Duje Čop

Duje Čop (born 1 February 1990) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Standard Liège.

Duje Čop
Čop with Valladolid in 2019
Personal information
Date of birth (1990-02-01) 1 February 1990
Place of birth Vinkovci, Croatia, Yugoslavia
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Standard Liège
Number 7
Youth career
1998–2000 Lokomotiva Vinkovci
2000–2002 HNK Cibalia
2002–2007 Hajduk Split
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2008 Hajduk Split 15 (2)
2008–2009 Nacional 5 (1)
2009–2011 Hajduk Split 24 (8)
2011–2012 RNK Split 29 (8)
2012–2015 Dinamo Zagreb 67 (43)
2015–2017 Cagliari 18 (4)
2015–2016 → Málaga (loan) 31 (7)
2016–2017 → Sporting Gijón (loan) 31 (9)
2017– Standard Liège 26 (5)
2018–2019 → Valladolid (loan) 15 (0)
National team‡
2006 Croatia U16 8 (1)
2006 Croatia U17 1 (1)
2009–2010 Croatia U20 2 (0)
2011–2012 Croatia U21 6 (1)
2014– Croatia 13 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12:34, 12 February 2019 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 27 March 2018

He made 135 appearances and scored 61 goals in the Croatian First Football League, for Hajduk Split, RNK Split and Dinamo Zagreb, finishing as top scorer as the latter won the league in 2013–14. He also played in the top leagues of Portugal, Italy, Spain and Belgium, totalling 80 games and 16 goals in La Liga for Málaga, Sporting Gijón and Valladolid.

Čop made his international debut for Croatia in 2014. He was part of their squad at UEFA Euro 2016.

Club career

Hajduk Split / Nacional

Čop turned professional in 2007–08 at only age 17, helping local Hajduk Split finish fifth in the top division. In his first professional season with Hajduk, he made 15 appearances and scored 2 goals. In July 2008, at the end of the season, he joined Nacional in Portugal.

Scarcely used during his only season in Madeira (174 minutes in official games), Čop made his Primeira Liga debut on 24 January 2009 in a 1–1 home draw against Sporting Clube de Portugal. On 6 April, he scored his only goal in Portuguese football, replacing Mateus in added time away to Rio Ave and concluding a 3–0 win.[1]

He subsequently returned to Hajduk, being sparingly used over the course of two campaigns.

RNK Split

In July 2011, Čop terminated his contract with Hajduk and signed a four-year deal with neighbouring RNK Split.[2] He made his debut for the team in a UEFA Europa League qualifying match against Slovenian side Domžale, scoring a goal in the away win. He also netted another goal against the same side in the second leg.

Dinamo Zagreb

In June 2012, he moved to defending champions GNK Dinamo Zagreb. He started the season with a goal against Sheriff Tiraspol in UEFA Champions League qualifying match at the Maksimir Stadium. He scored another important goal on Dinamo Zagreb road to 2012–13 Champions League, in the play-off match against Maribor. He made six appearances in the competition's group stage. On 18 February 2013, he scored his first hat-trick for Dinamo Zagreb in a derby match against Rijeka. He finished as the 2013–14 Prva HNL top goalscorer with 22 goals.

Cagliari

On 11 January 2015, Čop transferred to Italian club Cagliari.[3] Three days later, he made his debut for them, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 loss away to Parma in the round of 16 of the 2014–15 Coppa Italia.[4] On 24 January, he scored his first goal in Serie A, the winner in a 2–1 home triumph over Sassuolo, as a substitute for Samuele Longo.[5] On 26 April, he scored twice as the relegation-threatened Sardinians won 3–1 at Fiorentina;[6] he totalled four goals from 16 appearances as the season ended with descent.

Málaga (loan)

On 16 July 2015, Čop moved to Málaga on a season-long loan deal.[7] He made his La Liga debut on 21 August, starting as the campaign began with a goalless home draw against fellow Andalusians Sevilla. On 13 December, Čop scored his first goal for the Boquerones, an 87th-minute winner in a 2–1 victory at Rayo Vallecano.[8] On the same day, he threatened to leave if his playing time would not increase.[9]

Sporting Gijón (loan)

In July 2016, Čop was loaned to Sporting de Gijón.[10] On 26 November, he missed a late penalty in a 2–1 away loss against Real Madrid.[11] He totalled nine goals for the Asturians, who were relegated at the end of the season.

