Martin Erlić

Martin Erlić
	Erlić in 2022
Personal information
Full name	Martin Erlić
Date of birth	24 January 1998 (age 27)
Place of birth	Zadar, Croatia
Height	1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Bologna
Number	5
Youth career
2008-2010	Raštane
2010–2012	Dinamo Zagreb
2012–2014	Rijeka
2014–2015	Parma
2015–2017	Sassuolo
Senior career*
Years	Team
2017–2019	Sassuolo
2017–2018	→ Südtirol (loan)
2018–2019	→ Spezia (loan)
2019–2021	Spezia
2021–2024	Sassuolo
2021–2022	→ Spezia (loan)
2024–	Bologna
International career‡
2015	Croatia U17
2015	Croatia U18
2016	Croatia U19
2022–	Croatia
Medal record
Men's football
Representing Croatia
FIFA World Cup
UEFA Nations League
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:05, 15 January 2025 (UTC); ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:32, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

Martin Erlić (Croatian pronunciation: [mǎrtin êːrlitɕ];^[3]^[4] born 24 January 1998) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Serie A club Bologna and the Croatia national team.

Club career

Early career

Hailing from the village of Tinj, Erlić started training football at NK Raštane in a nearby village. At the age of 12 he was noticed by GNK Dinamo Zagreb scouts and brought to their academy, where he would spend two years before moving on to NK Rijeka. Erlić moved abroad at the age of 16, to Parma.^[5]

Sassuolo

After Parma's bankruptcy, in 2015, Erlić went to Sassuolo.^[6]

Loan to Südtirol

On 31 August 2017, Erlić was signed by Serie C side Südtirol on a season-long loan deal. On 8 October he made his Serie C debut for Südtirol, as a substitute replacing Filippo Sgarbi in the 70th minute of a 3–1 away defeat against Padova.^[7] On 15 October he played his first entire match for Südtirol, a 5–0 home win over Santarcangelo.^[8] On 8 November, Erlić scored his first professional goal for Südtirol in the 81st minute of a 1–0 away win over Sambenedettese.^[9] Erlić ended his season-long loan to Südtirol with 30 appearances, 1 goal and 1 assist.^[10]

Loan to Spezia

On 10 July 2018, Erlić was loaned to Serie B club Spezia on a season-long loan deal.

Spezia

After missing most of the 2018–19 season through the injury,^[6] he rejoined Spezia on a permanent basis on 15 July 2019.^[11]

Return to Sassuolo

On 16 August 2021, Erlić's rights were sold to Sassuolo, who then loaned him back to Spezia for the 2021–22 season.^[12]

Bologna

On 2 August 2024, Erlić signed with Bologna in Serie A.^[13]

International career

Erlić made his debut for the Croatia national team on 6 June 2022, in a 1–1 draw with France in the Nations League. As he confessed, he missed his brother's wedding in order to play the match.^[14] On 9 November 2022, Erlić was named in Zlatko Dalić's 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup,^[15] where he remained an unused substitute as Croatia finished third.^[16]

Personal life

Erlić is a fan of Hajduk Split.^[17]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 29 January 2025

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			Coppa Italia		Europe		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Südtirol (loan)	2017–18	Serie C	30	1	0	0	—		—		30	1
Spezia (loan)	2018–19	Serie B	0	0	1	0	—		—		1	0
Spezia	2019–20	Serie B	23	0	0	0	—		4^[a]	0	27	0
	2020–21	Serie A	27	3	1	0	—		—		28	3
	Total		50	3	1	0	0	0	4	0	55	3
Spezia (loan)	2021–22	Serie A	30	2	2	1	—		—		32	3
Sassuolo	2022–23	Serie A	28	0	0	0	—		—		28	0
	2023–24	Serie A	32	1	1	0	—		—		33	1
	Total		60	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	61	1
Bologna	2024–25	Serie A	3	0	1	0	1^[b]	0	—		5	0
Career total			173	7	6	1	1	0	4	0	184	8

^ Appearances in Serie B promotion play-offs
^ Appearance in UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 15 October 2024^[18]

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps
Croatia	2022	4
	2023	3
	2024	3
Total		10

