Bojan Krkić Pérez (Serbian Cyrillic: Бојан Кркић; IPA: [ˈbɔjan 'kr.kiʨ]) or Simply Bojan (born August 28, 1990 in Linyola, Spain), is a Spanish footballer who plays for FC Barcelona.
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Bojan Krkić Pérez | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Barcelona | ||
| Number | 14 | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of March 25, 2008 | |||
His father, also named Bojan, is a Serb, and also a footballer, who played for Red Star Belgrade and for FK Sutjeska 1927 Niksic in the 1980s. After moving to Spain his father married Maria Lluïsa Pérez, a Spanish nurse,[2] and became a scout for Barcelona in 1997. [3]
Career
Early years
Played for FC Barcelona's cantera from 1999 to 2005, scoring 961 goals in seven years, breaking all previous goal scoring records held at the club's youth levels.[4] A quick striker, with quite notable dribbling skills, Bojan played the 2006–07 season with the FC Barcelona B team until he signed a professional contract with the Barcelona A team upon turning 17. Bojan played his first match with Barcelona on April 24, 2007, scoring a goal in a friendly match against al-Ahly. The match ended with a 4–0 win for Barcelona. Bojan also featured in Barcelona's 2007 pre-season trip to Scotland, where he earned many plaudits as a result of his exciting second-half cameos against Dundee United and Hearts.
2007–08 season
On September 16 2007, Bojan made his début for FC Barcelona against CA Osasuna, coming on at the 78th minute for Giovani Dos Santos. Three days later, he made his UEFA Champions League debut against Olympique Lyonnais, coming on at the 88th minute for Lionel Messi. He is currently the youngest FC Barcelona player ever to feature in a Champions League game at 17 years and 22 days.[5] He made his second Champions League appearance on 2 October 2007, coming on at the 81st minute for Ronaldinho against Stuttgart.
On 20 October 2007, Bojan made his first league start for Barcelona away to Villarreal and scored in the 25th minute. It was his first goal for the club's first team and it made him the youngest ever goalscorer for Barcelona in a league match.[6][7]
Bojan scored his first ever Champions League goal on April 1 2008 against Schalke 04 in the first leg of the quarter finals and the only one to score in the match which gave Barça a 1–0 win, making him the first person born in the 1990s to score in the Champions League and the second youngest player ever, behind Ghanaian forward Peter Ofori-Quaye, then playing for Olympiakos CFP, who scored at the age of 17 years and 195 days.[8]
National team
2006 UEFA Under-17 Football Championships
Bojan shot to prominence at the UEFA European Under 17 Championships in Luxembourg in May 2006 when he was joint top-scorer. He achieved this despite being a year younger than most of the other players in the tournament and only playing 40 minutes in four out of five of Spain Under-17's matches. He scored a hat trick against Luxembourg before inspiring his side to a 3–0 victory over the eventual champions Russia, with all of the goals of the game being scored with him on the pitch as a second half substitute. In the third match of the tournament, he scored a penalty after once again being introduced at half time. He started the semi-final against the Czech Republic but, after his team-mate Roberto García was sent off, Spain struggled and lost 2–0 in a shock result. In the third-place play-off Bojan was once again a second half sub and scored the opener on 53 minutes. When the match went to penalties, he scored and Spain won 5–4 to finish third. In the 2007 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship, Bojan led Spain to victory scoring the only goal against England in the final. He also scored in the semi-final against Belgium.
2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup
There was controversy surrounding Bojan's call up to the Spain U17 squad for the U17 2007 World Cup in South Korea, because Barcelona wanted to keep him so that he could be part of their Asian Tour. The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) denied the request and further controversy arose when the RFEF denied one of Barcelona's medics, Ricard Pruna, the opportunity to accompany Bojan to the tournament to monitor a tendon problem in the player's knee.[9]
During the tournament he scored five goals, finishing joint third top scorer along with Germany and Bayern Munich midfielder Toni Kroos. He was inspirational in leading Spain to the final. However, in the semi-final against Ghana, Bojan was sent off for his second yellow card with only seconds left to play. He was suspended for the final and Spain lost to Nigeria on penalties. Because of his performances, Bojan was given the adidas Bronze Ball, naming him the third best player in the tournament, behind Macauley Christantus (Silver Ball) and Toni Kroos (Golden Ball).[10]
Under-21 international team
He scored for the Spanish Under 21s in their 2–0 win over Poland on 12 October 2007 and has been impressive every time he has played for them, prompting Luis Aragonés to call him up to the senior side.
Spain national team
On 1 February 2008, Bojan was included in Luis Aragonés's squad for the Spanish national team in a friendly against France on 6 February 2008. Should he have featured in the match, Bojan would have made history by becoming the youngest player ever to represent Spain at 17 years, 5 months and 9 days, eclipsing Angel Zubieta's record of 17 years and 9 months which has stood for over 70 years.[11] However, Bojan called in sick and couldn't make his debut.[12]
Honours
International
Team
- FIFA U-17 World Cup
- Runner-up: 2007
- UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship
- Winner: 2007
Individual
- 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup Bronze Ball
Club career statistics
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | ||
| Barcelona B | 2006-07 | 15 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 10 | 3 |
| Total | 15 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 10 | 3 | |
| Barcelona | 2007–08 | 26 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 41 | 14 | 5 |
| Total | 26 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 41 | 14 | 5 | |
| Career Total | 41 | 18 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 56 | 24 | 8 | |
References
- ^ a b Bojan Krkić profile, FCBarcelona.cat
- ^ Bojan Krkić timeline and stats, FootballDatabase.com
- ^ Bojan Krkic: Europe's most talented 16-year-old?, Guardian Unlimited, May 3, 2007
- ^ Clonati Ronaldinho e Messi, Gazzetta dello Sport, January 17, 2007 Template:It icon
- ^ Player Profile: Bojan Krkic, SimplyBarcelonaTickets.com
- ^ Real Madrid and Barcelona have first Spanish league defeats, International Herald Tribune, October 20, 2007
- ^ Krkic enters the record books, FCBarcelona.cat, November 10, 2007 (accessed January 18, 2008)
- ^ Teen Bojan, a pleasure to watch, SoccerAmerica.com, April 2, 2008
- ^ Worried Barcelona lose second Krkić battle, Goal.com, March 8, 2007
- ^ Medalists make waves, FIFA.com, 10 October 2007
- ^ Spanish call up for Krkić, Sky Sports News, February 1, 2008
- ^ Un mareo impide a Bojan debutar con España, Diario Marca, 6 February 2008 Template:Es icon
External links
- Official website
- FC Barcelona squad profile
- UEFA U-17 feature on Bojan Krkić
- Forum of Bojan Krkić Template:Es icon
- Feature on Bojan Krkić by Marca.com Template:Es icon