Josip Iličić
|
Iličić with Slovenia in 2021 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Josip Iličić | ||
| Date of birth | 29 January 1988 | ||
| Place of birth | Prijedor, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Position(s) | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Koper | ||
| Number | 72 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1995–2006 | Triglav Kranj | ||
| 2006–2007 | Britof | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2007–2008 | Bonifika | 24 | (3) |
| 2008–2010 | Interblock | 55 | (12) |
| 2010 | Maribor | 5 | (1) |
| 2010–2013 | Palermo | 98 | (20) |
| 2013–2017 | Fiorentina | 105 | (29) |
| 2017–2022 | Atalanta | 136 | (47) |
| 2022–2025 | Maribor | 62 | (11) |
| 2025– | Koper | 15 | (3) |
| International career | |||
| 2008–2010 | Slovenia U20 | 4 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Slovenia U21 | 6 | (0) |
| 2010–2024 | Slovenia | 86 | (17) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 5 December 2025 | |||
Josip Iličić (Croatian pronunciation: [jǒsip ǐlitʃitɕ]; born 29 January 1988) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays for Slovenian PrvaLiga club Koper. Primarily an attacking midfielder, he can also play as a winger or forward.
Iličić began his professional career with Slovenian club Bonifika, later also playing for Interblock and Maribor in his home country, before moving to Italy in 2010 to join Palermo. In 2013, he signed for Fiorentina, and subsequently for Atalanta in 2017. After spending twelve years in Italy, Iličić returned to Maribor in 2022.
Iličić enjoyed his best time as a professional footballer with Atalanta, scoring eleven or more league goals in each of his first three years at the club, and was awarded a spot in the 2018–19 Serie A Team of the Year. He became the first player to ever score four away goals in a UEFA Champions League knockout match, doing so against Valencia in 2020, which also made him the oldest player to score four goals at this stage of the competition.
Iličić made his senior debut for the Slovenia national team in August 2010, in a friendly match against Australia. Three years after his debut, in September 2013, he scored his first international goal against Cyprus. Overall, he earned 86 caps for Slovenia, and represented the side at UEFA Euro 2024.