Zlatko Junuzović (, ; born 26 September 1987) is an Austrian former 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 played as a

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 ...

. From 2006 to 2017 he played for the Austria national team. He was known as a free-kick specialist.

Early life

Junuzović moved with his parents to Austria when he was five years old. Before his 12th birthday, they went on to

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

, where he soon played for the youth teams of

Grazer AK Grazer Athletiksport Klub (; abbreviated as GAK), better known simply as Grazer AK, is an Austrian sports club based in the city of Graz in the federal state of Styria. The football section was once among Austria's most popular clubs, enjoying s ...

Club career

Aged 17, Junuzović made his debut for

in the

Austrian Bundesliga The Bundesliga ( , "Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Austria and the highest level of the Austrian football league system. The competition decides the A ...

in spring 2005. In 2006, he was called up to play for the Austria national team and became a regular starter for Grazer AK. In summer 2007, Junuzović moved to Austria Kärnten before joining

Austria Wien Fußballklub Austria Wien AG (), known in English as Austria Vienna, and Austria Wien in German-speaking countries, is an Austrian professional association football club from the capital city of Vienna. It has won the most trophies of any Aust ...

in summer 2009. In 2010, Junuzović was awarded two awards for his performances with Austria Wien and the national team: the managers of the Austrian Bundesliga voted him

Austrian Footballer of the Year The Austrian Footballer of the Year award () is an annual football award, established in Austria in 1984 and sponsored by the Austria Press Agency (APA). The coaches of all Austrian Football Bundesliga clubs vote to elect the player of the year. E ...

and the country's supporters voted him "Player of the Year" in the annual award awarded by the

Kronen Zeitung The ''Kronen Zeitung'' (), commonly known as the ''Krone'', is Austria's largest newspaper. It is known for being Eurosceptic. History The first issue of the ''Kronen Zeitung'' appeared on 2 January 1900. Gustav Davis, a former army officer, ...

. In January 2012, Junuzović joined

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 ...

club

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...

, signing a contract which lasted until 30 June 2015. In February 2015, it was announced that his contract had been extended until June 2018. Having completed the 2014–15 season with six goals and 15 assists, third in the Bundesliga behind

Kevin De Bruyne Kevin De Bruyne (; born 28 June 1991) is a Belgian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for club SSC Napoli, Napoli and captains the Belgium national football team, Belgium national team. After spending mos ...

and

Thomas Müller Thomas Müller (; born 13 September 1989) is a German professional Association football, footballer who plays for club FC Bayern Munich, Bayern Munich. He primarily plays as an attacking midfielder or a second striker. Widely regarded as one o ...

, Junuzović was voted as "Player of the Season" by Werder's fans. On 18 March 2017, he scored his second goal of the 2016–17 season in a 3–0 win against

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, a match that saw all three of Werder Bremen's Austrian players score in the club's highest win of the season. In April 2018, Junuzović announced he would leave Werder Bremen after six and half years at the club. He went to FC Red Bull Salzburg in the Austrian Bundesliga. In 2022, he ended his career and became assistant coach of

FC Liefering FC Liefering GmbH is an Football in Austria, Austrian association football club, originally from Salzburg#Districts, Liefering, Salzburg. It currently plays in the Austrian Football Second League, Second League, the second tier of Austrian f ...

International career

Junuzović played for the Austria U20 national team at the

2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 16th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup (formerly called the FIFA World Youth Championship), hosted by Canada from 30 June to 22 July 2007. Argentina defeated the Czech Republic in the title game by the scor ...

where they claimed fourth place. He made his debut for the senior team in a March 2006 friendly match against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. He represented the Austria senior national team at the

UEFA 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 association football, football ch ...

. In October 2017, after the conclusion of the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup during which Austria failed to reach qualification, Junuzović announced his retirement from the national team.

Personal life

Junuzović was born in the Serbian town of

Loznica Loznica ( sr-cyrl, Лозница, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city located in the Mačva District of western Serbia, on the right bank of the Drina river. In 2022 the city had a total population of 19,515, while the administrative area had a ...

to a

Bosnian Muslim Islam is the most widespread religion in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was introduced to the local population in the 15th and 16th centuries as a result of the Ottoman conquest of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Muslims make the largest religious co ...

family.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Austria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Junuzović goal.''

Honours

Red Bull Salzburg *

Austrian Football Bundesliga The Bundesliga ( , "Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Austria and the highest level of the Austrian football league system. The competition decides the A ...

: 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22 *

Austrian Cup The Austrian 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 a record 27th time. Wo ...

: 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22 Individual *

: 2010 *Werder Bremen Supporters' Player of the Season: 2014–15

References

External links

*
Profile
at UEFA.com
Profile and Statistics
at Guardian's Stats Centre {{DEFAULTSORT:Junuzovic, Zlatko 1987 births Living people Footballers from Loznica Austrian men's footballers Austria men's youth international footballers 21st-century Austrian sportsmen Austria men's under-21 international footballers Austria men's international footballers Austrian people of Bosnia and Herzegovina descent Austrian people of Serbian descent Austrian expatriate men's footballers Grazer AK players SK Austria Kärnten players FK Austria Wien players SV Werder Bremen players FC Red Bull Salzburg players Austrian Football Bundesliga players Bundesliga players Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Naturalised citizens of Austria UEFA Euro 2016 players Men's association football midfielders Bosniaks of Serbia Yugoslav emigrants to Austria Footballers from Carinthia Footballers from Graz Austrian expatriate sportspeople in Germany