Branimir Hrgota (Croatian pronunciation: [branimir xr̩gota]; born 12 January 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for and captains 2. Bundesliga club Greuther Fürth. Born in Bosnia, he has played for the Sweden men's national football team.
 Hrgota with Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2012 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Branimir Hrgota | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 12 January 1993 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Greuther Fürth | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 10 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| –2008 | IK Tord | ||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2011 | Jönköpings Södra IF | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Jönköpings Södra IF | 39 | (28) | ||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Borussia Mönchengladbach II | 8 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2012–2016 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 69 | (7) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016–2019 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 35 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019– | Greuther Fürth | 163 | (57) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Sweden U19 | 9 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2012–2015 | Sweden U21 | 14 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014 | Sweden | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23 May 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:09, 16 March 2022 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Club career
editJönköpings Södra IF
editHrgota started his career as a youth player in lower league side IK Tord which he combined with competing in karate. In 2008, he made the decision to give up martial arts and transferred to second division team Jönköpings Södra IF. He made his debut with the first team in 2011 and became the league top scorer that season, netting 18 goals in 25 games.[1] After the season Hrgota received the Player of the Year award from the club supporters.[2] Several clubs were interested in buying him after his successful debut year but Hrgota decided to stay with Jönköpings Södra so that he could finish school in the spring.[3] He went on to score 10 goals in 14 games the following season before moving to Germany in the summer.[4]
Borussia Mönchengladbach
editOn 4 July 2012, he completed his move to the German club Borussia Mönchengladbach. He made his Bundesliga debut against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim as 74th-minute substitute, replacing Mike Hanke. On 11 May 2013, he made the first eleven for the first time against 1. FSV Mainz 05. He made a big impact on the game scoring a hat-trick. His first ever Bundesliga goal was a converted penalty five minutes before half-time. In the second half he scored two more goals, both with his left foot. After 85 minutes he was substituted for Lukas Rupp. On 15 June 2016, it was announced that Hrgota would join fellow Bundesliga team Eintracht Frankfurt on a three-year contract.
Eintracht Frankfurt
editHrgota scored in his first goal in the game in a 4–3 penalty shoot-out victory against 1. FC Magdeburg in the DFB-Pokal on 21 August 2016. On 20 December 2016, before the winter break, he scored a brace in a 3–0 win over 1. FSV Mainz 05 in the Bundesliga. Despite failing to score in the semi-final cup tie away from home against his former club Borussia Mönchengladbach on 25 April 2017, Hrgota slotted home the winning penalty in the shoot-out which Eintracht Frankfurt won 7–6, having drawn the game 1–1 in normal time.
Greuther Fürth
editOn 7 August 2019, Hrgota joined Greuther Fürth on a two-year deal.[5] On 12 February 2022, Hrgota's opener against Hertha Berlin, after 27 seconds, was the fastest goal in that season.
International career
editHrgota was eligible to play national team football for Sweden, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Croatia U21 coach Ivo Šušak contacted him during the fall of 2012 in an attempt to bring Hrgota over to his team.[6] However, in the summer of 2014, prior to Sweden's game against Austria in the UEFA European Championship qualifiers, Hrgota was called up to, and accepted to join, the Sweden national team.[7] On 16 March 2022 Hrgota was selected for the World Cup Qualifier playoff 2022 against the Czech Republic and Poland, but did not get playing time.
Personal life
editHrgota was born in Zenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Bosnian War. His parents are ethnic Croats. The family moved to Sweden when Branimir was a child, settling in Jönköping.
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 14 May 2022[8]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Jönköpings Södra IF | 2011 | Superettan | 25 | 18 | 2 | 0 | — | 27 | 18 | |
| 2012 | Superettan | 14 | 10 | 0 | 0 | — | 14 | 10 | ||
| Total | 39 | 28 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 28 | ||
| Borussia Mönchengladbach II | 2012–13 | Regionalliga West | 8 | 2 | — | — | 8 | 2 | ||
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | 2012–13 | Bundesliga | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | 17 | 3 |
| 2013–14 | Bundesliga | 30 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 31 | 2 | ||
| 2014–15 | Bundesliga | 17 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 10[c] | 8 | 30 | 12 | |
| 2015–16 | Bundesliga | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | |
| Total | 69 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 14 | 8 | 88 | 19 | ||
| Eintracht Frankfurt | 2016–17 | Bundesliga | 28 | 5 | 2 | 1 | — | 30 | 6 | |
| 2017–18 | Bundesliga | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | Bundesliga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 35 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 6 | ||
| Greuther Fürth | 2019–20 | 2. Bundesliga | 32 | 10 | 0 | 0 | — | 32 | 10 | |
| 2020–21 | 2. Bundesliga | 31 | 16 | 3 | 0 | — | 34 | 16 | ||
| 2021–22 | Bundesliga | 34 | 9 | 1 | 1 | — | 35 | 10 | ||
| 2022–23 | 2. Bundesliga | 33 | 11 | 1 | 0 | — | 34 | 11 | ||
| Total | 130 | 46 | 5 | 1 | — | 135 | 47 | |||
| Career total | 273 | 86 | 16 | 6 | 14 | 8 | 303 | 100 | ||
- ^ Includes Svenska Cupen, DFB-Pokal
- ^ One appearance in UEFA Champions League, three appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
International
edit| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden | 2014 | 3 | 0 |
| Total | 3 | 0 | |
Honours
editEintracht Frankfurt
Sweden U21
Individual
- Superettan top scorer: 2011
References
edit- ^ "Vem är Branimir Hrgota?". fotbollsoraklet.se. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
- ^ "Branimir Hrgota - Årets Spelare 2011". sodrasajten.se. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ^ "Supertalangen stannar - ska gå ut skolan". eurosport.se. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ^ "Branimir Hrgota" (in Swedish). svenskfotboll.se. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
- ^ "Hrgota stürmt für's Kleebatt" (in German). SpVgg Greuther Fürth. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- ^ "Kroatien-rykten dementeras – ber om lugn och ro". fotbolldirekt.se. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ^ "Hrgota mållös i ligan på nytt". aftonbladet.se. 31 August 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
- ^ Branimir Hrgota at Soccerway. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
- ^ "Branimir Hrgota - Spelarstatistik - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se. (in Swedish). Retrieved 16 March 2022.
External links
edit- Branimir Hrgota at the Swedish Football Association (in Swedish)