Sports
CROATIA
Mario Mandžukić
by Ivan
Mario Mandžukić (was born 21 May 1986) is a Croatian footballer who plays as a striker
for Bayern Munich in the German Bundesliga and for the Croatian national team.
Besides being a prolific striker, Mandžukić is known for his great defensive work and offthe-ball play.
He started his career in his hometown club Marsonia from where he moved to two
Croatian capital city football clubs, first joining NK Zagreb and then signing with Dinamo
Zagreb in 2007, where he was First HNL top goalscorer in 2008-09 season. His prolific
scoring earned him a transfer to Wolsburg in 2010. After some impressive performances
at UEFA Euro 2012, where he was joint top scorer with three goals,he was signed by
German Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.
On the international level, Mandžukić was given his debut for Croatia in November 2007
under manager Slaven Bilić.
He was named Croatian Footballer of the Year for 2012.
Mandžukić made his first footballing steps at the German club TSF Ditzingen, based
near Stuttgart, in 1992. Upon his return to his home city, he spent the period between
1996 and 2003 at NK Marsonia before spending a season at the city minnows NK
Željezničar. The next season, he returned to Marsonia and in the summer of 2005 he
made a move to NK Zagreb. He thrived under the tuition of Miroslav Blažević and
earned much interest from other clubs, such as Chelsea and Manchester United.
Video: http://
www.youtube.com/watch?
v=ckIuIJQvL1I