Dorian Babunski Hristovski (Macedonian: Дориан Бабунски, born 29 August 1996) is a Macedonian professional footballer who plays as a centre-forward for Swiss Super League side Grasshopper Club Zürich.

Dorian Babunski
Babunski playing for Macedonia U21 team
Personal information
Full name Dorian Babunski
Дориан Бабунски
Date of birth (1996-08-29) 29 August 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth Skopje, Macedonia
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
Grasshopper Club Zürich
Number 99
Youth career
2005–2006 Gramanet
2006–2011 Cornellà
2011–2015 Real Madrid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2016 Fuenlabrada 13 (2)
2016–2017 Olimpija Ljubljana 1 (0)
2017Radomlje (loan) 5 (0)
2017–2020 Machida Zelvia 55 (4)
2017Kagoshima United (loan) 1 (0)
2021–2022 Botev Vratsa 34 (13)
2022–2023 Debrecen 48 (18)
2023– Grasshoppers 30 (4)
International career
2011–2012 Macedonia U17 6 (0)
2014 Macedonia U19 3 (3)
2013–2018 Macedonia U21 9 (0)
2022– North Macedonia 7 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23 May 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 June 2023

Club career

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Born in Skopje, Macedonia, Dorian joined Real Madrid's youth setup in 2011, after representing Gramanet and UE Cornellà. On 1 October 2015, he signed a free contract with Fuenlabrada,[1] but was released in June 2016. Two months later, he signed a three-year contract with Olimpija Ljubljana.[2]

In February 2017, he was signed by Radomlje on loan.[3]

On 17 January 2022, he joined Debreceni VSC in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, the top tier of Hungarian football, on a two-and-a-half-year deal.[4] In his first season and a half, he made 48 league appearances and scored 18 goals.[5]

On 28 August 2023, he signed a two-year contract with Swiss record champions Grasshopper Club Zürich,[6] with an option to extend for a further year. He joins them for an undisclosed fee.

International career

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Babunski was first called up to the Macedonian senior national team for their World Cup qualifier matches in November 2021, but did not see any playtime.[7][8] On 2 June 2022, he finally made his senior debut for North Macedonia, in a Nations League match against Bulgaria, coming on in the 72nd minute of the game.[9] In his second appearance for the national team, he assisted the second and final goal in a 0–2 away victory against Gibraltar.[10]

Career statistics

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As of match played on 7 October 2023[11]
Club statistics
Club Season League National Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Fuenlabrada 2015–16 Segunda División B 13 2 0 0 13 2
Olimpija Ljubljana 2016–17 Slovenian PrvaLiga 1 0 0 0 1 0
Radomlje (loan) 2016–17 Slovenian PrvaLiga 5 0 0 0 5 0
Kagoshima United (loan) 2017 J3 League 1 0 0 0 1 0
Machida Zelvia 2018 J2 League 24 4 1 0 25 4
2019 J2 League 19 0 0 0 19 0
2020 J2 League 12 0 0 0 12 0
Total 55 4 1 0 0 0 56 4
Botev Vratsa 2020–21 First Professional Football League 16 3 2 0 1[a] 0 19 3
2021–22 First Professional Football League 18 10 0 0 18 10
Total 34 13 2 0 1 0 37 13
Debrecen 2021–22 Nemzeti Bajnokság I 16 4 0 0 16 4
2022–23 Nemzeti Bajnokság I 30 13 3 0 33 13
2023–24 Nemzeti Bajnokság I 2 1 0 0 4[b] 0 6 1
Total 48 18 3 0 4 0 55 18
Grasshopper 2023–24 Swiss Super League 5 1 1 0 6 1
Career totals 162 38 7 0 5 0 174 38

Personal life

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Babunski's father, Boban, was also a footballer, and played in several countries, including Spain. His brother, David, is also a footballer.[12][13] The two played together briefly at Debrecen in 2022.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Dorian Babunski, el tercer delantero que todos pedían para el Fuenla". Fuenlabradanoticias.com. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  2. ^ "D. Babunski signed three years contract with Slovenia champion". Golden Goal Sports Management LLC. 5 September 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  3. ^ "Babunski posojen v Radomlje, Crnomarković na Norveško (en: Babunski transferred to Radomlje, Crnomarković to Norway)". PrvaLiga.si. 16 February 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Dorian Babunski a DVSC játékosa" [Dorian Babunski is a DVSC player] (in Hungarian). Debreceni VSC. 17 January 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  5. ^ "Dorian Babunski leaves DVSC". Debreceni VSC. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  6. ^ "Grasshopper Club Zürich signs striker Dorian Babunski". Grasshopper Club Zürich. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Armenia-North Macedonia match report". UEFA. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  8. ^ "North Macedonia-Iceland match report". UEFA. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  9. ^ "Dorian Babunski bemutatkozott az északmacedón felnőttválogatottban" [Dorian Babunski made his debut in the North Macedonia senior national team] (in Hungarian). Debreceni VSC. 6 June 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  10. ^ "Gibraltar-North Macedonia match report". UEFA. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  11. ^ Dorian Babunski at Soccerway
  12. ^ Zlateski, Aleksandar (8 November 2011). "Babunski brothers play for heated rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid". Macedonian Football. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  13. ^ "Super-tata! El klasiko u kući: Jedan sin u Realu, drugi u Barsi!". BN. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
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