Sunday, 23 January 2022

Andrej Kramarić Scores 100th Hoffenheim Goal

January 23, 2022 - Andrej Kramarić scored his jubilee 100th Hoffenheim goal on Saturday, which was also his first goal after more than three months!

Andrej Kramarić scored in Hoffenheim's 2:3 home defeat against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday. The Croatian footballer equalized for 1:1 in the first minute of stoppage time in the first half. Kramarić played the whole match.

This was his first goal after more than three months, but also the jubilee 100th for Hoffenheim. This is only his third Bundesliga goal this season, the first since October 29 last year. He nailed the back of the net with a half volley, reports Jutarnji List.

"Of course, I'm overjoyed with my 100th goal for TSG. It really took a long time. I would like to thank my family, club, and teammates. My son was at the stadium for the first time today, I'm glad I managed to score in front of him," Kramarić said and commented on the match:

"I am extremely angry about the defeat because we played superbly. Dortmund had three shots in the box and scored three goals (official statistics say two, and the third goal is an own goal). We are not happy with the result, but the game was really good. It is clear to everyone that we were better. We need to keep building on this game so the results will come with which to climb the ladder."

Kramarić's Croatia national teammate Marin Pongračić entered the game for Borussia Dortmund in the 83rd minute. 

Third place in the Bundesliga standings was confirmed by Bayer with a convincing 5:1 home victory against Augsburg. The absolute first name of the match was the Frenchman Moussa Diaby who scored three of the five goals for Leverkusen. Bellarabi and Alario scored for Bayer, and the only scorer for the guests was Maier.

Only the second league victory of the season was recorded by Greuther Fuerth, who beat Mainz 2:1 at home. 

Stuttgart is penultimate in the rankings. This time they lost to Freiburg (0:2) and recorded their fourth defeat in the last five league appearances (with one draw). Croatian footballer Borna Sosa played the whole game for Stuttgart, and the scorers for the winning team were Ito (own goal) and Schade.

Union Berlin broke through to fourth place, winning 2:1 in Moenchengladbach. The hero of the match was Kruse with two goals. He scored the winning goal in the 84th minute.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page

 

Tuesday, 26 January 2021

Andrej Kramaric Surpasses Ivica Olic as Top Croatian Scorer in Bundesliga

January 26, 2021 - Andrej Kramaric has surpassed Ivica Olic to become the top Croatian scorer in Bundesliga!

Croatia national team player Andrej Kramaric scored two goals in Sunday's (3-0) Hoffenheim victory against Cologne, resulting in a stellar 74 Bundesliga goals - the most of any Croatian footballer in the German league, reports Index.hr.

Kramaric scored both goals from penalty kicks, the first in the 7th and the second in the 75th minute. Goalkeeper Timo Horn flew in the wrong direction on both penalties, and Kramaric scored his 11th and 12th Bundesliga goals of the season. Kramaric played for Hoffenheim only 19 times in the new season, and in addition to the goals, he also recorded two assists.

Kramaric has thus become the top Croatian scorer in the Bundesliga 74 goals, two more than Ivica Olić.

Ivica Olic scored 72 in his Bundesliga career, followed by Mario Mandzukic (53), Mladen Petric (51), and Ivan Klasnic (50). However, while the legendary Olic needed 238 games for 72 goals, Kramaric reached 74 goals in only 146 matches.

"Even before the game, I knew that with one goal, I would reach Ivica Olic and become the most successful Croatian scorer in the history of Bundesliga. I never thought in my career that I would achieve something like that, this is a great honor for me, and I am very proud of this success," said Andrej Kramarić (29), for 24 Sata.

"I have to admit, I was motivated by Ivica Olic's figure, I really wanted to reach him. I play all the time for Hoffenheim, while Olic and Mandzukic had the opportunity to play in much bigger clubs like Bayern, so I reached this number with a lot fewer games played. I believe that all this adds value and even more importance to my success. None of them have congratulated me on this record yet, but I know the guys will get back to me soon."

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.  

Saturday, 17 October 2020

Andrej Kramaric Named Best Bundesliga Player in September!

October 17, 2020 - Croatia national team player Andrej Kramaric received great recognition for his effective performances at the beginning of the new football season in Germany. 

