Dejan Mezga
Croatian footballer (born 1985)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dejan Mezga (born 16 July 1985) is a former Croatian footballer who played as a midfielder.[2]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 16 July 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Čakovec, SR Croatia, Yugoslavia[1] | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Sloboda Slakovec | |||
| Venera PMP | |||
| 2002–2004 | Varteks | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2000–2002 | Sloga Čakovec | ||
| 2004–2007 | Čakovec | 73 | (17) |
| 2007–2014 | Maribor | 159 | (39) |
| 2014–2015 | Hajduk Split | 21 | (3) |
| 2015–2016 | Apollon Limassol | 25 | (2) |
| 2016–2017 | Maribor | 4 | (0) |
| 2017 | Nacional | 6 | (1) |
| 2017–2018 | Inter Zaprešić | 4 | (0) |
| 2018 | Varaždin | 2 | (0) |
| 2018–2021 | Polet Sv. Martin na Muri | 49 | (40) |
| 2021–2023 | SV Übelbach | 38 | (13) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
During his career, he played for Čakovec, Maribor, Hajduk Split, Apollon Limassol, Nacional, Inter Zaprešić, Varaždin, Polet Sv. Martin na Muri, and SV Übelbach.
Mezga acquired Slovenian citizenship on 23 August 2012.[3]
Career
Coming from the village of Brezje, near Čakovec, in the region of Međimurje,[4] Mezga went through the ranks of several lower-tier local clubs, debuting at the age of 15 for the seniors of NK Sloga Čakovec,[5] before joining the under-17 team of NK Varteks. In his last season of eligibility for the under-19 team, he left the club, however, and joined the Croatian Second League side NK Čakovec, where he played for the next three years.[6]
In 2007, Mezga joined Slovenian PrvaLiga side Maribor. He soon established himself in the first team and won his first league title with the team in 2009, and was also declared the most distinguished player of the season by the Maribor fans.[7] Maribor went on to win four titles in the following five seasons, with Mezga featuring heavily in all campaigns, and was selected in the league's ideal eleven of the 2011–12 championship.[8]
After his contract expired in the summer of 2014, Mezga joined Hajduk Split in his homeland. He briefly returned to Maribor in August 2016, before signing for Portuguese side Nacional in January 2017.[9]
