Kristijan Belić ( sr-Cyrl, Кристијан Белић; born 25 March 2001) is a 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

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 Dutch club AZ. Born in Belgium, Belić represents the Serbia national team.

Club career

Youth career

Belić was born in Sint-Truiden, where his father,

Dušan Dušan ( sr-Cyrl, Душан) is a Slavic names, Slavic given name primarily used in the former Yugoslavia and the former Czechoslovakia. The name is derived from the Slavic noun ''duša'' "soul". Occurrence In Serbia, it was the 29th most po ...

, played for the club of the same name. He trained with the

Serbian White Eagles Serbian White Eagles Football Club (/''Fudbalski klub Srpski beli orlovi'') is a Canadian semi-professional Association football, soccer team. The team is a member of the Canadian Soccer League, a Non-FIFA international football, non-FIFA sanct ...

Academy in Canada when his father was involved with the senior team from 2006 to 2007. In his younger years, he played for

OFK Beograd OFK Beograd ( sr-Cyrl, ОФК Београд – Омладински фудбалски клуб Београд, English language, English: ''Belgrade Youth Football Club''), also known in English as OFK Belgrade and currently referred to as OFK ...

. and then spent four years in

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

's academy.

Alkmaar

In the winter of 2024, he was transferred to Dutch side

AZ Alkmaar Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known internationally as AZ Alkmaar, or simply and most commonly as AZ () in the Netherlands, is a Dutch professional Association football, football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan#The Zaan district, Zaan district. ...

. Belić made his debut In the 18th round of the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

, AZ Alkmaar and PEC Zwolle played 2–2. On 14 September 2024, Belić scored his first goal. AZ Alkmaar broke their record for the biggest win in the Eredivisie on Saturday when they beat

SC Heerenveen Sportclub Heerenveen (; West Frisian language, West Frisian: Sportklub It Hearrenfean) is a Dutch professional association football, football club from Heerenveen. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top level of football in the Netherla ...

9–1 at the

AFAS Stadion AFAS Stadion is a stadium in Alkmaar, Netherlands. It is used for association football, football matches and is the home stadium of AZ Alkmaar. AZ Alkmaar (women), AZ's women's team also plays select matches in the stadium. The stadium is able to ...

International career

Belić was called up to the senior Serbia national team for the first time for the Nations League games against Spain and Denmark in September 2024. Belić debuted on 5 September 2024 against Spain at the Rajko Mitić Stadium. He substituted

Andrija Živković Andrija Živković ( sr-Cyrl, Андрија Живковић, ; born 11 July 1996) is a Serbian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Winger (association football), winger for Super League Greece, Greek Super League club P ...

in the 61st minute of a scoreless draw.

Style of play

In his younger years, Belić performed in attack and defense, while in the senior competition he made his mark as a midfielder. It is characterized by an aggressive playing style, often accompanied by sanctions in the form of cards. In the lineup of Partizan's coach,

Gordan Petrić Gordan Petrić (; born 30 July 1969) is a Serbian football manager and former player. Club career Petrić made his senior debut with OFK Beograd in the 1985–86 season, as the club suffered relegation from the top flight of Yugoslav football. ...

, he established himself as a bonus player from the 168th Eternal derby. After the meeting with his former club, Čukarički, he was recognized in the media as the successor of Saša Zdjelar, and compared to Juca and

Everton Luiz Everton Luiz Guimarães Bilher (born 24 May 1988), commonly known as Everton Luiz, is a Brazilian professional association football, footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Belgian club S.K. Beveren, Beveren. He is primarily recognize ...

, also former Partizan players. Belić then scored a goal, and later caught up and stopped Samuel Owusu in an open counter attack, and due to his remarkable performance, he was selected as a player of the 15th round of the

Serbian SuperLiga The Serbian Super League (), also known as Mozzart SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Serbia and the highest level of the Serbian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a sys ...

for the 2022–23 season. Before the 169th Eternal derby,

Igor Duljaj Igor Duljaj (; born 29 October 1979) is a Serbian retired footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He is best remembered for his tenacious playing style and stamina. During his footballing career, Duljaj played with only three clubs, nam ...

was appointed manager of Partizan. Belić received praise for his combativeness in the match and was rated by reporters as the most committed and dedicated Partizan player in their team's minimal defeat at the hands of

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 ...

at Rajko Mitić Stadium. Belić exited the game in the 75th minute due to a head injury.

Personal life

Belić is the son of former goalkeeper Dušan Belić. His brother Luka is also a footballer.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Individual *

Player of the Week: 2022–23 (Round 15), 2023–24 (Round 6)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Belic, Kristijan 2001 births Living people Footballers from Sint-Truiden Belgian people of Serbian descent Men's association football midfielders Belgian men's footballers Serbian men's footballers Serbia men's youth international footballers Serbia men's under-21 international footballers Serbia men's international footballers OFK Beograd players West Ham United F.C. players Olympiacos F.C. players FK Čukarički players FK Partizan players AZ Alkmaar players Serbian SuperLiga players Eredivisie players Expatriate men's footballers in England Serbian expatriate men's footballers Belgian expatriate men's footballers Serbian expatriate sportspeople in England Belgian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Serbian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Belgian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands 21st-century Belgian sportsmen