Dejan Lovren facts for kids
.jpg)
Lovren with Zenit Saint Petersburg in 2020
|
|||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 5 July 1989 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Zenica, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.88 m | ||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Centre-back | ||||||||||||||||||
| Club information | |||||||||||||||||||
| Current club | PAOK | ||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–1999 | BSC Sendling | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2002 | NK Ilovac | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2004 | NK Karlovac | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2006 | Dinamo Zagreb | ||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | ||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2010 | Dinamo Zagreb | 37 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2008 | → Inter Zaprešić (loan) | 50 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2013 | Lyon | 72 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Southampton | 31 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2020 | Liverpool | 131 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2022 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 50 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Lyon | 27 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | PAOK | 5 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||
| National team | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | Croatia U17 | 18 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2006 | Croatia U18 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2008 | Croatia U19 | 10 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2009 | Croatia U20 | 5 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2010 | Croatia U21 | 19 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2022 | Croatia | 78 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||
|
Honours
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Dejan Lovren (born 5 July 1989) is a Croatian professional footballer. He plays as a centre-back for Super League Greece club PAOK.
Lovren started his career at Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia. In 2010, he moved to the French club Lyon. He played there for three and a half seasons. With Lyon, he won the French Cup in 2012. After that, he joined Southampton in England in 2013.
After one season with Southampton, he moved to Liverpool for £20 million. He played 185 games for Liverpool. He helped them win the UEFA Champions League in 2019. They also won the Premier League in 2020. In July 2020, he joined Zenit Saint Petersburg in Russia. He became the team captain within four months.
Dejan Lovren played for Croatia at different youth levels. He made his debut for the senior national team in 2009. He played over 70 games for his country. He was part of Croatia's teams for the FIFA World Cup in 2014, 2018, and 2022. In 2018, Croatia reached the World Cup final. They finished third in the 2022 World Cup.
Contents
Dejan Lovren's Early Life
Dejan Lovren was born in Zenica, which was part of Yugoslavia then. His family had to leave their home when he was three years old. This was because of the Bosnian War. They moved to Munich, Germany.
Later, his family had to leave Germany. They did not have the right papers to live there. They then settled in Karlovac, Croatia. This city is about 50 kilometers from Zagreb. Lovren said it was hard for him to get used to living in Croatia at first.
Dejan Lovren's Club Journey
Starting with Dinamo Zagreb
Lovren first played football in Germany for a club called BSC Sendling. After moving to Croatia, he played for local teams. These were NK Ilovac and NK Karlovac. In 2004, he joined NK Dinamo Zagreb.
He played his first game for Dinamo on 10 May 2006. He was loaned to NK Inter Zaprešić for two seasons. There, he played 50 league games and scored one goal. After his loan, Lovren became a regular player for Dinamo. He played 38 games in the 2008–09 season. He scored three goals that year. In the 2009–10 season, he played in UEFA Champions League qualifying games. He even scored a header against Pyunik.
Moving to Lyon in France
In January 2010, Lovren joined the French club Olympique Lyonnais. He signed a contract for four and a half years. He played his first game for Lyon on 24 January 2010. It was a French Cup match against AS Monaco. His first league game was on 31 January against Paris Saint-Germain. He played the full 90 minutes in both games. He played 10 games in the second half of that season. He could not play in the Champions League for Lyon that season. This was because he had already played for Dinamo Zagreb in the same competition.
Lovren played more often in the 2010–11 season. He became a regular starter for Lyon. He played as a centre-back and sometimes as a full-back. This showed he was a very flexible defender. In November 2010, he was named one of the top 100 young players in the world.
On 23 January 2012, Lovren signed a new contract with Lyon until 2016. He started in the 2012 Coupe de France Final for Lyon. They won 1–0 against Quevilly.
Playing for Southampton
On 14 June 2013, Lovren joined Southampton in England. He signed a four-year contract. His first game was on 17 August 2013, a 1–0 win. He scored his first goal for Southampton against Liverpool on 21 September 2013. This goal won the game. On 19 October, he helped Adam Lallana score a goal against Manchester United.
On 18 January 2014, he scored another goal against Sunderland. However, he got injured in that game. He was out for six to eight weeks with an ankle injury. At the end of his first season, Lovren was ranked among the top players in Europe. There was a lot of talk about Lovren leaving Southampton. On 25 July 2014, Southampton agreed to sell him to Liverpool.
Time with Liverpool
On 27 July 2014, Lovren joined Liverpool. He signed a four-year deal for about £20 million. He became Liverpool's most expensive defender at that time. He played his first game for Liverpool in a friendly match. He scored a goal in a 4–0 win against Borussia Dortmund. His first official game was on 17 August. It was a 2–1 win against his old club, Southampton.
He scored his first official goal for Liverpool on 28 October. It was a winning header in a League Cup game. However, he had some tough times after that. He was dropped from the team after a Champions League loss. He also missed a penalty in a Europa League shootout. Some news reports even called him one of the worst signings that season.
Lovren got his place back at the start of the 2015–16 season. He played well, helping the team keep three clean sheets. But he lost his spot again after two losses. On 14 April, Lovren scored a winning goal in stoppage time. It was in a Europa League quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund. By the end of the 2015–16 season, he was seen as a "calm and composed" leader.
