Dario Melnjak

Dario Melnjak
Personal information
Date of birth (1992-10-31) 31 October 1992
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
2005–2007 Varteks
2007–2010 Nedeljanec
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010 Nedeljanec
2011–2013 Zelina 63 (1)
2013–2015 Slaven Belupo 40 (3)
2015–2017 Lokeren 16 (0)
2016 → Neftçi (loan) 10 (0)
2017 → Slaven 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.

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, 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.
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