Mladen Petrić facts for kids
Petrić at practice with Hamburg in 2009
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mladen Petrić | ||
| Date of birth | 1 January 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Dubrave, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.85 m | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1986–1996 | FC Neuenhof | ||
| 1996–1998 | FC Baden | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1998–1999 | FC Baden | 22 | (4) |
| 1999–2004 | Grasshopper | 114 | (30) |
| 2004–2007 | FC Basel | 72 | (38) |
| 2007–2008 | Borussia Dortmund | 29 | (13) |
| 2008–2012 | Hamburger SV | 99 | (38) |
| 2012–2013 | Fulham | 23 | (5) |
| 2013–2014 | West Ham United | 3 | (0) |
| 2014–2016 | Panathinaikos | 58 | (12) |
| Total | 420 | (140) | |
| National team | |||
| 1998 | Switzerland U17 | 1 | (0) |
| 2001 | Switzerland U21 | 1 | (0) |
| 2002–2004 | Croatia U21 | 7 | (1) |
| 2001–2013 | Croatia | 45 | (13) |
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Mladen Petrić (born 1 January 1981) is a retired professional footballer. He played as a forward, which means he was usually trying to score goals. During his career, he played for many famous clubs like Grasshopper, Basel, Borussia Dortmund, Hamburger SV, Fulham, West Ham United, and Panathinaikos. Mladen was born in a place called Dubrave, which was part of Yugoslavia back then. He played for Switzerland as a young player, but later chose to play for the Croatia senior team.
Contents
Mladen Petrić: A Football Star
Early Life and First Steps
Mladen Petrić was born in a small village called Dubrave, near Brčko, in what was then Yugoslavia. His family later moved to Vinkovci, and then to Neuenhof, Switzerland. This is where Mladen first started playing football for a local club, FC Neuenhof.
He then moved to FC Baden and began his professional football career there in the summer of 1998. After just one season, he left Baden and joined Grasshopper Club Zürich in 1999.
Playing for Clubs
Grasshopper Club Zürich: Early Success
Mladen joined Grasshopper Club (GC) for the 1999–2000 season. At that time, GC was one of the best teams in Switzerland. It was a bit tough for Mladen at first because the team often brought in foreign players for forward positions.
However, in the next season, a new coach, Hans-Peter Zaugg, arrived. Mladen started playing regularly and scored three goals in his first five games! At the end of the 2000–01 season, Mladen won his first championship with GC.
In the 2001–02 season, GC finished second in the league and reached the Swiss Cup final. Mladen scored a goal in the final, but his team lost 2–1 to FC Basel. He won his second championship with GC at the end of the 2002–03 season. Mladen left the club in the summer of 2004. He played 114 league games and scored 30 goals for Grasshopper.
FC Basel: Becoming a Top Scorer
In 2004, Mladen joined FC Basel. He signed a four-year contract. He made his league debut for Basel on 17 July 2004, in a game where Basel won 6–0 against Aarau. He scored his first goal for Basel on 22 September.
Unfortunately, Mladen got injured in February 2005 and missed the rest of that season. Still, Basel had a great season, winning the Swiss championship by 10 points! Mladen played 22 games and scored five goals.
As champions, Basel played in the Champions League qualifying rounds. They then moved to the 2005–06 UEFA Cup, where Mladen scored his first European goal. Basel did well in the UEFA Cup, reaching the quarter-finals. Mladen played in 13 European games and scored three goals.
In the 2005–06 season, Mladen scored a hat-trick (three goals in one game) against Thun. Basel was leading the league until the very last day. They lost the championship in the final minute of the last game, which was a tough moment for the team. Mladen was the fourth-highest goal scorer that season with 14 goals.
A memorable moment happened on 23 November 2006, during a match against Nancy. Basel's goalkeeper was sent off, and they had no more substitutions left. Mladen, a forward, had to go in goal! He even saved a penalty kick, helping his team get a 2–2 draw.
At the end of the 2006–07 season, Basel finished second in the league. Mladen was the league's top goal scorer with 19 goals and was voted Player of the Year by fans! Basel also won the Swiss Cup that season.
