Danijel Pranjić (born 2 December 1981) is a Croatian professional

football manager ''Football Manager'', also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008, is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game beg ...

and former

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...

. Being a versatile left-footed player, he could play all across the left

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

and could also be used as a

central midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. Pranjić had the most success with

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

side

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

, winning the

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

in the 2009–10 season and reaching the

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

and 2012 Champions League final. Pranjić has also played for clubs in the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Slovenia and Cyprus. At the international level, he debuted for

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

in 2004 and participated in three major tournaments with his national side,

Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

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 ...

and the

2014 World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

. After retiring as a player, Pranjić managed Croatian lower league clubs Dubrava and Trnje. He managed Bosnian sides Sloboda Tuzla and GOŠK Gabela, as well as Cypriot club Achyronas-Onisilos.

Club career

Born in

Našice Našice (; , sr-Cyrl, Нашице, , ) is a town in eastern Croatia, located on the northern slopes of the Krndija mountain in eastern Slavonia, 51 km southwest of regional hub Osijek. Administratively it belongs to Osijek-Baranja County. ...

, Pranjić started his career at hometown club NAŠK. He also played for

Papuk Papuk is the largest mountain in the Slavonia region in eastern Croatia, near the city of Požega, Croatia, Požega. It extends between Bilogora to the northwest, Krndija to the east, and Ravna Gora (Slavonia), Ravna gora and Psunj to the south ...

and

Belišće Belišće () ( sr-Cyrl, Белишће, ) is a town in Croatia, located in the region of Slavonia, Osijek-Baranja County, at the altitude of 93 m. The population of the town is 6,518 (2011), with 10,825 in the municipality. In 2011 census, the maj ...

before being acquired by Croatian top side

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

in 2002. Pranjić transferred to

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb (), commonly referred to as simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Cr ...

two seasons later in 2004. While at Dinamo Zagreb, he also played regularly during their

2004–05 UEFA Cup The 2004–05 UEFA Cup was the 34th edition of the UEFA Cup. The format of the competition had changed from previous seasons, replacing that from the previous one after the abolition of the Cup Winners' Cup in 1999; an extra qualifying round was ...

campaign, making six appearances and scoring one goal in the competition. In 2005, Pranjić was transferred to Dutch

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

side

Heerenveen Heerenveen (, ) is a town and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Friesland (Fryslân), in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, the town had a population of 29,790 (1 January) while the m ...

. His good performances as an offensive winger secured him a return to international football with

in 2007. He started the

2008–09 Eredivisie The 2008–09 Eredivisie was the 53rd season of Eredivisie since its establishment in 1955. PSV were the reigning champions. The season began on 29 August 2008 with a game between Vitesse Arnhem and FC Groningen and ended on 10 May 2009. A t ...

season well, netting four goals in his first three league matches. Pranjić scored his first

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in the

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...

on 12 November 2008 in a huge 7–0 win against Haaglandia. On 31 January 2009, he scored the only goal in a Heerenveen victory against

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

. A month later, Pranjić scored a late penalty that gave Heerenveen a 3–2 win over PSV. He won the KNVB Cup with Heerenveen at the end of the 2008–09 season, which turned out to be his last match for the club. In June 2009,

announced Pranjić would join the club. He struggled to make an impact in his first season with the club, starting only 14 matches and losing out to first choice left-back Holger Badstuber. Due to his utility and injuries to other teammates, however, he started an increasing number of games in his second season with the Bavarian club. On 13 July 2012, after the expiration of his Bayern contract, Pranjić was announced as a new signing for Portuguese

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

team

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

. He played nine games for ''Os Leões'' before joining Spanish

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

club

Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta Vigo, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues), the club was fou ...

in January 2013 on loan until the end of the season. On 30 August 2013, Pranjić and Sporting terminated the contract in mutual agreement. On 2 September 2013, it was officially announced that Pranjić had signed with Panathinaikos for three years. He made his professional debut in a 1–1 away draw against

Platanias Platanias (Greek: Πλατανιάς) is a village and municipality on the Greek island of Crete. It is located about west from the city of Chania and east of Kissamos, on Chania Bay. The seat of the municipality is the village Gerani. Platani ...

