Mato Jajalo

Mato Jajalo (Bosnian pronunciation: [mâːto jǎjalo]; born 25 May 1988) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Serie A club Udinese and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.

Mato Jajalo
Personal information
Full name Mato Jajalo
Date of birth (1988-05-25) 25 May 1988
Place of birth Jajce, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Udinese
Number 8
Youth career
1993–1999 DJK Eiche Offenbach
1999–2007 Slaven Belupo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2009 Slaven Belupo 63 (8)
2009–2011 Siena 25 (0)
2010–2011 → 1. FC Köln (loan) 30 (2)
2011–2014 1. FC Köln 60 (3)
2014 → Sarajevo (loan) 9 (0)
2014–2015 Rijeka 18 (1)
2015–2019 Palermo 138 (6)
2019– Udinese 49 (0)
National team‡
2008–2009 Croatia U20 7 (1)
2007–2010 Croatia U21 21 (4)
2014–2015 Croatia 2 (0)
2016– Bosnia and Herzegovina 11 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 May 2022
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18 November 2019

Jajalo started his professional career at Slaven Belupo, before joining Siena in 2009. The following year, he was loaned to 1. FC Köln, with whom he signed permanently a year later. In 2014, he was sent on loan to Sarajevo. Later that year, he was transferred to Rijeka. Jajalo moved to Palermo in 2015. Four years later, he switched to Udinese.

A former Croatian youth international, Jajalo even made his senior international debut for Croatia, only to switch his allegiance to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2016, earning 11 caps since.

Club career

Early career

Because of the outbreak of Bosnian War, Jajalo's family fled from his native Bosnia and Herzegovina and moved to Germany, where he started playing football at a local club, before joining youth setup of Croatian team Slaven Belupo in 1999. He made his professional debut against Osijek on 22 July 2007 at the age of 19. On 5 August, he scored his first professional goal in a triumph over Zagreb.[1]

In June 2009, Jajalo was transferred to Italian side Siena.[2]

In July 2010, he was sent on a season-long loan to German club 1. FC Köln, with an option to make the transfer permanent, which was activated the following year.[3] In February 2014, he was loaned to Bosnian outfit Sarajevo until the end of season.[4]

In June, he switched to Rijeka.[5]

Palermo

In January 2015, Jajalo moved to Palermo on a contract until June 2019.[6] He made his official debut for the team on 1 February against Hellas Verona.[7] On 24 May, he scored his first goal for the team in a loss to Fiorentina.[8]

Despite Palermo's relegation to Serie B in April 2017, Jajalo decided to stay at the club.[9]

He played his 100th game for the side against Parma on 2 April 2018.[10]

Udinese

In June 2019, Jajalo signed a three-year deal with Udinese.[11] He made his competitive debut for the club in Coppa Italia game against Südtirol on 18 August.[12] A week later, he made his league debut in a defeat of Milan.[13]

In December 2020, he suffered a severe knee injury, which was diagnosed as anterior cruciate ligament tear and was ruled out for at least six months. He returned to the pitch on 22 August 2021, over eight months after the injury.[14]

In March 2022, he extended his contract until June 2023.[15]

International career

After representing Croatia at various youth levels, Jajalo made his senior international debut in a friendly game against Argentina on 12 November 2014. He also served as captain of the under-21 team under coach Dražen Ladić.[16] However, in March 2016, he decided that he would play for Bosnia and Herzegovina in the future.[17]

