Gordon Schildenfeld
(born 18 March 1985) is a Croatian retired
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 played as a
centre-back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
. He was capped 29 times for the
Croatia national team.
Club career
Šibenik
Schildenfeld began playing football at his hometown club
HNK Šibenik
Hrvatski nogometni klub Šibenik ( en, Croatian Football Club Šibenik), better known as HNK Šibenik or simply Šibenik (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Šibenik. It competes in the Croatian Football League, and plays their ...
. The club's then manager
Stanko Mršić gave him his senior debut at age 16 against
Kamen Ingrad. In the 2005–06 season, Schildenfeld helped Šibenik win promotion to the top flight.
Dinamo Zagreb
Midway through his first season in the
Croatian first division, the country's top clubs
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 ...
and
Hajduk Split
Hrvatski nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split () or simply Hajduk, is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, t ...
became interested in signing Schildenfeld and his Šibenik teammate
Ante Rukavina. It first seemed likely that Schildenfeld and Rukavina would move to Hajduk together, but then Dinamo entered the race for the two players. In the end, on 2 January 2007, Schildenfeld moved to Dinamo while Rukavina joined archrivals Hajduk. Despite only having five months of top-flight experience at the time, Schildenfeld quickly managed to establish himself as a regular at Dinamo and helped the club winning both Croatian league and
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, ...
titles, also netting the crucial away goal against
Slaven Belupo
Nogometni klub Slaven Belupo ( en, Slaven Belupo Football Club), often referred to as NK Slaven Belupo, Slaven Belupo or simply Slaven, and known internationally as NK Slaven Koprivnica, is a Croatian professional football club based in the city ...
in the second leg of the cup final.
In the first part of the 2007–08 season, Schildenfeld was also one of the regulars in Dinamo's
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 ...
and
UEFA 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 Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
campaign, appearing in five Champions League qualifying matches and four UEFA Cup matches before the club was knocked out of the latter competition in the group stage. Schildenfeld became an unlucky figure in Dinamo's 2–1 defeat at Norwegian side
Brann in their second match in the UEFA Cup group stage, causing a penalty and being sent off for a
professional foul
In various sports, a professional foul is a deliberate act of foul play intended to bring about an advantage for the perpetrator's team. Professional fouls are usually committed to prevent an opponent from scoring.
Various sports contain provisi ...
in the final moments of the first half. He missed the last two group matches, against
Hamburger SV
Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of three ...
and
Rennes
Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...
, because of the red card.
Beşiktaş
Although he was initially set to stay at Dinamo Zagreb, Schildenfeld was signed by Turkish top club
Beşiktaş
Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and Şişli, on the west by Kağıthane and Şişli, on the south by Beyoğlu, and ...
under unexpected circumstances on 1 February 2008. Beşiktaş were actually ready to sign Schildenfeld's teammate
Dino Drpić, but the deal fell through due to Drpić's behaviour after a Croatian league match between Dinamo and Hajduk Split almost two years earlier.
Schildenfeld made his
Süper Lig
The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...
debut on 9 February 2008, coming on as a late substitute in Beşiktaş's 2–0 defeat at
Kayserispor
Kayseri Spor Kulübü, commonly known as Kayserispor, is a Turkish professional football club based in Kayseri. They play their home matches at the Kadir Has Stadium in red and yellow kits.
The team has won one Turkish Cup in 2008 and also fini ...
. He played his first full Süper Lig match a week later as Beşiktaş beat
Ankaraspor
Ankaraspor Kulübü (), formerly known as Osmanlıspor (), is a Turkish professional football club based in the country's capital Ankara. Founded in 1978, the club competes in the TFF Second League.
History
Ankaraspor was founded as "Ankara Bele ...
3–2 at home.
Duisburg
In September 2008, Schildenfeld joined
MSV Duisburg
Meidericher Spielverein 02 e. V. Duisburg, commonly known as simply MSV Duisburg (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Nicknamed ''Die Zebras'' for their traditional striped jers ...
of the German
2. Bundesliga on loan until the end of the season. He made his league debut for the club on 16 November 2008 in a 4–3 defeat at
SpVgg Greuther Fürth
Spielvereinigung Greuther Fürth (), commonly known as Greuther Fürth (), is a German football club based in Fürth, Bavaria. They play in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of the German football league system, following relegation from the B ...
