Mario Gavranović

Early career

Gavranović began his career with AS Vezia, before he was scouted by Team Ticino U18, the youth academy of FC Lugano. In the 2006–07 season, he played his first professional games in the Swiss Challenge League for FC Lugano. In his second season he scored eight goals in 21 games. In the summer of 2008 he signed for Yverdon-Sport and scored another eight goals in only 20 games. For the 2008–09 season, he moved to Neuchâtel Xamax.

Schalke

After a successful start at Neuchâtel Xamax having scored eight goals in 17 games, Gavranović left his team to sign for Schalke 04 on 1 February 2010. He scored a vital goal for Schalke 04 in the Round of 16 in the Champions League against Valencia, which led his team to a 4–2 victory and a place in the quarter-finals. Gavranović joined fellow Bundesliga side Mainz on a season-long loan deal on 31 August 2011. Mainz reportedly paid €200,000 to secure his services and the loan included a deal for a permanent transfer worth €1.5 million.

FC Zürich

After only making five appearances during his loan spell, Gavranović returned to Schalke at which point he agreed to cancel his contract in May 2012 and moved on a free transfer to FC Zürich in the summer. He made his debut for Zürich on 15 July 2012, and scored his first goal from the penalty spot in the same match, a 1–1 draw with FC Luzern. Gavranović scored Zürich's winning goal against reigning champions FC Basel on 11 August 2013 in the fifth round of the…

Club

International

Scores and results list Switzerland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Gavranović goal.

Gavranović represented Switzerland on U-21 level in 14 games and scored three goals. On 26 March 2011, he made senior team debut in the 0–0 draw with Bulgaria in a Euro 2012 qualifier. His first goals arrived in a brace scored in a 4–2 friendly win over Croatia on 15 August 2012. Gavranović was named in the final 23-man squad for the World Cup in Brazil on 13 May 2014. On 29 June, he sustained a serious knee injury in training, ruling him out for the rest of the World Cup and until early 2015. Gavranović was named in manager Vladimir Petković's 23-man Swiss squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He played his first ever World Cup match in the second Group E match versus Serbia, entering at the start of the second half and giving an injury time assist which was finished by Xherdan Shaqiri for a 2–1 comeback win. Gavranović was named in Petković's 26-man squad for the UEFA Euro 2020. On 28 June 2021, he was substituted for Shaqiri in the 73rd minute of the Round of 16 match against France. He scored Switzerland's third goal, tying the score at 3–3. After extra time and a penalty shoot-out, Switzerland won 5–4 (with Gavranović successfully converting his penalty) and qualified for the quarter-finals. That was the first time since the 1938 FIFA World Cup that Switzerland progressed past a knockout round of a major tournament, and the first time since the 1954 FIFA World Cup that they progressed to the quarter-finals of a major tournament. On 15 September 2022, Gavranović…

Gavranović was born in Lugano to Bosnian Croat parents, hailing from Gradačac in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2016, Gavranović is married to Anita, a Bosnian Croat from Derventa. In May 2019, Anita gave birth to a baby girl whom they named Leonie.