In July, his request to change sports citizenship from Croatian to Bosnian was approved by FIFA.[18] Subsequently, in September, he received his first senior call-up, for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Belgium and Cyprus.[19] He debuted against the former on 7 October.[20]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 1 May 2022[21]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Slaven Belupo 2007–08 Croatian First League 314303[lower-alpha 1]0–374
2008–09 Croatian First League 324204[lower-alpha 2]0–384
Total 6385070–758
Siena 2009–10 Serie A 25010––260
1. FC Köln (loan) 2010–11 Bundesliga 30230––332
1. FC Köln 2011–12 Bundesliga 31322––335
2012–13 Bundesliga 24020––260
2013–14 2. Bundesliga 5010––60
Total 90582––987
Sarajevo (loan) 2013–14 Bosnian Premier League 9061––151
Rijeka 2014–15 Croatian First League 1812112[lower-alpha 3]01[lower-alpha 4]0332
Palermo 2014–15 Serie A 161–––161
2015–16 Serie A 28010––290
2016–17 Serie A 26100––261
2017–18 Serie B 35120–4[lower-alpha 5]0411
2018–19 Serie B 33320––353
Total 138650–401476
Udinese 2019–20 Serie A 26020––280
2020–21 Serie A 1010––20
2021–22 Serie A 22020––240
Total 49050––540
Career total 392203241905044824
  1. appearances in UEFA Cup qualifying
  2. appearances in UEFA Cup qualifying
  3. 6 appearances in UEFA Europa League qualifying, 6 appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. appearance in Croatian Super Cup
  5. appearances in Serie B promotion play-offs

International
As of match played 18 November 2019[22]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Bosnia and Herzegovina
201620
201750
201800
201940
Total110

Honours

Sarajevo[21]

Rijeka[21]

References
  1. "Jajalova ispovijed: Nogomet sam počeo igrati kao bosanski izbjeglica na ulicama Offenbacha". index.hr (in Croatian). 13 January 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
  2. "Jajalo iz Slaven Belupa potpisao za Sienu". sportsport.ba (in Bosnian). 1 June 2009. Retrieved 1 June 2009.
  3. "Köln ne računa na Jajala". sportsport.ba (in Bosnian). 19 June 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  4. "Igrač Kölna Mato Jajalo je novo pojačanje FK Sarajevo". klix.ba (in Bosnian). 8 February 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  5. "Mato Jajalo novi član Rijeke". sportsport.ba (in Bosnian). 24 June 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  6. "Mato Jajalo potpisao za Palermo". sportsport.ba (in Bosnian). 28 January 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  7. "Strinić asistirao za pobjednički gol Napolija u Veroni, Jajalo debitirao za Palermo". index.hr (in Croatian). 1 February 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  8. "Jajalo zabio golčinu, Fiorentina i Genoa izborile Europu". index.hr (in Croatian). 24 May 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  9. "Jajalo: Cilj je Serie A, dužni smo to ovom gradu". sportsport.ba (in Bosnian). 10 August 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  10. "Fantastičan derbi u Serie B pripao sve boljoj Parmi, Jajalo asistent". scsport.ba (in Bosnian). 2 April 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  11. "Mato Jajalo napustio Palermo i potpisao za Udinese". klix.ba (in Bosnian). 11 June 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  12. "Udinese ubjedljiv protiv niželigaša u italijanskom Kupu". sportsport.ba (in Bosnian). 18 August 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  13. "Jajalo i Udinese iznenadili Milan, Krunić će sačekati na debi". reprezentacija.ba (in Bosnian). 25 August 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  14. "Juventus ispustio dva gola prednosti, golman Szczęsny veliki tragičar". klix.ba (in Bosnian). 22 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  15. "Mato Jajalo produžio ugovor sa Udineseom". reprezentacija.ba (in Bosnian). 19 March 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  16. "Ratoborni veznjak: Mato Jajalo može biti od velike koristi bh. reprezentaciji". klix.ba (in Bosnian). 9 July 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  17. "Baždarević: Odlično je što Jajalo i Milićević žele igrati za BiH, sada je sve na njima". avaz.ba (in Bosnian). 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  18. "Mato Jajalo dobio pravo nastupa za reprezentaciju BiH". radiosarajevo.ba (in Bosnian). 8 July 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  19. "Baždarević objavio spisak igrača za Belgiju i Kipar, pozvao Jajala, povratak Sušića i Hajrovića". klix.ba (in Bosnian). 27 September 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  20. "Katastrofa BiH u Briselu: Zmajevi poniženi od Belgije!". sportsport.ba (in Bosnian). 7 October 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  21. "M. Jajalo". soccerway.com. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  22. "Mato Jajalo". eu-football.info. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
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