Joško Gvardiol

Early career

Gvardiol started playing football at the age of seven when his father Tihomir, once an amateur player in his native Novigrad, took him to Trešnjevka. While there, he was spotted by Lokomotiva and Zagreb. However, at the last minute, he received an offer from Dinamo Zagreb which his family accepted.Initially, he played as a left-back or a central midfielder until Dinamo academy coach Dalibor Poldrugač moved him to the centre-back position. Soon after, Gvardiol started drawing interest from prominent European clubs, including Manchester City, Lille, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich, Ajax, Inter Milan and Roma. He played a key part 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 2 July, he scored in a 2–0 friendly win over Austria Klagenfurt. On 10 October 2019, he was included in The Guardian's Next Generation list.

Dinamo Zagreb

2019–20 season

Gvardiol made his league debut for the senior Dinamo team on 18 October in a 4–2 victory over Gorica, coming on for Mario Gavranović in the 87th minute. In his second league appearance for the club on 2 November, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Inter Zaprešić. That made him the sixth youngest league goal…

Gvardiol earned his first call-up to Croatia national under-21 team in October 2019, at the age of 17, when coach Igor Bišćan listed him in the squad for Under-21 Euro 2021 qualifiers against Lithuania and the Czech Republic. Gvardiol debuted on 14 November against the former opponent, being named in the starting line-up, as Croatia won 3–1. On 8 October 2020, he scored the tenth goal in Croatia's 10–0 victory over San Marino, the largest victory in the history of the national team. On 9 March 2021, he was named in Bišćan's 23-man squad for the group stage of the tournament; however, he was forced to miss it due to a quadriceps injury. On 17 May, he was named in Bišćan's 23-man squad for the knockout stage of the tournament, as well as Zlatko Dalić's 26-man squad for the UEFA Euro 2020. After losing 2–1 to Spain after extra time in the Under-21 Euro quarter-final, Gvardiol joined the senior team. He made his senior debut in a friendly 1–0 defeat to Belgium on 6 June, coming on as a substitute to Borna Barišić at half-time. One week later, he earned his first start for the national team, in a 1–0 defeat against England in Croatia's opening game of Euro 2020. At the age of 19 years, 4 months and 21 days, he became the youngest ever player to play for Croatia at a major tournament, surpassing Mateo Kovačić. He went on to start all Croatia's games at the tournament. On 8 October 2021, he scored his debut goal for Croatia in a 3–0 World Cup qualifying victory against Cyprus. On…

Gvardiol has been described as a modern-day centre-back who can perform all the necessary defensive tasks of a traditional defender while also providing his team with serious ball progression when in possession. Gvardiol is a left-footed centre-back who is comfortable on the ball and has the ability to break up play with robust tackles. He is also constantly looking to play forward and break opposition lines with his passing. He is most commonly used as a ball-playing defender like Manchester City teammate John Stones or a wide centre-back like Manchester City teammate Rúben Dias. His ability on the ball, pace, and intelligence of movement on and off the ball helps him perform both roles seamlessly. He can also be used as a wing-back, primarily on the side of his strong foot, the left. In his time at RB Leipzig, he was used as a left-back in a back four or the left-most player in a back two or three. Gvardiol has been described as a 'technically skilled defender', and as a good dribbler under pressure. He can carry the ball forward when space presents itself to pass to a teammate farther up the field while also being able to move past other defenders to create and finish chances for himself and for his teammates. Gvardiol has been noted by analysts for a mature play style relative to his age. As a left-footed defender, he provides tactical flexibility, frequently pairing alongside a right-footed center back to improve ball distribution. He is defensively attributed with…

Gvardiol was born on 23 January 2002 in Srednjaci, a neighbourhood of Zagreb, Croatia, where he was raised. His father, Tihomir, a native of Novigrad near Zadar, works as a fisherman. His mother, Sanja, a native of the Srednjaci, works as an employee of a wholesale company. His older sisters Lorena and Franka are a fashion model and a handball player, respectively. As a youth footballer for Dinamo Zagreb, Gvardiol struggled with playing time and initially considered quitting football to sell fish. In an interview with BBC sports Gvardiol also mentioned that he considered switching to basketball, since many of his friends played basketball at the time. However, he decided to continue his career after a family friend drew up a mental map to encourage him.