| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Saša Bjelanović | ||
| Date of birth | 11 June 1979 | ||
| Place of birth | Zadar, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Verona | ||
| Number | 32 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1996–1999 | Zadar | 76 | (18) |
| 1999 | Dinamo Zagreb | 1 | (0) |
| 1999–2000 | Istra | 18 | (4) |
| 2000–2002 | Varaždin | 51 | (27) |
| 2002–2003 | Como | 15 | (2) |
| 2003 | → Chievo (loan) | 12 | (4) |
| 2003–2005 | Genoa | 41 | (12) |
| 2004–2005 | → Lecce (loan) | 22 | (5) |
| 2005–2007 | Ascoli | 57 | (11) |
| 2007–2009 | Torino | 19 | (0) |
| 2008–2009 | → Vicenza (loan) | 39 | (12) |
| 2009–2010 | Vicenza | 35 | (8) |
| 2010–2011 | CFR Cluj | 13 | (3) |
| 2011 | Atalanta | 10 | (1) |
| 2011– | Verona | 1 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2005 | Croatia | 1 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of August 31, 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Saša Bjelanović (born 11 June 1979 in Zadar) is a Croatian footballer striker who is currently playing for Verona in Serie B.
He also holds Italian passport since 2007, as his grandmother was from Trieste, Venezia Giulia, made him eligible to acquire Italian nationality at birth.[1]
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Saša Bjelanović started his career at Zadar. At the age of 20, he had already made 76 appearances for his native club. In summer 1999, he was signed by Croatian giant Dinamo Zagreb. However, he made only one appearance before being transferred to NK Istra from Pula and then NK Varteks.[2]
On 31 May 2002, Como, at that time in Serie A, brought Bjelanović to Italy. He played 15 Serie A games for Como, and left on loan to Chievo.
As Como was relegated in summer 2003, on 16 July 2003, Bjelanović was loaned to Perugia. But on 30 August 2003, he was sold to Genoa C.F.C. of Serie B on a co-ownership deal for €1 million.[3] Genoa was owned by former Como owner Enrico Preziosi.
Bjelanović played 41 out of possible 46 games for Genoa, and as Como was relegated again, this time to Serie C1, Genoa bought all the registration rights at the end of the season for a discounted price.[3]
Genoa did not win promotion in summer 2004 and Bjelanović played his second Serie A season for U.S. Lecce on loan.
In summer 2005, Genoa finally won promotion to Serie A, but due to match fixing scandal, Genoa was relegated to play in the Serie C1 next season. As a result, Bjelanović was sold to Ascoli, the team which was promoted in Genoa's place, on a co-ownership deal.
Bjelanović scored four goals in 31 Serie A appearances for Ascoli in the 2005–06 season. He then went on to score seven goals in the 2006–07 season and became the top scorer for Ascoli for the season. This is due to players leaving the club and Ascoli relegated to Serie B after finishing at 19th.
Bjelanović signed for his 6th Italian club, Torino F.C., along with Paolo Zanetti, on 21 June 2007, on a co-ownership deal. In June 2008 Torino full contracted with Bjelanović.
In August 2008, Bjelanović was transferred to Vicenza.[4] On 1 July 2009 he joined Vicenza definitely as part of Nicolás Gorobsov's deal.[5]
In June 2010 he was transferred to Liga I champions CFR Cluj for 900.000 euros. He played only six months for CFR, in January 2011 being sold back in Italy, to Atalanta.
Bjelanović was a member of the Croatian Youth team at the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship, where he made only one appearance and scored one goal.
He made his debut for the Croatian senior national team on 9 February 2005, coming on as a second-half substitute in a friendly match against Israel, which ended in a 3-3 draw. In late March 2005, he was also part of the Croatian squad that played Iceland and Malta in the 2006 World Cup qualifying, but remained an unused substitute in both matches.
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