Roberto Punčec (; born 27 October 1991) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Bulgarian First League club Botev Plovdiv. Club career A product of NK Varteks youth academy, Punčec joined the first team in the 2008–09 season and had his professional debut on 2 November 2008 in a league match against Hajduk Split. He went on to appear in 27 matches for the club in his first two professional seasons, with the club changing its name to NK Varaždin in mid-2010. After filing for arbitration to Croatian Football Federation his contract with the financially troubled Varaždin was terminated due to unpaid wages, and on 31 August 2011, Punčec signed a two-year contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv. In July 2012, Punčec joined Union Berlin on a season-long loan with the option to buy. Following five years with Union Berlin, in June 2017, Punčec joined Rijeka on a three-year deal as a free-agent. On 4 December 2019, it was announced Punčec would join Major League Soccer club Sporting Kansas City ahead of the 2020 season. Following the 2021 season, Punčec's contract option was declined by Kansas City. International career Punčec has been capped at every youth level for the Croatian national team, and was part of Croatia's squad at the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia, playing in all three of their group stage matches. Career statistics Honours Rijeka Croatian Cup: 2019 References External links 1991 births Living people Sportspeople from Varaždin Association football defenders Croatian footballers Croatia youth international footballers Croatia under-21 international footballers NK Varaždin players Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. players 1. FC Union Berlin players HNK Rijeka players Sporting Kansas City players Botev Plovdiv players Croatian Football League players Israeli Premier League players 2. Bundesliga players Major League Soccer players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players Croatian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Israel Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Israel Expatriate footballers in Germany Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate soccer players in the United States Croatian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate footballers in Bulgaria Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Bulgaria