Mladen left Basel after this season. In his three years there, he played 141 games and scored 79 goals in total.
Borussia Dortmund: A Strong Start
On 11 June 2007, Mladen signed with German club Borussia Dortmund. He quickly showed how good he was as a striker. He scored two goals in Dortmund's 3–0 win against Werder Bremen. He was one of the top scorers in the league in his first season. He also helped his team reach the DFB-Pokal final, where he scored a goal in stoppage time.
Hamburger SV: More Goals and European Play
On 17 August 2008, Mladen moved to Hamburger SV (Hamburg). He made his debut for Hamburg on 23 August 2008. He scored his first goal for the club on 13 September 2008, which was the winning goal against Bayer Leverkusen.
In late 2008, Mladen scored five goals in three games, helping Hamburg win important matches in the German Cup and UEFA Cup. He also scored a last-minute winning goal against Energie Cottbus, keeping Hamburg at the top of the league table.
He scored a crucial goal from a free-kick in the Europa League semi-final against Fulham. Mladen left Hamburg at the end of the 2011–12 season.
Fulham: Premier League Debut
After leaving Hamburg, Mladen signed a one-year deal with English Premier League club Fulham. He joined up with his former Hamburg coach, Martin Jol.
Mladen made a fantastic debut for Fulham on the opening day of the 2012–13 Premier League season. He scored two goals and helped set up another, as Fulham beat Norwich City 5–0!
He was one of the players who left Fulham at the end of that season.
West Ham United: A Short Stay
On 10 September 2013, Mladen joined West Ham United for one year. He made his debut on 21 September 2013. He only played a few more games for the club before leaving in December 2013.
Panathinaikos: Final Club Years
On 8 January 2014, Mladen signed with Greek club Panathinaikos. In Athens, he played again with his old Hamburg teammate Marcus Berg and two players from the Croatia national team. He scored his first goal for Panathinaikos on 4 May 2014.
On 22 February 2015, he scored against rival club Olympiacos in a 2–1 win. He also scored a winning goal in a Greek Cup game on 7 January 2016.
Mladen Petrić announced his retirement from professional football on 28 May 2016.
Playing for His Country
Mladen Petrić first played for Switzerland at youth levels. Later, he decided to play for the Croatia national team.
He made his international debut for Croatia in November 2001, playing in two friendly matches against South Korea. He scored his first goal for Croatia in a friendly match against Wales on 21 August 2002.
Mladen became a very important player for Croatia in their Euro 2008 qualifying games. On 7 October 2006, he scored four goals in just 60 minutes against Andorra! This was the first time any player had scored four goals for Croatia in a competitive match. Croatia won that game 7–0. He scored two more goals against Andorra in a later game.
A famous moment came on 21 November 2007. Croatia was playing away against England. Croatia had already qualified for Euro 2008. The score was tied 2–2 when Mladen came on as a substitute. He scored the winning goal from about 25 yards out, which meant England was knocked out of qualifying for Euro 2008! It was England's first competitive loss at the new Wembley Stadium. Mladen said it was "the most valuable goal of my career."
Because of his great performance in the qualifying games, he was chosen for Croatia's Euro 2008 squad. Croatia won all their group matches, even beating Germany. However, they were knocked out by Turkey in the quarter-finals after a penalty shoot-out.
Mladen played his last international match for Croatia in February 2013, where he also scored a goal against South Korea.
Honours
Mladen Petrić won several important trophies during his career:
Club
Grasshopper
- Nationalliga A: 2000–01, 2002–03
Basel
- Swiss Super League: 2004–05
- Swiss Cup: 2006–07
Borussia Dortmund
- DFL-Supercup: 2008
Panathinaikos
- Greek Cup: 2013–14
Individual
- Swiss Golden Player Award: 2006
- Swiss Super League Best player: 2006–07
- Swiss Super League Top scorer: 2006–07
Images for kids
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Petrić at practice with Hamburg in 2009
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Petrić playing for Fulham in 2013
See also
In Spanish: Mladen Petrić para niños
