's June fixtures against Wales and Tunisia and was completely dropped ahead of September fixtures against Slovakia and Azerbaijan.[24] In an interview with Sportske novosti, he denied going on the vacation and said that the sole reason of not participating in the tournament was suggestion of his club coaches Andoni Zubizarreta and André Villas-Boas to take a rest instead since his previous season was not on the level it was expected to be, partially due to his participation in the World Cup the summer before, and that it was not his personal wish. He also claimed that the Croatia U21 manager Nenad Gračan "had lied and had disappointed him", that "it had hurt him to read the lies of the media" about the vacation, and that he accepted senior Croatia squad manager Zlatko Dalić's decision to drop him from the team.[25]

He was called up again ahead of Croatia's November fixtures against Slovakia and Georgia following suspensions of the standard starting defenders Dejan Lovren and Domagoj Vida.[26] He was a starter in the decisive match against the former opponent that ended in a 3–1 victory, leading Croatia to qualify for the Euro 2020.[27]

Personal life

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In May 2021, Ćaleta-Car married Adriana Đurđević in a ceremony at the top of the Revelin Fortress in Đurđević's native Dubrovnik.[28] In August 2021, Ćaleta-Car and Đurđević became parents of a baby son,[29] whom they named Mauro.[30] In June 2022, Ćaleta-Car and Đurđević married in a church ceremony in the St. Ignatius Church in Dubrovnik.[31]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 1 December 2024[4]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Šibenik 2012–13 Druga HNL 17 0 0 0 17 0
Pasching 2013–14 Austrian Regionalliga 15 3 0 0 15 3
Liefering (loan) 2014–15 Erste Liga 19 0 0 0 19 0
2015–16 Erste Liga 1 0 0 0 1 0
Total 20 0 0 0 20 0
Red Bull Salzburg 2014–15 Austrian Bundesliga 7 0 1 0 1[c] 0 9 0
2015–16 Austrian Bundesliga 31 2 4 0 2[c] 0 37 2
2016–17 Austrian Bundesliga 18 0 5 0 8[d] 0 31 0
2017–18 Austrian Bundesliga 28 2 6 0 19[e] 0 53 2
Total 84 4 16 0 30 0 130 4
Marseille 2018–19 Ligue 1 20 0 1 0 0 0 5[c] 0 26 0
2019–20 Ligue 1 23 1 2 0 1 0 26 1
2020–21 Ligue 1 33 2 1 0 4[f] 0 1[g] 0 39 2
2021–22 Ligue 1 26 2 3 0 9[h] 0 38 2
2022–23[32] Ligue 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Total 103 5 7 0 1 0 18 0 1 0 130 5
Southampton 2022–23[32] Premier League 13 1 2 1 4 0 19 2
Lyon (loan) 2023–24 Ligue 1 24 0 5 0 29 0
Lyon 2024–25 Ligue 1 11 1 0 0 4[c] 0 15 1
Total 35 1 5 0 4 0 44 1
Career total 287 14 30 1 5 0 52 0 1 0 375 15
  1. ^ Includes Croatian Cup, Austrian Cup, Coupe de France, FA Cup
  2. ^ Includes Coupe de la Ligue, EFL Cup
  3. ^ a b c d Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, three appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. ^ Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, fifteen appearances in UEFA Europa League
  6. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  7. ^ Appearance in Trophée des Champions
  8. ^ Three appearances in UEFA Europa League, six appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

International

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As of match played 18 November 2024[33]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Croatia 2018 2 0
2019 3 0
2020 5 0
2021 10 1
2022 3 0
2024 6 0
Total 29 1
As of match played 18 November 2024
Scores and results list Croatia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ćaleta-Car goal.[33]
List of international goals scored by Duje Ćaleta-Car
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 11 November 2021 National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta 20   Malta 2–0 7–1 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

