Darko Zorić (; born 12 September 1993) is a Montenegrin 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 plays as an attacking

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 ...

for Kazakhstani club Kyzylzhar.

Club career

Early career

Zorić made his professional debut with Sutjeska Nikšić in 2010 at the age of 17. After just playing seven games with Sutjeska, he transferred to city rivals Čelik Nikšić, with whom Zorić would reach two

Montenegrin Cup The Montenegrin Cup (Montenegrin language, Montenegrin: ''Kup Crne Gore'') is the national football cup played in Montenegro, established in 2006. The winner of the cup is awarded a spot in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League ...

finals. Throughout the winter of 2013–2014, negotiations took place between Zorić and

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

and

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

AEK Athens

On 11 February 2014, it was announced that Zorić signed a contract with

AEK Athens A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens. Establishe ...

, but would play the rest of the 2013–14 season with Čelik before moving to AEK in July 2014. It was reported that

Dušan Bajević Dušan "Duško" Bajević ( sr-Cyrl, Душан Бајевић, ; , ''Doúsan Báyevits''; born 10 December 1948) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Bosnian football manager ...

tipped off the Greek club into recruiting Zorić. After almost three years with the club, he agreed to terminate his contract with AEK on 4 January 2017.

Loan to Borac Čačak

On 31 August 2015, Zorić joined Serbian side

Borac Čačak Borac may refer to: * FK Borac Banja Luka, a football club from Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina ** RK Borac Banja Luka, an affiliated team handball club ** OK Borac, an affiliated volleyball club * FK Borac Čačak, a football club from Čač ...

on loan, coached by

Nenad Lalatović Nenad Lalatović (, ; born 22 December 1977) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player. Club career Lalatović came through the youth system of hometown club Red Star Belgrade. He also spent a few seasons on loan at OFK Beogr ...

at the time. On December 2, 2015, Zorić scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

and made two assists in a 1-5 upset which eliminated heavily favored

in the second round of the 2015-16 Serbian Cup.

Čukarički

In early January 2017, Zorić signed a 2.5-year contract with Serbian team Čukarički, managed by his same coach from Borac Čačak,

. He made his debut for Čukarički on January 21, 2017, in a friendly match with BSK Borča which Čukarički won 9–0. On February 1, 2019, Čukarički agreed with Zorić to terminate his contract.

Okzhetpes

On 4 February 2019, Zorić signed a one-year contract with Kazakh club FC Okzhetpes, with an option for a one-year extension.

International career

Zorić debuted at the age of 20 for the

Montenegro national football team The Montenegro national football team ( cnr-Latn, Fudbalska reprezentacija Crne Gore) has represented Montenegro in men's international football since 2007. It is controlled by the Football Association of Montenegro, the governing body for foot ...

on May 23, 2014, in a 2–0 loss against

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

under coach

Branko Brnović Branko Brnović (Cyrillic: Бранко Брновић; born 8 August 1967) is a Montenegrin manager and retired professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Club career After making his professional debuts with local club Budu ...

. He has, as of 20 October 2020, earned a total of 4 caps, scoring 1 goal.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Montenegro's goal tally first.''

Honours

;Čelik *

: 2011–12 ;AEK Athens *

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

: 2014-2015(South Group)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zoric, Darko 1993 births Living people Footballers from Nikšić Men's association football midfielders Montenegrin men's footballers Montenegro men's under-21 international footballers Montenegro men's international footballers FK Sutjeska Nikšić players FK Čelik Nikšić players AEK Athens F.C. players FK Borac Čačak players FK Čukarički players FC Okzhetpes players FC Kyzylzhar players Montenegrin First League players Montenegrin Second League players Football League (Greece) players Serbian SuperLiga players Kazakhstan Premier League players Montenegrin expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Serbia Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Serbia Expatriate men's footballers in Kazakhstan Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Kazakhstan