Josip Juranović (; born 16 August 1995) is a Croatian 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

right-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 ...

right wing-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

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

club

Union Berlin 1. Fußballclub Union Berlin e. V., commonly known as Union Berlin (), is a professional Football in Germany, German football club based in Berlin. The club's origins can be traced to 1906, when its predecessor FC Olympia Oberschöneweide was fo ...

and the Croatia national team.

Club career

Born in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, Croatia, Juranović went through the ranks of the third-tier Dubrava, apart from a two-month stint at the nearby

NK Croatia Sesvete NK Croatia Sesvete was a Croatian football club based in the Sesvete district of the City of Zagreb. Previous club names: NK Sljeme (1957–1988), NK Sesvete (1988–1996), NK Badel Sesvete (1996–1997), NK Sesvete (1997–1998). The club was ...

academy. Making his third-level senior debut in the 2012–13 season, he first drew attention to himself by winning the Croatian leg of the Nike Chance competition for amateur players in early 2014, earning the right to vie for a spot in the

Nike Academy The Nike Football Academy was an English football academy funded and administered by Nike, Inc. The academy had a revolving squad of unsigned under-20 players and was run with the intention of helping them find a professional club. The academy was ...

team. Not making the five-person cut, however, he returned to his club. His club performances remained strong, and, touted by some media as the best player of the autumn leg of the 2014–15 Treća HNL Zapad, he drew the attention of

HNK Hajduk Split Hrvatski Nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split (), is a Croatian professional Association football, football Football team, club based in Split, Croatia, Split, that competes in the Croatian First Football League, Cro ...

. After signing a three-and-a-half-year contract with Hajduk Split in early 2015, he initially joined their third-tier B team, but was moved to the first team in April 2015 by the new manager

Goran Vučević Goran Vučević (born 18 May 1971) is a Croatian former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. He spent most of his professional career with Hajduk Split (in several capacities, including player and manager) and Barcelona ( ...

, and he made his

Prva HNL The Hrvatska nogometna liga (; ), abbreviated as HNL and also known for sponsorship reasons as the SuperSport HNL, is a professional association football league in Croatia and the highest level of the Croatian football league system. Establish ...

debut in a 2–1 home loss against

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

. In June 2018, Juranović was selected in the Prva HNL team of the season for his performances during the 2017–18 season.

Legia Warsaw

On 31 July 2020, he signed a three-year contract with the Polish club

Legia Warszawa Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning a record 15 champions titles, a record 2 ...

. He scored the first goal for Legia on October 21, 2020, in a 2–1 win against

Śląsk Wrocław Wrocławski Klub Sportowy Śląsk Wrocław Spółka Akcyjna, commonly known as WKS Śląsk Wrocław (), is a Polish professional Association football, football club based in Wrocław that plays in , the second level of the Polish football leagu ...

. He won the

Ekstraklasa (; meaning "Extra Class" in Polish), officially known as PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa due to its Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is a professional association football league in Poland and the highest level of the Polish foo ...

at the end of his only season at the club.

Celtic

Juranović signed for Scottish Premiership side Celtic in August 2021 from

Legia Warsaw Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning a record 15 champions titles, a record 2 ...

on a five-year deal. The transfer fee was a reported £2.5 million. Despite playing the majority of his professional career as a right-back, Juranovic would start as a left-back during his introductory stage at

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

, including his debut against rivals

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

at Ibrox. He would assume the role of Celtic's penalty taker in his first season, notably scoring against

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...

and three other times in the league. In December, he was a member of Celtic's League Cup victory against Hibernian. His contributions to Celtic's title-winning defence would see him earn a spot in the

PFA Scotland Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Scotland Team of the Year (often called the PFA Scotland Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 44 footballers in the four national tiers of the Scottish foo ...

. On 6 September 2022, Juranović played his first

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

group stage match in a 3–0 home defeat against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

Celtic Park Celtic Park is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium and the home of Scottish Premiership team Celtic F.C., Celtic, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest List of football stadiums in Sco ...

. While on international duty with the Croatia national team, Juranović was strongly linked to a move away from Celtic during the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

with

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

, Chelsea and being credited with interest ahead of the January transfer window. Speculation heightened after Celtic signed Canadian international Alistair Johnston from

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

side

CF Montréal Club de Foot Montréal () is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Montreal. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. Founded in 1992 as the Mo ...

, who was seen as Juranović's potential replacement at right-back.

Union Berlin

On 22 January 2023, Juranović signed for

side

for £7.5 million plus additional add-ons.

International career

On 14 January 2017, Juranović debuted for the Croatian senior squad. in the third-place playoff of

2017 China Cup The 2017 Gree China Cup International Football Championship () was the inaugural edition of the China Cup, an international association football, football tournament. It was held from 10 to 15 January 2017 in Nanning, Guangxi, China. The tourname ...

against

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

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 ...

lost 5-4 on penalties after a goalless draw. On 17 May 2021, Juranović was selected in Croatia's 26-man squad for the

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's association footb ...

. He played two games for the team in the tournament, a 3–1 victory against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in the

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

and a 5–3 loss against

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in the

Round of 16 A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

. On 9 November 2022, Juranović was selected in

's 26-man squad for the

. They were eliminated in the semi-final against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and played their last game on 17 December in a 2–1 victory against

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

; finishing in third place.

Personal life

Juranović is from the Dubrava area in the capital of

. He went to

Mato Lovrak Mato Lovrak (8 March 1899 - 14 March 1974) was a Croatian children's literature writer. Biography Mato Lovrak was born on 8 March 1899 in Veliki Grđevac. Lovrak finished teacher training college in Zagreb and served as teacher in Kutina, ...

elementary school in Klaka, Dubrava.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Legia Warsaw *

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

Celtic *

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...

: 2021–22 *

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

: 2021–22 Croatia *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

third place:

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 ...

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to minimise friendlies a ...

runner-up:

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

Individual *Prva HNL Team of the Season: 2017–18 * PFA Scotland Team of the Year (Premiership): 2021–22

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Juranovic, Josip 1995 births Living people Footballers from Zagreb Men's association football fullbacks Croatian men's footballers 21st-century Croatian sportsmen Croatia men's international footballers UEFA Euro 2020 players 2022 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2024 players NK Dubrava players HNK Hajduk Split players Legia Warsaw players Celtic F.C. players 1. FC Union Berlin players Second Football League (Croatia) players Croatian Football League players Ekstraklasa players Scottish Professional Football League players Bundesliga players Croatian expatriate men's footballers Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Poland Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in Poland Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in Germany