• Gomes heroics deny brave Sunderland

  Times Online - Found 14 hours ago ... experiment that stymied the gifts of all three and meant Tottenham were outgunned in midfield until Niko Kranjcar emerged to offer craft and...

• Roundup: Tottenham Hotspur Loses in Bid for First Place

  International Herald Tribune - Found Oct. 25, 2009 Niko Kranjcar smacked a long shot against a post and Peter Crouch drove close several times, but the Spurs, without the suspended England... Roundup: Tottenham Hotspur Loses in Bid for First Place - New York Times Explore All

• Whelan shocks Tottenham's high hopes

  Times Online - Found Oct. 24, 2009 Peter Crouch had two efforts cleared off the line, both by James Beattie, and Niko Kranjcar struck the post - then the visitors stung them at... Glenn Whelan shocks Tottenham's high hopes - Times Online Whelan goal shocks Spurs - Newcastle Sunday Sun Stoke stun Spurs thanks to Whelan's winner - ITV.com National Sport: Whelan goal shocks Spurs - Coventry Telegraph Explore All

• Niko Kranjcar- Well miss my Spurs buddies Luka Modric and Vedran ...

  Football.co.uk - Found Sep. 9, 2009 Croatia midfielder Niko Kranjcar is fearful his side will struggle without Tottenham colleagues Luka Modric and Vedran Corluka. Kranjcar hopes to ...

• Contract fears forced Portsmouth to sell 2m Niko Kranjcar to ...

  Football.co.uk - Found Sep. 3, 2009 Portsmouth have admitted they had no option than to sell Niko Kranjcar to Tottenham because the Croatia international was determined to leave Fratton ...

• Spurs set to bid 8m for Portsmouth duo David James and Niko Kranjcar

  Football.co.uk - Found Aug. 31, 2009 ... goalkeeper David James Harry Redknapp is going back to his old club Portsmouth with an �8m offer for David James and Niko Kranjcar.

• Niko Kranjcar exclusive on

  Tottenham Hotspur FC - Found Sep. 12, 2009 Niko Kranjcar has spoken for the first time since his transfer deadline day arrival from Portsmouth exclusively on Spurs TV Online.

• Niko Kranjcar: Wembley will inspire Croatia

  Telegraph - Found Sep. 9, 2009 Wembley can be a source both of intimidation or inspiration for visiting players and, in the case of Tottenham midfielder Niko Kranjcar, there is

• Harry Redknapp lands Niko Kranjcar but still left frustrated

  Times Online - Found Sep. 1, 2009 Despite signing Niko Kranjcar, the Tottenham Hotspur manager failed in deals for David James, the goalkeeper he signed for Portsmouth, his...

• Spurs land Kranjcar Tottenham have confirmed the signing of Croatia ...

  Northampton Evening Telegraph - Found Sep. 1, 2009 We have reached agreement with Portsmouth for the transfer of Niko Kranjcar to the club,' read a statement from Spurs. Kranjcar joins Jermain...

Niko Kranjčar (Croatian pronunciation: [ˈniːkɔ ˈkraɲtʃaːr]; born 13 August 1984 in Zagreb) is a Croatian footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and the Croatian national team. His main traits are his vision, close control, range of passing, set piece prowess and his superb technique.

He has previously represented two of the biggest clubs in his homeland, playing for Dinamo Zagreb and then sparking controversy by making a move to their fierce rivals Hajduk Split in 2005.¹ A transfer to England with Portsmouth soon followed in August 2006,² and after several years of attempting to hold on to their key asset,³⁴⁵ Portsmouth decided to sell him at the start of the 2009–10 season, allowing Kranjčar to move to Tottenham in September 2009, where he was reunited with his former manager at Portsmouth, Harry Redknapp.⁶

Hailed as the next Robert Prosinečki, Kranjčar was given his international debut by his father Zlatko in August 2004.⁷ As of September 2009, Kranjčar has won 50 caps for the Croatia national team.

