Zvonimir Kožulj (; born 15 November 1993) 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 ...

. Kožulj 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 ...

, who loaned him to

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 ...

in 2013 and to Branitelj in 2014. In 2016, he joined

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 ...

. Two years later, he was transferred to

Pogoń Szczecin Pogoń Szczecin Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Pogoń Szczecin (), is a Polish professional football club based in Szczecin, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, which plays in the Ekstraklasa, the top tier of the national football league s ...

. After unsuccessful stints with Turkish sides

Gaziantep Gaziantep, historically Aintab and still informally called Antep, is a major city in south-central Turkey. It is the capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Medi ...

and

Eyüpspor Eyüpspor Kulübü, known as ikas Eyüpspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional association football, football club located in the Eyüpsultan district of Istanbul. Their colours are lavender and yellow. Their home ground is Eyü ...

, Kožulj signed with Bruk-Bet Termalica in 2022 but never made an appearance due to an injury picked up shortly after joining. A former youth international for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kožulj made his senior international debut in 2016.

Club career

Early career

Kožulj came through

Zrinjski Mostar Zrinjski Mostar is a sports association from the city of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was formed in 1905. Member clubs *Football: **HŠK Zrinjski Mostar *Basketball: **HKK Zrinjski Mostar (men's) ** ŽKK Zrinjski Mostar (women's) *H ...

's youth academy, which he left in 2011 to join

. He made his professional debut against Čelik Zenica on 30 March 2013 at the age of 19. In the summer of 2013, he was sent on a six-month loan to

. On 24 August 2013, he scored his first professional goal. In January 2014, he was loaned to Branitelj until the end of season.

Hajduk Split

On 14 June 2016, Kožulj was transferred to Croatian side

for an undisclosed fee. He made his competitive debut for the club in UEFA Europa League qualifier against Politehnica Iași on 14 July. Three days later, on his league debut, he scored a goal in an away win over

Cibalia Hrvatski nogometni klub Cibalia, commonly known as Cibalia Vinkovci or simply Cibalia, is a Croatian football club from the town of Vinkovci in eastern Croatia. Cibalia currently play in the Prva NL, Croatia's second-tier league. Their stadium ...

Pogoń Szczecin

In June 2018, Kožulj signed a three-year contract with Polish team

. He made his official debut for the club on 20 July against

Miedź Legnica Miedź Legnica () is a professional football club based in Legnica, Poland, that competes in the I liga, following relegation in 2023. Miedź was founded in 1971. In 2018, Miedź Legnica achieved promotion to the top flight for the first time ...

. On 19 October, Kožulj scored his first goal for Pogoń Szczecin in an away defeat to Jagiellonia. He was released from his contract in April 2020.

Later career

In August 2020, he joined the Turkish club

Gaziantep FK Gaziantep Futbol Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club based in Gaziantep. Founded in 1988, the club plays in the Süper Lig, the highest tier of Turkish football. The club was founded as Sankospor in 1988 and competed at the amateur ...

. In the winter of 2022, he was loaned to Polish club

Bruk-Bet Termalica Nieciecza Bruk-Bet Termalica Nieciecza Klub Sportowy Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Bruk-Bet Termalica Nieciecza (), is a Polish professional football club based in Nieciecza. They compete in the Ekstraklasa, the top level of the Polish footbal ...

for six months with a purchase option, but he did not have a chance to debut after suffering an ACL injury during his first training session with the club. From January to April 2023, he was with

Sandecja Nowy Sącz Sandecja Nowy Sącz is a Polish football club from Nowy Sącz, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, that was formed in 1910. In the 2025–26 season, they will compete in II liga, the third tier of Polish football, after winning group IV of the 2024–2 ...

, though he did not play any matches. On 24 June 2023, he signed with Bosnian champions Zrinjski Mostar, agreeing to a contract until 2025. He played in the group stage of the

UEFA Europa Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual association football, football competition organised since 2021 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European foot ...

and was the hero of the first-round match against

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. ...

, turning the game around with two goals and an assist. A few weeks later, just before the second-leg match against

Legia Warsaw Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning a record 15 champions titles, a record 2 ...

, the media reported that he had been moved to the junior team. The club's coach commented that Kožulj was no longer with them, having made the personal decision not to continue with the team.

International career

Having been eligible to represent both

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 ...

and

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, Kožulj opted for the former, representing it on various youth levels. In May 2016, he received his first senior call-up for a friendly game against

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and the 2016 Kirin Cup. Kožulj debuted against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

on 7 June.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Široki Brijeg *

Bosnian Cup The Bosnia and Herzegovina Football Cup ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kup Bosne i Hercegovine, Куп Босне и Херцеговине) is a knock-out football competition contested annually by clubs from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The winner ...

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

Hajduk Split *

Croatian Cup Croatian Cup may refer to: *Croatian Football Cup *Croatian Football Super Cup *Croatian Women's Football Cup *Croatian Basketball Cup, also known as Krešimir Ćosić Cup *Croatian Handball Cup *Croatian Water Polo Cup The Croatian Water Polo C ...

runner-up: 2017–18 Individual *

Ekstraklasa (; meaning "Extra Class" in Polish), officially known as PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa due to its Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is a professional association football league in Poland and the highest level of the Polish foo ...

Player of the Month: May 2019, July 2019

References

External links