Tonći Kukoč (born 25 September 1990) is a Croatian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defender who is currently plays in

Segesta Segesta (, ''Egesta'', or , ''Ségesta'', or , ''Aígesta''; ) was one of the major cities of the Elymians, one of the three indigenous peoples of Sicily. The other major cities of the Elymians were Eryx and Entella. It is located in the no ...

. He is the nephew of the former

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

player

Toni Kukoč Toni Kukoč (; born September 18, 1968) is a Croatian former professional basketball player who serves as Special Advisor to Jerry Reinsdorf, the owner of the Chicago Bulls. After a highly successful period in European basketball, he was one of ...

Club career

Born in

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

, Kukoč started his career playing in youth level for his hometown club

Hajduk Split Hrvatski Nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, the club's home ...

. At the age of 18 he passed the trial with the Russian club

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant, with an average radius of about 9 times that of Earth. It has an eighth the average density of Earth, but is over 95 tim ...

, but Hajduk refused to release him as they had a scholarship contract with him until June 2009. After signing a four-year contract with Hajduk, Kukoč was loaned to Istra 1961 for the first part of the 2009–10 season. The rest of the season he spent on loan in the second division side

Mosor Mosor (), or Mount Mosor (''Massarus Mons''; ), is a mountain range in Croatia located near the city of Split on the Adriatic coast. It belongs to Dinaric Alps, and stretches from the pass of Klis in the northwest to the Cetina River in the sout ...

. He made his professional debut for Hajduk the following season, when he replaced

Ante Vukušić Ante Vukušić (; born 4 June 1991) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Croatian Football League club Croatia Zmijavci. Club career Vukušić started his career playing at youth level for his hometown club Junak S ...

in the final minutes of the home match against

NK Zagreb Nogometni klub Zagreb (''Zagreb Football Club''), commonly known as NK Zagreb or simply Zagreb (), is a Croatian football club based in the capital city of Zagreb. It currently competes in the fifth tier league competition of Croatian footbal ...

. In the midseason Kukoč was again loaned, this time to the last placed Hrvatski Dragovoljac in Prva HNL. He played five games for Dragovoljac, and scored his first goal in Prva HNL, after coming on as a substitute in a 3–2 defeat against

Inter Zaprešić Inter may refer to: Association football clubs * Inter Milan, an Italian club * SC Internacional, a Brazilian club * Inter Miami CF, an American club * Inter Playa del Carmen, a Mexican club * FC Inter Sibiu, a Romanian club * FC Inter Turku, a Fi ...

. Hajduk decided to keep him for the 2011–12 Prva HNL season and has worked as a rotational player, playing in a few different positions. He scored his first goal for the club in a 4–0 win against

on 21 August 2011. After spending one season at Italian side

Brescia Calcio Brescia Calcio, commonly referred to as Brescia (), is an Italian football club based in Brescia, Lombardy. The team currently plays in Serie B, the second tier of Italian football, but will play in Serie C in 2025–26 due to financial contro ...

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...

, Kukoč joined

CSKA Sofia CSKA Sofia () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sports Club of the Army'' ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

on 7 August 2014. He made his league debut for CSKA on 16 August, in a 2–0 away loss against

Ludogorets Razgrad Professional Football Club Ludogorets 1945 (), commonly known as Ludogorets Razgrad or simply Ludogorets, is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Razgrad, which currently competes in the First Professional Football League ...

, playing the full 90 minutes as a left-back. Kukoč netted his first goal on 22 August, in the 5–0 home rout against

Marek Dupnitsa FC Marek () is a Bulgarian football club based in Dupnitsa, currently playing in the Second League, the second level of the Bulgarian football league system. It was founded in 1947 following the unification of four local clubs. Home matches take ...

. On 1 November 2014, he came close to opening the scoring in the 0–0 home draw against

Slavia Sofia PFC Slavia Sofia 1913 () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which currently competes in the top tier of the Bulgarian football league system, the First League. Slavia's home ground is the Stadion Aleksandar Sh ...

, hitting the crossbar with a powerful long-distance effort, but subsequently received a two-match ban following a post-match altercation with Georgi Petkov.

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kukoc-Petraello, Tonci 1990 births Living people Footballers from Split, Croatia Men's association football fullbacks Croatian men's footballers 21st-century Croatian sportsmen Croatia men's under-21 international footballers HNK Hajduk Split players NK Istra 1961 players NK Mosor players NK Hrvatski Dragovoljac players Brescia Calcio players PFC CSKA Sofia players US Livorno 1915 players Como 1907 players HŠK Zrinjski Mostar players Budapest Honvéd FC players Kisvárda FC players NK Opatija players Croatian Football League players Serie B players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina players Nemzeti Bajnokság I players First Football League (Croatia) players Croatian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Bulgaria Expatriate men's footballers in Bosnia and Herzegovina Expatriate men's footballers in Hungary Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Bulgaria Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Hungary