, entering as a substitute for
Olcay Şahan in the 83rd minute. He made just four appearances for the club in the league, all of them as a substitute.
Sturm Graz
In July 2009, Schildenfeld joined
Sturm Graz
Sportklub Sturm Graz is an Austrian association football club, based in Graz, Styria, playing in the Austrian Football Bundesliga. The club was founded in 1909. Its colours are black and white.
In its history, Sturm Graz has won the Austrian f ...
of the
Austrian Bundesliga
The Austrian Football Bundesliga (german: Österreichische Fußball-Bundesliga, italic=no , "Austrian Football Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Austrian football league system. Th ...
on a season-long loan from Beşiktaş. He made his league debut for the club on 26 July 2009 in a 3–0 win at home to
Magna Wiener Neustadt, entering as a substitute for
Ferdinand Feldhofer in the 89th minute. He later managed to find his place as a regular at the club, appearing in 34 league matches during the season. His only goal in the league during the season came on 27 March 2010 when he netted the opening goal in a 3–0 win at
Kapfenberger SV
Kapfenberger SV is an Austrian association football club from Kapfenberg. They won the 2007–08 Austrian Football First League and advanced to the Austrian Bundesliga. The club was founded in 1919 as ''Kapfenberger SC''. The club was renamed ...
.
During his first season with Sturm Graz, he also made ten appearances for the club in the UEFA Europa League and was also a regular feature in their run to the
Austrian Cup
The Austrian Cup (german: ÖFB-Cup), known as UNIQA ÖFB Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual football competition held by the Austrian Football Association, the ÖFB. During the 2008–09 season, Austria Wien won the tournament for 27th t ...
title, making six appearances in the competition. On 15 August 2009, he netted a brace against TSV St. Johann in the Austrian Cup, helping Sturm to grab a 4–2 extra-time win in the first-round match. He also completed the full 90 minutes in the Cup final on 16 May 2010, which Sturm won 1–0 against Magna Wiener Neustadt. On 8 June 2010, he signed a three-year contract with Sturm Graz.
Eintracht Frankfurt
On 7 July 2011, Schildenfeld returned to the 2. Bundesliga to join
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 ...
. He played there in his first season 33 out of 34 possible matches, helping the club earn promotion to the top-flight
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 ...
. He scored one goal during the
2011–12 campaign.
Dynamo Moscow
On 11 July 2012, Schildenfeld signed a three-year contract with
Russian Premier League
The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 ...
side
Dynamo Moscow
MGO VFSO "Dynamo" (russian: МГО ВФСО «Динамо»), commonly known as Dynamo Moscow (russian: Динамо Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. Founded by Felix Dzerzhinsky on 18 April 1923, Dynamo Moscow was the first ...
for an undisclosed fee.
PAOK
After struggling to become regular starting center back in Dynamo, Schildenfeld moved on loan to
Superleague Greece
The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...
side
PAOK.
Panathinaikos
On 2 August 2013, Schildenfeld went on a loan to
Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...
. He stayed for two years being one of the most famous players of the club, winning the
Greek Cup
The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation.
The Greek Cup is the second most im ...
against his other Greek club
PAOK.
Dinamo Zagreb
In the summer of 2015, Schildenfeld returned to Dinamo Zagreb with a contract running until summer 2018. In summer 2016 he was linked with
Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...
.
Anorthosis Famagusta
On 6 July 2017,
Anorthosis Famagusta
Anorthosis Famagusta ( el, Ανόρθωση Αμμοχώστου, translit=Anorthosi Ammochostou), commonly known as Anorthosis in English or Anorthosi in Greek, is a Cypriot football club, part of the Anorthosis Famagusta multi-sport club fou ...
officially announced the acquisition of the Croatian international on a year contract for an undisclosed fee.
International career
On 1 March 2006, Schildenfeld won his only international cap for the
Croatia national under-21 team, coming on as a substitute in a friendly match against
Denmark
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, song_type = National and royal anthem
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, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
.
Schildenfeld went on to make his full international debut for
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
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on 14 November 2009, coming on as a substitute for
Darijo Srna
Darijo Srna (; born 1 May 1982) is a Croatian former professional footballer and current director of football of Ukrainian Premier League club Shakhtar Donetsk. During most of his career he played as a right wing-back.
