Robert Ljubičić

Croatian footballer (born 1999)

Robert Ljubičić
Personal information
Ljubičić with St. Pölten in 2018
Date of birth	(1999-07-14) 14 July 1999 (age 24)
Place of birth	Vienna, Austria
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)^[1]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	AEK Athens
Number	23
Youth career
2005–2006	Favoritner AC
2006–2009	Rapid Wien
2009–2014	Wiener Sportklub
2014–2018	AKA St. Pölten
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2018	St. Pölten II	11	(1)
2018–2021	St. Pölten	92	(7)
2021–2022	Rapid Wien	27	(3)
2022–2024	Dinamo Zagreb	49	(3)
2024–	AEK Athens	9	(2)
International career^‡
2019	Croatia U20	2	(0)
2020	Austria U21	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 01:21, 15 April 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 4 September 2020

Robert Ljubičić (born 14 July 1999) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Greek Super League club AEK Athens.^[2]

Club career

After three full seasons at St. Pölten in the Austrian Bundesliga, it was announced on 8 March 2021 that Ljubičić would join Rapid Wien in the summer of 2021 on a three-year deal.^[3] His brother, Dejan, was captain of the club at the time, but his departure to Köln in Germany was announced in April.^[4] He made his debut at Rapid in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League against Sparta Prague on 20 July, in his brother's position of central midfield.

On 13 June 2022, HNL club Dinamo Zagreb announced the signing of Ljubičić.^[2] On 11 October 2022, he scored his first Champions League goal in a 1–1 draw against Red Bull Salzburg.^[5]

Ljubičić joined Super League Greece side AEK Athens on 31 January 2024 for a fee of 4 million euros. He scored his first goal in a 3–0 win against Kifisia on 18 February.

International career

Ljubičić is of Bosnian Croat descent, so he was eligible to represent Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. He was capped for the Croatia U20 team in 2019, but decided to switch allegiances to Austria U21 team in 2020. He has not made a senior international debut for either country as of August 2021.

In November 2022, Ljubičić opted to represent Croatia instead of Austria.^[6]

Style of play

In Austria, Ljubičić mainly played as a defensive midfielder. However, after joining Dinamo Zagreb, head coach Ante Čačić moved him to the position of left-back. Initially unwanted position, after half a year with Dinamo, Ljubičić stated that he adapted to the position and now prefers it.^[7]

Personal life

His older brother Dejan is also a professional footballer.^[8] They were born in Austria to Bosnian Croat parents from Busovača.^[9]^[10]

Career statistics

As of 30 December 2023

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
St. Pölten	2017–18	Austrian Bundesliga	5	1	—		—		—		5	1
	2018–19		26	1	3	1	—		—		29	2
	2019–20		29	3	3	0	—		—		32	3
	2020–21		32	2	1	0	—		—		33	2
	Total		92	7	7	1	—		—		99	8
Rapid Wien	2021–22	Austrian Bundesliga	27	3	2	0	11	1	—		40	4
Dinamo Zagreb	2022–23	Prva HNL	33	2	4	1	12	1	—		49	4
	2023–24	Prva HNL	14	1	0	0	11	1	—		25	2
	Total		47	3	4	1	23	2	0	0	74	6
Career total			166	13	13	2	34	3	0	0	213	18

Honours

Dinamo Zagreb

References

^ "Robert Ljubičić". AEK ATHENS. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Robert Ljubičić novi igrač Dinama!". gnkdinamo.hr (in Croatian). 13 June 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
^ "Robert Ljubicic confirms his future contract with Rapid". SK Rapid. 8 March 2021.
^ Huber, Alexander (26 April 2021). "Dejan Ljubicic wechselt von Rapid zu Köln - und in die 2. Liga?". Kurier.
^ "Dinamo Zagreb 1–1 Salzburg". UEFA. 11 October 2022.
^ "Hrvatska ima novog igrača". 8 November 2022.
^ "Ljubičić: Neki nisu shvatili moj dolazak u Dinamo".
^ "Robert Ljubičić confirms his future contract with Rapid". SK Rapid.
^ alexander.huber (21 October 2017). "Ljubicic: "Richtig böse war ich schon lange nicht"".
^ Olivari, Davorin (15 June 2022). "Velike ambicije novog Dinamovog pojačanja: 'Bilo bi mi drago da dobijem poziv za hrvatsku reprezentaciju'". Sportske novosti (in Croatian). Retrieved 15 June 2022.