Goran Zakarić (; born 7 November 1992) is a Bosnian 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 a winger for

Macedonian First Football League The Macedonian First Football League (), also called Macedonian First League, 1. MFL, and Prva Liga, is the highest professional football competition in Macedonia. It is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of ...

club

FK Vardar FK Vardar () is a professional Association football, football club based in Skopje, North Macedonia, which competes in the Macedonian First Football League, Macedonian First League. They are the most successful football club in Football in Maced ...

. Zakarić started his professional career at Kozara Gradiška, before joining Široki Brijeg in 2010. The following year, he moved to Dinamo Zagreb. His spell with the club was marked by many loans, until he eventually settled at Željezničar in 2017. A year later, he switched to Partizan. One year after, he signed with Universitatea Craiova. The following year, he joined Borac Banja Luka. After parting ways with Borac Banja Luka, Zakarić has, in a surprise move, decided to join HNK Zadar, a club that competes in the fourth tier of the Croatian football pyramid. A former youth international for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zakarić made his senior international debut in 2014, earning 11 caps since.

Club career

Early career

Zakarić started playing football at his hometown club Kozara Gradiška, whose youth setup he joined in 2001. He made his professional debut in 2009 at the age of 16. In June 2010, he joined Široki Brijeg. On 31 July, he scored his first professional goal against Borac Banja Luka. On 16 May 2011, he signed a seven-year contract with Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb. However, his spell with the team was marked by many loans, and he never got first-team opportunity.

Željezničar

In January 2017, Zakarić moved to Željezničar on a two-year deal. On 26 February, he debuted for the side in an away win over Krupa. He scored his first goal with Željezničar against Radnik Bijeljina on 18 March. On 18 April 2018, he scored his first career

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 ...

against Sloboda Tuzla. Zakarić won his first trophy with the club on 9 May, by triumphing over Krupa in Bosnian Cup final. Later that month, Zakarić was voted as best player in the league for the past season.

Partizan

After lengthy negotiations, Zakarić was transferred to Serbian side Partizan for a fee of €150,000 in August 2018. He scored on his competitive debut for the team, in UEFA Europa League qualifier against Nordsjælland. On 12 August, he made his league debut in a victory over

Zemun Zemun ( sr-cyrl, Земун, ; ) is a Subdivisions of Belgrade, municipality in the city of Belgrade, Serbia. Zemun was a separate town that was absorbed into Belgrade in 1934. It lies on the right bank of the Danube river, upstream from downtown ...

. In a game against

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on 5 October, he scored a brace, which were his first league goals for Partizan. Zakarić won his first trophy with the club on 23 May 2019, by beating city rivals

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 ...

Serbian Cup The Serbian Cup ( Serbian: Куп Србије / Kup Srbije), also known as Mozzart Serbian Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the national football cup of Serbia. The winner of the competition gets a spot in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round. ...

final. On 6 September 2019, Zakarić and Partizan agreed to rescind his contract.

Later career stage

On 8 October 2019, Zakarić signed a four-year deal with Romanian outfit Universitatea Craiova. In February 2020, he joined Borac Banja Luka on a one-year contract. On 6 August 2020, Zakarić extended his contract with Borac. He won his first trophy with Borac on 23 May 2021, getting crowned Bosnian Premier League champions one game before the end of the 2020–21 season. On 27 January 2022, Zakarić joined Saudi Arabian club Ohod.

International career

Zakarić represented

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

on various youth levels. In August 2014, he received his first senior call-up, for games against

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and

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. Zakarić debuted in convincing friendly triumph over former on 4 September.

Personal life

Zakarić married his long-time girlfriend Tanja in July 2016. They have two daughters, Amber and Lana.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Zrinjski Mostar * Bosnian Premier League: 2015–16 Željezničar * Bosnian Cup: 2017–18 Partizan *

: 2018–19 Borac Banja Luka *Bosnian Premier League: 2020–21 Vardar * Macedonian Football Cup: 2024–25 Individual * Bosnian Premier League Player of the Season: 2017–18, 2020–21

References

External links