On 28 April 2017, Lovren extended his contract with Liverpool until 2021.
.jpg)
The 2017–18 season started rough for him. He was at fault for two early goals in a 4–1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur. He was taken off the field after only half an hour. On 17 December, he scored his first goal of the season. It was in a 4–0 win against Bournemouth. After Virgil van Dijk joined, Lovren formed a strong partnership with him. On 14 January 2018, Lovren was captain for Liverpool for the first time. They won 4–3 against Manchester City. He also played a big part in Liverpool reaching the Champions League final. They lost to Real Madrid.
Lovren was injured at the start of the 2018–19 season. He returned for a League Cup match. On 26 December, he scored in a 4–0 win. He made a mistake in a game against Manchester City. This led to a goal for the other team. Liverpool lost that game. He got injured again in an FA Cup game. He then lost his starting spot. Liverpool finished second in the Premier League. They won the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final against Tottenham. Lovren was a substitute in that final. He became the tenth Croatian player to win the Champions League.
In summer 2019, Lovren wanted to leave Liverpool. He didn't want to be a substitute. He was left out of the squad for the UEFA Super Cup. Liverpool won that match. Lovren returned to the team in September. He became a starter again after another player got injured. On 27 November, he scored a goal in a Champions League game. He got a knee injury in December. This made him miss the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup. Liverpool won this tournament. On 25 June 2020, Lovren became the first Croatian to win the Premier League.
Joining Zenit Saint Petersburg
On 27 July 2020, Lovren signed a three-year contract with Zenit Saint Petersburg. He debuted for Zenit on 7 August in the 2020 Russian Super Cup. Zenit won 2–1, and Lovren won his first trophy with the club. He scored his first goal for Zenit four days later. On 8 November, Lovren was captain for Zenit for the first time. Zenit won the league title on 2 May.
Lovren started the 2021–22 season by winning another Super Cup. He made 19 appearances in the first half of the season. Zenit won the league again.
Returning to Lyon and Joining PAOK
On 2 January 2023, Lovren went back to Lyon in France. He signed a two-and-a-half-year contract. This was almost ten years after he first left the club.
On 16 September 2024, Lovren joined Super League club PAOK. He signed a two-year deal with them.
Dejan Lovren's International Career
Lovren played 54 games and scored six goals for Croatia's youth teams. He was first called up to the senior national team in August 2009. He made his debut against Qatar on 8 November 2009.
On 2 September 2011, Lovren scored his first goal for Croatia. It was against Malta in a Euro 2012 qualifying match. He scored his second goal on 26 March 2013. It was in a World Cup qualifying match against Wales.
In May 2014, Lovren was chosen for Croatia's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. In the first game against Brazil, he was called for a foul that led to a controversial penalty. Croatia lost that game. He played in the other group games, but Croatia did not move past the group stage.
Lovren was not chosen for Croatia's squad for UEFA Euro 2016. This was because of problems with the manager.
In May 2018, he was named in Croatia's squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. In a group game against Iceland, his handball led to a penalty. Croatia still won that game. He played throughout the tournament. Croatia reached the final but lost to France.
On 11 January 2019, UEFA banned Lovren for one international match. This was for disrespecting the Spain national team. He could not play in a Euro 2020 qualifying match. He scored his third international goal on 6 September. It was in a 4–0 win against Slovakia. Croatia secured their spot at the Euros.
In his first ever game at a UEFA European Championship, Lovren caused a penalty. This was in a 1–1 draw with the Czech Republic.
At the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Lovren played almost all the matches. Croatia won third place in the tournament. On 23 February 2023, Lovren announced he was retiring from the national team.
Dejan Lovren's Personal Life
Dejan Lovren's younger brother, Davor, is also a professional footballer. Lovren was named after a famous Montenegrin football player. He can speak Croatian, German, English, and French.
Lovren is married to Anita Sekulić. They have two children, a daughter named Elena and a son named Josip.
In 2013, Lovren started a fashion brand called Russell Brown. It was later closed down. In May 2018, he started another brand called Rock Filius. On 29 May 2018, Lovren opened a four-star hotel in Novalja, Croatia. The hotel is named Joel, after his children Josip and Elena. In December 2020, Lovren offered free temporary housing at his hotel. This was for families who lost their homes in an earthquake.
He also had a small role in a 2021 film called The Match. He appeared alongside his Croatia teammate Mateo Kovačić.
Honours
Inter Zaprešić
- Druga HNL: 2006–07
Dinamo Zagreb
- Prva HNL: 2008–09
- Croatian Cup: 2008–09
Lyon
- Coupe de France: 2011–12; runner-up: 2023–24
Liverpool
- Premier League: 2019–20
- UEFA Champions League: 2018–19; runner-up: 2017–18
- UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2015–16
- FA Community Shield runner-up: 2019
Zenit Saint Petersburg
- Russian Premier League: 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23
- Russian Super Cup: 2020, 2021
Croatia
- FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2018; third place: 2022
See also
In Spanish: Dejan Lovren para niños
