Filip Benković (born 13 July 1997) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a centre back for German 2. Bundesliga club Eintracht Braunschweig on loan from the Italian club Udinese.
![]() Benković playing with Dinamo Zagreb in 2016 | |||
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Filip Benković[1] | ||
Date of birth | (1997-07-13) 13 July 1997 (age 25) | ||
Place of birth | Zagreb, Croatia | ||
Height | 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||
Position(s) | Centre back | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Eintracht Braunschweig | ||
Number | 18 | ||
Youth career | |||
2008–2015 | Dinamo Zagreb | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2015–2018 | Dinamo Zagreb | 56 | (6) |
2018–2022 | Leicester City | 0 | (0) |
2018–2019 | → Celtic (loan) | 20 | (2) |
2020 | → Bristol City (loan) | 10 | (2) |
2020–2021 | → Cardiff City (loan) | 1 | (0) |
2021 | → OH Leuven (loan) | 0 | (0) |
2022– | Udinese | 2 | (0) |
2022– | → Eintracht Braunschweig (loan) | 0 | (0) |
National team‡ | |||
2013 | Croatia U17 | 2 | (0) |
2014 | Croatia U19 | 2 | (1) |
2015–2019 | Croatia U21 | 7 | (2) |
2019– | Croatia | 1 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 31 August 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11 June 2019 |
Benković was born in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, and joined the Dinamo Zagreb academy in 2008.
On 19 July 2015, Benković made his debut for the club in a 1–1 draw with Osijek.[2] On 22 July, Benković made his European debut in a 3–0 win over Fola Esch in the second leg of the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League; playing twelve minutes after coming off the bench as a substitute in the 78th minute.[3] He went on to make a total of 18 competitive appearances for the club in the 2015–16 season.[4]
On 29 July 2016, in the league match against Slaven Belupo, after Dinamo went 0–1 in the 92nd minute, Benković scored a last-minute equalizing goal in the 94th minute, to make it 1–1.[5] On 10 August, Benković played the full 90 minutes in a 4–0 away win over Hajduk Split.[6][7] On 23 September, Benković scored the winning goal in a 1–0 win over Lokomotiva.[8] In the mid-phase of the 2016–17 season, Benković was reportedly suffering from injury which would force him to miss the majority of the season.[9][10]
On 15 July 2017, Benković scored in a 2–0 win over Istra 1961.[11] On 9 September, Benković scored in a 3–2 win over Rudeš.[12] On 21 October, Benković scored in a 2–2 draw with Hajduk Split.[13] On 4 May 2018, Benković scored a last-minute equalizing goal in a 2–2 draw with Slaven Belupo.[14] On 23 May, Benković came on as a 90th minute substitute in the Croatian Cup Final, as Dinamo won 1–0.[15]
On 9 August 2018, Leicester City confirmed via their official website that Benković signed for the club on a five-year contract, for a fee in the region of £13m.[16][17][18][19] He left the club after mutually agreeing to cancel the remaining term of his contract on 12 January 2022.[20]
On 31 August 2018, Benković joined Celtic on a season-long loan deal.[21] On 14 September 2018, Benković made his debut in a 0–0 draw with St Mirren, playing 60 minutes.[22] Benković scored his first goal for Celtic in a 5–0 victory over Heart of Midlothian on 3 November 2018.[23]
Benković signed for Bristol City until the end of the season on 31 January 2020.[24] He scored his first goal for Bristol City in a 3–2 win over Derby County on 12 February 2020.[25]
In October 2020, Benković joined Cardiff City on a one-year loan.[26] On 6 January 2021, Benković was recalled by his parent club Leicester City, having only played one game for Cardiff City.[27][28]
Just a few days after being recalled from Cardiff City, Benković was announced by Oud-Heverlee Leuven, arriving on loan from Leicester City until the end of the season.[29]
Following his release from Leicester City the previous day, Benković was confirmed as a new signing for Udinese on 13 January 2022.[30]
On 1 September 2022, Benković moved on loan to Eintracht Braunschweig in Germany.[31]
Benković made his Croatia debut on 11 June 2019 in a friendly 2–1 loss to Tunisia, as a starter.[32][33]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Dinamo Zagreb | 2015–16[4] | Prva HNL | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 3[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | — | 18 | 0 | ||
2016–17[4] | Prva HNL | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 10[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | — | 28 | 2 | |||
2017–18[4] | Prva HNL | 25 | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | 2[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | — | 30 | 4 | |||
Total | 56 | 6 | 5 | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | — | 76 | 6 | ||||
Dinamo Zagreb II | 2015–16[4] | Druga HNL | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||||
Leicester City | 2018–19[34] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
2019–20[35] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
2020–21[36] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
Total | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
Leicester City U23 | 2019–20[35] | — | — | — | — | 3[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||||
Celtic (loan) | 2018–19[34] | Scottish Premiership | 20 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | — | 27 | 2 | |
Bristol City (loan) | 2019–20[35] | Championship | 10 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 10 | 2 | ||||
Cardiff City (loan) | 2020–21[36] | Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
Udinese Calcio | 2021–22[37] | Serie A | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
Career total | 98 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 130 | 10 |
Dinamo Zagreb
Celtic
Leicester City
Eintracht Braunschweig – current squad | |
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Croatian Football Hope of the Year | |
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