Euro 2008 Player Profile: Niko Kranjčar

May 27th, 2008 | By: Laurie | 3 Comments »

Name: Niko Kranjčar
Team: Croatia
Group: B; Germany, Poland, Austria.
Caps (Goals): 39 (6) – as of May 26, 2008
DOB: August 13, 1984 (23 years old)
Position: Striker, Winger or Attacking Midfielder
Club Team: Portsmouth

If you’re a fan of the English national team, you may remember Niko Kranjčar as the guy who scored the opening goal in Croatia’s win over England last November. (You know — the game that broke English hearts by knocking them out of Euros? Yeah, that one.)

Well, he’s back for Euros and looking to break more hearts of fans of higher-ranked teams.

More playmaker than goalscorer, Kranjčar has a talent for making things happen. But he also has a knack for scoring key goals at the right time. ~~One example: In addition to the goal against England, he scored the goal in the FA Cup semis against West Brom that put Portsmouth through to the final.~~

Expectations for Niko have always been high. That’s what happens when your father is a bit of a legend in the country of your birth. Dad Zlatco and son Niko both got their starts at the club Dinamo Zagreb, dad back when it was a Yugoslavian team. When Niko was eighteen, he became the youngest captain in team history.

Zlatco was also the coach of the Croatian National Team through the 2006 World Cup, a team that Niko played in. You may be thinking “nepotism,” but Niko himself played well and proved his value to Croatia. The team itself didn’t do well in the tournament — they went out after the group stage, and dad Zlatco was soon out of a job. But Niko managed to cement his place, to the point that he played in every single qualifier in Croatia’s successful run-up to Euros, without his dad at the helm. He also garnered international interest during the World Cup, and he parlayed that into a €5.2 million signing by Portsmouth in the summer of 2006.

There are some rumors around lately that he’s hoping to use Euros to make the same kind of splash, and to parlay interest into a signing with an even bigger club, preferably one that will be playing in Champions League. But for now he insists he’s happy at Portsmouth and looking forward to the UEFA Cup next year — a competition they’ll be in because of the FA Cup championship he helped them win.

And since playmaking rarely makes YouTube highlight videos, let’s check out some of those goals he’s scored. Or at least watch some of the same goals, shown over and over and over:

And I would not be doing right by the young female fans of the beautiful game if I didn’t include this compilation of still photos. Set to music. So go get any female in your household under the age of…oh, say, twenty-three, and then hit play. You’ll be a hero. You’re welcome.