Dario Krešić (born 11 January 1984) is a Croatian retired 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 ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

Club career

Panionios

The Croatian shot-stopper spent three seasons (2006–2009) at

Panionios F.C. Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan-Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis''), ...

, where he made 56 appearances for the Athenian side in all competitions. He became the first-choice goalkeeper for the team in his second season, and his solid play between the posts played a crucial role in Panionios' run to the 2007–08 Super League play-offs last season.

PAOK

He moved to

PAOK FC PAOK FC (, ), short for "Pan-Thessalonian Sports club, Athletic Club of Constantinople, Constantinopolitans" (), and commonly known as PAOK Thessaloniki, PAOK Salonika or simply PAOK, is a Greek professional Association football, football cl ...

in June 2009 on a free transfer from Panionios F.C. At PAOK, Krešić was expected to challenge Greece international

Kostas Chalkias Konstantinos "Kostas" Chalkias (; born 30 May 1974) is a Greek retired professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played for Panathinaikos, Apollon Athens, Iraklis, Portsmouth, Real Murcia, Aris, PAOK and Panachaiki. He was als ...

for the starting role. While Chalkias' experience played a key role in PAOK's ability to clinch a berth in the UEFA Europa League next season, Krešić's athleticism and potential will most definitely challenge Chalkias' tenure between the goal posts. On 28 July 2010, PAOK was playing against

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

Amsterdam Arena The Johan Cruyff Arena ( ; officially stylised as Johan Cruijff ArenA) is the main stadium of the Dutch capital city of Amsterdam and the home stadium of association football, football club AFC Ajax, Ajax since its opening. Built from 1993 to ...

and

who was injured at the 15th minute was substituted by Krešić. He played in 18 games in the 2010–11 season, as of November 2010. He was also voted

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

of the team three times. On 27 July, when Krešić realised that he was not counted as the main goalkeeper of the team, he asked to leave from the club. PAOK released him the next day.

Lokomotiv Moscow

On 31 July 2012, Krešić signed a two-year contract with

FC Lokomotiv Moscow FC Lokomotiv Moscow (, ) is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Moscow. Lokomotiv have won the Russian Premier League on three occasions; the Soviet Cup twice; and the Russian Cup (football), Russian Cup a record ...

. He made his debut for the new club on 11 August 2012 against Alania Vladikavkaz. After having made only one substitute appearance for Lokomotiv in the first part of 2013–14 season, Krešić was released by his club.

Mainz 05

On 6 January 2014,

1. FSV Mainz 05 1. Fußball- und Sport-Verein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05 or simply Mainz 05 (), is a German professional sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the top tie ...

signed Krešić for the remaining part of 2013–14 season with an option until 2016.

Bayer Leverkusen

On 23 May 2014, Krešić joined

Bayer 04 Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional association football, football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. ...

on a free transfer, signing a two-year contract, which would keep him at the club until June 2016.

Omonia

On 20 August 2016, he signed with

AC Omonia Athletic Club Omonia Nicosia (; ''Athlitikós Sýllogos Omónoia Lefkosías''), commonly known as Omonia Nicosia, or simply Omonia (also Romanization of Greek, transliterated as Omonoia), is a Cyprus, Cypriot professional multi-sport club, esta ...

in Cyprus. He had 7 appearances with the club. On 26 May 2017 the club announced that with the end of the season the player is released.

International career

Krešić debuted for

Croatia national football team The Croatia national football team () represents Croatia in men's international Association football, football matches. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation (HNS), the governing body for football in Croatia. It is a member of UEF ...

on 10 September 2013 in a friendly match against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, playing for 90 minutes before he was substituted in the injury time of the game. It would be Krešić's only appearance for the national side.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kresic, Dario 1984 births Living people Footballers from Vukovar Men's association football goalkeepers Croatian men's footballers 21st-century Croatian sportsmen Croatia men's youth international footballers Croatia men's under-21 international footballers Croatia men's international footballers SV Eintracht Trier 05 players Panionios F.C. players PAOK FC players FC Lokomotiv Moscow players 1. FSV Mainz 05 players Bayer 04 Leverkusen players AC Omonia players 2. Bundesliga players Super League Greece players Russian Premier League players Bundesliga players Cypriot First Division players Croatian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Russia Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Russia Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus