Mario Carević (born 29 March 1982) is a Croatian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

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and former

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who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. Since October 2024, he is the manager of Gorica. Carević made his debut for the Croatia national team in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against

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in 2003. While he was a regular for the Croatian youth selections from under-15 to under-21, he was capped only once for the senior national team.

Club career

Carević started his professional career at

Hajduk Split Hrvatski Nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, the club's home ...

, playing five seasons before moving to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

to play for

Al-Ittihad (Jeddah) Al-Ittihad Club (), commonly known as Al-Ittihad or simply Ittihad, is a Saudi professional football club based in Jeddah. It was founded in 1927. The club has spent its entire history in the top flight of football in Saudi Arabia, currently kno ...

. He then spent a season in Germany playing for

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

side

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...

, before returning to

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

in 2006 on a one-year loan. In the season 2007–08 he played for SC Lokeren, a club from Belgian first division. In 2010, he joined

Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; or ''Kortrik''; ), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of We ...

, who loaned him out to Maccabi Petah Tikva of the

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League (, Ligat HaAl, ) is a professional association football league in Israel and the highest level of the Israeli football league system. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and rele ...

during the 2011–12 season.

Managerial career

In September 2018, Carević joined his former club

, this time as an assistant manager, as part of newly-appointed coaching staff under manager

Zoran Vulić Zoran Vulić (; born 4 October 1961) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player who played as a defender. He is notable for having managed Hajduk Split five separate times between 1998 and 2018, which is a record among all Ha ...

. In a previous coaching stint at the club, Carević was a player under Vulić. In fact, Carević, with 107 appearances, was Vulić's most used player in the 156 matches he spent on the bench of Hajduk. At the end of November 2018 Vulić was sacked and Carević left the club's staff. On 1 May 2019 Carević was appointed the manager of Hrvatski Dragovoljac, following the departure of Krešimir Sunara. He left the club in the following month after four games in charge with a record of one victory, one draw and two defeats. A month after his departure from Hrvatski Dragovoljac, he became an assistant manager under manager

Ognjen Vukojević Ognjen Vukojević (born 20 December 1983) is a Croatian football manager and former professional player. He is currently the manager of the Croatia national under-20 team, an assistant manager of Ukrainian Premier League club Dynamo Kyiv, and a ...

, in the Croatia U20's coaching staff. In September 2020, he was named the manager of Rudeš playing in the

Druga HNL The Prva nogometna liga (), commonly Prva NL or 1. NL, is the second tier of the football league system in Croatia. The league was formed in 1991 with the breakup of Yugoslavia and the dissolution of the Yugoslav Second League. The 1. NL is ope ...

. He was sacked on 22 March 2021. The club explained the move by stating that Carević's job was to stabilize the club in the league, which he managed to do as they were fifth at that moment. He was dismissed as manager of

Varaždin Varaždin ( or ; , also known by #Name, alternative names) is a city in Northern Croatia, north-east of Zagreb. The total population is 46,946, with 38,839 in the city settlement itself (2011). The city is best known for its baroque buildings, ...

after only six games in charge in September 2021, only to return to Slovenia the same month to manage Krka.Mario Carević nije izgubio 24 utakmice u nizu, a onda ga je pobijedila Dob
– Index

Managerial statistics

References

External links

*
Mario Carević at hrnogomet.com

Mario Carević
at the

Football Association of Slovenia The Football Association of Slovenia ( or NZS) is the governing body of football in Slovenia. It organizes the Slovenian PrvaLiga, first division (1. SNL), Slovenian Second League, second division (2. SNL), Slovenian Third League, third division ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carevic, Mario 1982 births Living people Sportspeople from Makarska Footballers from Split-Dalmatia County Men's association football midfielders Croatian men's footballers Croatia men's youth international footballers Croatia men's under-21 international footballers Croatia men's international footballers HNK Hajduk Split players Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah) players VfB Stuttgart players K.S.C. Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen players K.V. Kortrijk players Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C. players NK Krka players Croatian Football League players Saudi Pro League players Bundesliga players Belgian Pro League players Israeli Premier League players Slovenian PrvaLiga players Croatian expatriate men's footballers Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Israel Expatriate men's footballers in Israel Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Slovenia Expatriate men's footballers in Slovenia Croatian football managers NK Hrvatski Dragovoljac managers NK Rudeš managers NK Krka managers HNK Šibenik managers HNK Gorica managers HNK Hajduk Split non-playing staff Croatian expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Slovenia 21st-century Croatian sportsmen