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Gvardiol’s rollercoaster ride to becoming a City and Croatia star
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- Gvardiol’s rollercoaster ride to becoming a City and Croatia star
Gvardiol's rollercoaster ride to becoming a City and Croatia star
It doesn't take an expert to watch Joško Gvardiol and see a player ideally suited to the Premier League.
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Strong, quick, capable of using both feet, a fast thinker and learner, Gvardiol is the complete package.
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Certainly when it comes to English football, where the Croatian's physical capabilities are essential, before you even begin to understand his technical and tactical understanding.
In short, just over three years into his time at City, it seems he was always destined for our league.
It wasn't always that way though.
In fact, the 24-year-old came very close to ending his career before it even get going when he was a teenager.
Born in Croatian capital Zagreb, Gvardiol made his first steps into the game with local side Trešnjevka.
He was soon spotted by giants Dinamo Zagreb and moved into their famed Academy, which has produced the likes of Luka Modric and our very own Mateo Kovačić amongst many others in the last 20 years.
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To see the player he is now, you'd assume he'd have been the darling of the youth coaches at that time.
Not so, with Gvardiol often unselected or on the bench at his age group where typically stars destined for the very top will shine amongst their peers early on.
And so Joško began to see his friends enjoying themselves outside of an elite football academy and perhaps envied them.
Croatia is small country but it's had a significant impact on so many sports in the 21st century, producing fine basketball, water polo, ice hockey and tennis players.
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He stuck at it though and, in a great example to youngsters looking to forge their own careers now, he was rewarded as it all clicked into place as he turned 17.
"Not just in football, in my life, it wasn't easy," he said, reflecting on his journey through academy football.
"At some points at Dinamo Zagreb, I didn't play but I knew that every season there are some changes.
"I was 15 or 16 and struggling to play then at 17 I started playing, they changed my position, I made it to the second team and then within six months I was in the first team.
"Less than a year later, I signed for Leipzig but stayed in Croatia on loan. In less than three years I went from not in the youth team to signing for Leipzig."
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While Gvardiol gave it everything he had to achieve his dream, he was more than content with the idea of working alongside his fisherman father had it not worked out.
"Of course. There is nothing to hide or be ashamed of," he said.
"That was my father's job and of course, if I didn't make it as a footballer I would probably do the same job as him and be proud of it.
"It's because of him, my mum and my sisters, they are the reasons why I am here."
Once it clicked, everything happened quickly for our man.
Former Dinamo coaches Zeljko Kopic and Zoran Mamic both recall the impact he made once he stepped into the senior side in Zagreb.
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"Seeing him at 17, it was unbelievable how good he was, both mentally and physically," Kopic told Goal in 2021.
"We are really proud of him and his success, and we are proud of everything he gave to the club. If he stays healthy, I am sure we will see him become one of the best central defenders in Europe."
Mamic echoed that sentiment in an interview with ESPN in 2023: "Except maybe [Mateo] Kovacic, I can't remember the player who had a more unanimous decision than Joško."
"Even [Luka] Modric had to go out on loan before getting his chance. With Joško, no one said he should go on loan. Only Kovacic and him, aged 16, they were ready for the first team."
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12 first team appearances in 2019/20 was sufficient for Leipzig to make the move for the then 18-year-old, loaning him back to Dinamo for the 2020/21 campaign.
40 appearances followed as Dinamo won the Croatian league and reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
Gvardiol arrived in Leipzig in the summer of 2021, but not until his first international start came against England at Wembley at the beginning of Euro 2020 (postponed until 2021 due to Covid-19).
It came in the midst of a golden generation for Croatian football, having reached the final of the 2018 World Cup.
That Gvardiol, at 19 and with only one full season of senior football under his belt, was added into the side that only two years prior had been the second best on the planet shows the faith they had in him.
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And to join the likes of Modric, Kovačić, Ivan Perišić and Mario Mandžukić, who had become legends in his homeland, it was a big moment for the youngster.
"The first game was against England at Wembley, it was so stressful for me. On the coach, getting to the stadium I was so nervous but as soon as the game started the pressure disappeared," he remembered.
"I was surrounded by great players and big names. It's been a big generation for Croatia."
