Ognjen Vranješ (; born 24 October 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 lea ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

. Vranješ started his professional career at Borac Banja Luka, before joining

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

in 2009. He was sent on loan to Napredak Kruševac in 2010 and to Sheriff Tiraspol later that year. Vranješ then played in Russia for

Krasnodar Krasnodar, formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern Russia, with a population of 1,154,885 residents, and up to 1.263 millio ...

and Spartak Vladikavkaz and in Turkey for Elazığspor and

Gaziantepspor Gaziantepspor was a Turkish football club located in the city of Gaziantep. Formed in 1969 and dissolved in 2020, Gaziantepspor were nicknamed the ''Şahinler'' (The Falcons). The club colours were black and red, and they played their home matc ...

. He signed with Sporting Gijón in 2016. Later that year, he switched to Tom Tomsk. A year later, he moved to AEK Athens. The following year, Vranješ was transferred to

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

, who loaned him back to AEK Athens in 2019 and to

Charleroi Charleroi (, , ; ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the largest city in both Hainaut and Wallonia. The city is situated in the valley of the Sambre, in the south-west of Belgium, not ...

in 2021. Later that year, he went back to AEK Athens. In 2022, he joined Hatayspor. A year after, he moved to Čukarički. A former youth international for

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

, Vranješ made his senior international debut in 2010, earning over 30 caps until 2018. He represented the nation at their first major championship, 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 ...

Club career

Early career

Vranješ came through the youth academy of his hometown club Borac Banja Luka, which he joined in 2000. He made his professional debut in 2007 at the age of 17. On 9 August 2008, he scored his first professional goal against

Orašje Orašje ( sr-cyrl, Орашје) is a city and the capital of Posavina Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the northern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the banks of river ...

, which secured the victory for his team. In December, he signed with Serbian side

. In January 2010, he was sent on a six-month loan to Napredak Kruševac. In July, he was loaned to Moldovan outfit Sheriff Tiraspol until the end of the season. In January 2011, Vranješ moved to Russian team

. In December 2012, he joined Spartak Vladikavkaz. In May 2013, he suffered a severe knee injury, which was diagnosed as an anterior cruciate ligament tear and was ruled out for at least six months. In January 2014, he went to Turkish club Elazığspor. In February 2015, he switched to

. In January 2016, Vranješ joined Spanish outfit Sporting Gijón. In August, he signed with Tom Tomsk.

AEK Athens

In December, Vranješ moved to Greek side AEK Athens on a contract until June 2019. He was sent off on his official debut for the squad on 7 January against Asteras Tripolis. On 5 February, he scored his first goal for AEK Athens in a triumph over Veria. Vranješ scored his first career

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 a defeat of Xanthi on 18 February 2018. He won his first trophy with the club on 23 April, when they were crowned league champions.

Anderlecht

In June, Vranješ was transferred to Belgian outfit

for an undisclosed fee. He made his competitive debut for the side on 28 July against

Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; or ''Kortrik''; ), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of We ...

and scored an own goal. In June 2019, he was sent on a season-long loan to his former team AEK Athens. In January 2021, he was loaned to

for the remainder of the campaign.

Return to AEK Athens

In July, Vranješ returned to AEK Athens on a two-year deal. He played his first official game for the club since coming back in a UEFA Conference League qualifier against Velež on 29 July. Six weeks later, he appeared in his first league game after returning against Ionikos. On 3 October, he scored first goal for AEK Athens since his comeback in a victory over

Panetolikos Panetolikos Football Club (), or with its full name officially romanized as Panaitolikós Gymnastikós Filekpaideftikós Sýllogos (''; Pan- Aetolian Gymnastic and Educational Club''), is a Greek professional football club. It is based in Agrini ...

. He played his 100th match for the squad against Panetolikos on 16 January 2022.

Later stage of career

In July, Vranješ signed with Hatayspor. In September 2023, he moved to Čukarički.

International career

Vranješ was a member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina under-21 team for several years. In August 2010, he received his first senior call-up, for UEFA Euro 2012 qualifiers against

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, but had to wait until 17 November to make his debut in a friendly game against

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. In June 2014, Vranješ was named in Bosnia and Herzegovina's squad for the

, country's first major competition. He made his tournament debut in the last group match against

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

on 25 June. He retired from international football on 13 February 2020.

Personal life

Vranješ's older brother Stojan is also a professional footballer. He and his ex-wife Danijela, with whom he had been married for six years, have a daughter named Adrijana. During his career, Vranješ has been the subject of many controversies. In August 2010, he wore Delije shirt to celebrate his then club Sheriff Tiraspol eliminating Dinamo Zagreb in a UEFA Champions League qualifier, which was construed as provocation. In 2015, he made a

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing processes ...

depicting borders of

Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, ; also referred to as the Republic of Srpska or Serb Republic) is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities within Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other bein ...

on his left upper arm, which led to public scrutiny. He later apologized and covered the tattoo up. Because of the tattoo, he had many altercations with BHFanaticos, the largest Bosnian support group. In September 2018, he was sentenced to eight months

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...

for instigating fan violence over his

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page during his time with AEK Athens. Later that year, it was spotted that Vranješ had a tattoo of

Chetnik The Chetniks,, ; formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland; and informally colloquially the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationalist m ...

duke

Momčilo Đujić Momčilo Đujić ( sh-Cyrl, Момчилo Ђујић, ; 27 February 1907 – 11 September 1999) was a Serbian Orthodox Church, Serbian Orthodox priest and Chetnik . He led a significant proportion of the Chetniks within the northern Dalm ...

on his upper right arm, which got him publicly criticized by the Bosnian FA and the fans, with whom he already had bad relations. In January 2019, he was once again in center of a scandal, as media reported that he had an affair with Serbian singer

Jelena Karleuša Jelena Karleuša ( sr-Cyrl, Јелена Карлеуша; born 17 August 1978) is a Serbian singer and media personality. Born and raised in Belgrade, she began her music career by releasing her debut album ''Ogledalce'' (1995) at the age of 16 ...

, who was married to footballer Duško Tošić at the time. In January 2023, he, along with his brother, was found guilty of battering a couple and fined 8.000 BAM.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Borac Banja Luka * First League of the RS: 2007–08 AEK Athens *

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

: 2017–18

References

External links