Josip Balatinac
Overview
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
midfielder
Midfielder
A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...
. He made one appearance for the Croatia national football team
Croatia national football team
The Croatia national football team represents Croatia in international football. The team is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in the country, and has been managed since 2006 by former player Slaven Bilić...
, in a friendly against South Korea
Korea Republic national football team
The Korea Republic national football team represents Korea Republic in international football and is controlled by the Korea Football Association. Korea Republic is the most successful Asian football team in the history of the FIFA World Cup having participated in eight World Cup tournaments,...
at the 2006 Carlsberg Cup
2006 Carlsberg Cup
The 2006 Carlsberg Cup was a football tournament held in Hong Kong over the first and fourth day of the Chinese New Year holiday .-=Head coach: Zlatko Kranjčar:=Head coach: Morten Olsen...
tournament on 29 January, 2006. He has also represented his country at under-21 and under-19 levels.
In 1997 Balatinac joined NK Osijek
NK Osijek
NK Osijek is a Croatian football club, from Osijek in eastern Croatia.- History :NK Osijek's early roots are found in club called NK Udarnik that was formed in 1945 under FPR Yugoslavia's new communist authorities on the ashes of dissolved HŠK Slavija...
coming through youth ranks of famous Osijek youth football academy. He spent nine seasons with NK Osijek
NK Osijek
NK Osijek is a Croatian football club, from Osijek in eastern Croatia.- History :NK Osijek's early roots are found in club called NK Udarnik that was formed in 1945 under FPR Yugoslavia's new communist authorities on the ashes of dissolved HŠK Slavija...
where he gradually became one of best players.
In summer 2006 Balatinac was supposed to join SV Pasching
SV Pasching
SK Austria Kärnten was an Austrian association football club, from Klagenfurt, Carinthia.- History :The club was formed on 1 June 2007 and took over the license of ASKÖ Pasching to play in the Austrian Football Bundesliga...
.
It's still unclear did Balatinac signed the contract and then went AWOL or did he never even signed for Austrian team.
However Balatinac came back from Austria after few days claiming he's homesick and continue to prepare for new season with NK Osijek
NK Osijek
NK Osijek is a Croatian football club, from Osijek in eastern Croatia.- History :NK Osijek's early roots are found in club called NK Udarnik that was formed in 1945 under FPR Yugoslavia's new communist authorities on the ashes of dissolved HŠK Slavija...
.