Daniel Olmo Carvajal (born 7 May 1998) is a Spanish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays for

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

club

RB Leipzig RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. (), commonly known as RB Leipzig, and colloquially referred to as Red Bull Leipzig, is a German professional football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company Red Bu ...

and the Spain national team. He can play as either an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

or a winger. After a period at

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

, he made his professional debut for

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb ( en, Dinamo Zagreb Citizens' Football Club, link=yes, italics=yes), commonly referred to as GNK Dinamo Zagreb or simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo ...

in Croatia in 2015. He made 124 total appearances for the club, scoring 34 goals and winning the

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

five times and the

cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...

three times. In 2020, he joined

, where he won the

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

. Olmo won the 2019 UEFA European Championship with the Spain under-21 team, and a silver medal at the 2020 Olympic tournament. He made his senior international debut in 2019 and was part of the team that reached the semi-finals of

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

Club career

Early career

Born in

Terrassa Terrassa (, es, Tarrasa) is a city in the east central region of Catalonia, Spain, in the province of Barcelona, ''comarca'' of Vallès Occidental, of which it is the co-capital along with Sabadell. The name ''Terrassa'' derives from Latin ' ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

, Olmo arrived in

's youth academy aged nine, from neighbours

RCD Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league sy ...

Dinamo Zagreb

In a surprise move, Olmo joined

on 31 July 2014, aged 16. He made his first team debut against Lokomotiva Zagreb on 7 February 2015, as a 76th-minute substitute for

Paulo Machado Paulo Ricardo Ribeiro de Jesus Machado (born 31 March 1986) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. Formed at Porto, he amassed Primeira Liga totals of 103 matches and eight goals over five seasons, ...

in a 2–1 home win. On 22 September, he scored his first goal in a 7–1 win at Oštrc Zlatar in the

first round First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

of the

. On 22 August 2016, Olmo signed a new four-year contract. He scored three goals in four games as the team came runners-up in the cup, including one in the 3–1 loss to

Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

on 31 May; four days earlier he scored his first league goal in a 5–2 home win over the same team – already champions – on the final day. Olmo provided

Izet Hajrović Izet Hajrović (; born 4 August 1991) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Super League Greece club Aris and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Hajrović started his professional career at Grasshoppers, befor ...

with an assist for the third goal and scored the fourth in the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

4–1 victory over Fenerbahçe on 20 September 2018. On 17 December, Olmo was named the best player of

Prva HNL The Hrvatska nogometna liga () ( en, Croatian football league), also known as HNL or for sponsorship reasons the SuperSport HNL, is the top Croatian professional football league competition, established in 1992. Previously, it was called Prva H ...

for 2018. In the same month, he finished 11th in ''

Tuttosport ''Tuttosport'' is an Italian sport newspaper published in Turin, Italy. History and profile ''Tuttosport'' was first published on 30 July 1945. Renato Casalbore (who later died in the 1949 Superga air disaster alongside the Il Grande Torino fo ...

'''s Golden Boy award, ahead of the likes of

Kylian Mbappé Kylian Mbappé Lottin (born 20 December 1998) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and the France national team. Considered one of the best players in the world, he is renowned for his dribb ...

and Josip Brekalo. On 14 February 2019, he scored the only goal in a Europa League round of 32 game against

Viktoria Plzeň Viktoria usually refers to Viktoria, a name which is the same as Victoria (name), but may also refer to: Places * FK Viktoria Stadion, stadium of Viktoria Žižkov * Viktoria-Luise-Platz, building in Berlin * Viktoriastadt, now known as Victoria ...

, that ended in a 2–1 loss. On 3 June, he was named the best player and best young player of the 2018–19 Prva HNL season. On 18 September 2019, he made his Champions League debut in a 4–0 home win over

Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene and who is primarily known ...

. He scored his first goal in the competition on 22 October in a 2–2 away draw with

Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk ( uk, Футбольний клуб «Шахтар» Донецьк , short nickname "miners") is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Donetsk. In 2014, due to the War in Donbass, the club was f ...

