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Mario Gavranović
Mario Gavranovic 2011-08-03.jpg
Gavranović with Schalke 04 in 2011
Personal information
Full name Mario Gavranović
Date of birth (1989-11-24) 24 November 1989 (age 35)
Place of birth Lugano, Switzerland
Height 1.75 m
Playing position Forward
Youth career
1996–2000 AS Vezia
2000–2006 Team Ticino
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2008 Lugano 21 (8)
2008–2010 Yverdon-Sport 20 (8)
2009–2010 → Neuchâtel Xamax (loan) 17 (8)
2010–2012 Schalke 04 10 (0)
2010–2011 Schalke 04 II 5 (2)
2011–2012 Mainz 05 (loan) 5 (0)
2012–2016 Zürich 90 (26)
2016–2018 Rijeka 59 (25)
2018–2021 Dinamo Zagreb 88 (39)
2021–2023 Kayserispor 48 (15)
2024 FC Mendrisio 3 (0)
National team
2005 Switzerland U17 1 (2)
2007–2008 Switzerland U19 8 (6)
2008–2011 Switzerland U21 14 (3)
2011–2022 Switzerland 41 (16)
Honours
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 28 August 2023.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 5 June 2022

Mario Gavranović (born 24 November 1989) is a Swiss former professional footballer. He played as a forward, which means he was usually one of the main attackers on the team.

Club Career Highlights

Mario Gavranović started his football journey at a young age. He played for several clubs throughout his career, scoring many goals.

Early Football Days

Mario began playing football with AS Vezia. Later, he joined Team Ticino U18, a youth academy linked to FC Lugano. In the 2006–07 season, he played his first professional games for FC Lugano in the Swiss Challenge League. He scored eight goals in 21 games during his second season there. In 2008, he moved to Yverdon-Sport and scored another eight goals in 20 games. He then joined Neuchâtel Xamax for the 2008–09 season.

Playing for Schalke

After a great start at Neuchâtel Xamax, Mario Gavranović signed with Schalke 04 in Germany on 1 February 2010. He scored a very important goal for Schalke 04 in the Champions League. This goal helped his team win 4–2 against Valencia and reach the quarter-finals. On 31 August 2011, he went on loan to another German club, Mainz.

Time at FC Zürich

After his loan spell, Gavranović returned to Schalke. In May 2012, he left Schalke and joined FC Zürich for free. He played his first game for Zürich on 15 July 2012. In that same match, he scored his first goal from a penalty kick, which resulted in a 1–1 draw with FC Luzern.

Mario scored the winning goal for Zürich against FC Basel on 11 August 2013. This was a big win against the reigning champions. He also scored twice in a game against FC Sion on 24 November, helping Zürich win 4–1. On 1 March 2014, he scored two goals in the "Zürich Derby" against Grasshoppers, leading Zürich to a 3-1 victory.

A special moment came on 21 April 2014. Mario scored two goals in extra-time during the Swiss Cup final. These goals helped Zürich beat Basel 2–0 and win the cup! Unfortunately, he got a knee injury during training at the World Cup, which kept him from playing for the rest of 2014.

Moving to Rijeka

On 18 January 2016, Mario Gavranović moved to HNK Rijeka in Croatia. He signed a two-and-a-half-year contract. He scored in his very first official game for Rijeka on 12 February 2016. In his two years with the club, Mario scored an impressive 40 goals in 80 games.

Playing for Dinamo Zagreb

On 5 January 2018, Gavranović joined Dinamo Zagreb, another big club in Croatia. He signed a three-year contract. Mario shared that his family members were all Dinamo supporters, and he was encouraged to support the club from a young age.

He scored his first goal for Dinamo in a 1–0 win against Slaven Belupo on 4 March. He also scored against his old club, Rijeka, on 7 March. Mario scored twice in a 2–1 win against rivals Hajduk Split. This win brought Dinamo closer to winning their 19th league title. On 17 October, he scored his first "hat-trick" (three goals in one game) for Dinamo, helping them win 3–2 against Gorica.

International Career with Switzerland

Mario Gavranović also played for the Swiss national football team.

Youth and Senior Team Debut

He played for the Switzerland U-21 team in 14 games, scoring three goals. On 26 March 2011, he made his debut for the senior team. This was in a 0–0 draw against Bulgaria. His first goals for the senior team came on 15 August 2012. He scored two goals in a friendly game against Croatia, which Switzerland won 4–2.

World Cup Appearances

Mario was chosen for the Swiss squad for the World Cup in Brazil on 13 May 2014. Sadly, he got a serious knee injury during training on 29 June. This meant he couldn't play for the rest of the World Cup and was out until early 2015.

He was also part of the 23-man Swiss squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He played his first World Cup match against Serbia. He came on in the second half and helped set up a goal for Xherdan Shaqiri. This goal led to a 2–1 comeback win for Switzerland.

