Bojan Krkić

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Bojan Krkić
Personal information
Full name Bojan Krkić Pérez
Date of birth August 28, 1990 (1990-08-28) (age 17)
Place of birth    Linyola, Lleida, Spain
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club FC Barcelona
Number 27
Youth clubs
1999–2006 FC Barcelona C
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
2006–2007
2007–		 FC Barcelona B
FC Barcelona		 20 (10)[1]
31 (10)   
National team2
2006–
2007–		 Spain U-17
Spain U-21		 45 (12)
04 0(3)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of May 17, 2008.
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of March 25, 2008.
* Appearances (Goals)

Bojan Krkić Pérez (Serbian Cyrillic: Бојан Кркић Перез; pronounced [ˈbɔjan 'kr.kiʨ]) or simply Bojan (born August 28, 1990 in Lleida, Catalonia, Spain), is a Spanish footballer who plays for FC Barcelona.

His father, also named Bojan, is a Serb and a former 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]

Contents

[edit] Career

[edit] Early years

Krkić played for FC Barcelona's cantera from 1999 to 2005, scoring more than 500 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 El Ahly. The match ended with a 4–0 win for Barcelona.

[edit] 2007–08 season

On September 16, 2007, Bojan made his official debut 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 was, at the time, the youngest 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 October 2, coming on at the 81st minute for Ronaldinho against VfB Stuttgart.

On October 20, 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, netting the only goal in the first (away) leg of the quarterfinals, 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]

Bojan finished the season with a record of 10 goals, breaking Raúl's record of most goals scored in a debut season.

[edit] National team

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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) and Toni Kroos (gold).[10]

[edit] Under-21 international team

He scored for the Spanish Under 21s in their 2–0 win over Poland on October 12, 2007, quickly establishing himself as an important player, also prompting rumours of an eventual callup from senior side's manager Luis Aragonés.

[edit] Spain national team

On February 1, 2008, Bojan was included in Luis Aragonés's squad for the friendly against France on February 6, 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 Ángel 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] On May 17, 2008 it was revealed that Bojan had been left out of Spain's 23-man squad for Euro 2008, after having talked to Luis Aragonés asking if he could be left out of the team on personal grounds, and also citing fatigue.[13][14]

[edit] Honours

[edit] Team

[edit] Club career statistics

(correct as of May 12, 2008)
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 31 10 3 8 1 1 9 1 1 48 12 5
Total 31 10 3 8 1 1 9 1 1 48 12 5
Career Total 46 20 6 8 1 1 9 1 1 63 22 8

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Bojan Krkić profile, FCBarcelona.cat
  2. ^ Bojan Krkić timeline and stats, FootballDatabase.com
  3. ^ Bojan Krkic: Europe's most talented 16-year-old?, Guardian Unlimited, May 3, 2007
  4. ^ Clonati Ronaldinho e Messi, Gazzetta dello Sport, January 17, 2007 (Italian)
  5. ^ Player Profile: Bojan Krkic, SimplyBarcelonaTickets.com
  6. ^ Real Madrid and Barcelona have first Spanish league defeats, International Herald Tribune, October 20, 2007
  7. ^ Krkic enters the record books, FCBarcelona.cat, November 10, 2007 (accessed January 18, 2008)
  8. ^ Teen Bojan, a pleasure to watch, SoccerAmerica.com, April 2, 2008
  9. ^ Worried Barcelona lose second Krkić battle, Goal.com, March 8, 2007
  10. ^ Medalists make waves, FIFA.com, 10 October 2007
  11. ^ Spanish call up for Krkić, Sky Sports News, February 1, 2008
  12. ^ Un mareo impide a Bojan debutar con España, Diario Marca, February 6, 2008 (Spanish)
  13. ^ Krkic Says No To Euro 2008 Chance, Goal.com, May 15, 2008
  14. ^ Krkic cut from Spain Squad, Sky Sports News, May 17, 2008

[edit] External links

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