. He scored the only Dinamo's goal in a 1–4 home defeat to

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

on 11 December, as Dinamo finished at the bottom of the group.

RB Leipzig

On 25 January 2020, Olmo moved to

club

, signing a four-year contract. He made his debut a week later, in a 2–2 draw with

Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e. V. Mönchengladbach, commonly known as Borussia Mönchengladbach (), Mönchengladbach () or Gladbach (; abbreviated as Borussia MG, BMG), is a professional Association football, football club based in ...

coming on for

Tyler Adams Tyler Shaan Adams (born February 14, 1999) is an American professional soccer player who plays for Premier League club Leeds United and captains the United States national team. Primarily a midfielder, Adams is capable of playing as a fullba ...

in 69th minute. On 4 February he scored the only goal in a 3–1

defeat to

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The team is currently playing in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the Germa ...

, having come on for Amadou Haidara at half time. Olmo made his first start for Leipzig on 9 February 2020, in a game against

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

that ended as a goalless draw, coming off for

Patrik Schick Patrik Schick (born 24 January 1996) is a Czech professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Bayer Leverkusen and the Czech Republic national team. Born in Prague, Schick began his career with local club Sparta Prague, rising thr ...

in the 69th minute. On 12 June, he scored both goals in a 2–0 victory over 1899 Hoffenheim. On 13 August, he scored the opening goal in a 2–1 victory over

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

Estádio José Alvalade Estádio José Alvalade is a football stadium in Lisbon, Portugal, home of Sporting Clube de Portugal. It was built adjacent to the site of the older stadium. The stadium is named after José Alvalade (1885–1918), the founder and first club mem ...

, as Leipzig progressed to the Champions League semi-final for the first time in the history of the club. Olmo played four games in RB Leipzig's victory in the

in 2021–22, scoring to conclude a 2–0 home win over

Hansa Rostock FC Hansa Rostock () is a German association football club based in the city of Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The club is also called as "the cog" because of its club crest. They have emerged as one of the most successful clubs from the forme ...

in the last 16 on 19 January. He was a 69th-minute substitute for

Kevin Kampl Kevin Kampl (born 9 October 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig. Born in Germany, he has represented the Slovenia national team at international level. Besides Germany, he has played in Au ...

in the

on 21 May, and scored in the penalty shootout win after a 1–1 draw with

SC Freiburg Sport-Club Freiburg e.V., commonly known as SC Freiburg () or just Freiburg, is a German football club, based in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg. It plays in the Bundesliga, having been promoted as champions from the 2. Bund ...

; with two minutes of extra time remaining, he was tackled in the penalty area by Nicolas Höfler and Kampl was sent off from the substitutes' bench for demanding a penalty kick. On 30 July, again on for Kampl, he scored a consolation goal in a 5–3 loss to

in the

2022 DFL-Supercup The 2022 DFL-Supercup was the 13th edition of the German super cup under the name DFL-Supercup, an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal competitions. The match was played on 30 July 202 ...

International career

Youth teams

Olmo was part of the Spanish squad at the 2015 European Under-17 Championship in

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

; he netted in the

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

as they were eliminated by

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in the

quarter-finals A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

, but then had his attempt saved by Will Huffer as

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

lost to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

by the same means in a

play-off The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

for that year's World Cup for the category. Towards the end of 2017,

director Tomislav Svetina said that the club was doing all it could to get the teenager

Croatian citizenship The Croatian nationality law dates back from June 26, 1991, with amendments on May 8, 1992, October 28, 2011, and January 1, 2020, and an interpretation of the Constitutional Court in 1993. It is based upon the Constitution of Croatia (Chapter II ...

. Olmo himself showed a desire to switch to

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

at the international level. However, in October 2018, he made his debut for the Spain U21 side. Olmo was part of Spain's squad that won the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and

San Marino San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...

