Milan Badelj facts for kids
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Badelj playing for Croatia in 2015
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 25 February 1989 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Zagreb, SR Croatia, Yugoslavia | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.86 m | |||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Defensive midfielder | |||||||||||||||
| Club information | ||||||||||||||||
| Current club | Genoa | |||||||||||||||
| Number | 47 | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| 1995–2002 | Ponikve | |||||||||||||||
| 2002–2005 | NK Zagreb | |||||||||||||||
| 2005–2007 | Dinamo Zagreb | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||
| 2007–2012 | Dinamo Zagreb | 113 | (25) | |||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | → Lokomotiva (loan) | 28 | (7) | |||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | Hamburger SV | 62 | (2) | |||||||||||||
| 2014–2018 | Fiorentina | 108 | (6) | |||||||||||||
| 2018–2020 | Lazio | 23 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | → Fiorentina (loan) | 22 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2020– | Genoa | 138 | (7) | |||||||||||||
| National team‡ | ||||||||||||||||
| 2004 | Croatia U16 | 1 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | Croatia U17 | 28 | (2) | |||||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | Croatia U18 | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2006–2008 | Croatia U19 | 13 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2009 | Croatia U20 | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | Croatia U21 | 14 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2010–2021 | Croatia | 55 | (2) | |||||||||||||
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Honours
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† Appearances (Goals). |
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Milan Badelj (born 25 February 1989) is a professional footballer from Croatia. He plays as a defensive midfielder and is the captain for the Italian club Genoa.
Milan was a key player for the Croatian national team. He helped them reach the finals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He also played for Croatia in the 2014 FIFA World Cup and several UEFA Euro tournaments (2012, 2016, and 2020).
Club Career Highlights
Starting His Football Journey
Milan Badelj joined Dinamo Zagreb when he was 17 years old in 2007. Before that, he played in the youth teams of Dinamo Zagreb's city rival, NK Zagreb.
For the 2007–08 season, he was sent on loan to Lokomotiva. This was a team connected to Dinamo Zagreb. The loan helped him get experience playing with senior players. He played 28 games and scored seven goals for Lokomotiva.
Playing for Dinamo Zagreb
From a young age, many people thought Badelj could become a big star. Some even saw him as a future replacement for Luka Modrić. Modrić was a very important player for Dinamo Zagreb before he moved to Tottenham Hotspur in 2008.
In 2008, Badelj joined Dinamo Zagreb's main team. He quickly became an important player. He played his first senior game for Dinamo in a Champions League qualifying match. He then made his first league appearance in the opening game of the 2008–09 season. He even scored a goal in that game, helping his team win 2–0. In his first season with Dinamo, he played 31 league games and 12 UEFA Cup games.
Badelj continued to play well and became a regular starter for the 2009–10 season. He even wore the captain's armband in some matches during the 2010–11 season.
In the 2011–12 season, Badelj was one of the key players. He helped Dinamo reach the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League group stage. This was the first time in 12 years that Dinamo had made it to this stage. He played in all six of Dinamo's group stage games against big clubs like Real Madrid and Ajax.
His last game at the Stadion Maksimir for Dinamo was a Champions League playoff match. He scored an own goal by mistake, but then scored the winning goal for his team later in the game.
Moving to Germany: Hamburger SV
In August 2012, Badelj moved to Hamburger SV in Germany's top league, the Bundesliga. He quickly became a regular player for them. He often played as a deep-lying playmaker, which means he helped control the game from a deeper position on the field. He scored his first goal for Hamburger SV in November 2012.
Playing in Italy: Fiorentina
On 31 August 2014, Badelj signed with Serie A team Fiorentina in Italy. In 2018, after the sad death of his teammate Davide Astori, Milan was chosen to be the team captain.
Joining Lazio
Badelj moved to Lazio on 1 August 2018. He joined them for free after his contract with Fiorentina ended. In February 2019, he scored his first goal for Lazio.
Loan back to Fiorentina
On 5 August 2019, Badelj went back to Fiorentina on a loan deal. This meant he played for them for a season but was still officially a Lazio player. He even wore the captain's armband in a game, which was special because he was only on loan. After the loan ended, Fiorentina decided not to buy him permanently, so he returned to Lazio.
Current Club: Genoa
On 16 September 2020, Badelj signed a three-year contract with Genoa.
