Vero Salatić
 Salatić with Ufa in 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Veroljub Salatić | ||
| Date of birth | 14 November 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Zvornik, SFR Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1992–1994 | SC Zug | ||
| 1994–2000 | Zug 94 | ||
| 2000–2003 | Grasshopper | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2003–2011 | Grasshopper | 229 | (12) |
| 2011–2012 | AC Omonia | 25 | (1) |
| 2012–2015 | Grasshopper | 72 | (5) |
| 2015–2017 | Sion | 77 | (4) |
| 2017–2019 | Ufa | 30 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | Grasshopper | 33 | (2) |
| National team | |||
| 2004–2006 | Switzerland U-21 | 25 | (2) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
Veroljub "Vero" Salatić (Serbian Cyrillic: Верољуб Веро Салатић; born 14 November 1985) is a Bosnian-born Swiss former footballer who played as a central midfielder.
Career[]
A Bosnian Serb, Salatić moved to Switzerland as a child and started training with local team SC Zug in 1992, aged 7. In 2000, he moved on to Grasshopper Club Zürich. In the 2003–04 season he broke into the first team. He is used mostly as a holding midfielder or as a central defender.
AC Omonia[]
In July 2011, he signed a contract with Cypriot side AC Omonia.
Ufa[]
On 31 August 2017, Salatić signed for Russian Premier League side FC Ufa.[1] He left Ufa on 3 June 2019 upon the expiration of his contract.[2]
Return to Grasshoppers[]
On 17 June 2019, he returned to Grasshoppers for the second time, signing a 2-year contract.[3] The contract was terminated by the club on 11 August 2020,[4] and he retired from playing.
International career[]
Salatić has represented Switzerland at various levels including at the U-19 European Championship in 2004 in Switzerland. In 2005, he starred at the FIFA U-20 World Cup. The side were managed by Pierre-André Schürmann. Salatić starred alongside a Swiss team including Blerim Džemaili, Tranquillo Barnetta and Valon Behrami.
His success has not gone unnoticed by the Football Association of Serbia who have twice attempted to call him up, both times he refused saying he wished to play for Switzerland. He played his last match for the U21 side against England in 2006 and since then neither Köbi Kuhn or Ottmar Hitzfeld have shown any interest in calling him up.
As an ethnic Serb from Bosnia, he first expressed his desire to play for Serbia[5] but he was never called, so he later stated that he would like to play for national team of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[6][7]
Honours[]
Club[]
- Grasshopper Zurich
- AC Omonia
- FC Sion
- Swiss Cup: 2014-15
Career statistics[]
Club[]
- As of 13 May 2018
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Grasshoppers | 2003–04 | Swiss Super League | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 11 | 0 | |
| 2004–05 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 33 | 0 | ||||
| 2005–06 | 30 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 2 | – | 39 | 5 | |||
| 2006–07 | 27 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 1 | – | 40 | 3 | |||
| 2007–08 | 33 | 2 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 36 | 2 | ||||
| 2008–09 | 32 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 | – | 41 | 4 | |||
| 2009–10 | 34 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 36 | 3 | ||||
| 2010–11 | 31 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | – | 36 | 3 | |||
| Omonia | 2011–12 | Cypriot First Division | 25 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 37 | 3 |
| Grasshoppers | 2012–13 | Swiss Super League | 31 | 3 | 5 | 0 | – | – | 36 | 3 | ||
| 2013–14 | 31 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | 37 | 1 | |||
| 2014–15 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 13 | 1 | |||
| Total (2 spells) | 301 | 17 | 24 | 3 | 33 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 358 | 25 | ||
| Sion | 2014–15 | Swiss Super League | 16 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 19 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | 32 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 1 | – | 43 | 4 | |||
| 2016–17 | 29 | 1 | 4 | 1 | – | – | 33 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 77 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 95 | 6 | ||
| Ufa | 2017–18 | Russian Premier League | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 19 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 421 | 22 | 42 | 6 | 45 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 509 | 34 | ||
Notes[]
- ^ One appearance in the Cypriot Super Cup
References[]
- ^ Веролюб Салатич в Уфе!. fcufa.pro (in Russian). FC Ufa. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
- ^ Веролюб Салатич покидает ФК "Уфа" [Veroljub Salatić leaves Ufa] (in Russian). FC Ufa. 3 June 2019.
- ^ "VEROLJUB SALATIC RETURNS TO GC". Grasshoppers. 17 June 2019.
- ^ "GC PLANT SPORTLICHE ZUKUNFT OHNE CAPTAIN SALATIC" (in German). Grasshoppers. 11 August 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
- ^ Tandem iz Grashopersa želi da igra za Republiku Srpsku i Srbiju
- ^ Salatić: Iz BiH me nikada niko nije zvao, ali imam bh. pasoš i veliku želju da zaigram za Zmajeve!
- ^ Na pomolu novi Zmaj: Bila bi mi čast otići u Brazil sa BiH
External links[]
- Profile at GCZ.CH (in German)
- Vero Salatic at soccerbase.com
- Vero Salatić at Soccerway
- Living people
- 1985 births
- Bosnia and Herzegovina emigrants to Switzerland
- Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Swiss people of Serbian descent
- People from Zvornik
- Swiss footballers
- Swiss expatriate footballers
- Switzerland under-21 international footballers
- Switzerland youth international footballers
- Swiss Super League players
- Grasshopper Club Zürich players
- Cypriot First Division players
- Russian Premier League players
- AC Omonia players
- FC Sion players
- FC Ufa players
- Association football midfielders
- Expatriate footballers in Cyprus
- Expatriate footballers in Russia
- Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Russia