Nikola Moro

Nikola Moro
Moro with Croatia in 2026
Personal information
Date of birth (1998-03-12) 12 March 1998
Place of birth Split, Croatia
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Bologna
Number 6
Youth career
2004–2009 Solin
2009–2014 Dinamo Zagreb
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2019 Dinamo Zagreb II 30 (7)
2016–2020 Dinamo Zagreb 87 (10)
2020–2023 Dynamo Moscow 58 (4)
2022–2023 → Bologna (loan) 26 (1)
2023– Bologna 75 (3)
International career‡
2012 Croatia U14 2 (0)
2013 Croatia U15 4 (1)
2014 Croatia U16 6 (0)
2014–2015 Croatia U17 17 (7)
2014–2015 Croatia U18 7 (1)
2016–2017 Croatia U19 12 (2)
2017–2021 Croatia U21 24 (6)
2022– Croatia 10 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:33, 23 May 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:51, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

Nikola Moro (Italian pronunciation: [nǐkola môːro];[2][3] born 12 March 1998) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Serie A club Bologna and the Croatia national team.

Club career

Dinamo Zagreb

Aged six, he started football, moving to Zagreb aged 11.[4] A Hajduk Split fan in his early days in Solin,[4] Nikola's father Miro yearned for him to contemplate a career at the Hajduk academy,[5] but he went to the Dinamo Zagreb academy instead. Nikola joined the senior Dinamo Zagreb team from the youth academy in 2014.[6]

Moro played a full 90 minutes in his league debut for his senior team versus Lokomotiva in May 2016.[7] He made his Champions League debut on 7 December, in a 2–0 away defeat to Juventus.[8][9] On 22 February 2017, he signed a new contract until 2022.[10][11]

On 27 March 2018, in an international match against Moldova U21, he suffered a severe injury after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament.[12] He came back to the team on 26 September for the Croatian Cup game against Sloga Mravince.[13] He made his Europa League debut on 14 February 2019 in a 2–1 away defeat against Viktoria Plzeň.[14]

On 6 November, in a decisive Champions League home match against Shakhtar Donetsk, he was sent off in the 74th minute with Shakhtar scoring a late equalizer for 3–3 to deny Dinamo a direct qualification for the knockout phase.[15][16][17]

Dynamo Moscow

Moro playing for Dynamo Moscow in 2020

On 17 August 2020, Moro signed a five-year contract with Russian Premier League club Dynamo Moscow.[18] He made his debut two days later in a 2–0 victory against Rostov, coming on for Daniil Fomin in the 69th minute.[19][20] On 18 October, he scored his first goal for the club as Dynamo lost 3–1 against CSKA Moscow.[21]

Bologna

On 29 August 2022, Moro joined Bologna in Italy on loan until the end of the 2022–23 season, with an option to buy.[22] On 2 July 2023, Bologna activated the buy option and made his transfer permanent.[23]

International career

Representing Croatia at U16, U17, and U19 levels, Moro made the quarter-finals of the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup – eventually losing against Mali.[24][25] He also represented Croatia U21 at the 2019 and 2021 UEFA Under-21 Euros,[26][27][28] captaining the team to the quarter-finals of the latter tournament for the first time in their history.[29][30][31]

On 17 May 2021, Moro was named in the preliminary 34-man squad for the UEFA Euro 2020,[32] but did not make the final 26.[33] He earned his first call-up to the senior Croatia team on 16 August 2021, ahead of the September World Cup qualifiers against Russia, Slovakia and Slovenia.[34] However, Moro did not debut until 29 March 2022, when he made an appearance in a 2–1 friendly victory against Bulgaria.[35][36]

On 18 May 2026, Moro was selected in the 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[37]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 23 May 2026[38]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Dinamo Zagreb II 2015–16 Druga HNL 120———120
2016–17 135———135
2018–19 52———52
Total 307———307
Dinamo Zagreb 2015–16 Prva HNL 1010——20
2016–17 151201[b]0—181
2017–18 244204[c]0—304
2018–19 193104[c]0—243
2019–20 282309[b]01[d]0412
Total 8710901801011510
Dynamo Moscow 2020–21 Russian Premier League 243200[c]0—263
2021–22 28161——342
2022–23 6000——60
Total 5848100—665
Bologna (loan) 2022–23 Serie A 26120——281
Bologna 2023–24 Serie A 23141——272
2024–25 220307[b]0—320
2025–26 3021011[c]02[e]0442
Bologna total 1014101180201315
Career total 276252723603034227
  1. ↑ Includes Croatian Cup, Russian Cup, Coppa Italia
  2. 1 2 3 Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  3. 1 2 3 4 Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. ↑ Appearance in Croatian Super Cup
  5. ↑ Appearances in Supercoppa Italiana

International

As of match played 2 June 2026[39]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Croatia 202210
202410
202550
202630
Total100

