Duje Čop

Duje Čop

Čop with Málaga in 2015
Personal information
Date of birth (1990-02-01) 1 February 1990
Place of birth Vinkovci, Croatia
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Forward
Club information
Current team
 Málaga
(on loan from Dinamo Zagreb)
Number 20
Youth career
1998–2000 Lokomotiva Vinkovci
2000–2002 HNK Cibalia
2002–2007 Hajduk Split
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2007–2008 Hajduk Split 15 (2)
2008–2009 Nacional 5 (1)
2009–2011 Hajduk Split 24 (8)
2011–2012 RNK Split 29 (8)
2012– Dinamo Zagreb 67 (43)
2015 → Cagliari (loan) 16 (4)
2015– → Málaga (loan) 29 (6)
National team‡
2006 Croatia U16 8 (1)
2006 Croatia U17 1 (1)
2009–2010 Croatia U20 2 (0)
2011–2012 Croatia U21 6 (1)
2014– Croatia 3 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 May 2016.
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 11 October 2015

Duje Čop (born 1 February 1990) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club Málaga CF on loan from Dinamo Zagreb.

Club career

Hajduk Split / Nacional

Čop turned professional in 2007–08 at only 17, helping hometown's HNK Hajduk Split finish fifth in the top division. In his first professional season with Hajduk he made 15 appearances and scored 2 goals. In July 2008, at the end of the season, he joined C.D. Nacional in the island of Madeira.

Scarcely used during his only season in Portugal (174 minutes in official games), Čop made his league debut on 24 January 2009 in a 1–1 home draw against Sporting Clube de Portugal. On 6 April, he scored his only goal in Portuguese football, replacing Mateus in added time away to Rio Ave F.C., and concluding a 3–0 win.[1]

He subsequently returned to Hajduk, being sparingly used over the course of two campaigns.

RNK Split

In July 2011, Čop terminated his contract with Hajduk and signed a four-year deal with neighbouring RNK Split.[2] He made his debut for the team in Europa League qualifying match against Slovenian side NK Domžale, scoring a goal in away win. He also netted another goal against the same side in the 2nd leg.

Dinamo Zagreb

In June of the following year he moved to defending champions GNK Dinamo Zagreb. He started the season with a goal against Sheriff Tiraspol in UEFA Champions League Qualifying game on Maksimir Stadium. He scored another important goal on GNK Dinamo Zagreb road to 2012-13 UEFA Champions League, in the Play-Off match against NK Maribor. He made 6 appearances in 2012-13 UEFA Champions League group stage. On 18 February 2013, he scored his first hat-trick for Dinamo Zagreb in derby match against NK Rijeka. He was the 2013-14 top goalscorer with 22 goals.

On 11 January 2015, Čop was loaned to Cagliari, until June.[3] Three days later, he made his debut for them, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 loss away to Parma F.C. in the Last 16 of the Coppa Italia.[4] On the 24th, he scored his first goal in Serie A, the winner in a 2–1 home triumph over U.S. Sassuolo Calcio, as a substitute for Samuele Longo.[5] On 26 April, he scored twice as the relegation-threatened Sardinians won 3–1 at ACF Fiorentina;[6] he totalled four goals from 16 appearances as the season ended with descent.

On 16 July 2015 he moved to Málaga CF on a season-long loan deal.[7] He made his La Liga debut on 21 August, starting as the campaign began with a goalless home draw against fellow Andalusians Sevilla FC. On 13 December, Čop scored his first goal for the Boquerones, an 87th-minute winner in a 2–1 victory at Rayo Vallecano;[8] on the same day, he threatened to leave if his playing time would not increase.[9]

International career

Čop made his senior international debut for Croatia on 4 September 2014, replacing Luka Modrić for the final 30 minutes of a 3–0 friendly win over Cyprus in Pula.

He made one appearance in Croatia's successful qualification campaign for UEFA Euro 2016; against Bulgaria on 10 October 2015, he came on for Marko Pjaca at the same mark and was sent off at the end of a 3–0 win for a foul on Strahil Popov.[10]

Personal life

Čop's father, Davor, was also a footballer and a forward. He played for six seasons with Hajduk in the 70s/80s.

Honours

Club

Hajduk Split
Dinamo Zagreb

Indivudual

References

  1. ↑ "Brasuca marca duas vezes, Nacional vence e deixa Rio Ave na lanterna" [Brazilian scores twice, Nacional win and leave Rio Ave in the relegation zone] (in Portuguese). Globo. 6 April 2009. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  2. ↑ Zovko, Ante (1 July 2011). "Duje Čop otišao u Park mladeži" (in Croatian). Sportnet. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  3. ↑ "DUJE ČOP SIGNS FOR CAGLIARI". Croatian FA. 11 January 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  4. ↑ Farinola, Antonio (14 January 2015). "Coppa Italia, Parma-Cagliari 2-1: Rispoli regala i quarti ai ducali" [Rispoli treats the Ducali to the quarter-finals] (in Italian). La Repubblica. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  5. ↑ "Cagliari-Sassuolo 2-1: gol di Rossettini e Acerbi, decide Cop" [Goals from Rossettini and Acerbi, Čop decides] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 24 January 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  6. ↑ "Serie A: Cagliari run out 3-1 winners at Fiorentina". Sky Sports. 26 April 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  7. ↑ Gallardo, Antonio (July 15, 2015). "La cesión de Duje Cop al Málaga, sólo a falta de la firma" [Loan of Duje Čop to Málaga, only the signature is missing]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Primer gol de Duje Cop con la camiseta blanquiazul" [Duje Čop's first goal in the blue and white shirt] (in Spanish). Vavel. 13 December 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  9. ↑ Cariño, Carlos (13 December 2015). ""Si no tengo oportunidades en el Málaga buscaré alternativas"" ["If I don't have opportunities at Málaga I will search for alternatives"] (in Spanish). Diario AS. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  10. ↑ Islamović, Elvir (10 October 2015). "Croatia defeat Bulgaria in Čačić's first game". UEFA. Retrieved 13 December 2015.

External links

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