Mario Mandžukić

Mandžukić playing for Bayern Munich
Personal information
Full name	Mario Mandžukić
Date of birth	21 May 1986 (age 26)
Place of birth	Slavonski Brod, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Striker / Winger
Club information
Current club	Bayern Munich
Number	9
Youth career
1992–1996	TSF Ditzingen
1996–2003	Marsonia
2003–2004	Željezničar Slavonski Brod
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2004–2005	Marsonia	23	(14)
2005–2007	Zagreb	51	(14)
2007–2010	Dinamo Zagreb	81	(42)
2010–2012	VfL Wolfsburg	56	(20)
2012–	Bayern Munich	7	(6)
National team‡
2004–2005	Croatia U19	10	(3)
2007	Croatia U20	1	(1)
2005–2007	Croatia U21	9	(1)
2007–	Croatia	35	(8)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 October 2012. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17:47, 12 September 2012 (UTC) Club career Mandžukić made his first footballing steps at the German club TSF Ditzingen, based near Stuttgart, in 1992. Upon his return to his home city he spent the period between 1996 and 2003 at Marsonia, before spending a season at the city minnows NK Željezničar. The next season he returned to Marsonia and in the summer of 2005 he made a move to NK Zagreb. He thrived under the tuition of Miroslav Blažević and earned a lot interest from other clubs. In the summer of 2007 he was bought by the Croatian powerhouse Dinamo Zagreb for €1.3 million as a replacement for their star striker Eduardo da Silva.[1] He finished his first season at Dinamo with 12 goals and 11 assists throughout 29 matches, but also had a bad discipline record, collecting 8 yellow cards. In the 2008–09 Prva HNL Mandžukić was league's top goalscorer, bagging 16 goals in 28 appearances. After the 2008–09 season had finished he was linked with German side Werder Bremen, but the €12m offer was rejected by Dinamo Zagreb board who were of opinion that Mandžukić's price was at least €15m. On 17 September 2009, after Dinamo lost 2–0 at home to Anderlecht in Europa League, Mandžukić was controversially fined €100k after being accused for poor performance.[2] It was the first time in the history of the club that the player was financially fined.[3] On 20 September, Mandžukić captained Dinamo to a 6–0 victory against Rijeka in Prva HNL. In a post–match interview Mandžukić rejected any speculations about him leaving the club after the fine, stating that it was his childhood dream to captain Dinamo side and that he tends to give his best in any match he plays for the club. VfL Wolfsburg On 14 July 2010, Mandžukić signed for VfL Wolfsburg for a fee believed to be around 7 million euros.[4] In two years at Wolfsburg, he scored 20 times in 56 appearances. Bayern Munich On 26 June 2012, Mandžukić signed a contract with Bundesliga club Bayern Munich, pending a medical test, subsequent to his strong performance at the 2012 Euro Championships held jointly in Ukraine and Poland, and because of his terrific form for VfL Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga. On 27 June the transfer was announced by Bayern Munich.[5][6] The fee was undisclosed. On 24 July 2012, Mandžukić made his debut for Bayern Munich in a 6–0 win against Chinese Super League side Beijing Guoan F.C. scoring his first goal in this friendly match, making the score 5–0 in the 79th minute. On 12 August 2012, he scored his first goal in an official game against Borussia Dortmund, in the 6th minute, and helped his team to win the German Supercup. He scored his first league goal for Bayern against Greuther Fürth on matchday one and added another one the next matchday in a 6–1 win against VfB Stuttgart. He went on to score twice against his ex-club VfL Wolfsburg.								National team After putting together a string of solid performances in the 2007–08 Prva HNL, as well as in Dinamo's UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup matches, he earned a call–up to the Croatian national team, for which he debuted in a game against Macedonia on 17 November 2007. On 10 September 2008, he scored his first ever goal for Croatia in a 4–1 loss against England. He scored twice in Croatia's opening game of Euro 2012 against Republic of Ireland. He also scored against Italy in the following group game.[7] He was co-top scorer of the tournament, with three goals.