Pero Menalo

Pero Menalo

Personal information
Date of birth	(1989-03-10) 10 March 1989 (age 35)
Place of birth	Čapljina, SR Bosnia, SFR Yugoslavia
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2011	Čapljina
2011–2012	GOŠK Gabela	3	(0)
2012–2013	HNK Visici
2013–2014	Čapljina	14	(5)
2014	Milton SC
2014–2015	Toronto Croatia
2018–2019	CSC Mississauga
2019	Toronto Croatia
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Pero Menalo (born March 10, 1989) is a Croatian former footballer who played as a midfielder. He is currently the director of sports for HNK Čapljina.

Club career

Bosnia

Menalo had a trial session with HŠK Zrinjski Mostar in the summer of 2010.^[1] He would play in the First League of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina with HNK Čapljina for the 2010-11 season.^[2][3] The following season he would play in the country's top tier the Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina with GOSK Gabela.^[4][5][6] He would make his debut for the club on March 11, 2012, against FK Slavija Sarajevo.^[7] In total, he would appear in 3 matches.^[7]

After his brief stint in the top tier, he would play with HNK Visici in the Second League of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.^[8] In 2013, he returned to the second tier to sign with his former club Čapljina.^[9]

Canada

In the summer of 2014, he played abroad in the Canadian Soccer League initially with Milton SC.^[10] He later was transferred to league rivals Toronto Croatia before the roster freeze on September 1, 2014.^[11][10] In his debut season with Toronto, he finished as the club's top goal scorer with 7 goals and secured a postseason berth by finishing second in the First Division.^[12][13] In the opening round of the playoffs, he contributed a goal against SC Waterloo Region which helped the Croats advance to the next round.^[14] He would appear in the CSL Championship final against York Region Shooters where Toronto was defeated in a penalty shootout.^[15]

Menalo would re-sign with Toronto for the 2015 season.^[16][17] He assisted the Croats in securing a playoff spot by finishing as runner's up in the league's top division.^[18] He would make his second championship final appearance against Waterloo where Toronto successfully secured the title.^[19][20]

In 2018, he would sign with the expansion franchise CSC Mississauga.^[21] He returned to Mississauga for the 2019 season.^[22] Menalo would assist Mississauga in securing a playoff berth by finishing seventh in the division.^[23] Mississauga would be eliminated from the playoff competition in the opening round by Scarborough SC.^[24]

In the summer of 2019, he made a brief return to Toronto Croatia for the 2019 Croatian World Club Championship and was featured in the tournament final against SC Croat San Pedro but lost the series.^[25]

Managerial career

Menalo was named the director of sports for his former club HNK Čapljina in 2022.^[26][27][28]

Personal life

He is the brother of Luka Menalo who is also a footballer.^[29][30]

Honours

Toronto Croatia

• CSL Championship: 2015^[19]

