Player Profile: Nico Kranjcar, Croatia

Chances are high that twenty-three-year-old forward/midfielder Nico Kranjcar will be playing for Croatia this summer. He currently has 39 caps, and played in every single Euro qualifier. You may remember Nico 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.)

He currently plays for Portsmouth in the English Premier League. It was his goal on Saturday in the FA Cup semi-finals that won the game and clinched Pompey’s spot in the final. In the video below, manager Harry Redknapp describes him as having “silky-smooth skills.” Praise doesn’t get much better than that, right?

If a picture’s worth a thousand words, what’s a video worth? A lot more, at least when it comes to getting to know the players. So here is a SkySports news piece, with interview:

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. You’re welcome.