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Niko Kranjčar (Croatian pronunciation: [ˈniːkɔ ˈkraɲtʃaːr]; born 13 August 1984 in Zagreb¹) is a Croatian footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for English Premier League club Portsmouth and the Croatian national team. Given his international debut by his father Zlatko², Niko has previously represented two of the biggest clubs in his homeland, sparking controversy while playing for Dinamo Zagreb and then making a move to their fierce rivals Hajduk Split in 2005.³

Club career

Early years

Niko Kranjčar spent most of his youth playing for Dinamo Zagreb, and later became the youngest captain of the squad for the first time at the age of 17.⁴ He also became one of the youngest goalscorers in the Prva HNL as he scored on his league debut for Dinamo at the age of 16 before helping them win the double of a Croatian cup and a league title in 2003 and then the Croatian cup again the following season.² Such abilities and assistance led him to become a fan favorite amongst the fans, he began to receive comparison to French football legend Zinédine Zidane. However, in early 2005, he experienced a disagreement with the management, leading to a surprise transfer to Dinamo's biggest rivals, Hajduk Split.⁵ Nevertheless, he still managed to focus on his new club as he helped them to the Croatian title in his first season.⁶

After the 2006 World Cup, the world press hailed him for his talents, and several clubs immediately showed interest in the young star. Among such clubs were Stade Rennais and the Spanish Club Celta de Vigo. In August 2006, Rennes bid €4.5 million for Kranjčar, which Hajduk rejected, stating they felt they should get more for the player. Later on the same day, however, Kranjčar then moved for a reported £3.5million (€5.2 million) to Portsmouth on 31 August 2006.⁷⁸

Portsmouth

Kranjčar made his Premier League debut for Portsmouth on 1 October 2006 as he played all 90 minutes in their 2-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.He scored his first Premier League goal on 31 March 2007 against Fulham at Craven Cottage, giving Portsmouth an early 1-0 lead in a match that eventually ended in a 1-1 draw. ⁹ He made a total of 24 appearances and scored two goals in his first Premier League season. His disallowed goal on the final day of the season would, if given, have resulted in Portsmouth qualifying for the UEFA Cup. He also managed to eventually score during his side's decisive 2-1 home victory over Liverpool.

In 2007-08, his second season in England, Kranjčar established himself as a regular in the Portsmouth side, putting in a string of impressive performances on the left of a three man attack, including a stunning 35 yard free-kick in a 2-0 victory against Birmingham City, and a 30 yard free-kick in the 4-1 victory over Newcastle United. He also gained large credential for helping Pompey to the FA Cup title in 2008.¹⁰

At the beginning of the 2008-09 season, AS Monaco had a bid of £12 million rejected for Kranjčar. Then-Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp stated that Kranjčar was not going to leave the club at any price. The day after, Kranjcar openly said that he doesn't intend to leave Portsmouth "for years to come" and also publicly thanked Redknapp for the faith that he showed in him. However, Redknapp has since left the club to take over the reigns at Tottenham Hotspur.¹¹ On 12 February 2009, with Portsmouth battling relegation, Kranjčar publicly declared his desire to quit Portsmouth and move to a bigger club.¹² Arsenal and AS Monaco have previously been linked with moves for the Croatian International. Everton manager David Moyes has also expressed an interest in signing Kranjčar as a replacement for long-term absentee Mikel Arteta.¹³

International career

Kranjčar was previously a part of the Croatian national Under-16, Under-17, Under-19 and Under-21 teams before advancing to the senior national team. His senior debut for Croatia came on 18 August 2004 in a friendly match against Israel. He was a regular for Croatia during their qualifying campaign for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, making nine appearances and scoring two goals, including a brilliant single effort against Bulgaria. Niko was then chosen for "Young guns firing for World Cup glory" on eurosport.com with some of the greatest talents in the world, such as Lionel Messi, Lukas Podolski and future Pompey team mate Sulley Muntari.¹⁴ He went on to play in all of Croatia's three group stage matches at the final tournament, proving to be a prestigious player for his impressive performances.

With the departure of his father as national team manager, Kranjčar became a regular for Croatia in their qualifying campaign for the UEFA Euro 2008, having appeared in all 12 matches, scoring two goals. The most famous of such was his long range opener for Croatia during their final match away to England. Croatia eventually won the game 3-2, resulting in England's failure to qualify for the final tournament.¹⁵ He then scored in a friendly game against Scotland with a spectacular effort just from inside the penalty area in a match played that ended 1-1, the equalising goal coming from Kenny Miller.

During the final Euro 2008 tournament, Kranjčar was hardly mentioned as he remained fairly quiet during Croatia's run, combined with three disappointing misses after being given golden opportunities to score against Germany and Turkey, the latter of such eventually led to Croatia's controversial exit from the competition.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
01.	4 June 2005	Vasil Levski Stadium, Sofia	Bulgaria	3 – 1	3 – 1	Q 2006 World Cup
02.	17 August 2005	Poljud, Split, Croatia	Brazil	1 – 0	1 – 1	Friendly
03.	7 September 2005	Ta' Qali Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta	Malta	1 – 0	1 – 1	Q 2006 World Cup
04.	12 September 2007	Estadi Comunal, Andorra la Vella, Andorra	Andorra	4 – 0	6 – 0	Q Euro 2008
05.	21 November 2007	Wembley Stadium, London, England	England	1 – 0	3 – 2	Q Euro 2008
06.	26 March 2008	Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland	Scotland	1 – 0	1 – 1	Friendly
07.	11 February 2009	Steaua Stadium, Bucharest, Romania	Romania	2 – 1	2 – 1	Friendly

Honours

Dinamo Zagreb

• Prva HNL: 2003
• Croatian Cup: 2001, 2002
• Croatian Supercup: 2002, 2003

Hajduk Split

• Prva HNL: 2005
• Croatian Supercup: 2005

Portsmouth

• FA Cup: 2008
• Barclays Asia Trophy: 2007

Personal life

Niko is happily married with Simona Fistrić and the couple is now living in Portsmouth, England where Niko is currently playing.¹⁶

References

External links

• BBC Profile
• Soccerbase Stats
• Transfermarkt Profile

Niko Kranjčar - Navigation boxes and awards v • d • e Croatia squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Pletikosa • 2 Srna • 3 Šimunić • 4 R. Kovač • 5 Tudor • 6 Vranješ • 7 Šimić • 8 Babić • 9 Pršo • 10 N. Kovač • 11 Tokić • 12 Didulica • 13 Tomas • 14 Modrić • 15 I. Leko • 16 J. Leko • 17 Klasnić • 18 Olić • 19 N. Kranjčar • 20 Šerić • 21 Balaban • 22 Bošnjak • 23 Butina • Coach: Z. Kranjčar v • d • e Croatia squad – UEFA Euro 2008 1 Pletikosa • 2 Šimić • 3 Šimunić • 4 R. Kovač • 5 Ćorluka • 6 Vejić • 7 Rakitić • 8 Vukojević • 9 Kalinić • 10 N. Kovač • 11 Srna • 12 Galinović • 13 Pokrivač • 14 Modrić • 15 Knežević • 16 Leko • 17 Klasnić • 18 Olić • 19 Kranjčar • 20 Budan • 21 Petrić • 22 Pranjić • 23 Runje • Coach: Bilić Awards Preceded by – Prva HNL Player of the Year 2003 Succeeded by Tomislav Erceg