Jakov Medić (born 7 September 1998) is a Croatian 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 ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for club

VFL Bochum Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as simply VfL Bochum (), is a German association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club has spent 35 seasons in the Bundesli ...

, on loan from

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is ...

side

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...

Career

Born in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Sl ...

, Medić started his career in local clubs

Kustošija Kustošija is a neighborhood of a city district Črnomerec in Zagreb, Croatia. It has a brook named Kustošak running through it, and also a park-forest Grmoščica, and a border of the nature park Medvednica runs along the northern inhabited par ...

and

HAŠK HAŠK ''(full name Hrvatski akademski športski klub, en, Croatian Academic Sports Club)'' was a Croatian football club established in Zagreb in 1903 which ceased operating in 1945. The club was one of the most successful sides in Zagreb and the ...

, before moving on to play in top-tier U17 and U19

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n competitions for

Hrvatski Dragovoljac Nogometni klub Hrvatski dragovoljac ( en, Football Club Hrvatski dragovoljac), commonly referred to as NK Hrvatski dragovoljac or simply Hrvatski dragovoljac, is a Croatian football club based in the Novi Zagreb neighbourhood of the country's c ...

and

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

, before going on trial and signing for Istra 1961 during his last year of eligibility as a youth player. In the

Pula Pula (; also known as Pola, it, Pola , hu, Pòla, Venetian; ''Pola''; Istriot: ''Puola'', Slovene: ''Pulj'') is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, and the seventh-largest city in the country, situated at the southern tip of the ...

-based club, Medić made his senior debut in the

Prva HNL The Hrvatska nogometna liga () ( en, Croatian football league), also known as HNL or for sponsorship reasons the SuperSport HNL, is the top Croatian professional football league competition, established in 1992. Previously, it was called Prva H ...

coming on for

David Puclin David Puclin (born 17 June 1992) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Chinese Super League club Nantong Zhiyun. Club career Born in Čakovec, Puclin started playing football at Sloboda Varaždin, be ...

in for

in the 58th minute of their 2–0 away loss to

Slaven Belupo Nogometni klub Slaven Belupo ( en, Slaven Belupo Football Club), often referred to as NK Slaven Belupo, Slaven Belupo or simply Slaven, and known internationally as NK Slaven Koprivnica, is a Croatian professional football club based in the cit ...

. Medić was capped only once more for the team, before leaving the club in the summer of 2017. Initially signing for

Lučko Lučko is a settlement in the Novi Zagreb - zapad district of the City of Zagreb, located south of the Sava The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary o ...

in the

Druga HNL The Prva nogometna liga ( en, First football league), commonly Prva NL or 1. NL, is the second tier of the football league system in Croatia. The league was formed in 1991 with the breakup of Yugoslavia and the dissolution of the Yugoslav Secon ...

and playing a single match for them, Medić moved on in August 2017 to the high-flying third-tier club

NK Vinogradar NK Vinogradar ( en, FC Winemaker) was a Croatian football club based in the village of Lokošin Dol, part of the town of Jastrebarsko. The club merged with NK Jaska in 2021 after the death of Ivan Rubinić, the former owner who helped the club ...

. During the winter pause Medić went on a trial with Dinamo Minsk, which did not pan out, and the player missed the second half of the season.Jakov Medić iz Mladine u Bavarsku, potpisao za FC Nürnberg
at sportnews.hr In the summer of 2018, however, Medić made a move abroad, signing for

1. FC Nürnberg 1. Fußball-Club Nürnberg Verein für Leibesübungen e. V., often called 1. FC Nürnberg (, en, 1. Football Club Nuremberg) or simply Nürnberg, is a German association football club in Nuremberg, Bavaria, who currently compete in the 2. Bunde ...

, playing for their fourth-tier reserves. In 2019, he moved on a two-year loan to the

2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

team

SV Wehen Wiesbaden SV Wehen Wiesbaden is a German association football club based in Wiesbaden, Hesse. Since the beginning of the 2007–08 season the club no longer plays its home games in Taunusstein, where they were originally located. In the summer of 2007 ''W ...

. Relegated with the team, Medić remained with Wehen Wiesbaden despite the club's relegation to

3. Liga The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga. The modern 3. Liga was formed for t ...

, and, becoming a key player for the team, the club made his move permanent, signing him on a contract until 2024. In June 2021,

FC St. Pauli Fußball-Club St Pauli von 1910 e.V., commonly known as simply FC St Pauli (), is a German professional football club based in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga. The football department is part of a larger ...

announced Medić would join the club for the 2021–22 season. On 6 August 2023, Medić signed for Dutch club

on a five-year deal. On 12 August 2023, he scored a goal on his debut against

Heracles Almelo Heracles Almelo is a Dutch professional football club based in Almelo, founded in 1903. The club has won the Dutch national title twice, in 1927 and 1941. Heracles won the Eerste Divisie title during the 2004–05 season, gaining promotion to t ...

. On 20 August 2024, Medić returned to Germany and joined

VfL Bochum Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as simply VfL Bochum (), is a German association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club has spent 35 seasons in the Bundesli ...

on loan with an option to buy.

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

* 1998 births Living people Footballers from Zagreb Men's association football central defenders Croatian men's footballers Croatian Football League players First Football League (Croatia) players 2. Bundesliga players 3. Liga players Regionalliga players Eredivisie players NK Istra players NK Lučko players NK Vinogradar players 1. FC Nürnberg II players 1. FC Nürnberg players SV Wehen Wiesbaden players FC St. Pauli players AFC Ajax players VfL Bochum players Croatian expatriate men's footballers Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Croatian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands {{Croatia-footy-defender-stub