Mario Vrančić (; born 23 May 1989) is a Bosnian 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 le ...

who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an 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 central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

Bosnian Premier League The m:tel Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( bs, m:tel Premijer liga Bosne i Hercegovine / м:тел Премијер лига Босне и Херцеговине), also known as Liga 12, is the top tier football league in Bosnia and He ...

club

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

. Vrančić started his professional career at

Mainz 05 1. Fußball- und Sportverein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05, Mainz 05 () or simply Mainz (), is a German sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. 1. FSV Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the top ...

, playing mainly in its

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

. In 2009, he was sent on loan to

Rot Weiss Ahlen Rot Weiss Ahlen is a German football club based in Ahlen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Until 2006 the club was known as ''LR Ahlen'' for its major sponsor, but underwent a name change when the sponsor withdrew its support after the team was relegated ...

. Two years later, he joined

Borussia Dortmund II Borussia Dortmund II are the reserve team of Borussia Dortmund. They play in the 3. Liga, at Stadion Rote Erde. Until 2005, the team played as Borussia Dortmund Amateure. History From Kreisliga to Oberliga (Until 1997) The second team of Boruss ...

. The following year, he moved to

SC Paderborn Sport-Club Paderborn 07 e.V., commonly known as simply SC Paderborn 07 () or SC Paderborn, is a German association football club based in Paderborn, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club has enjoyed its greatest successes since the turn of the mille ...

. Vrančić switched to

Darmstadt 98 Sportverein Darmstadt 1898 e.V., commonly known as Darmstadt 98 (), is a German football club based in Darmstadt, Hesse. The club was founded on 22 May 1898 as FC Olympia Darmstadt. Early in 1919, the association was briefly known as ''Rasen-Sp ...

in 2015. In 2017, he was transferred to

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

. Four years later, Vrančić signed with

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

, who loaned him to Rijeka in 2022. In 2023, he signed with Rijeka, who then loaned him to Sarajevo. A former German youth international, Vrančić made his senior international debut for

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

in 2015, earning 6

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

until 2017.

Club career

Early career

Vrančić started playing football at a local club, before joining youth academy of

in 2004. He made his professional debut with Mainz 05 II in 2006 at the age of 17. In June 2009, he was sent on a season-long loan to

. In January 2011, he moved to

SC Paderborn

In May 2012, Vrančić signed a two-year deal with

. He made his official debut for the team on 3 August against

Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC (), and sometimes referred to as Hertha Berlin, Hertha BSC Berlin, or simply Hertha, is a German professional football club based in the locality of Westend of the borough of Charl ...

. On 11 August, he scored a brace in a triumph over

VfL Bochum Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as simply VfL Bochum (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club has spent 35 seas ...

, which were his first goals for the side. Vrančić was instrumental in SC Paderborn's first ever promotion to

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 ...

, which was sealed on 11 May 2014. He scored 5 goals and added 9 assists. The following day, he signed a new two-year contract with the team.

Darmstadt 98

In June 2015, Vrančić was transferred to

for an undisclosed fee. He made his competitive debut for the club in

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 ...

game against

TuS Erndtebrück TuS Erndtebrück is a Football in Germany, German association football club from the town of Erndtebrück, Siegen-Wittgenstein. The club was established in 1895 as the gymnastics club ''Turnverein Erndtebrück''. Today, ''TuS'' has a dozen other ...

on 7 August. Two weeks later, he made his league debut against

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine ...

. On 12 March 2016, he scored his first goal for Darmstadt 98 against

FC Augsburg Fußball-Club Augsburg 1907 e. V., commonly known as FC Augsburg () or Augsburg, is a German football club based in Augsburg, Bavaria. FC Augsburg play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system. The team was founded as ...

Norwich City

In June 2017, Vrančić joined English outfit

on a three-year deal. He debuted officially for the team on 5 August against

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

. On 19 September, he scored a brace in

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

game against

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

, his first goals for the side. Six months later, he scored his first league goal in a defeat of

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

. Vrančić was an important piece in Norwich City's conquest of

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

title, his first trophy with the club, which was secured on 5 May 2019 and earned them promotion to

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

. He had an impact of 10 goals and 7 assists. In July, he extended his contract until June 2021. Vrančić scored his first Premier League goal against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

on 28 December. He played his 100th game for the side in a loss 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 26 July 2020.

Stoke City

In July 2021, Vrančić moved to

on a one-year deal. He made his debut on 7 August 2021 in a 3–2 victory against

. On 25 September 2021, he scored his first goal for Stoke against

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...

. He scored in victories over

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

and

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

. In May 2022, he signed a one-year contract extension. Vrančić made 35 appearances for Stoke in 2021–22 as the team finished in 14th position.

Rijeka

On 18 June 2022, Vrančić signed for Croatian side

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 ...

on loan for the 2022–23 season. He permanently signed for Rijeka in February 2023, being afterwards loaned to

side

International career

Despite representing

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 ...

at various youth levels, with whom he won the

2008 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship The final tournament of the 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship was the 24th UEFA European Under-19 Championship, UEFA's premier competition for players under the age of 19. The tournament was held in the Czech Republic with matches played fro ...

, Vrančić decided to play for

at senior level. In June 2015, his request to change sports citizenship from German to Bosnian was approved by

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

. Subsequently, he received his first senior call-up in August 2015, for UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers against

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

. He debuted against the latter on 6 September.

Personal life

Vrančić's older brother

Damir Damir is a common male given name in South Slavic languages. It also occasionally appears in Central Asia and Turkic regions of Russia. It is of Slavic origin, with ''da'' meaning "give"/"take", and ''mir'', meaning "peace". It can also be a v ...

is also a professional footballer.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Norwich City *

: 2018–19,

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

Germany U19 *

UEFA European Under-19 Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship, or simply UEFA Under-19 Championship or the UEFA Euro U-19, is an annual football competition contested by the European men's under-19 national teams of the member associations of UEFA. Spain and England ...

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; ...

References

External links