Honours

Dinamo Zagreb

Bologna

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Nikola Moro". Bologna FC 1909. Archived from the original on 8 September 2024. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  2. ↑ "Nìkola". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Croatian). Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  3. ↑ "mȏro". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Croatian). Retrieved 21 March 2020. Mȏro
  4. 1 2 Junaci, Robert (30 October 2015). "Kapetan Nikola Moro: Navijač Hajduka, a svim srcem igra za Dinamo". Večernji list (in Croatian). Retrieved 12 August 2025.
  5. ↑ "Nikola, Zar Si Mor'o? Otac modre zvijezde: 'Pustio sam sina u Dinamo jer nisam imao novca za uzdržavanje, a u Hajduku nam nisu dali ni opremu'". Jutarnji list (in Croatian). 8 January 2017.
  6. ↑ "Novi Dragulj Potpisao za Dinamo na Tri Godine 'Nikola Moro je budućnost Modrih'". Jutarnji list. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  7. ↑ "Lokomotiva Zagreb 0–4 Dinamo Zagreb izvještaj s utakmice 14.05.2016. 1. HNL". Goal (in Croatian). 14 May 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  8. ↑ Tironi, Hrvoje (11 December 2019). "Moro večeras 100. put u dresu Dinama, izjednačio se s Lukom". 24sata (in Croatian). Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  9. ↑ "Juventus rutinski i drugi put pobijedio Dinamo". Croatian radiotelevision (in Croatian). 7 December 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  10. ↑ "Future Stars of Croatia Locked into Deals Until 2022". Croatia Week. 22 February 2017.
  11. ↑ "Kako Se Kladiti na Nogomet | Vodič za Klađenje 2021". Sport Arena (in Croatian). Retrieved 12 August 2025.
  12. ↑ Tolić, Josip; Tironi, Hrvoje (27 March 2018). "Stravična ozljeda! Nikoli Mori pukli prednji križni ligamenti..." 24sata (in Croatian). Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  13. ↑ Tironi, Hrvoje (25 September 2018). "Nikola Moro se vraća u Mravincima, Dinamo s najjačim sastavom". Goal (in Croatian). Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  14. ↑ "Foto, Video: Dinamo Poveo Nakon Majstorije Petkovića I Olma, A Onda Je Uslijedio Potpuni Preokret Viktorije Modri izgubili nakon propusta u obrani". Sportske novosti (in Croatian). Croatian News Agency. 14 February 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  15. ↑ Lazić, Petar (6 November 2019). "Dinamo Prokockao Istorijsku Pobedu! Feliks Brih opet najomraženiji čovek na stadionu, ali se sada Srbi raduju!". Blic (in Serbian). Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  16. ↑ Starešinčić, Danijel (23 October 2019). "Ključnu utakmicu za proljeće u Ligi prvaka Dinamo igra na Maksimiru; zbog ovog mu igra samo pobjeda". Tportal.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  17. ↑ "ŠAHTAR - ATALANTA 0:3 Nevjerojatna utakmica kojom je Dinamo ispao iz Europe". Index.hr (in Croatian). 11 December 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  18. ↑ Никола Моро – в "Динамо"!. FC Dynamo Moscow (in Russian). 17 August 2020.
  19. ↑ "Eurogolčina Nikole Vlašića u velikom ruskom derbiju protiv Lovrena! Moro debitirao u Moskvi". Sportske novosti (in Croatian). 19 August 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
  20. ↑ Sokolov, Ivan (19 August 2020). Никола Моро дебютировал за "Динамо". Championat (in Russian). Retrieved 12 August 2025.
  21. ↑ "Nikola Moro majstorski zabio prvijenac za moskovski Dinamo, njegova momčad izgubila u derbiju od Vlašića". Sportske novosti (in Croatian). 18 October 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
  22. ↑ "Nikola Moro al Bologna". Bologna FC 1909 (Press release) (in Italian). 29 August 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  23. ↑ "Moro, esercitata l'opzione per l'acquisto a titolo definitivo". Bologna FC 1909 (Press release) (in Italian). 2 July 2023.
  24. ↑ "Photos: Croatia U-17s Return Home to Warm Welcome". Croatia Week. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  25. ↑ "All-action Moro gets his reward". FIFA. 1 November 2016. Archived from the original on 25 October 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  26. ↑ "Gračan objavio konačni popis za U-21 EP" (in Croatian). Croatian Football Federation. 6 June 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  27. ↑ Kajtazi Roth, Anita (9 March 2021). "Bišćan objavio popis igrača za U-21 Euro: Na njemu najviše igrača Dinama i neka nova imena". gol.dnevnik.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  28. ↑ "Bišćan objavio popis za U-21 Euro: Pozvao i sjajnog mladog hajdukovca". gol.dnevnik.hr (in Croatian). Croatian News Agency. 17 May 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  29. ↑ Janković, Željko (25 May 2021). "Moro: Sad je važno jer su svi glavom na moru..." Večernji list (in Croatian). Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  30. ↑ Olivari, Davorin (31 May 2021). "Ispred mladih Vatrenih je najteži mogući ispit! Igor Bišćan ne želi otkriti sastav za sudar s Furijom". Sportske novosti (in Croatian). Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  31. ↑ "Dramatična borba za polufinale Europskog prvenstva: Hrvatska pala tek u produžecima". gol.dnevnik.hr (in Croatian). 31 May 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  32. ↑ "Dalić objavio popis za Euro 2020: Poznato svih 26 imena, izbornik objasnio iznenađenje". gol.dnevnik.hr (in Croatian). 17 May 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  33. ↑ "Sada je konačno: Dalić potvrdio popis od 26 igrača za Euro 2020". gol.dnevnik.hr (in Croatian). Croatian News Agency. 1 June 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  34. ↑ Olivari, Davorin (17 August 2021). "Bio je kapetan mlade Hrvatske, a sad je napokon među Vatrenima: 'Tata je najsretniji čovjek na svijetu!'". Sportske novosti (in Croatian). Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  35. ↑ "Nikola Moro debitirao je za reprezentaciju u prijateljskoj utakmici protiv Bugarske". Telesport (in Croatian). 29 March 2022. Archived from the original on 29 March 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  36. ↑ "Video: Hrvatska preokretom pobijedila Bugarsku na krilima Andreja Kramarića!". gol.dnevnik.hr (in Croatian). 29 March 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  37. ↑ "Dalic blends youth and experience with Croatia squad". 18 May 2026. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  38. ↑ Nikola Moro at Soccerway
  39. ↑ "Nikola Moro, international footballer". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  40. ↑ "Team of the Tournament". UEFA. Archived from the original on 29 July 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
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