UEFA Euro 2020 Heroics

Gavranović was selected for the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament. On 28 June 2021, he came into the game against France in the Round of 16. He scored Switzerland's third goal, making the score 3–3. After extra time, the game went to a penalty shootout. Mario successfully scored his penalty, and Switzerland won 5–4! This was a huge moment for Switzerland. It was the first time since the 1938 FIFA World Cup that they had won a knockout game in a major tournament. It was also the first time since the 1954 FIFA World Cup that they reached the quarter-finals of a major tournament.

On 15 September 2022, Mario Gavranović announced he was retiring from the Swiss national team. He had played for the senior team for eleven years and made 41 appearances. His last game was on 5 June 2022.

Personal Life

Mario Gavranović was born in Lugano, Switzerland. His parents are from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mario is married to Anita. They have a daughter named Leonie, who was born in May 2019.

Career Statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Lugano 2006–07 Swiss Challenge League 2 0 2 0
2007–08 21 8 1 0 22 8
Total 23 8 1 0 24 8
Yverdon Sport 2008–09 Swiss Challenge League 20 8 2 0 22 8
Neuchâtel Xamax 2009–10 Swiss Super League 17 8 3 2 20 10
Schalke 04 2009–10 Bundesliga 2 0 2 0
2010–11 8 0 1 1 1 1 10 2
2011–12 1 2 1 0 2 2
Total 10 0 2 3 2 1 14 4
Mainz 05 2011–12 Bundesliga 5 0 1 0 6 0
Zürich 2012–13 Swiss Super League 32 9 4 6 36 15
2013–14 31 13 6 4 2 0 39 17
2014–15 11 1 2 0 13 1
2015–16 16 3 4 1 2 0 22 4
Total 90 26 16 11 4 0 110 37
Rijeka 2015–16 Prva HNL 13 7 2 0 15 7
2016–17 29 11 5 7 2 0 36 18
2017–18 17 7 2 2 10 6 29 15
Total 59 25 9 9 12 6 80 40
Dinamo Zagreb 2017–18 Prva HNL 15 8 2 1 17 9
2018–19 24 9 3 1 13 2 40 12
2019–20 19 4 3 3 8 0 1 0 31 7
2020–21 27 17 3 1 10 1 40 19
2021–22 3 1 0 0 2 0 5 1
Total 88 39 11 6 33 3 1 0 133 48
Kayserispor 2021–22 Süper Lig 26 10 4 2 30 12
2022–23 22 5 3 0 25 5
Career total 350 129 52 33 51 10 1 0 461 172

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Switzerland 2011 2 0
2012 3 4
2013 4 0
2014 2 0
2015 0 0
2016 0 0
2017 0 0
2018 9 2
2019 2 1
2020 4 3
2021 11 6
2022 4 0
Total 41 16
Scores and results list Switzerland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Gavranović goal.
List of international goals scored by Mario Gavranović
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 15 August 2012 Stadion Poljud, Split, Croatia 3  Croatia 3–1 4–2 Friendly
2 4–2
3 12 October 2012 Stade de Suisse, Wankdorf, Bern, Switzerland 4  Norway 1–0 1–1 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
4 16 October 2012 Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland 5  Iceland 2–0 2–0
5 27 March 2018 Swissporarena, Luzern, Switzerland 13  Panama 5–0 6–0 Friendly
6 12 October 2018 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium 18  Belgium 1–1 1–2 2018–19 UEFA Nations League A
7 8 September 2019 Stade Tourbillon, Sion, Switzerland 22  Gibraltar 4–0 4–0 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying
8 7 October 2020 Kybunpark, St. Gallen, Switzerland 23  Croatia 1–0 1–2 Friendly
9 13 October 2020 RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne, Germany 25  Germany 1–0 3–3 2020–21 UEFA Nations League A
10 3–2
11 31 March 2021 Kybunpark, St. Gallen, Switzerland 29  Finland 1–0 3–2 Friendly
12 3 June 2021 30  Liechtenstein 1–0 7–0
13 5–0
14 6–0
15 28 June 2021 Arena Națională, Bucharest, Romania 34  France 3–3 3–3 (aet) UEFA Euro 2020
16 12 October 2021 LFF Stadium, Vilnius, Lithuania 36  Lithuania 4–0 4–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours and Awards

Mario Gavranović won many trophies and awards during his football career:

With Schalke 04

With FC Zürich

  • Swiss Cup: 2013–14, 2015–16

With HNK Rijeka

  • Prva HNL: 2016–17 (Croatian League)
  • Croatian Cup: 2016–17

With Dinamo Zagreb

  • Prva HNL: 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21 (Croatian League)
  • Croatian Cup: 2017–18, 2020–21
  • Croatian Super Cup: 2019

With Switzerland U21

Individual Awards

  • Croatian Cup top scorer: 2016–17
  • Football Oscar – Prva HNL Team of the Year: 2017, 2018 (chosen as one of the best players in the league)

See also

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