Standard Liege

On 17 March 2018, Čop played as Standard Liège beat Genk 1-0 in extra time to win the 2018 Belgian Cup Final and qualify for the UEFA Europa League.[12]

On 19 August 2018 Čop agreed to a one-year loan deal with Real Valladolid.[13] He did not score in 21 games for the club.

International career

Čop made his senior international debut for Croatia on 4 September 2014, replacing Luka Modrić for the final 30 minutes of a 3–0 friendly win over Cyprus in Pula.

He made one appearance in Croatia's successful qualification campaign for UEFA Euro 2016; against Bulgaria on 10 October 2015, he came on for Marko Pjaca at the same mark and was sent off at the end of a 3–0 win for a foul on Strahil Popov.[14]

Čop was part of Croatia's Euro 2016 squad[15] and made his UEFA European Championship debut in 2–1 group stage win against defending champions Spain. He scored his first international goal in a 3–0 friendly win over Northern Ireland on 15 November 2016.[16]

In May 2018 Čop was named in Croatia’s preliminary 32-man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia,[17] but did not make the final 23.[18]

International goals
Scores and results list Croatia's goal tally first.[19]
NoDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.15 November 2016Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland Northern Ireland2–03–0Friendly
2.27 May 2017Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States Mexico1–02–1Friendly

Personal life

Čop's father Davor was also a footballer and a forward. He played for six seasons with Hajduk Split in the 1970s and '80s.[20]

Honours

Club
Hajduk Split
Dinamo Zagreb
  • Prva HNL: 2012–13, 2013–14
  • Croatian Super Cup: 2013
Standard Liège

Individual
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gollark: Umnikos == helloboi confirmed?

References
  1. "Brasuca marca duas vezes, Nacional vence e deixa Rio Ave na lanterna" [Brazilian scores twice, Nacional win and leave Rio Ave in the relegation zone] (in Portuguese). Globo. 6 April 2009. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  2. Zovko, Ante (1 July 2011). "Duje Čop otišao u Park mladeži" (in Croatian). Sportnet. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  3. "DUJE ČOP SIGNS FOR CAGLIARI". Croatian FA. 11 January 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  4. Farinola, Antonio (14 January 2015). "Coppa Italia, Parma-Cagliari 2-1: Rispoli regala i quarti ai ducali" [Rispoli treats the Ducali to the quarter-finals] (in Italian). La Repubblica. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  5. "Cagliari-Sassuolo 2-1: gol di Rossettini e Acerbi, decide Cop" [Goals from Rossettini and Acerbi, Čop decides] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 24 January 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  6. "Serie A: Cagliari run out 3-1 winners at Fiorentina". Sky Sports. 26 April 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  7. Gallardo, Antonio (15 July 2015). "La cesión de Duje Cop al Málaga, sólo a falta de la firma" [Loan of Duje Čop to Málaga, only the signature is missing]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  8. "Primer gol de Duje Cop con la camiseta blanquiazul" [Duje Čop's first goal in the blue and white shirt] (in Spanish). Vavel. 13 December 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  9. Cariño, Carlos (13 December 2015). "Si no tengo oportunidades en el Málaga buscaré alternativas" [If I don't have opportunities at Málaga I will search for alternatives] (in Spanish). Diario AS. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  10. "Cop: "Vengo al Sporting a competir en la mejor Liga"" [Čop: "I'm coming to Sporting to compete in the best league"]. Marca (in Spanish). EFE. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  11. "Real Madrid hang on after Sporting Gijón's Duje Cop wastes penalty". The Guardian. Reuters. 26 November 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 May 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. "Duje Cop potencia la delantera" [Duje Cop bolsters the attack] (in Spanish). Real Valladolid. 19 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  14. Islamović, Elvir (10 October 2015). "Croatia defeat Bulgaria in Čačić's first game". UEFA. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  15. "Euro 2016: Full squads for every country". BBC Sport. 1 June 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  16. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/37896479
  17. http://www.goal.com/en-gb/amp/news/revealed-every-world-cup-2018-squad-23-man-preliminary-lists/oa0atsduflsv1nsf6oqk576rb
  18. "Head coach Dalić presents 24-man Croatia squad". hns-cff.hr. Croatian Football Federation. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  19. "D. Čop". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  20. "Špaco: Čop će biti veći od oca, šteta što nije u Hajduku" (in Croatian). Večernji.hr. 15 July 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  21. "Emond knikt Standard na verlengingen naar bekerwinst" [Emond heads Standard to cup victory after extra time]. sporza.be (in Dutch). 17 March 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
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