Ivan Borna Jelić Balta (born 17 September 1992) is a Croatian professional

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 lea ...

. Primarily a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, he can also play as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

Club career

Born in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, Jelić Balta is a native of

Bjelovar Bjelovar (, , Czech language, Czech: ''Bělovar'' or ''Bělovár,'' Kajkavian dialect, Kajkavian: ''Belovar,'' Latin: ''Bellovarium'') is a city in central Croatia. In the Demographics of Croatia, 2021 census, its population was 36,316 . It is ...

where he went through the school of the local

NK Bjelovar NK Bjelovar is a Croatian football club based in the town of Bjelovar. Bjelovar opened a new stadium in 2022. shortly before advancing to the new Second League. Honours Treća HNL – North: *Winners (1): 2003–04 Recent seasons Key ...

, joining the ranks of the third-tier first team in 2010. After two seasons, he joined local rivals Mladost Ždralovi in the same tier, which ended up winning the 2012–13 season of the Croatian Third League. After that, he played for lower division clubs in Germany until his return to Croatia. In July 2018, he signed a contract with newly promoted

Ukrainian Premier League The Ukrainian Premier League ( ) or UPL is a professional association football league in Ukraine and the highest level of the Ukrainian football league system. Originally known as the Vyshcha Liha ( , ) it was formed in 1991 during the 1992 in ...

club

Arsenal Kyiv Football Club Arsenal Kyiv () is a Ukrainian football club based in Kyiv. In 2019, the club's professional team was dissolved, but its junior teams continue to compete in city competitions. The club claims to be a successor of Kyiv Arsenal fac ...

Career statistics

Honours

Rudeš * Croatian Second League: 2016–17 Koper *

Slovenian Cup Slovene or Slovenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe * Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia * Slovenes, an ethno-linguistic group mainly living in Slovenia * Sl ...

: 2021–22 Sarajevo *

Bosnian Cup The Bosnia and Herzegovina Football Cup ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kup Bosne i Hercegovine, Куп Босне и Херцеговине) is a knock-out football competition contested annually by clubs from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The winner ...

: 2024–25

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jelić Balta, Ivan Borna 1992 births Living people Footballers from Zagreb Men's association football midfielders Croatian men's footballers NK Bjelovar players Stuttgarter Kickers II players NK Rudeš players NK Varaždin (2012) players FC Arsenal Kyiv players FC Koper players Wisła Kraków players FK Sarajevo players NK Slaven Belupo players Second Football League (Croatia) players Oberliga (football) players First Football League (Croatia) players Croatian Football League players Ukrainian Premier League players Slovenian Second League players Slovenian PrvaLiga players I liga players Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina players Croatian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Ukraine Expatriate men's footballers in Slovenia Expatriate men's footballers in Poland Expatriate men's footballers in Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Slovenia Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Poland Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Bosnia and Herzegovina 21st-century Croatian sportsmen