The Hoffenheim striker and 2018 World Cup finalist was named the best player in the official selection of the Bundesliga in September!

Kramaric scored five goals in the first two rounds of the new championship - three against Cologne and two against Bayern - and overcame Gnabry, Sane, Kimmich, Füllkrug, and Kalajdžić in the selection. Before the first round, he also scored two goals in the German Cup against Chemnitzer.

With the mentioned five goals, he almost reached the record of Gerd Müller, who scored six in two introductory rounds of the 1977/1978 season.

He continued his excellent form in October, with a league goal against Eintracht. During the national team break, he came off the bench to secure Croatia's victory against Sweden in the Nations League.

Unfortunately, it was announced on Friday that the Croatia national team representative was infected with the coronavirus upon his return to Germany from the national team campaign.

"Two players who participated in the national team matches tested positive for COVID-19 upon their return to Germany. None of them have been in contact with the rest of the team, and they are now in self-isolation in their homes and are asymptomatic," Hoffenheim announced without naming the players.

It was later found out and confirmed by the Croatian Football Federation that one of the positive players was the Croatian striker Andrej Kramaric. Another infected player at the club is Kasim Adams.

Kramaric is one of nine Hoffenheim players who joined their national teams over the past 10 days.

Earlier on Friday, Spanish first division team Osasuna announced that Croatia national team player, Ante Budimir, had returned to the club positive for the coronavirus.

"The competent epidemiological service assessed that Croatia teammates of Kramaric and Budimir and the members of the staff were not risky contacts and that it is not necessary to prescribe mandatory self-isolation to any member of the national team," HNS announced.

Source: HNS

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

Saturday, 19 September 2020

Hattrick for Andrej Kramaric to Open Hoffenheim's Bundesliga Season

September 19, 2020 - With a convincing 8:0 Bayern victory against Schalke, the German football Bundesliga opened on Friday. On Saturday, a hattrick for Andrej Kramaric helped Hoffenheim win their first-round match. 

T.portal reports that on Saturday, Andrej Kramaric led Hoffenheim, who played away in Cologne. The Croatia national team player already scored two goals in the first half. Cologne equalized to 2:2 in the 86th minute, but the Croatian striker scored his third goal for the 3:2 victory in the second minute of added time. 

Recap

Hoffenheim and Cologne met in the first round of the new season on Saturday afternoon. In the third minute, Cologne was punished by the class of Andrej Kramaric.

Namely, goalkeeper Timo Horn played his stopper, Jonas Hector. His weak pass saw Kramaric rush the player and managed to nutmeg the Cologne goalkeeper and found the back of the net for a Hoffenheim lead of 1:0.

The hosts came back in the 22nd minute, and the equalizer was scored by the Swedish national team player Sebastian Andersson.

Andrej Kramaric shined again in the 5th minute of added time in the first half when he routinely nailed a penalty in the opposite corner of the goal. Earlier, referee Daniel Siebert sought the help of the VAR to make sure that Christoph Baumgartner was fouled in Cologne's box.

The hosts equalized for 2:2 in the 86th minute thanks to Drexler, but in the second minute of added time, Andrej Kramaric scored this third goal to bring the 3:2 victory to Hoffenheim.

Of course, we are especially pleased with Kramarić's successful entrance into the season, which shows he had enough time to make a full recovery and great preparations with the German club.

With this strong of a start, it could be his most successful season in the German Bundesliga. So far, it was the 2017/18 season, when he scored 17 league goals.

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Sunday, 28 June 2020

Andrej Kramaric Makes Hoffenheim History, Receives Praise from International Media

June 28, 2020 - Hoffenheim defeated Borussia Dortmund 4:0 on Saturday, with all four goals scored by Croatia national team player Andrej Kramaric.

Kramaric scored all four goals differently, though the most beautiful was the first, when he nailed the left corner from 20 meters out on a rebound from the helpless Dortmund goalkeeper. Kramaric's first goal of the match came in the 8th minute.

With this incredible feat, Kramaric is the first Hoffenheim footballer to score four goals in a Bundesliga game, and he is also the first footballer to score four goals against Borussia on their pitch during a championship match.

