Patrick Maritz

Patrik Marić's first goal in senior football arrived a week after his first senior minutes, and it placed him in the record books: at 16 years and nine months he became the fifth youngest scorer in the history of the Croatian First Football League, finding the net in Slaven Belupo's 4-1 win over HNK Gorica on 3 May 2024. The debut had come the previous weekend, against Istra 1961.

He came to the Slaven Belupo academy in 2020, at 13, from the youth setup of NK Bjelovar in his home town, and moved up through the age groups until the first team called on him. He is used mainly as a left winger.

Croatia brought him into the under-17 squad in February 2024 for a tournament in Poreč, where he featured against Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria. He has since won three caps at under-18 level.

He did not play in the 2025/26 season: an injury kept him out for seven months and cost him the bulk of the campaign. He returned to Slaven Belupo, and in June 2026 signed an extension that runs until the summer of 2029.

His senior record with the club stands at six appearances and the goal against Gorica. The contract gives him three more seasons to add to it.