Club career

Early years

Niko Kranjčar spent most of his youth playing for Dinamo Zagreb, and later became the youngest captain of the squad for the first time at the age of 17. He also became one of the youngest goalscorers in the Prva HNL as he scored on his league debut for Dinamo at the age of 16 before helping them win the double of a Croatian cup and a league title in 2003 and then the Croatian cup again the following season.⁸ Such abilities and assistance led him to become a fan favorite, he began to receive comparison to French football legend Zinédine Zidane.⁹ However, in early 2005, he experienced a disagreement with the management, leading to a surprise transfer to Dinamo's biggest rivals, Hajduk Split.¹⁰ Nevertheless, he still managed to focus on his new club as he helped them to the Croatian title in his first season.⁷

After the 2006 World Cup, the world press hailed him for his talents, and several clubs immediately showed interest in the young star. Among such clubs were Stade Rennais and the Spanish Club Celta de Vigo. In August 2006, Rennes bid €4.5 million for Kranjčar, which Hajduk rejected, stating they felt they should get more for the player. Later on the same day, however, Kranjčar then moved for a reported £3.5 million (€5.2 million) to Portsmouth on 31 August 2006.¹¹¹²

Portsmouth

Kranjčar made his Premier League debut for Portsmouth on 1 October 2006 as he played all 90 minutes in their 2–1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. He scored his first Premier League goal on 31 March 2007 against Fulham at Craven Cottage, giving Portsmouth an early 1–0 lead in a match that eventually ended in a 1–1 draw.¹³ He made a total of 24 appearances and scored two goals in his first Premier League season. His disallowed goal on the final day of the season would, if given, have resulted in Portsmouth qualifying for the UEFA Cup. He also managed to eventually score during his side's decisive 2–1 home victory over Liverpool.

In 2007–08 his second season in England, Kranjčar established himself as a regular in the Portsmouth side, putting in a string of impressive performances on the left of a three man attack, including a stunning 35 yard free-kick in a 2–0 victory against Birmingham City. Then a 30 yard free-kick in the 4–1 victory over Newcastle United. He also gained large credential for helping Pompey to the FA Cup title in 2008.¹⁴

At the beginning of the 2008–09 season, AS Monaco had a bid of £12 million rejected for Kranjčar,¹⁵ however this was denied by Monaco.¹⁶¹⁷ Then-Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp stated that Kranjčar was not going to leave the club at any price. The day after, Kranjčar openly said that he didn't intend to leave Portsmouth "for years to come" and also publicly thanked Redknapp for the faith that he showed in him. However, Redknapp subsequently left the club to take over the reins at Tottenham Hotspur.¹⁸ On 12 February 2009, with Portsmouth battling relegation, Kranjčar publicly declared his desire to quit Portsmouth and move to a bigger club.¹⁹ Arsenal and AS Monaco have previously been linked with moves for the Croatian International.²⁰²¹ Everton manager David Moyes also expressed an interest in signing Kranjčar as a replacement for long-term absentee Mikel Arteta.²² In August, Kranjčar stated: "For now I am staying, but we have not strengthened like I would have liked us to. That's why I will not sign a new contract. It's one more season for me and then I'm off".²³

Tottenham Hotspur

On 1 September 2009, Kranjčar joined Tottenham Hotspur from Portsmouth after the two clubs agreed a transfer fee of around £2.5m. The deal was completed just before the transfer deadline passed.²⁴ It was reported that Everton had made a late bid to sign Kranjčar, but the player opted to sign for Spurs, stating that: "Everton is also a big club but, in the end, the tradition and greatness of Tottenham made the difference. I also knew manager Harry Redknapp, and Luka Modric and Vedran Corluka told me great things about the club".²⁵ Kranjčar made his debut for Tottenham as a substitute in the 3–1 defeat to Manchester United at White Hart Lane.²⁶ On 26 September 2009, Kranjčar made his first Premier League start for Spurs in a 5-0 thrashing of Burnley at White Hart Lane.²⁷ He scored his first goal for the club in a Premier League match against Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium on 4 October 2009.²⁸²⁹

International career

Kranjčar was previously a part of the Croatian national Under-16, Under-17, Under-19 and Under-21 teams before advancing to the senior national team. His senior debut for Croatia came on 18 August 2004 in a friendly match against Israel. He was a regular for Croatia during their qualifying campaign for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, making nine appearances and scoring two goals, including a brilliant single effort against Bulgaria. Niko was then chosen for "Young guns firing for World Cup glory" on eurosport.com with some of the greatest talents in the world, such as Lionel Messi, Lukas Podolski and future Pompey team mate Sulley Muntari. He went on to play in all of Croatia's three group stage matches at the final tournament, proving to be a prestigious player for his impressive performances.

