Josip Brekalo
 Brekalo training with VfB Stuttgart in 2017 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 23 June 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Zagreb, Croatia | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Right winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | VfL Wolfsburg | ||
| Number | 7 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2006–2015 | Dinamo Zagreb | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2016 | Dinamo Zagreb II | 9 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Dinamo Zagreb | 8 | (0) |
| 2016– | VfL Wolfsburg | 74 | (10) |
| 2016 | → VfL Wolfsburg II | 2 | (0) |
| 2017 | → VfB Stuttgart (loan) | 25 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2012 | Croatia U14 | 2 | (0) |
| 2013 | Croatia U15 | 2 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | Croatia U16 | 8 | (2) |
| 2013–2015 | Croatia U17 | 25 | (9) |
| 2015 | Croatia U18 | 6 | (3) |
| 2015–2017 | Croatia U19 | 17 | (6) |
| 2016– | Croatia U21 | 17 | (9) |
| 2018– | Croatia | 11 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 27 June 2020 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18 November 2019 | |||
Josip Brekalo (Serbo-Croatian pronunciation: [jǒsip brěːkalo];[1][2] born 23 June 1998) is a Croatian footballer who plays as a winger for VfL Wolfsburg and Croatia national football team. He usually plays on the right side, but can also be used on the left side.
Club career
Brekalo is a youth exponent from Dinamo Zagreb. He made his league debut on 19 December 2015 against Inter Zaprešić.[3] On 15 May 2016 he signed for Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg for €10 million.
On 31 January 2017, Brekalo was loaned out to VfB Stuttgart until the end of the season with an option for a further year. The loan deal was automatically extended until June 2018 when Stuttgart secured promotion.[4] Brekalo scored his first senior goal on 17 February 2017 coming off the bench for VfB Stuttgart against 1. FC Heidenheim.[5] Brekalo returned prematurely to Wolfsburg on 1 January 2018.[6]
International career
Brekalo is a youth international and has represented Croatia in 2015 UEFA European Under-17 Championship and 2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship.
He made his debut for Croatia's senior squad on 15 November 2018 in a 3–2 Nations League victory over Spain.[7]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 27 June 2020[8]
| Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Dinamo Zagreb | 2015–16 | Prva HNL | 8 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 11 | 1 | |
| VfL Wolfsburg | 2016–17 | Bundesliga | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |
| 2017–18 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | 15 | 4 | |||
| 2018–19 | 25 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 27 | 3 | |||
| 2019–20 | 30 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8[b] | 3 | 40 | 7 | ||
| Total | 74 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 86 | 14 | ||
| VfB Stuttgart (loan) | 2016–17 | 2. Bundesliga | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 11 | 1 | |
| 2017–18 | Bundesliga | 14 | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | 17 | 2 | ||
| Total | 25 | 2 | 3 | 1 | — | 28 | 3 | |||
| Career total | 107 | 12 | 10 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 125 | 18 | ||
- ^ Includes Croatian Cup and DFB-Pokal
- ^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
Reserves
| Club | Season | Total[a] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | ||
| Dinamo Zagreb II | 2015–16 | Druga HNL | 9 | 0 |
| VfL Wolfsburg II | 2016–17 | Regionalliga Nord | 2 | 0 |
| Career total | 11 | 0 | ||
- ^ B-teams play only league matches.
International
- As of match played 16 November 2019[9]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Croatia | 2018 | 2 | 0 |
| 2019 | 9 | 0 | |
| Total | 11 | 0 | |
References
- ^ "Jòsip". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 19 March 2018.
Jòsip
- ^ "brȅcati". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 19 March 2018.
Brékalo
- ^ "Dinamo Zagreb vs. Inter Zaprešić - 19 December 2015 - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
- ^ "Josip Brekalo signs for VfB". VfB Stuttgart. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
- ^ "Away win in Heidenheim". VfB Stuttgart. 17 February 2017. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
- ^ "Josip Brekalo makes early return to VfL Wolfsburg". VfB Stuttgart. 22 December 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ "Croatia v Spain game report". UEFA. 11 November 2018.
- ^ "J. Brekalo". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
- ^ "Josip Brekalo profile". eu-football.info. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
External links
- Josip Brekalo at Croatian Football Statistics (archived) (in Croatian)
- Josip Brekalo at the Croatian Football Federation
- Josip Brekalo at National-Football-Teams.com
- 1998 births
- Living people
- Croatian footballers
- Croatia youth international footballers
- Croatia under-21 international footballers
- Croatia international footballers
- Association football forwards
- Croatian First Football League players
- Bundesliga players
- 2. Bundesliga players
- Regionalliga players
- GNK Dinamo Zagreb players
- VfL Wolfsburg players
- VfL Wolfsburg II players
- VfB Stuttgart players
- Croatian expatriate footballers
- Expatriate footballers in Germany
- Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Germany
- Sportspeople from Zagreb