Stjepan Loparić Explained

Stjepan Loparić
Birth Date:1951 4, df=y
Birth Place:Zagreb, PR Croatia, FPR Yugoslavia
Position:Defender
Years1:1974–1975
Years2:1975–1976
Years3:1977
Years4:1978
Clubs1:Hamilton Croatia
Clubs2:Toronto Italia
Clubs3:Toronto Croatia
Clubs4:Toronto Metros-Croatia
Caps4:28
Goals4:0

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

Club career

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]

Notes and References

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