Dario Knežević

Dario Knežević

Personal information
Full name	Dario Knežević
Date of birth	20 April 1982 (1982-04-20) (age 29)
Place of birth	Rijeka, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	Livorno
Number	13
Youth career
	Rijeka
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2001–2006	Rijeka	89	(0)
2006–	Livorno	104	(4)
2008–2009	→ Juventus (loan)	3	(0)
National team‡
2006–	Croatia	12	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 9 September 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 5 February 2011

Dario Knežević (born 20 April 1982 in Rijeka) is a Croatian football defender who currently plays for Italian club Livorno and the Croatian national team.

Club career

Born in Rijeka, Knežević started his professional career with the city's First League side NK Rijeka in 2002 and subsequently made 115 appearances in the league before moving to Livorno on a three-year deal in late August 2006. He made his Serie A debut on 25 October 2006 in Livorno's 4–1 defeat to Internazionale and scored his first goal in the league against Cagliari on 18 April 2007 to secure his team a 2–1 victory.

On 30 June 2008, Juventus has swooped to sign Knežević on a season-long loan deal worth €750 thousand, with the option to acquire half of the contractual rights at €1.6 million following Livorno's relegation to Serie B.^[1] He played in several of Juventus' pre-season matches before being subbed off during a game versus Hamburger SV, in the Emirates Cup, along with teammate Christian Molinaro.^[2] The two defenders will miss about a week of on the pitch action. On 5 October, Knežević made his first league appearance for the team. It was a 2–1 home loss to Palermo.

On 15 June 2009, Knežević made his return to Livorno; with Juventus he appeared only 4 times, since he was a substitute and only the fourth centre-back in the team.

National team

Knežević has won twelve caps and scored one goal for the Croatian national team, making his debut as well as scoring his first international goal in a friendly match against Hong Kong on 1 February 2006. He was not called up for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was a regular part of Croatian team in qualifying matches for 2008 European Championship. Knežević came on as a substitute in two tournament matches, but in the third match which he started, he played 25 minutes before he had to be replaced because of an injury.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	1 February 2006	Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong, China	Hong Kong	1–0	4–0	Friendly match

References

1. ^ "Half-yearly financial report at 31 December 2008". Juventus F.C.. 2009-02-27. http://www.juventus.com/site/filesite/finance/bilanci_relazioni/Relazione_semestrale_al_31_dicembre_2008_SITO_inglese.pdf. Retrieved 2009-05-26. 
2. ^ Dario Knezevic signs for Juventus

External links

• Dario Knežević profile, detailed club and national team statistics, honours (palmares) and timeline
• Become A Croatia Fan Website – Dario Knežević Player Profile

Persondata
Name	Knezevic, Dario
Alternative names
Short description	footballer
Date of birth	20 April 1982
Place of birth	Rijeka, SFR Yugoslavia
Date of death
Place of death