The Croatian striker was thrilled: 

"It's a great feeling, I scored four goals and we secured sixth place leading to the Europa League. It's hard to find words; something like this doesn't often happen in my career. Thanks to my teammates. I didn't know I was the first Hoffenheim player to score four goals in one league game. It's an amazing feeling to print the pages of history. This has not been an easy season due to numerous injuries. That makes it feel even better," said Kramaric.

The Croatian striker has had a lot of problems with injuries this season, but he finished it in the best way. His Hoffenheim teammates were full of praise for him after the match.

"Simply a great Andrej show. We are very happy and excited for him. He had a hard season, but he always makes a difference when he plays. We seemed to want the victory more than Dortmund," said Robert Skov.

Oliver Baumann shared a similar opinion.

"Andrej is simply a player who makes a difference and who is of great help to us. He came back on the pitch after an injury and we thought he was at 80 percent. But he warmed up quickly and immediately came back completely. He always attracts the attention of players and we are happy he is with us," Baumann said.

UK-based SPORTbible, a sports-focused social media publisher, also couldn't hide their praise for the Croatian, and honored Kramaric in front of their 1.3 million Twitter followers.

Source: HRT

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

 

Friday, 28 June 2019

Zvonimir Boban Looking to Rebuild Milan with Four Croatian Players

TCN recently announced that Zvonimir Boban left his role at FIFA to return to AC Milan as the club's Chief Football Officer. Now, in collaboration with Paolo Maldini, he is preparing a team that should compete for the biggest medals in Italy.

In all likelihood, this team should feature a strong Croatian contingent, and if all goes to plan, Boban is looking to bring four Croatian players to Milan this summer, reports Index.hr on June 27, 2019. 

Namely, the former Deputy Secretary General of FIFA is after Andrej Kramarić and Nikola Moro, and has allegedly already started negotiations, writes the Italian media. Additionally, AC Milan could even see the promising Josip Brekalo and Dejan Lovren.

"Now that Zvone is back in Milan, the club is back in a good position," said Andrej Kramarić’s agent recently about the possible transfer of the 28-year-old footballer who currently plays for Hoffenheim. While Milan is not the only club after the Croatian striker, by the sounds of it, they’re the closest to bringing him to Serie A. The transfer should amount to about 30 million euro.

Dinamo's Nikola Moro also has Boban’s interest, and Milan allegedly already sent an official offer to Maksimir, though the price the Italians will have to pay for the young Croat will inevitably be higher. Boban was also impressed by Josip Brekalo at the U21 Euros in San Marino. 

In Croatia’s final game against England, Brekalo scored two goals, which was all Boban needed to see to try to bring him over to the club this summer. 

It is known that the new Milan coach Giampaolo wants to play in the 3-5-2 formation, which requires another stopper. One of the leading candidates is yet another Croat, Dejan Lovren. The Liverpool defender has lost his place in the first 11, and it is not unlikely that he will soon find somewhere new to continue his career. So why not Milan?

This is just some of the Croatian transfer news, as Mateo Kovačić should sign with Chelsea today, Ivan Peršić could see a move to Arsenal, and Ivan Rakitić could be leaving his beloved Barcelona. 

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page

Saturday, 30 March 2019

Andrej Kramarić Writes History, Becomes Hoffenheim's Top Goalscorer!

Andrej Kramarić scored and assisted in Hoffenheim’s victory on Friday, pushing the Croatian footballer into the top goalscorer spot in the history of the club.

Monday, 9 October 2017

Croatia’s World Cup Dream Saved After 2:0 Win Against Ukraine!

Croatia faced Ukraine in Kiev on October 9, 2017, for the final World Cup qualifier of Group I. 

Wednesday, 16 November 2016

Croatia Defeats Northern Ireland 3:0, Čačić Praises Young Team

In the last match for the Croatian national team of 2016, Croatia defeated Northern Ireland 3:0 in Belfast with just a roster of 16 players, and with no major stars Luka Modrić, Ivan Perišić, Vedran Ćorluka and Ivan Rakitić who received exemption after the victory over Iceland on Saturday.

Monday, 10 October 2016

Croatia Takes Another Three Points In Finland

Croatia beat Finland 1-0 and is heading the Group I of the 2018 World Cup Qualifiers

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