Dario Melnjak

Last updated

Dario Melnjak
Personal information
Date of birth (1992-10-31) 31 October 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth Varaždin, Croatia
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Left-back
Team information
Current team
Hajduk Split
Number 17
Youth career
–2005 Nedeljanec  [ hr ]
2005–2007 Varteks
2007–2010 Nedeljanec  [ hr ]
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2010 Nedeljanec  [ hr ]
2011–2013 Zelina 63 (1)
2013–2015 Slaven Belupo 40 (3)
2015–2017 Lokeren 16 (0)
2016Neftçi (loan) 10 (0)
2017Slaven Belupo (loan) 13 (1)
2017–2019 Domžale 43 (8)
2019–2021 Çaykur Rizespor 79 (7)
2021– Hajduk Split 108 (6)
International career
2019–2024 Croatia 8 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 26 June 2025
‡ National team caps and goals as of 30 March 2021

Dario Melnjak (born 31 October 1992) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Croatian First Football League club Hajduk Split.

Contents

Early and personal life

Melnjak was born on 31 October 1992 in Varaždin, Croatia. [1] At just two weeks old, he had severe surgery due to a tange of his intestines, with tiny chances of survival. [2] Melnjak's uncles Antun and Zvonko were handball players, so did his cousins, Alen and Nenad. [3] Apart from his native Croatian, Melnjak speaks, English, Greek, and Turkish. [4]

Club career

Melnjak started his career in the lower tier Nedeljanec  [ hr ], spending most of his youth career there, apart from two seasons at Varteks at under-15 level. [5]

On 2 February 2015, Melnjak signed a contract with Belgian club Sporting Lokeren for three-and-a-half seasons. [6] On 20 June 2016, he signed for Azerbaijan Premier League club Neftçi on loan. [7] On 10 November 2016, Neftçi and Lokeren mutually agreed to the early termination of his loan. [8]

On 23 September 2021, Melnjak signed a one-year contract with Croatian club HNK Hajduk Split, with an option for a further two years. [9] On 19 January 2022, he extended his contract for two years until 2024. [10] On 2 March 2022, Melnjak scored two goals against HNK Gorica in the 2021–22 Croatian Football Cup semi-final, taking Hajduk Split to the final in a 2–1 victory. [11] In the 2022 Croatian Football Cup final on 26 May 2022, he scored twice again, this time in a 3–1 victory against HNK Rijeka to help his club winning its seventh cup and first since 2012–13. [12]

International career

On 11 June 2019, Melnjak made his Croatia national team debut in friendly match against Tunisia. [13]

Honours

References

  1. Sinovčić, Alen (29 May 2022). "Kao beba jedva preživio, u nogomet krenuo iz pete lige, a u Split došao umjesto u Andaluziju". nacional.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  2. Tomašković, Ivan (26 May 2023). "Životna priča junaka Hajduka: Melnjak je kao beba jedva ostao živ, spasili su ga doktori". 24sata (in Croatian). Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  3. "Novopečeni Reprezentativac Dario Melnjak: 'Pjevao sam i bio mister, a za naš je uspjeh važno bilo i zelje'". Varadinski (in Croatian). 5 June 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2025 via 24sata.
  4. Marinović, Barbara (27 May 2022). "Tko je novi Hajdukov heroj? Dario Melnjak godinama ljubi samozatajnu Grkinju, upoznali su se sasvim slučajno". RTL (in Croatian). Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  5. "Dario Melnjak u dresu belgijskog Lokerena: Ni u Nedeljancu na startu nisam bio prvotimac". eVarazdin (in Croatian). 12 October 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  6. Stijleman, Herman (3 February 2015). "Sensationeel... Lokeren kan 3 nieuwe aanwinsten voorstellen!". Sporting Lokeren (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 3 February 2015.
  7. ""Neftçi"də 4 yeni futbolçu". Neftchi Baku (in Azerbaijani). 20 June 2016. Archived from the original on 21 June 2016.
  8. "Neftçi PFK Dario Melnyakla müqaviləyə xitam verdi". Neftchi Baku (in Azerbaijani). 10 November 2016. Archived from the original on 10 November 2016.
  9. "Dario Melnjak novi je igrač Hajduka!". Hajduk Split (in Croatian). 23 September 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  10. "Dario Melnjak potpisao s Bijelima do ljeta 2024. godine!". Hajduk Split (in Croatian). 19 January 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  11. "Hajduk 2–1 Gorica" (in Croatian). Croatian Football Federation . Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  12. "Rijeka 1–3 Hajduk". Hajduk Split (in Croatian). 23 September 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  13. "Hrvatska 1–2 Tunis: Potop u Varaždinu, Dalićev eksperiment nije uspio". Index.hr (in Croatian). 11 June 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  14. "Rijeka - Hajduk 1:3". Croatian Football Federation. 26 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.