On February 20, 2021, he scored his first goal for Genoa. He scored in the last minute of a match to make the score equal. When he celebrated, he made the number 13 with his fingers. This was a special way to remember his friend and former teammate Davide Astori, who used to wear the number 13 jersey.
International Career
Milan Badelj played a lot for Croatia's youth national teams. He played 63 games for teams from Under-16 to Under-21.
In 2010, he was chosen for the main Croatia national team for the first time. His first official game was in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying match against Malta in September 2011. Croatia won 3–1, and Badelj scored one of the goals.
He was part of the squad for UEFA Euro 2012. In May 2014, he was also chosen for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. However, he didn't play much in that tournament, and Croatia was knocked out early. He also played in UEFA Euro 2016.
In May 2018, Badelj was selected for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He scored his first goal of the tournament in a 2–1 win against Iceland. This helped Croatia win their group with maximum points. On 1 July, in a knockout game against Denmark, the game ended in a 1–1 draw. It went to a penalty shootout. Badelj missed Croatia's first penalty, but his team still won the shootout and moved on.
Career Statistics
Club Appearances and Goals
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Lokomotiva | 2007–08 | Treća HNL | 28 | 7 | — | — | — | 28 | 7 | |||
| Dinamo Zagreb | 2008–09 | Prva HNL | 31 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 12 | 1 | — | 50 | 6 | |
| 2009–10 | Prva HNL | 27 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 2 | — | 40 | 14 | ||
| 2010–11 | Prva HNL | 29 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 9 | |
| 2011–12 | Prva HNL | 24 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 12 | 1 | — | 42 | 6 | ||
| 2012–13 | Prva HNL | 2 | 1 | — | 6 | 1 | — | 8 | 2 | |||
| Total | 113 | 25 | 23 | 7 | 52 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 189 | 37 | ||
| Hamburger SV | 2012–13 | Bundesliga | 31 | 1 | — | — | — | 31 | 1 | |||
| 2013–14 | Bundesliga | 29 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 35 | 1 | ||
| 2014–15 | Bundesliga | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| Total | 62 | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 69 | 2 | |||
| Fiorentina | 2014–15 | Serie A | 21 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 0 | — | 37 | 1 | |
| 2015–16 | Serie A | 27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | 35 | 1 | ||
| 2016–17 | Serie A | 33 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 41 | 2 | ||
| 2017–18 | Serie A | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 2 | |||
| Total | 108 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 26 | 0 | — | 140 | 6 | |||
| Lazio | 2018–19 | Serie A | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 26 | 1 | |
| Fiorentina (loan) | 2019–20 | Serie A | 22 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 1 | ||
| Genoa | 2020–21 | Serie A | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 1 | ||
| 2021–22 | Serie A | 34 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 1 | |||
| 2022–23 | Serie B | 26 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 3 | |||
| 2023–24 | Serie A | 32 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 1 | |||
| 2024–25 | Serie A | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 1 | |||
| Total | 138 | 7 | 10 | 0 | — | — | 148 | 7 | ||||
| Career total | 490 | 49 | 46 | 7 | 80 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 619 | 61 | ||
International Appearances and Goals
| Croatia | ||
| Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2 | 0 |
| 2011 | 1 | 1 |
| 2012 | 4 | 0 |
| 2013 | 2 | 0 |
| 2014 | 2 | 0 |
| 2015 | 6 | 0 |
| 2016 | 12 | 0 |
| 2017 | 6 | 0 |
| 2018 | 9 | 1 |
| 2019 | 6 | 0 |
| 2020 | 3 | 0 |
| 2021 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 55 | 2 |
- Scores and results list Croatia's goal tally first
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 September 2011 | Ta' Qali National Stadium, Attard, Malta |  Malta |
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UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying |
| 2 | 26 June 2018 | Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don, Russia |  Iceland |
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2018 FIFA World Cup |
Honours and Awards
Dinamo Zagreb
- Prva HNL (Croatian League Champion): 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12
- Croatian Cup (Cup Winner): 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12
- Croatian Super Cup (Super Cup Winner): 2010
Lazio
- Coppa Italia (Italian Cup Winner): 2018–19
Croatia National Team
- FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2018 (finished second place)
Individual Awards
- Croatian Football Hope of the Year: 2009 (Award for promising young players)
Special Recognition
Order of Duke Branimir : 2018 (A special award from Croatia)
See also
In Spanish: Milan Badelj para niños
