Ivan Ljubić

Ivan Ljubić
Ljubić with SC Wiener Neustadt in 2017
Personal information
Date of birth (1996-07-07) 7 July 1996
Place of birth Vienna, Austria[1]
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
Apollon Limassol
Number 77
Youth career
2002–2010 First Vienna FC
2010–2014 Austria Wien
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2015 Austria Wien II 18 (0)
2015–2017 SV Horn 47 (5)
2017–2023 Sturm Graz 119 (11)
2017–2018SC Wiener Neustadt (loan) 32 (3)
2018–2019TSV Hartberg (loan) 18 (1)
2023–2025 LASK 26 (1)
2024 LASK Amateure OÖ 26 (1)
2025– Apollon Limassol 20 (0)
International career
2018–2019 Austria U21 10 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21:22, 16 February 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 20 June 2019

Ivan Ljubić (born 7 July 1996) is an Austrian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Cypriot First Division club Apollon Limassol.

Club career

Ljubić began his career at First Vienna FC before joining the academy of Austria Wien in 2010. In October 2014, he made his first appearance for the club's reserve team in the Regionalliga.

Ahead of the 2015–16 season, Ljubić signed for SV Horn.[2] He helped the club win the Regionalliga East title that season and secure promotion to professional football. He made his debut in the second tier on matchday five of the 2016–17 season against Floridsdorfer AC, coming on in the 71st minute for Tomislav Jurić.

After Horn were relegated, Ljubić joined Austrian Bundesliga side Sturm Graz ahead of the 2017–18 season, signing a contract until June 2019. He was immediately loaned to second-tier club SC Wiener Neustadt.[3]

For the 2018–19 season, he was loaned to TSV Hartberg.[4] He made his debut in the Austrian Bundesliga in July 2018 against his parent club Sturm Graz, and scored his first top-flight goal in September 2018 in a 2–1 win over SCR Altach. During the winter break of that season, Ljubić was recalled by Sturm.[5] Over the following four and a half years, he made 151 competitive appearances for the club, including 117 in the Bundesliga, and won the ÖFB-Cup in 2023.[6] After the 2022–23 season, he left Graz and joined league rivals LASK on a contract until June 2025.[7] He made 26 Bundesliga appearances for LASK.

Ahead of the 2025–26 season, Ljubić joined Cypriot First Division club Apollon Limassol.[8]

International career

Ljubić made his debut for the Austria national under-21 team in September 2018, when he was named in the starting line-up for a UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifier against Armenia.[9]

Personal life

Ljubić was born in Vienna, Austria, and is of Croatian descent.[10]

Career statistics

As of match played 14 February 2026
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Austria Wien II 2014–15 Austrian Regionalliga East 18 0 18 0
SV Horn 2015–16 Austrian Regionalliga East 27 3 2 0 29 3
2016–17 2. Liga 20 2 1 0 21 2
Total 47 5 3 0 50 5
Wiener Neustädt (loan) 2017–18 2. Liga 32 3 1 0 2[a] 0 35 3
TSV Hartberg (loan) 2018–19 Austrian Bundesliga 18 1 1 0 19 1
Sturm Graz 2018–19 Austrian Bundesliga 15 0 15 0
2019–20 Austrian Bundesliga 29 1 4 1 2[b] 1 35 3
2020–21 Austrian Bundesliga 32 7 5 0 0 0 37 7
2021–22 Austrian Bundesliga 21 2 2 0 8[b] 0 31 2
2022–23 Austrian Bundesliga 22 1 4 0 7[c] 0 33 1
Total 119 11 15 1 17 1 151 13
LASK 2023–24 Austrian Bundesliga 14 0 4 0 7[b] 0 25 0
2024–25 Austrian Bundesliga 15 1 2 0 0 0 17 1
Total 29 1 6 0 7 0 42 1
LASK II 2024–25 Austrian Regionalliga Central 1 0 1 0
Apollon Limassol 2025–26 Cypriot First Division 20 0 3 0 23 0
Career total 284 21 29 1 24 1 2 0 339 23
  1. ^ Appearances in Relegation play-offs
  2. ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, five appearances in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Sturm Graz

References

  1. ^ "Ein echter Wiener geht seinen Weg". SK Sturm Graz. Archived from the original on 6 October 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Ivan Ljubic wechselt von der Austria Wien II zum SV Horn" [Ivan Ljubic moves from Austria Wien II to SV Horn]. SV Horn (in German). 1 July 2015. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016.
  3. ^ "SK Sturm verpflichtet Ivan Ljubic und verleiht ihn weiter" [SK Sturm sign Ivan Ljubic and loan him out]. LAOLA1 (in German). Sportradar Media Services GmbH. 14 June 2017. Archived from the original on 12 August 2025. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  4. ^ "Ivan Ljubic leihweise zum TSV" [Ivan Ljubic loaned to TSV]. SK Sturm Graz (in German). 29 June 2018. Archived from the original on 29 June 2018.
  5. ^ "Ivan Ljubic kehrt nach Graz zurück" [Ivan Ljubic returns to Graz]. SK Sturm Graz (in German). 7 January 2019. Archived from the original on 16 May 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  6. ^ a b "Sturm Graz gewinnt ÖFB-Cup – Rapids Durststrecke hält an" [Sturm Graz win the ÖFB Cup as Rapid's drought continues]. SPORT1 (in German). 30 April 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  7. ^ "Ablösefrei: Mittelfeld-Akteur Ivan Ljubic wechselt von Sturm zum LASK" [Midfielder Ivan Ljubic joins LASK from Sturm on a free transfer]. LASK (in German). 22 June 2023. Archived from the original on 17 August 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  8. ^ "Στον Απόλλωνα ο Ίβαν Λιούμπιτς" [Ivan Ljubic joins Apollon]. Apollon FC (in Greek). 19 June 2025. Archived from the original on 19 June 2025. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  9. ^ "Österreich – Armenien". ÖFB (in German). Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  10. ^ Sturm Graz verpflichtet Ivan Ljubic und verleiht den Mittelfeldspieler an den SC Wiener Neustadt‚ sportreport.biz, 14 June 2017.