Croatia weren't at their best in that tournament, getting knocked out at the Round of 16.
But they were again one of the teams to fear just 18 months later in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
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They made it to the semi-finals before losing to eventual champions Argentina and the then-20-year-old drew significant praise from his boss Zlatko Dalic during the tournament: "Gvardiol is the best central defender in the world.
"He's so mature. The way he plays, with the grace he controls the ball. It's amazing."
At the same time, another of Gvardiol's former mentors at Dinamo Zagreb in the shape of Damir Krznar enjoyed the performances from afar.
"I expected something like this. He played without any mistakes," he said in an interview with Sky Sports.
"On Croatian television, after the first game, he said 'maybe I need to take more risks.
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"Imagine that! Luka Modric, Marcelo Brozovic, Mateo Kovacic, who play it simple, possessional football. And this young kid wants to take risks over them!
"This is what makes him great.
"He's a big guy, a tough guy and in a duel he doesn't have a problem. He has very good speed, speed of reaction, everything.
"But this is what makes him different: he always searches first to pass forward. A ball to make the progression to the 'one line', to the 'two line', to the 'three line'… and this is a characteristic of midfielders."
What most made Gvardiol proud in that tournament was the impact that side has had on Croatia as a nation.
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"It's special because we are a small nation with small population. We are really small but we've done a lot on the world stage," he said.
"I think we've changed not just football in Croatia but the country as well. It's helped tell the world about our country."
There was now no doubt of Gvardiol's credentials at the highest level, not that there had been for a while.
In fact, he'd been the focus on intense speculation almost from the moment he arrived at Leipzig.
Had things worked out differently, he could have joined one of our Premier League rivals in the year before arriving at the Etihad.
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"After my first season at Leipzig, Chelsea wanted to sign me and I was that close to signing," he explained.
"I was ready to go to the airport but it didn't work out. I signed a new contract with Leipzig and then next season City came in and it all worked out, now I'm here."
His second season in Leipzig was a total success personally, including a towering header against his future employers in our Round of 16 tie in the Champions League.
City were successful in the return leg of course, going on to lift the trophy before sealing the defender's signature in the summer that followed.
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Gvardiol joined City famed for his abilities at centre-back, but with a wicked left-foot and that eye for a forward pass outlined by Krznar, Pep Guardiola initially had another role in mind for him.
He played 42 times in his first season in Manchester, largely alternating in the left-back role with Nathan Ake as City won the Premier League, FIFA Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup.
On top of the defensive unit that Gvardiol had already proven himself to be, his attacking prowess was both a key facet of his game and City's plans in possession throughout that season.
He scored five goals in his first term and six in his second, when he was crowned our Etihad Player of the Season.
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And quite apart from most other defenders, it was a wide range of finishes – whether with his head, right foot or left.
His late winner in this season's opening day victory over Bournemouth is perhaps the finest example of his composure and what separates him from other defenders once they get close to the opposition goal.
Gvardiol says his tumultuous journey through Zagreb's ranks may have been to thank for this.
"I was an attacking midfielder, right winger and striker when I was young. I'm a defender but I always want to help out up front too because it's fun but also important to get more men in the box," he said.
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"I feel comfortable with the ball in small spaces and in the final third because I played there for a long time. I've played most of the positions on the pitch and that has really helped me."
Already into his fourth season at the Etihad Stadium, Gvardiol has become a stalwart of City sides under both Guardiola and Enzo Maresca.
Whether at centre-back or left-back, it seems there's always a space for the Croatian despite the international calibre of every member of our defensive ranks.
Now 24, his best years are somehow still to come. And they'll come at City, having extended his contract to 2031 in the summer just gone.
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But there's been rapid change at City – only five current players were in our senior squad in the season before Gvardiol's arrival.
So now, the defender's experience well beyond his years lends itself to something of a leadership role.
While not part of the captaincy group, Gvardiol is well aware of the need for him to be a guiding hand to those who haven't seen as much on a football pitch as he has.
"I think it comes automatically," he says reflecting on whether he'll be a leader at City in the future.
"There is no moment where you decide and it's normal that at some point, even though I'm young, I need to take responsibility.
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"I need to accept it and be aware there are new guys, younger ones and I need to make sure they are going the right way."
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