Roberto Punčec


Roberto Punčec is a Croatian football player who plays as a defender for Sporting Kansas City in MLS. He is a Croatia youth international having earned caps with all of the youth teams beginning with the Croatia under-16 team.

Club career

A product of Varteks youth academy, Punčec joined the first team in the 2008–09 season and had his professional debut on 2 November 2008 in a league match against Hajduk Split. He went on to appear in 27 matches for the club in his first two professional seasons with Varaždin.
After filing for arbitration to Croatian Football Federation his contract with Varaždin was terminated due to unpaid wages, and on 31 August 2011, Punčec signed a two-year contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv.
In July 2012, Punčec joined Union Berlin on a season-long loan with the option to buy. Following five years with Union Berlin, in June 2017, Punčec joined Rijeka on a three-year deal as a free-agent.
On 4 December 2019, it was announced Punčec would join MLS side Sporting Kansas City ahead of their 2020 season.

International career

Punčec has been capped at every youth level for the Croatian national team, and was part of Croatia's squad at the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia, playing in all three of their group stage matches.

Career statistics

Honours

Rijeka