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Hrvoje Babec

Hrvoje Babec
Personal information
Date of birth (1999-07-28) 28 July 1999 (age 25)
Place of birth Virovitica, Croatia
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Riga
Number 14
Youth career
2008-2011 Virovitica
2011 Osijek
2012-2015 KNŠ Hypo Limač
2016-2018 Metz
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2018 Metz II 8 (0)
2018–2019 Vihor Jelisavac 24 (7)
2019–2022 Gorica 92 (6)
2022– Riga 74 (8)
International career
2015–2016 Croatia U17 10 (0)
2017 Croatia U18 2 (0)
2022 Croatia U23 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11 November 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 January 2023

Hrvoje Babec (born 28 July 1999) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Riga in the Latvian Higher League.

Career

Early career

Born in Virovitica, Babec grew up in the nearby village of Brezik, traveling to train with Virovitica. He was noted early by scouts from bigger clubs and moved to NK Osijek. At the start of 2012 Babec then moved to the Hypo-Limač football academy,[1] run by former Croatia internationals Petar Krpan and Matko Babić.[2] After winning the national amateur club U-17 championship with the team, still 15 years old, he was scouted by foreign scouts and went to train with the Belgian RFC Seraing, and, since he couldn't be signed by them,[3] moved forward after half a year later to France, to join the academy of RFC Seraing's partner club, FC Metz.[4]

In Metz, Babec would go on to become the captain of the FC Metz U-19 team,[5][6] getting his first taste of senior football, playing for Metz II. In 2018, following managerial advice, Babec left France, and went on trial with Dinamo Zagreb B, but the transfer fell through.[7] In September 2018, then, looking for minutes, Babec moved to the Croatian third-tier club Vihor Jelisavac for one season.

HNK Gorica

On 14 July 2019, he signed with Gorica.[8] Babec made his professional debut with Gorica in a 1–1 Croatian First Football League win over NK Inter Zaprešić on 20 July 2019.[9]

International career

Babec was born in Croatia, and was called up to represent the Croatia U21 at the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.[10]

References