References

1. Beganović, A. (14 June 2010). "Plemići odradili prvi trening" [The nobles completed their first training session]. SPORTSPORT (in Croatian). Retrieved 16 November 2022.
2. "U pripremnoj utakmici nogometaši Čapljine pobijedili nogometaše Gacka" [In the preparatory match, the football players from Čapljina beat the football players from Gack]. www.hercegovina.info (in Croatian). 1 March 2011. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
3. Lekić, O. (22 July 2022). "Čapljina nadigrala Sarajevo" [Čapljina outplayed Sarajevo]. SPORTSPORT (in Croatian). Retrieved 16 November 2022.
4. "Čapljinski Portal | Prozivka u NK GOŠK Gabela: Devet novih lica na Podavali" [Roll call at NK "GOŠK" Gabela: Nine new faces at Podavala]. arhiv.caportal.in. 13 January 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
5. Kamberović, D. (8 March 2012). "Rudar najbolje trgovao" [Miner traded best]. SPORTSPORT (in Croatian). Retrieved 16 November 2022.
6. Beganović, A. (3 August 2012). "Kako su trgovali premijerligaški klubovi" [How Premier League clubs traded]. SPORTSPORT (in Croatian). Retrieved 16 November 2022.
7. "Croatia - P. Menalo - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
8. Škorić, E. (28 October 2013). "Pobjedom u Višićima Sloga zasjela na prvo mjesto" [With the victory in Višići, Sloga took first place]. SPORTSPORT (in Croatian). Retrieved 16 November 2022.
9. Škorić, E. (14 May 2014). "Golijade u Sanskom Mostu, Orašju, Bugojnu, Konjicu..." [Goliads in Sanski Most, Orašje, Bugojno, Konjic...]. SPORTSPORT (in Croatian). Retrieved 16 November 2022.
10. "Kingston Reserves Win Second Division - Flurry of transfer activity leading to CSL Roster Freeze and the Playoffs". sirc.ca. 21 September 2014. Archived from the original on 28 July 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
11. "Croatia's hot streak continues". Mississauga News. 26 August 2014.
12. "York Region Shooters complete unbeaten season". Vaughan Citizen. 6 October 2014.
13. "Croatia set for quarter-final against Waterloo". Mississauga News. 8 October 2014.
14. "Croatia marches on to semi-finals". Mississauga News. 14 October 2014.
15. "Croatia loses CSL Championship game in a shootout". Mississauga News. 27 October 2014.
16. "Toronto Croatia nets important win over Waterloo". Mississauga News. 4 August 2015.
17. "Širokobriježanin Jure Glavina briljira u Kanadi – Jabuka.tv" [Jure Glavina from Shirobrije excels in Canada] (in Croatian). 26 August 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
18. "Croatia locks up second place". Mississauga News. 28 September 2015.
19. "Toronto Croatia captures 10th CSL title". Mississauga News. 29 October 2015.
20. Bezić Filipović, Branka (8 November 2015). "Croatia Toronto ponovno kanadski prvak" [Croatia Toronto is the Canadian Champion Again]. HRVATSKA MATICA ISELJENIKA (in Croatian). Retrieved 16 November 2022.
21. Adamson, Stan (16 November 2018). "Import Players for a Brighter Canadian Soccer League". Canadian Soccer League. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
22. Adamson, Stan (14 September 2019). "Friday Victory for CSC Mississauga....who's in the playoffs, who's not". Canadian Soccer League. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
23. Adamson, Stan (2 October 2019). "Ukraine UTD End on Winning Note...Hamilton City in playoffs". Canadian Soccer League. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
24. Adamson, Stan (13 October 2019). "Scarborough, Kingsman, Waterloo Advance....Playoffs Update". Canadian Soccer League. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
25. "Croat San Pedro win Croatian World Football Club Championships in Zagreb". Croatia Week. 29 June 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
26. Zilić, H. (16 July 2022). "Menalo izabran za sportskog direktora HNK Čapljina" [Menalo elected as sports director of HNK Čapljina]. SPORTSPORT (in Croatian). Retrieved 16 November 2022.
27. "Menalo: Naši zajednički ciljevi su stabilizacija kluba i fokus na omladinskom pogonu!" [MENALO: OUR COMMON GOALS ARE TO STABILIZE THE CLUB AND FOCUS ON THE YOUTH DRIVE!]. bhfudbal.ba. 20 July 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
28. "Menalo spašava fudbal u "cvijetu Hercegovine": "Naredni cilj je rezultatski iskorak"" [Menalo saves football in the "flower of Herzegovina": "The next goal is a breakthrough in results"]. sportsport.ba (in Croatian). 23 December 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
29. "Šampion Kanade hara Drugom ligom Jug" [The champion of Canada is ravaging the Second Division South]. Avaz.ba (in Croatian). 2 April 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
30. "Kako se Luka Menalo snašao u Slaven Belupu, nedostaje li mu Hercegovina, kako "dila" Dinamove dresove...?" [How did Luka Menalo manage in Slaven Belup, does he miss Herzegovina, how does he "share" Dinamo's jerseys...?]. SirokiBrijeg.info (in Croatian). 20 March 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2022.

External links

• Pero Menalo at Soccerway