Denis Kolinger (born 14 January 1994) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for Lokomotiva. Born in Germany, he has represented the Croatia national team.

Club career

Kolinger was born in

Malsch Malsch is a municipality in the district of Karlsruhe, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 15 km south of Karlsruhe, and 10 km east of Rastatt, at the eastern border of the Upper Rhine Plain. Beside the main town, it consi ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

where his parents were working before they returned to Stankovo in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

when he was three months old. He started out at NK Jaska in nearby

Jastrebarsko Jastrebarsko (; ), colloquially known as Jaska, is a town in Zagreb County, Croatia. History Antiquity In 1865, remnants of a Roman settlement were uncovered in Repišće, Klinča Sela, a village in Jastrebarsko metropolitan area. Further ar ...

, moving on to the

NK Zagreb Nogometni klub Zagreb (''Zagreb Football Club''), commonly known as NK Zagreb or simply Zagreb (), is a Croatian football club based in the capital city of Zagreb. It currently competes in the fifth tier league competition of Croatian footbal ...

academy at the age of 13. He went through all the ranks of the club, debuting for the senior side in the 2011/12 season, becoming a first-team regular in the following season. After

was relegated after the 2015/16 season, Kolinger moved to

NK Lokomotiva Nogometni klub Lokomotiva Zagreb (), commonly known as Lokomotiva Zagreb or simply Lokomotiva, is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. It competes in the Croatian First Football League, the country's top division. Founded in 19 ...

, signing a four-year contract. On 15 January 2021, Kolinger moved to

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga (, ) is a professional association football league in Denmark and the highest level of the Danish football league system. The league is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams relegated. It is the current ...

club

Vejle Boldklub Vejle Boldklub is a Danish professional football club based in Vejle in Jutland. Formed in 1891, the club is one of the most successful clubs in Danish football history, having won the Danish championship five times and the Danish cup title six ...

on a three-year deal. In August 2024, Kolinger's contract was terminated by mutual agreement.

International career

n youth international in U16, U17, U18 and U19 categories, Kolinger refused a call-up to the Croatia U21 national football team under

Nenad Gračan Nenad Gračan (born 23 January 1962) is a Croatian football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the coach of the Croatia women's national football team. Club career Born in Rijeka, SFR Yugoslavia, Gračan started playing ...

in August 2014 claiming that he wanted to play for

, that he feels he is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

rather than a

Croat The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

and is therefore willing to take the chance and seek out German nationality, which he could since it is the country of his birth. However, in early 2015 he changed his mind, claiming that he realized it would be too hard for him to join the Germany U21 national football team and since March 2015 rejoined the Croatia U21 team. He made his senior debut for

in a May 2017

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, coming on as a 71st-minute substitute for

Fran Tudor Fran Tudor (; born 27 September 1995) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a right-back or wing-back for Raków Częstochowa in the Ekstraklasa. Club career Born in Zagreb, Croatia, Tudor started his career with lower-tier side ...

Career Statistics

Club

International

Honours

NK Zagreb * 2. NL: 2013–14 Lokomotiva Zagreb *

Croatian Cup Croatian Cup may refer to: *Croatian Football Cup *Croatian Football Super Cup *Croatian Women's Football Cup *Croatian Basketball Cup, also known as Krešimir Ćosić Cup *Croatian Handball Cup *Croatian Water Polo Cup The Croatian Water Polo C ...

runner-up: 2019–20 CFR Cluj *

Supercupa României The Supercupa României () is a Romanian football (soccer), football championship contested by the winners of the Liga I and the Cupa României. It is usually played at the Arena Națională in Bucharest. The competition started off in 1994 Supe ...

runner-up:

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kolinger, Denis 1994 births Living people Footballers from Karlsruhe People from Jastrebarsko German people of Croatian descent Men's association football central defenders German men's footballers Croatian men's footballers Croatia men's youth international footballers Croatia men's under-21 international footballers Croatia men's international footballers NK Zagreb players NK Lokomotiva Zagreb players Vejle Boldklub players CFR Cluj players Croatian Football League players First Football League (Croatia) players Danish Superliga players Liga I players Croatian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Expatriate men's footballers in Romania Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Romania 21st-century German sportsmen