He began his career at Haj ...
in the 58th minute of a friendly match against
Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...
in
Vinkovci
Vinkovci () is a city in Slavonia, in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in eastern Croatia. The city's registered population was 28,247 in the 2021 census, the total population of the city was 31,057, making it the largest town of the county. Surrounde ...
.
In 2010, he made a total of six international appearances, of which four were in friendlies. His competitive international debut came on 9 October 2010 in a
UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier at
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, in which he played the full 90 minutes. In November 2011, he played the full 90 minutes in both play-off matches against
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, helping Croatia to qualify for the finals after a 3–0 aggregate win. He went on to play in all three Croatian matches at
Euro 2012
The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...
.
Ten days after his 30th birthday, on 28 March 2015 coming in as a second-half substitute for midfielder
Ivan Rakitić
Ivan Rakitić (; born 10 March 1988) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a central or attacking midfielder for La Liga club Sevilla.
Rakitić started his professional career at Basel and spent two seasons with them before he was s ...
in a
UEFA Euro 2016 qualification match against
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
, Schildenfeld scored his first goal for the national side with a header off of a
Darijo Srna
Darijo Srna (; born 1 May 1982) is a Croatian former professional footballer and current director of football of Ukrainian Premier League club Shakhtar Donetsk. During most of his career he played as a right wing-back.
He began his career at Haj ...
corner kick to make the score 4–1 in the 87th minute. Croatia went on to win the match 5–1.
After
Euro 2016
The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...
finished, he had not received any further call ups for the national team.
Personal life
Schildenfeld's family on his father's side is originally from Slovenia and is of Austrian origin. Schildenfeld met his wife Christina Marsellou in 2014 in Athens. On 22 March 2017, their son Alexander Marsellos Schildenfeld was born. Two years later, on 9 September 2019, they welcomed their second child, Bella Marsellou Schildenfeld .
He has two daughters from his previous marriage with Ivana Škugor.
Career statistics
Club
International
:''Scores and results list Croatia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Schildenfeld goal''.
Honours
Club
Šibenik
*
Druga HNL
The Prva nogometna liga ( en, First football league), commonly Prva NL or 1. NL, is the second tier of the football league system in Croatia. The league was formed in 1991 with the breakup of Yugoslavia and the dissolution of the Yugoslav Second ...
(South):
2005–06
Dinamo Zagreb
*
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 ...
:
2007–08,
2015–16
*
Croatian Cup:
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
,
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
Sturm Graz
*
Austrian Bundesliga
The Austrian Football Bundesliga (german: Österreichische Fußball-Bundesliga, italic=no , "Austrian Football Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Austrian football league system. Th ...
:
2010–11
*
Austrian Cup
The Austrian Cup (german: ÖFB-Cup), known as UNIQA ÖFB Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual football competition held by the Austrian Football Association, the ÖFB. During the 2008–09 season, Austria Wien won the tournament for 27th t ...
:
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
Eintracht Frankfurt
*
2. Bundesliga Promotion:
2011–12
Panathinaikos
*
Greek Cup
The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation.
The Greek Cup is the second most im ...
:
2013–14
Individual
*
Croatian First Football League Team of the Year:
2015–16
*
Cypriot First Division
The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus officially ...
Team of the Year: 2017–18 2021–22
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schildenfeld, Gordon
1985 births
Living people
Footballers from Šibenik
Croatian people of Austrian descent
Croatian people of Slovenian descent
Men's association football central defenders
Croatian men's footballers
Croatia men's international footballers
UEFA Euro 2012 players
2014 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Euro 2016 players
HNK Šibenik players
GNK Dinamo Zagreb players
Beşiktaş J.K. footballers
MSV Duisburg players
SK Sturm Graz players
Eintracht Frankfurt players
FC Dynamo Moscow players
PAOK FC players
Panathinaikos F.C. players
Anorthosis Famagusta FC players
Aris Limassol FC players
Croatian Football League players
Süper Lig players
2. Bundesliga players
Austrian Football Bundesliga players
Russian Premier League players
Super League Greece players
Cypriot First Division players
Croatian expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey
Expatriate men's footballers in Germany
Expatriate men's footballers in Austria
Expatriate men's footballers in Russia
Expatriate men's footballers in Greece
Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus
Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey
Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Germany
Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Austria
Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Russia
Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Greece
Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus