Stjepan Loparić (born 24 April 1951) is a Croatian former footballer who played as a defender.

Stjepan Loparić
Personal information
Date of birth (1951-04-24) 24 April 1951 (age 73)
Place of birth Zagreb, PR Croatia, FPR Yugoslavia
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1974–1975 Hamilton Croatia
1975–1976 Toronto Italia
1977 Toronto Croatia
1978 Toronto Metros-Croatia 28 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career edit

Loparić played in the National Soccer League in 1974 with Hamilton Croatia.[1] The following season he re-signed with Hamilton, but signed with league rivals Toronto Italia late in the season.[2][3] During his tenure with Toronto he featured in the NSL Cup final against Toronto Panhellenic where he recorded a goal in a 3–2 defeat.[4] He continued playing in the National Soccer League for the 1977 season for Toronto Croatia.[5][6] He featured in the promotion/relegation match against Ottawa Tigers where he contributed a goal which helped Croatia remain in the NSL First Division.[7]

In 1978, he played in the North American Soccer League with Toronto Metros-Croatia.[8] In his debut season he played in 28 matches with Toronto.[9]

References edit

  1. ^ "First Portuguese win over St. Catharines". Toronto Star. June 20, 1974. p. C9.
  2. ^ "Hamilton, Italia tie". Ottawa Citizen. July 24, 1975. p. 24.
  3. ^ "Croatia Welland side takes Hamilton, 1-0". The Globe and Mail. July 12, 1976. p. S8.
  4. ^ Waring, Ed (September 20, 1976). "Italian team refuses to accept trophies from Allan Lamport". The Globe and Mail. p. S3.
  5. ^ "Ifalia, Stars play to draw in NSL action". The Globe and Mail. July 25, 1977. p. S2.
  6. ^ Stipkovic, Branko (June 28, 2019). "Ante Pavlović: "Crkva je bila br. 1, nogomet br. 2" - Hrvatski nogometni savez". hns-cff.hr. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
  7. ^ "Ottawa Sport - National Soccer". Ottawa Journal. October 3, 1977. p. 20.
  8. ^ Jasner, Phil (July 31, 1978). "Confusing Finish Fouls Up Fury's Hopes". Philadelphia Daily News. p. 56.
  9. ^ "NASL-Stjepan Loparic". www.nasljerseys.com. Retrieved 2021-04-03.