With the departure of his father as national team manager, Kranjčar became a regular for Croatia in their qualifying campaign for the UEFA Euro 2008, having appeared in all 12 matches, scoring two goals. The most famous of such was his long range opener for Croatia during their final match away to England. Croatia eventually won the game 3–2, resulting in England's failure to qualify for the final tournament.³⁰ He then scored in a friendly game against Scotland with a spectacular effort just from inside the penalty area in a match played that ended 1–1, the equalising goal coming from Kenny Miller.

During the final Euro 2008 tournament, Kranjčar was hardly mentioned as he remained fairly quiet during Croatia's run, combined with three disappointing misses after being given golden opportunities to score against Germany and Turkey, the latter of such eventually led to Croatia's controversial exit from the competition.^{citation needed}

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
01.	4 June, 2005	Vasil Levski Stadium, Sofia	Bulgaria	3 – 1	3 – 1	Q 2006 World Cup
02.	17 August, 2005	Poljud, Split, Croatia	Brazil	1 – 0	1 – 1	Friendly
03.	7 September, 2005	Ta' Qali Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta	Malta	1 – 0	1 – 1	Q 2006 World Cup
04.	12 September, 2007	Estadi Comunal, Andorra la Vella, Andorra	Andorra	4 – 0	6 – 0	Q Euro 2008
05.	21 November, 2007	Wembley Stadium, London, England	England	1 – 0	3 – 2	Q Euro 2008
06.	26 March, 2008	Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland	Scotland	1 – 0	1 – 1	Friendly
07.	11 February, 2009	Steaua Stadium, Bucharest, Romania	Romania	2 – 1	2 – 1	Friendly

Honours

Dinamo Zagreb

• Prva HNL: 2002-03
• Croatian Cup: 2001, 2002
• Croatian Supercup: 2002, 2003

Hajduk Split

• Prva HNL: 2004-05
• Croatian Supercup: 2005

Portsmouth

• FA Cup: 2008
• Barclays Asia Trophy: 2007

Personal life

Kranjčar is married to Simona Fistrić and the couple live in Portsmouth, England where Kranjčar formerly played.³¹

References

External links

• Official Tottenham Hotspur Profile
• BBC Profile
• Soccerbase Stats
• Transfermarkt Profile

Niko Kranjčar - Navigation boxes and awards v • d • e Croatia squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Pletikosa • 2 Srna • 3 Šimunić • 4 R. Kovač • 5 Tudor • 6 Vranješ • 7 Šimić • 8 Babić • 9 Pršo • 10 N. Kovač • 11 Tokić • 12 Didulica • 13 Tomas • 14 Modrić • 15 I. Leko • 16 J. Leko • 17 Klasnić • 18 Olić • 19 N. Kranjčar • 20 Šerić • 21 Balaban • 22 Bošnjak • 23 Butina • Coach: Z. Kranjčar v • d • e Croatia squad – UEFA Euro 2008 1 Pletikosa • 2 Šimić • 3 Šimunić • 4 R. Kovač • 5 Ćorluka • 6 Vejić • 7 Rakitić • 8 Vukojević • 9 Kalinić • 10 N. Kovač • 11 Srna • 12 Galinović • 13 Pokrivač • 14 Modrić • 15 Knežević • 16 Leko • 17 Klasnić • 18 Olić • 19 Kranjčar • 20 Budan • 21 Petrić • 22 Pranjić • 23 Runje • Coach: Bilić v • d • e Sportske novosti Yellow Shirt award 1992: Vučević · 1993: Vlaović · 1994: Mladenović · 1995: Špehar · 1996: Cvitanović · 1997: Cvitanović · 1998: Bazina · 1999: Mumlek · 2000: Bošnjak · 2001: Balaban · 2002: Olić · 2003: Olić · 2004: Kranjčar · 2005: Bartolović · 2006: Eduardo · 2007: Eduardo · 2008: Modrić · 2009: Mandžukić