With thirteen goals and seven assists, Ante Erceg is the most efficient player of Hajduk in the first half-season, where he played a total of 23 matches. After the first half of the season, Ante reached his last season's performance, when he scored 13 goals in all competitions. He is unstoppable in the field and is a real temptation for opponents' defense, that hardly finds solutions for him. This season, he scored in the matches against Brondby, Levski, Dinamo, Rijeka, Osijek, Lokomotiva etc. He scored eight goals at Poljud and five goals on the away matches.
"I am really satisfied with this half-season, which I think is the best in my career so far. I scored the same number of goals as in the entire last season. I am completely relaxed, I feel great support from the teammates and the fans, which gives me extra energy on the field. I am pleased that I have contributed to my team, although I'm sorry that we didn't collect more points in the championship. However, there are still many matches left, regardless 12 points behind the leading team, we don't surrender and we will do our best to get closer to Dinamo as soon as possible, and of course the goal is to win the Cup. I want to win a trophy this year with Hajduk, this would be a huge reward" said Hajduk's top scorer in the autumn part of the season.
Hajduk's striker is in great form, on average, he scores every 159 minutes from when he came to Hajduk last year, so far he collected a total of 56 caps. He scored the most goals to Istra 1961 (five), four goals to Inter Zapresic and three goals to Osijek and Dinamo. It is interesting that in 23 matches in which Ante scored, Hajduk collected 20 wins and three draws.
He won the Hearth of Hajduk award for the season 2016/17 and was also elected the best player of Hajduk in the last season by Club members. He has won the fans' hearts with his energy, fights and good presentations on the field, but also around him.
"The Heart of Hajduk is the biggest prize I won in my career and I can't describe how proud I was to win it and to honor it, I tattooed a heart and number 50 on my hand. It means a lot that I got a reward from the supporters. I'm full of motivation and energy, it has made me even more confident to continue to do my best. I would also like to thank the teammates, without their support and respect in the field and outside it, I wouldn't have won it. I believe that this award is theirs as well".
Ante is always gladly joining numerous humanitarian actions and events. Recently, he honored the seventh edition of a traditional futsal tournament "Memorijal Lovre Buljan", named after a passionate supporter who won the hearts of all fans, and who remained inspired by Hajduk even in his biggest life battle that he unfortunately lost, but his memory will never fade.
Ante Erceg is optimistically awaiting for the spring part of the season and promises even better Hajduk.
"A month ago, a new coach came and set his requirements from us and I think that we have responded in the best possible way in this period, which is confirmed by results. We played four demanding away matches and in the last game that we played against Inter at Poljud, we played a great match in which our opponent didn't stand any chances. I believe that coach Zeljko Kopic has done a good job together with his coaching staff and has come up with new energy, and when we fully adopt during the winter preparations, we will further improve the game. The championship is not over yet, there are still plenty of matches ahead of us, and we will do our best to win and play well, we are highly motivated to show persistence and the right approach.
In the end, he said:
"I wish all our supporters Merry Christmas and a successful and happy New Year 2018. I believe in their trust and support because this Hajduk is really on the right track".