Honours

Croatia

FIFA World Cup third place: 2022^[19]
UEFA Nations League runner-up: 2022–23

References

^ ^a ^b "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Squad list: Croatia (CRO)" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 8. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
^ "Martin Erlić". US Sassuolo Calcio. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
^ "Màrtin¹". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 19 March 2018. Màrtin
^ "jèrlija". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 19 March 2018. Ȇrlić
^ Martin Erlić je zbog treninga svakog dana pješke išao od Tinja do Raštana, a sada igra u talijanskoj Serie A i za reprezentaciju Hrvatske! at Zadarski List
^ ^a ^b "Finale playoff: da Gyasi a Nzola, gli (altri) talenti da seguire in Spezia-Frosinone" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 20 August 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
^ "Game Report by Soccerway". Soccerway. 8 October 2017.
^ "Südtirol vs. Santarcangelo - 15 October 2017 - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
^ "Sambenedettese vs. Südtirol - 8 November 2017 - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
^ "Croatia - M. Erlić - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
^ "Mercato: Martin Erlic ancora in maglia bianca" (Press release) (in Italian). Spezia. 15 July 2019.
^ "MARTIN ERLIC A TITOLO DEFINITIVO AL SASSUOLO" (in Italian). Spezia. 16 August 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
^ "Martin Erlic joins Bologna". Bologna. 2 August 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
^ "Erlić: Brat mi se ženio, a ja nisam otišao na vjenčanje zbog Hrvatske". Index.hr (in Croatian). 6 June 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
^ "Dalić objavio popis za Svjetsko prvenstvo u Kataru". Index.hr (in Croatian). 9 November 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
^ "Pet igrača Hrvatske nije dobilo ni minutu na Svjetskom prvenstvu". Index.hr (in Croatian). 17 December 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
^ "Comunicato ufficiale: Martin Erlić" (Press release). Spezia. 24 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
^ "Martin Erlić profile". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
^ Smyth, Rob (17 December 2022). "Croatia 2-1 Morocco: World Cup 2022 third-place playoff – as it happened". the Guardian. Retrieved 17 December 2022.

External links

Profile at the Bologna FC 1909 website
Martin Erlić at the Croatian Football Federation
Martin Erlić – UEFA competition record (archive)

[18] Appearances in Serie B promotion play-offs

[19] Appearance in UEFA Champions League

[FIFA-1] "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Squad list: Croatia (CRO)" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 8. Retrieved 15 November 2022.

[2] "Martin Erlić". US Sassuolo Calcio. Retrieved 2 September 2022.

[3] "Màrtin¹". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 19 March 2018. Màrtin

[4] "jèrlija". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 19 March 2018. Ȇrlić

[5] Martin Erlić je zbog treninga svakog dana pješke išao od Tinja do Raštana, a sada igra u talijanskoj Serie A i za reprezentaciju Hrvatske! at Zadarski List

[:0-6] "Finale playoff: da Gyasi a Nzola, gli (altri) talenti da seguire in Spezia-Frosinone" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 20 August 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020.

[7] "Game Report by Soccerway". Soccerway. 8 October 2017.

[8] "Südtirol vs. Santarcangelo - 15 October 2017 - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 November 2017.

[9] "Sambenedettese vs. Südtirol - 8 November 2017 - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 November 2017.

[10] "Croatia - M. Erlić - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 13 July 2018.

[11] "Mercato: Martin Erlic ancora in maglia bianca" (Press release) (in Italian). Spezia. 15 July 2019.

[12] "MARTIN ERLIC A TITOLO DEFINITIVO AL SASSUOLO" (in Italian). Spezia. 16 August 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2022.

[13] "Martin Erlic joins Bologna". Bologna. 2 August 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.

[14] "Erlić: Brat mi se ženio, a ja nisam otišao na vjenčanje zbog Hrvatske". Index.hr (in Croatian). 6 June 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2022.

[15] "Dalić objavio popis za Svjetsko prvenstvo u Kataru". Index.hr (in Croatian). 9 November 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.

[16] "Pet igrača Hrvatske nije dobilo ni minutu na Svjetskom prvenstvu". Index.hr (in Croatian). 17 December 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.

[17] "Comunicato ufficiale: Martin Erlić" (Press release). Spezia. 24 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.

[repka-20] "Martin Erlić profile". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 6 June 2022.

[21] Smyth, Rob (17 December 2022). "Croatia 2-1 Morocco: World Cup 2022 third-place playoff – as it happened". the Guardian. Retrieved 17 December 2022.

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