. On 11 September 2016, Pranjić joined Slovenian club

Koper Koper (; ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, fifth-largest city in Slovenia. Located in the Slovenian Istria, Istrian region in the southwestern part of the country, Koper is the main urban center of the Slovene coast. Port of Koper i ...

on a free transfer. On 21 July 2017, he signed with Cypriot club Anorthosis. On 1 July 2019, Pranjić signed with

Ayia Napa Ayia Napa ( , ), officially Romanization, romanised Agia Napa, is a Tourism in Cyprus, tourist resort at the far eastern end of the southern coast of Cyprus. Etymology The name Ayia Napa is derived from a Venetian Cyprus, Venetian-era monaster ...

, competing in the

Cypriot Second Division The Cypriot Second Division () is the second highest association football, football division of the Cypriot football league system. Administered by the Cyprus Football Association, it is contested by 16 teams, with the top three teams being Prom ...

International career

Pranjić started his international career with the Croatian under-21 national team, earning a total of 15 caps and scoring one goal for the team between 2002 and 2004. On 16 November 2004, Pranjić made his full international debut for

in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

. After two years of absence from the national team, he was called up for a friendly match against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

in February 2007. Later that year, he also appeared in three

UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach football in Europe and the transcontinental countries of Turkey, Azerbaijan ...

. Asked to play a defensive role by Croatia coach

Slaven Bilić Slaven Bilić (; born 11 September 1968) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player. Bilić, who played as a defender, began his career in 1988 with his hometown club Hajduk Split, later having successful spells with Karls ...

, although still predominantly a midfielder in his club career, Pranjić was the only Croatian to start all four games at the

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA ( ...

finals. Pranjić provided an assist to Darijo Srna to score the opener in Croatia's 2–1 victory over

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and an assist to Ivan Klasnić to score the only goal in their next game, a 1–0 win over

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. He kept his place as a regular in the national team during their unsuccessful qualifying campaign for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, appearing in a total of nine matches. On 28 September 2012, Pranjić retired from the national team in protest to the call up of Brazilian-born player Sammir. On 10 November 2013, Niko Kovač called up Pranjić to the national team after

Ivan Strinić Ivan Strinić (; born 17 July 1987) is a Croatian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football)#Full-back, left-back. Strinić spent his professional career playing in a number of clubs from ...

sustained an injury that made him ineligible for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying play-offs against

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. He was called up to Croatia's 23-man squad for the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

. Pranjić's last match for Croatia was a Euro 2016 qualification match against

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

in September 2015. He earned a total of 58 caps, scoring 1 goal.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

:''Scores and Results show Croatia's goal tally first'' , - , 1 , , 28 March 2015 , ,

Stadion Maksimir Maksimir Stadium (, ) is a multi-use stadium in Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia. Named after the surrounding neighbourhood of Maksimir, it is one of the List of football stadiums in Croatia, largest stadiums in the country with a current seating capacit ...

, Zagreb, Croatia , , , , , , , ,

UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying The UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying tournament was a football competition that was played from September 2014 to November 2015 to determine the 23 UEFA member men's national teams joining the automatically qualified host team France in the UEFA Euro 2 ...

Managerial

Honours

Player

Heerenveen *

: 2008–09 Bayern Munich *

: 2009–10 *

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

: 2009–10 *

DFL-Supercup The Franz Beckenbauer Supercup or ''German Super Cup'' is a one-off association football, football match in Germany that features the winners of the Bundesliga championship and the DFB-Pokal. The competition is run by the Deutsche Fußball Liga (E ...

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

runner-up: 2009–10, 2011–12 Panathinaikos *

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

: 2013–14

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pranjic, Danijel 1981 births Living people People from Našice Footballers from Osijek-Baranja County Men's association football fullbacks Men's association football wingers Croatian men's footballers 21st-century Croatian sportsmen Croatia men's under-21 international footballers Croatia men's international footballers UEFA Euro 2008 players UEFA Euro 2012 players 2014 FIFA World Cup players NK Belišće players NK Osijek players GNK Dinamo Zagreb players SC Heerenveen players FC Bayern Munich footballers FC Bayern Munich II players Sporting CP footballers RC Celta de Vigo players Panathinaikos F.C. players FC Koper players Anorthosis Famagusta FC players Ayia Napa FC players Omonia Psevda players Croatian Football League players Eredivisie players Bundesliga players La Liga players Primeira Liga players Super League Greece players Slovenian PrvaLiga players Cypriot First Division players Cypriot Second Division players Croatian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Slovenia Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Croatian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Slovenia Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Croatian football managers FK Sloboda Tuzla managers NK GOŠK Gabela managers Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina managers Croatian expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Cyprus Expatriate football managers in Bosnia and Herzegovina