Dino Kresinger (born 20 March 1982 in

Čakovec Čakovec (; hu, Csáktornya; la, Aquama; german: Tschakathurn) is a city in northern Croatia, located around north of Zagreb, the Croatian capital. Čakovec is both the county seat and the largest city of Međimurje County, the northernmost, sm ...

) is a

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

striker who currently plays for Croatian lower league club NK Obreš Sveti Ilija

Club career

Early career

Kresinger was born in the Croatian city of Čakovec and started his professional career in the nearby city of Varaždin, at NK Varteks. In the three years he spent with the 1. HNL club, he made just four appearances. This led him to move to the newly promoted

NK Međimurje NK Međimurje is a Croatian football club based in Čakovec. The club is named after Međimurje, the region in northern Croatia where Čakovec is located. The club play their home games at the Stadion SRC Mladost, Čakovec, which has a tota ...

, a side from Čakovec, the city of his birth. In his time at Međimurje, Dino scored an impressive 26 goals in 88 appearances. In January 2007, Dino moved to another Croatian first division side in

HNK Cibalia Hrvatski nogometni klub Cibalia, commonly known as Cibalia Vinkovci or simply Cibalia, is a Croatian football club from the town of Vinkovci in eastern Croatia. Cibalia currently play in the Prva NL, Croatia's second tier league. Their stadium ...

. He spent just five months with Cibalia, scoring twice in six appearances. He then moved to

NK Slaven Belupo Nogometni klub Slaven Belupo ( en, Slaven Belupo Football Club), often referred to as NK Slaven Belupo, Slaven Belupo or simply Slaven, and known internationally as NK Slaven Koprivnica, is a Croatian professional football club based in the city ...

. In his first season at Slaven Belupo, he managed five assists in 28 league games, mostly playing in the number 10 role. In his second season at the club, he managed six goals and two assists in 32 appearances. He then returned to

for the 2009/10 season. In the next three season at Cibalia, Dino managed 21 goals in 68 appearances.

Western Sydney Wanderers

On 13 August 2012, it was announced that Kresinger had signed with

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

club

Western Sydney Wanderers Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, or simply as Wanderers) is an Australian professional soccer club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier ...

. An experienced campaigner in the Croatian league, Kresinger had spent the last 11 seasons plying his trade making over 200 appearances for five different clubs. He was brought into the squad to add a level of experience to the newly founded team as well as strength and aggression to the forward line. On 21 December 2012, Kresinger scored his first goal in the regular season for the Wanderers from a well worked header in the 6–1 thumping of

Adelaide United Adelaide United Football Club is a professional Association Football, soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under North American professional sports league organization#Systems ar ...

at the

Parramatta Stadium Parramatta Stadium was a sports stadium in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia, 23 kilometres west of Sydney's central business district. The stadium was the home ground of several western Sydney-based sports teams, at the time of closure t ...

. Throughout the season Kresinger made a name for himself in the A-League through his strength, creating space for other team-mates and ability to retain possession he created many chances and goals for the Wanderers. He saved his best for last as his second goal in the 2013 A-League season came through a back-heel flick against

Brisbane Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat. Brisba ...

in the semi-final and secured his team's place in the

Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...

against competition favourites

Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The Ma ...

. Kresinger, along with

Tarek Elrich Tariq ( ar, طارق) is an Arabic word and given name. Etymology The word is derived from the Arabic verb , ('), meaning "to strike", and into the agentive conjugated doer form , ('), meaning "striker". It became popular as a name after Tariq ...

Joey Gibbs Joseph "Joey" Arthur Gibbs (born 13 June 1992) is an Australian football (soccer) player who plays for Keflavík. Career Gibbs made his senior A-League debut as a substitute for Sydney FC in the 2010 Grand Final against the Melbourne Victory. ...

, and

Rocky Visconte Rocky Visconte (born 22 April 1990) is an Australian footballer who plays for Cumberland United. Club career Croydon Kings In 2005, he made his first senior appearance for local South Australian Premier League club Croydon Kings. He went on ...

, were released by the Wanderers at the conclusion of the 2012–13 season.

Zavrč

On 31 July 2013, it was announced that Kresinger had signed with top flight Slovenian club

Zavrč Zavrč (, in order sources ''Zavrče'', german: Sauritsch) is a settlement in the Haloze area of Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Zavrč. It lies between the right bank of the Drava River and the border with Croatia. The area trad ...

. In his first season in Slovenia, Dino managed 7 goals and 4 assists in 26 appearances in all competitions. He had spells with two Austrian lower league clubs before he ended his career.Austrian career stats
– ÖFB

International career

A talented junior, Kresinger represented Croatia at both Under-17 and Under-20 levels.

References

External links

Western Sydney Wanderers profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kresinger, Dino 1982 births Living people Footballers from Čakovec Croatian people of Austrian descent Men's association football forwards Croatian men's footballers Croatia men's youth international footballers NK Varaždin (1931–2015) players NK Međimurje players HNK Cibalia players NK Slaven Belupo players Western Sydney Wanderers FC players NK Zavrč players NK Široki Brijeg players Croatian Football League players A-League Men players Slovenian PrvaLiga players Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina players Croatian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in Australia Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Australia Expatriate men's footballers in Slovenia Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Slovenia Expatriate men's footballers in Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Bosnia and Herzegovina Expatriate men's footballers in Austria Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Austria