Stjepan Lončar (; born 10 November 1996) 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

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

Croatian Football League The Hrvatska nogometna liga (; ), abbreviated as HNL and also known for sponsorship reasons as the SuperSport HNL, is a professional association football league in Croatia and the highest level of the Croatian football league system. Establish ...

club Istra 1961. Lončar started his professional career at

Široki Brijeg Široki Brijeg () is a city and the regional capital of West Herzegovina Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. the town itself had a population of 6,149 and the municipality of 28,929. Name ...

, before joining

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

in 2018. Three years later, he moved to

Ferencváros Ferencváros (, ) is the 9th district of Budapest (), Hungary. Name The southern suburb of Pest was named after King Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis I on 4 December 1792 when he was crowned king of Hungary. History The developmen ...

, who loaned him to

Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; or ''Kortrik''; ), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of We ...

in 2022 and to

Astana Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan. With a population of 1,423,726 within the city limits, it is the second-largest in the country after Almaty, which had been the capital until 1997. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim ...

in 2023. The following year, he signed with

Lech Poznań Kolejowy Klub Sportowy Lech Poznań S.A., commonly referred to as KKS Lech Poznań or simply Lech Poznań (), is a Polish professional football club based in Poznań and currently competing in the Ekstraklasa, the nation's highest division. ...

. In 2025, he was transferred to Istra 1961. A former youth international for

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 ...

, Lončar made his senior international debut in 2018, earning 11

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

until 2021.

Club career

Early career

Lončar came through Široki Brijeg's youth academy, which he joined in 2003. He made his professional debut against

Vitez Vitez ( sr-cyrl, Витез) is a town and municipality located in the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the 2013 census, the town has a population of 6,329 inhab ...

on 24 July 2016 at the age of 19. On 20 September 2017, he scored his first professional goal against Radnik Bijeljina, which sent his team through in their cup tie.

Rijeka

In June 2018, Lončar signed a three-year deal with Croatian side

. He made his official debut for the squad on 3 August against Inter Zaprešić. On 10 February 2019, he scored his first goal for Rijeka against the same opponent. He won his first trophy with the club on 22 May, by beating

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb (), commonly referred to as simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Cr ...

in the Croatian Cup final. On 3 March 2021, he played his 100th game for the team against

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

Ferencváros

In July, Lončar was transferred to Hungarian outfit

for an undisclosed fee. He made his competitive debut for the side against

Kisvárda Kisvárda (; , ) is a town in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary near the border of Slovakia and Ukraine. It is the 3rd largest town in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg after Nyíregyháza and Mátészalka ...

on 31 July. On 19 September, he scored his first goal for Ferencváros in a

Magyar Kupa The Hungarian Cup (, ), officially known as MOL Magyar Kupa for sponsorship reasons, is the Hungarian cup competition for football clubs. It was started by the Hungarian Football Association'','' in 1909, eight years after the commencement of ...

match against

Hatvan Hatvan ( German: ''Hottwan)'' is a town in Heves County, Hungary. Hatvan is the Hungarian word for "sixty". It is the county's third most populous town following Eger and Gyöngyös. Etymology Hatvan is the Hungarian word for "sixty". It is a com ...

. Seven weeks later, he scored his first league goal in a triumph over Kisvárda. He won his first title with the club on 24 April 2022, when they were crowned league champions. In September, Lončar was sent on a season-long loan to Belgian team

. In July 2023, he was loaned to Kazakh side

until the end of the season.

Lech Poznań

On 6 September 2024, Lončar moved to Polish club

on a contract until June 2025. He debuted officially for the team on 14 September in a 5–0 win over Jagiellonia, and provided an assist to Lech's fourth goal.

Istra 1961

On 3 February 2025, after being left out of Lech's roster for the winter training camp, Lončar returned to Croatia to join Istra 1961 on a two-and-a-half-year deal.

International career

Lončar represented

at various youth levels. In January 2018, he received his first senior call-up, for friendly games against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. He debuted against the latter on 31 January. Lončar retired from international football on 30 November 2023.

Personal life

Lončar married his long-time girlfriend Stela in January 2025. His father Robert was also a professional footballer.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Široki Brijeg * Bosnian Cup: 2016–17 Rijeka * Croatian Cup: 2018–19, 2019–20 Ferencváros *

Nemzeti Bajnokság I The Nemzeti Bajnokság (, ), also known as NB I or Fizz Liga after its title sponsor, OTP Bank's webshop subsidiary, is a professional association football league in Hungary and the highest level of the Hungarian football league system. Twelve ...

: 2021–22, 2023–24 *

: 2021–22

References

External links