, playing four matches, assisting one goal and scoring three, including one in the

which caused him to be named

Man of the Match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

Senior team

Olmo earned his first senior team call-up in November 2019, for Euro 2020 qualifiers against

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, after Spain had already qualified for the tournament. He debuted on 15 November as a substitute for

Álvaro Morata Álvaro Borja Morata Martín (; born 23 October 1992) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the Spain national team. He began his career at Real Madrid, making his debut with the sen ...

in the 66th minute and scored three minutes later in the 7–0 home victory over Malta. Fellow debutant Pau Torres also scored, making it the first time that two Spaniards scored on their first cap in 30 years. On 24 May 2021, Olmo was included in

Luis Enrique Luis Enrique Martínez García (; born 8 May 1970), known as Luis Enrique, is a Spanish football manager and former player. A versatile player with good technique, he was capable of playing in several different positions, but usually played as ...

's 24-man squad for the

. On 28 June, in the

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

of the

round of 16 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

fixture against Croatia, he provided Morata and

Mikel Oyarzabal Mikel Oyarzabal Ugarte (born 21 April 1997) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left winger or forward for La Liga club Real Sociedad and the Spain national team. He has spent his entire professional career with Real Sociedad, ...

with assists to set the score at 4–3 and 5–3 respectively. On 2 July, after the

quarter-final A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

1–1 draw with

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

went to a penalty shoot-out, Olmo successfully converted his as Spain won 3–1. On 6 July, in the

semi-final A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

fixture against

, he provided Morata with an assist for an equalizer; however, another 1–1 draw went to another shoot-out with Olmo missing his

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) A p ...

and Italy winning 4–2. Olmo was included in Luis de la Fuente's 22-man squad for the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

, on 29 June 2021. On

's road to Olympic silver, Olmo contributed an assist in the 1–1 draw with

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, and a goal and an assist in the 5–2 victory over

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

. He was named a starter in the

that Spain lost 2–1 to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Personal life

Olmo's father, Miquel, is a retired footballer. As a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

, he played professionally for lower-league teams. Dani's older brother Carlos is also a footballer and plays as a defender; he spent several years in Croatia, for Dinamo's reserves and also for Lokomotiva Zagreb. Olmo speaks Croatian fluently.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first.''

Honours

Dinamo Zagreb *

: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20 * Croatian Cup: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18 *

Croatian Super Cup The Croatian Football Super Cup is a football match between the winners of the Croatian national top league and football cup. The Super Cup is always held at the beginning of a new football season, and is only held when different clubs win the t ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

RB Leipzig *

: 2021–22 Spain U21 *

UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the compe ...

Spain U23 *

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

silver medal:

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

Individual *UEFA European Under-21 Championship Team of the Tournament:

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

Breakthrough XI: 2019 *

Prva HNL Player of the Year The Prva HNL Player of the Year award ( hr, Najbolji nogometaš HNL) was an annual association football award given by the Croatian newspaper ''Slobodna Dalmacija''. It was awarded to the best football player who plied his trade in the Prva HNL (o ...

: 2018 * Trophy Footballer – Best Prva HNL player:

* Trophy Footballer – Best Prva HNL U-21 player:

* Trophy Footballer – Prva HNL Team of the Year:

GNK Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb ( en, Dinamo Zagreb Citizens' Football Club, link=yes, italics=yes), commonly referred to as GNK Dinamo Zagreb or simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo ...

Player of the Year: 2019 *SIMPOSAR International Sports Symposium – Discovery of the Year: 2019

References

External links

Profile
at the RB Leipzig website * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Olmo, Dani 1998 births Living people Footballers from Terrassa Spanish footballers Association football wingers GNK Dinamo Zagreb II players GNK Dinamo Zagreb players RB Leipzig players Croatian Football League players First Football League (Croatia) players Bundesliga players Spain youth international footballers Spain under-21 international footballers Spain international footballers UEFA Euro 2020 players 2022 FIFA World Cup players Spanish expatriate footballers Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Croatia Expatriate footballers in Croatia Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate footballers in Germany Olympic footballers of Spain Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in football Olympic silver medalists for Spain Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics