Ivan Mastelić (born 2 January 1996) is a

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n football

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

, currently playing for

NK Junak Sinj Nogometni Klub Junak Sinj (''Football Club Junak Sinj''), commonly referred to as Junak Sinj or just Junak, is a prodessional Croatian football club based in the town of Sinj, in the southern Croatian region of Dalmatia. They currently compete ...

Club career

Born in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

, Mastelić moved back at the age of 2 with his mother to the family's native

Brnaze Brnaze is a village in Croatia. It is connected by the D1 highway. Populated places in Split-Dalmatia County {{SplitDalmatia-geo-stub ...

, near

Sinj Sinj (; it, Signo; german: Zein) is a town in the continental part of Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia. The town itself has a population of 11,478 and the population of the administrative municipality, which includes surrounding villages, is 24, ...

, in

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, and he started training football there, at the lower-tier Tekstilac Sinj. A versatile player, starting out as a midfielder, but playing at center-back, winger and a forward, he moved, at the age of 12 and at the behest of coach Slaven Lakić, to the second-tier Junak Sinj. He became a first-team regular, now more firmly a forward or a winger, at the age of 16, amassing 20 caps, with a single goal. That did not, however, go unnoticed, and he was snapped up by nearby giants

HNK Hajduk Split Hrvatski nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split () or simply Hajduk, is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, ...

, where he joined the academy. At the

Hajduk A hajduk ( hu, hajdúk, plural of ) is a type of irregular infantry found in Central and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries. They have reputations ranging from bandits to freedom fighters depending on time ...

academy, he played mostly as a winger for the U19 team in the 2013/14 season, the forward position being taken by Ivan Prskalo, and, the following year, he established himself as a first-team regular at the club's third-tier reserve side. He made his first-team debut in the club's 19.12.2015 away win against

NK Istra 1961 Nogometni klub Istra 1961 ( en, Istra 1961 Football Club), commonly referred to as NK Istra 1961, or simply Istra 1961 or Istra, is a Croatian professional football club from Pula, currently playing in the Croatian First League. It is a commo ...

, coming in for

Fran Tudor Fran Tudor (; born 27 September 1995) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a right-back or wing-back for Raków Częstochowa in the Ekstraklasa. Club career Born in Zagreb, Croatia, Tudor started his career with lower-tier side ...

in the 89th minute of the match. Since Hajduk had injury problems in the second half of the season, Mastelić made it into the first team lineup thanks to manager Damir Burić, but he didn't manage to score any goals. In August 2019 it was reported, that Mastelić had returned to

.Junak dobio Upravu i promijenio skoro cijelu momčad
urednik.slobodnadalmacija.hr, 21 August 2019

References

External links

Ivan Mastelić
at hajduk.hr * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mastelic, Ivan 1996 births Living people People from Marktoberdorf Footballers from Sinj Men's association football forwards Croatian men's footballers NK Junak Sinj players HNK Hajduk Split II players HNK Hajduk Split players HNK Cibalia players NK Solin players Croatian Football League players First Football League (Croatia) players