Joško Gvardiol is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig and the Croatia national team.
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Though he plays primarily as a centre-back, he can also play as a left-back.
Gvardiol was born on 23 January 2002 in Zagreb, Croatia, to his parents: Tihomir Gvardiol (father).
His mother’s name is not known.
Who Is Tihomir Gvardiol?
Gvardiol’s father Tihomir Gvardiol was once an amateur player in his native Novigrad.
Gvardiol stared playing football at age seven, when his father took him to Trešnjevka.
Gvardiol was spotted by Lokomotiva and Zagreb and his family accepted a last minute from Dinamo Zagreb.
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Image Credit: The Guardian
Initially, he played as a left-back or a central midfielder until Dinamo academy coach Dalibor Poldrugač moved him to the centre-back position.
After a string of impressive performances, Gvardiol started drawing interest from prominent European clubs, including Manchester City and Chelsea.
He was immense in Dinamo’s 2018–19 UEFA Youth League campaign, where they reached quarter-finals before losing 4–2 to Chelsea in a penalty shootout.
After being impressed by his performances for youth teams, senior Dinamo coach Nenad Bjelica called Gvardiol up to the senior team for pre-season games in Slovenia in summer 2019.
On 10 October 2019, he was included in The Guardian’s Next Generation list.
He was part of the Croatia squad that made it to the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup.
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