Dražen Vuković (born December 14, 1981) is a Croatian former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

Playing career

Croatia

Vuković played at the youth level with

Hajduk Split Hrvatski nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split () or simply Hajduk, is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, t ...

where he appeared in 11 friendly matches. In 2005, he played in the

Croatian Second Football League The Druga nogometna liga ( eng, Second football league), commonly Druga NL or 2. NL) is the third tier of the football league system. The league was established in 1991 following the dissolution of the Yugoslav League. It is operated by the Cro ...

with

NK Zadar Nogometni klub Zadar ( en, Football Club Zadar), commonly referred to as NK Zadar or simply Zadar, was a Croatian football club based in Zadar, a city on the Adriatic coast, best known for playing in the top flight of Croatian football for almo ...

and departed from the club the following season. He remained in the second tier by signing with

NK Slavonac CO NK Slavonac is a Croatian football club based in a village Stari Perkovci in Slavonia. Honours Treća HNL The Druga nogometna liga ( eng, Second football league), commonly Druga NL or 2. NL) is the third tier of the football league system ...

in 2008 in his native region of

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranja ...

. After a season in Slavonia, he signed with Junak Sinj and received the Dite Maligana award in his debut season. He continued his journeyman career in the second division by signing with

NK Solin NK Solin is a Croatian football club based in the town of Solin, near Split, playing in the 2. HNL, the Croatian second division. History Arguably the team's greatest success was winning the 1980–81 Croatian league, which earned Solin promot ...

for the 2009-10 season.

Brantford

In 2010, he played abroad in the

Canadian Soccer League The Canadian Soccer League (CSL; french: Ligue canadienne de soccer — LCS) is a semi-professional league for Canadian soccer clubs primarily located in the province of Ontario, and claims the history of the Canadian National Soccer League (C ...

with expansion side

Brantford Galaxy Brantford Galaxy Soccer Club was a semi-professional Canadian soccer club based in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, with their home venue located in Hamilton, Ontario at the Heritage Field Turf. The club competes in the Canadian Soccer League, a leag ...

. He made his debut for the club on May 16, 2010, against

Portugal FC SC Toronto was a Canadian soccer team, founded in 1994. The team was a member of the Canadian Soccer League, and played its final home games at Lamport Stadium in the city of Toronto, Ontario. The club found success early on since its incepti ...

where he recorded a goal. Vuković also assisted the club in achieving their first victory against

Toronto Croatia Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

. After an impressive start with Brantford, he was invited along with teammate

Miodrag Anđelković Miodrag Anđelković (Serbian Cyrillic: Миодраг Анђелковић; born 7 February 1977) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a striker, and a football manager. A journeyman, Anđelković represented 21 clubs from ...

to train with

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO ...

of the

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

. His trial run with TFC resulted in an appearance in a friendly match against

Bolton Wanderers F.C. Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

Unfortunately, his season was cut short as he received an injury around August 2010. Brantford would go on to claim the

CSL Championship The Canadian Soccer League championship final or CSL Championship is the post-season match of the Canadian Soccer League (CSL) and is the successor to the CNSL Championship. The winner is crowned champion in the same manner as in other North A ...

after defeating

Hamilton Croatia Hamilton Croatia is a Croatian Canadian amateur soccer team founded in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in 1957. It is supported by the Croatian Sports and Community Centre of Hamilton Inc. (formerly the Croatian National Sports Club of Hamilton, Inc.) ...

Return to Croatia

After a short stint in North America, he returned to Croatia in late 2010 to rejoin his former club Junak Sinj. In 2011, he competed once more in the second trier with his former club NK Solin. In his second tenure with Solin, he appeared in 10 matches and recorded 2 goals. Following a two-year stint in the Croatian second division, he played in the

Croatian Third Football League The Treća nogometna liga ( eng, Third football league), commonly Treća NL or 3. NL) is the fourth tier of the Croatian football league system, football league system. The league was reestablished in 2022 following the reconstruction of league s ...

in 2012 with

NK Hrvace NK Hrvace is a Croatian football club based in the town of Hrvace. They currently compete in Treća HNL, Croatia's third level. Honours Treća HNL The Druga nogometna liga ( eng, Second football league), commonly Druga NL or 2. NL) is ...

. He would appear on the Croatian football scene one final time in the winter of 2013 after the conclusion of the 2012 CSL season to sign with former club Junak Sinj. In his final season in the second tier, he appeared in 7 matches.

Waterloo

He return to Canada in 2012 to sign with

SC Waterloo Region SC Waterloo Region is a professional Canadian soccer team that plays in the Canadian Soccer League, a non-FIFA-sanctioned league. The club was formed in 2011 under the name KW United FC and competed in the Second Division of the CSL. The following ...

in the CSL's First Division. Vuković recorded his first pair of goals for Waterloo on May 30, 2012, against London City. In his debut season, he finished as the league's top goal scorer with 20 goals. Though Waterloo would fail to secure the final playoff berth by two points. After spending the winter months in Europe he re-signed with Waterloo for the 2013 season. He finished the season with 15 goals in 25 matches. He helped Waterloo secure a postseason berth and recorded a goal in the opening round of the playoffs against

Brampton United Brampton City United FC is a Canadian soccer team, founded in 2002. The team plays in the Lika Supergroup Open Division. The club plays out of Victoria Park Stadium in the community of Brampton, Ontario. The Metro Lions were the second club from ...

which advanced the club to the next round. In the semifinals, he recorded the tying goal against Toronto Croatia where Waterloo won the match in a penalty shootout. He started in the championship final match against

Kingston FC Kingston FC were a Canadian soccer team based in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The team was awarded a franchise in 2011 as a member of the Canadian Soccer League, and participated in the league for three seasons, 2012 to 2014. In February 2015, Ki ...

where Waterloo successfully secured the title. He returned for his third season in 2014. The club successfully qualified for the playoffs but was eliminated in the opening round to Toronto Croatia. For the 2015 season, he was named the team captain for Waterloo. The team reached the championship final but was defeated by Toronto Croatia. In 2016, Waterloo was relegated to the Second Division which resulted in Vuković signing with league rivals Hamilton City. Hamilton reached the championship final but was defeated by the

Serbian White Eagles Serbian White Eagles Football Club ( sr, Фудбалски клуб Српски бели орлови / ''Fudbalski klub Srpski beli orlovi'') is a Canadian soccer team. The team is a member of the Canadian Soccer League, an unsanctioned socce ...

. In 2017, he returned for his final season with Waterloo when the club was promoted back to the first division.

Honors

Brantford Galaxy *

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

SC Waterloo Region *

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

CSL Golden Boot The Canadian Soccer League Golden Boot is an annual Canadian soccer award given to the top goalscorer for each season in the Canadian Soccer League. The Golden Boot has been awarded since 1998 when the league debuted as the Canadian Professional S ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vuković, Dražen 1981 births Living people Sportspeople from Slavonski Brod Association football forwards Croatian footballers NK Zadar players NK Junak Sinj players NK Solin players Brantford Galaxy players NK Hrvace players SC Waterloo Region players Hamilton City SC players First Football League (Croatia) players Second Football League (Croatia) players Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) players Croatian expatriate footballers Expatriate soccer players in Canada Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Canada