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Red Bull Salzburg

Lyon

Croatia

Individual

Orders

References

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  1. ^ a b c "FIFA World Cup Russia 2018: List of Players: Croatia" (PDF). FIFA. 15 July 2018. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2019.
  2. ^ "Dẉjam". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Croatian). Retrieved 23 February 2020. Dúje
  3. ^ "cȁr". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Croatian). Retrieved 23 February 2020. Cȁr
  4. ^ a b "Croatia - D. Caleta-Car - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  5. ^ "FC Liefering vs. FAC Team für Win - 25 July 2014 - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  6. ^ UEFA.com (27 April 2018). "Salzburg v Marseille background". UEFA.com.
  7. ^ "FC Red Bull Salzburg 2–1 Marseille". BBC Sport. 3 May 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  8. ^ "Duje Caleta-Car joins Les Olympiens!". Olympique de Marseille. 20 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  9. ^ a b "VIDEO: Velika večer Vatrenog! Do danas je u klubu zabio samo jednom, sinoć je mrežu tresao čak dva puta". Sportske novosti (in Croatian). 30 August 2020. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  10. ^ "Duje Caleta-Car fails to board flight after Liverpool agree transfer". Metro. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  11. ^ "Saints make deadline swoop for Ćaleta-Car". Southampton FC. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  12. ^ Beardmore, Michael (1 October 2022). "Southampton 1–2 Everton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  13. ^ Hunter, Laura (25 January 2023). "Southampton 0–1 Newcastle United". Sky Sports. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  14. ^ "Southampton 1–2 Grimsby Town". BBC Sport. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  15. ^ "Premier League: Arsenal 3-3 Southampton - Gunners score two quick goals to level thriller". BBC Sport. 20 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  16. ^ "Ćaleta-Car joins Lyon on loan". Southampton FC. 2 August 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  17. ^ House, Alfie (2 August 2023). "Southampton's Duje Caleta-Car completes loan transfer to Lyon". Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  18. ^ "Strasbourg 2–1 Lyon". Ligue 1. 13 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  19. ^ "L'Olympique Lyonnais lève les options d'achat de Duje Ćaleta-Car et mama baldé". Olympique Lyonnais (in French). 8 July 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  20. ^ "Celtic defender Jozo Šimunović will miss Croatia's qualifiers against Bulgaria and Malta due to injury, with Duje Ćaleta-Car called up as his replacement". hns-cff.hr. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  21. ^ Crawford, Stephen. "Revealed: Every World Cup 2018 squad | Final 23-man lists". Goal. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023.
  22. ^ Korać, Branimir (6 June 2018). "Ćaleta-Car: "Ostvario mi se san nastupiti za reprezentaciju i to još protiv Brazila"" [Ćaleta-Car: "My dream has come true to play for the national team, even against Brazil"]. Sportnet Croatia (in Croatian). Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  23. ^ "Otkrivamo zašto je Ćaleta-Car otkazao reprezentaciju! Ima nevjerojatan razlog" (in Croatian). Večernji list. 8 June 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  24. ^ "IZBORNIK DALIĆ PROTIV JEDNOG POTEZA NIJE MOGAO PRIJEĆI I KAZNIO VATRENOG KOJEG JE VODIO U RUSIJU Morao je znati da mu takva odluka neće dobro proći..." (in Croatian). Sportske novosti. 20 August 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  25. ^ "ODBAČENI VATRENI SVE OTKRIO: 'POSTAO SAM GLAVNI NEGATIVAC U HRVATSKOJ, A OVO JE ISTINA' 'Gračan je lagao i razočarao me! A Dalićevu kaznu prihvaćam'" (in Croatian). Sportske novosti. 23 August 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  26. ^ "Izbornik Dalić Objavio Službeni Popis i Potvrdio NagaĐanja Vraća u reprezentaciju 'nestašnog' braniča: Duje Ćaleta-Car pozvan za Slovačku" (in Croatian). Sportske novosti. 28 August 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  27. ^ "Napokon je Gotovo, Hrvatska Rijetko ViĐenim Preokreto, Izborika Euro! Slovaci su zabili, a onda je Zlatko Dalić povukao potez kvalifikacija" (in Croatian). Sportske novosti. 16 November 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  28. ^ "Presretni mladenci! Donosimo ekskluzivne fotografije s vjenčanja Duje Ćalete-Cara i njegove Adriane!". Gloria (in Croatian). 1 June 2021. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  29. ^ Š. P. (23 August 2021). "Duje Ćaleta-Car postao otac, u njegovim Bilicama naveliko se slavi". Šibenski portal (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  30. ^ Đ. S. (28 August 2021). "Supruga Ćalete-Cara stigla je kući sa sinom, vesela fotografija slučajno je otkrila i mališanovo ime!". Dnevnik.hr (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 28 August 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  31. ^ Tolić, Dolores (4 June 2022). "FOTO: Pogledajte bajkovito vjenčanje Duje Ćalete-Cara! Stigao i Bruno Petković sa zaručnicom..." Sportske novosti (in Croatian). Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  32. ^ a b "Games played by Duje Ćaleta-Car in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  33. ^ a b "Duje Ćaleta-Car". Croatian Football Federation.
  34. ^ "PSG beat Lyon 2-1 to win French Cup final in Mbappe's farewell appearance". Reuters. 25 May 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  35. ^ McNulty, Phil (15 July 2018). "France 4–2 Croatia". BBC. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  36. ^ "Bundesliga.at - Das Team der Saison 2017/18". www.bundesliga.at. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  37. ^ "News: President Decorates Croatian National Football Team Players and Coaching Staff". Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia. 13 November 2018. Archived from the original on 9 April 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2019. the Order of Prince Branimir with Ribbon was awarded to Mr. Duje Ćaleta-Car...
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