Josip Brekalo

Josip Brekalo (Croatian pronunciation: [jǒsip brěːkalo];[2][3] born 23 June 1998) is a Croatian footballer who plays as a winger for Serie A club Torino, on loan from Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg, and the Croatia national team.

Josip Brekalo
Brekalo training with VfB Stuttgart in 2017
Personal information
Date of birth (1998-06-23) 23 June 1998
Place of birth Zagreb, Croatia
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s) Winger
Club information
Current team
 Torino
Number 14
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 II 2 (0)
2016– VfL Wolfsburg 104 (17)
2017–2018 → VfB Stuttgart (loan) 25 (2)
2021— → Torino (loan) 29 (6)
National team‡
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)
2016–2019 Croatia U21 17 (9)
2018– Croatia 30 (4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14:57, 1 May 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15:58, 14 November 2021 (UTC)

Club career

Brekalo is a youth exponent from Dinamo Zagreb. He made his league debut on 19 December 2015 against Inter Zaprešić.[4] 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 initially automatically extended until June 2018 when Stuttgart secured promotion.[5] Brekalo scored his first senior goal on 17 February 2017 coming off the bench for VfB Stuttgart against 1. FC Heidenheim.[6] Brekalo returned prematurely to Wolfsburg on 1 January 2018.[7] On 8 May 2021, he scored his first career hat-trick in a 3–0 victory over Union Berlin.[8]

On 31 August 2021, Brekalo joined Torino on a loan with options to buy.

International career

Brekalo is a youth international and has represented Croatia in 2015 UEFA Under-17 Euro, 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, 2016 UEFA Under-19 Euro and 2019 UEFA Under-21 Euro.

He made his debut for Croatia's senior squad on 15 November 2018 in a 3–2 Nations League victory over Spain.[9] On 8 September 2020, Brekalo scored his first international goal for Croatia in a 4–2 Nations League defeat to France.[10]

Style of play

He usually plays on the right wing for both club and national team. However, he played some international matches on different positions. In the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League he played as a right back due to absence of Šime Vrsaljko. In 2020–21 UEFA Nations League he was used as one of two false 9 strikers in 4-1-2-1-2 formation, a formation which does not support wingers.

Personal life

Brekalo's father Ante (nicknamed Šargija) is a former footballer, having represented Bosnia and Herzegovina on various youth levels, as he hails from the Bosnian region of Posavina. His career was halted at the age of 21, when the Yugoslav Wars broke out and he got wounded on the battlefield.[11]

On 2 June 2021, Brekalo and his partner Dominika Kralj became parents of a girl, whom they named Nika.[12] On 17 July, Brekalo and Kralj married in Zagreb.[13]

Controversies

In summer 2018, Brekalo sparked controversy in German and Croatian media after stating that he would not like to wear a captain's armband with LGBT flag colours, after VfL Wolfsburg decided that captains of all their teams would wear such an armband during the 2018–19 season. The reason for that was cited to be the club's "stance for tolerant society" and "stance against discrimination". After 'liking' homophobic comments under club's Instagram post of captain Josuha Guilavogui wearing the armband, Brekalo blamed it on a mobile phone malfunction in an interview with Kicker. He then went on to state:[14][15][16]

"I have to say that I can't stand completely behind this action, because it contradicts my Christian belief. I've been raised religiously. I’m fine with people living a different lifestyle, because that's their business. But I don't want and don't have to carry a symbol representing them."

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 1 May 2022[17]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup[lower-alpha 1] Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Dinamo Zagreb II 2015–16 Druga HNL 90——90
Dinamo Zagreb 2015–16 Prva HNL 8031—111
VfL Wolfsburg II 2016–17 Regionalliga Nord 20——20
VfL Wolfsburg 2016–17 Bundesliga 4000—40
2017–18 15400—154
2018–19 25320—273
2019–20 303218[lower-alpha 2]3407
2020–21 297202[lower-alpha 2]0337
2021–22 10110021
Total 104177210312122
VfB Stuttgart (loan) 2016–17 2. Bundesliga 11100—111
2017–18 Bundesliga 14131—172
Total 25231—283
Torino (loan) 2021–22 Serie A 29610—306
Career total 1772514410320132
  1. Includes Croatian Cup, DFB-Pokal and Coppa Italia
  2. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League

International
As of match played 14 November 2021[18]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Croatia 201820
201990
202083
2021111
Total304
Scores and results list Croatia's goal tally first. Score column indicates score after each Brekalo goal.
List of international goals scored by Josip Brekalo
No.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1 8 September 2020Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France13 France2–22–42020–21 UEFA Nations League A
2 7 October 2020Kybunpark, St. Gallen, Switzerland14  Switzerland1–12–1Friendly
3 11 November 2020Vodafone Park, Istanbul, Turkey17 Turkey3–23–3
4 30 March 2021Stadion Rujevica, Rijeka, Croatia22 Malta3–03–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification

References
  1. "Josip Brekalo". VfL Wolfsburg (in German). Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  2. "Jòsip". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 19 March 2018. Jòsip
  3. "brȅcati". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 19 March 2018. Brékalo
  4. "Dinamo Zagreb vs. Inter Zaprešić - 19 December 2015 - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  5. "Josip Brekalo signs for VfB". VfB Stuttgart. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  6. "Away win in Heidenheim". VfB Stuttgart. 17 February 2017. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  7. "Josip Brekalo makes early return to VfL Wolfsburg". VfB Stuttgart. 22 December 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  8. Kižlin, Slaven (8 May 2021). "VIDEO: Kakav dan Hrvata! Brekalo zabio tri komada, Kramarić u 13 minuta dao gol i dvaput asistirao". Sportske novosti (in Croatian). Retrieved 8 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. "Croatia v Spain game report". UEFA. 11 November 2018.
  10. "France 4–2 Croatia". UEFA. 8 September 2020.
  11. Antolić, Dražen (8 June 2019). "VATRENI OTKRIO KAKO JE RAT ZAUSTAVIO OCA ŠARGIJU DA POSTANE NOGOMETNA KLASA 'Otišao je na ratište, bio ranjen i spriječen ostvariti snove'". Sportske novosti (in Croatian). Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  12. "Još jedna prinova u redovima Vatrenih! Naš mladi reprezentativac postao otac kćerkice Nike". Gloria.hr (in Croatian). 2 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. Ludban, Helena; Štengl, Ivan (18 July 2021). "Josip Brekalo i Dominika Kralj izrekli sudbonosno 'da', ove godine dobili su kćer Niku". 24sata (in Croatian). Retrieved 19 July 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. Gjerulff, Rune (27 August 2018). "Brekalo on Wolfsburg's LGBT armband: 'I don't want to carry a symbol representing them'". Bulinews. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  15. Midžor, Nina (27 August 2018). "Brekalo: Moj kršćanski odgoj priječi mi da podržim gayeve". 24sata (in Croatian). Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  16. Z. A. (27 August 2018). "Brekalo zaprepastio Nijemce: Objasnite mu da homofobija nije cool". Index.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  17. "J. Brekalo". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  18. "Josip Brekalo profile". eu-football.info. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
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