| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 18 March 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Šibenik, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||
| Playing position | Centre back | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Eintracht Frankfurt | ||
| Number | 4 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2001–2007 | Šibenik | 94 | (2) |
| 2007–2008 | Dinamo Zagreb | 49 | (2) |
| 2008–2010 | Beşiktaş | 9 | (0) |
| 2008–2009 | → MSV Duisburg (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | → Sturm Graz (loan) | 34 | (1) |
| 2010–2011 | Sturm Graz | 36 | (2) |
| 2011– | Eintracht Frankfurt | 6 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2006 | Croatia U-21 | 1 | (0) |
| 2009– | Croatia | 9 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 September 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Gordon Schildenfeld (born 18 March 1985) is a Croatian football defender who plays for Eintracht Frankfurt in the 2nd Bundesliga.
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Schildenfeld was born in Šibenik. His father came from Slovenia, and is of Austrian origin.[1]
Schildenfeld began playing football at his hometown club HNK Šibenik. The club's then manager Stanko Mršić gave him his senior debut at the age of 16, against NK Kamen Ingrad. In the 2005–06 season, Schildenfeld helped Šibenik winning promotion to the top flight.
Midway through his first season in the Croatian first division, the country's top clubs Hajduk Split and Dinamo Zagreb became interested in signing Schildenfeld and his Šibenik teammate Ante Rukavina. It first seemed likely that Schildenfeld and Rukavina would move to Hajduk together, but then Dinamo entered the race for the two players. In the end, on 2 January 2007, Schildenfeld moved to Dinamo while Rukavina joined archrivals Hajduk. Despite only having five months of top-flight experience at the time, Schildenfeld quickly managed to establish himself as a regular at Dinamo and helped the club winning both Croatian league and cup titles, also netting the crucial away goal against NK Slaven Belupo in the second leg of the cup final.
In the first part of the 2007–08 season, Schildenfeld was also one of the regulars in Dinamo Zagreb's UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup campaign, appearing in five Champions League qualifying matches and four UEFA Cup matches before the club was knocked out of the latter competition in the group stage. Schildenfeld became an unlucky figure in Dinamo's 2–1 defeat at Norwegian side SK Brann in their second match in the UEFA Cup group stage, causing a penalty and being sent off for a professional foul in the final moments of the first half. He missed the last two group matches, against Hamburger SV and Stade Rennais, because of the red card.
Although he was initially set to stay at Dinamo Zagreb, Schildenfeld was signed by Turkish top club Beşiktaş in unexpected circumstances on 1 February 2008. Beşiktaş were actually ready to sign Schildenfeld's teammate Dino Drpić, but the deal fell through due to Drpić's behaviour after a Croatian league match between Dinamo Zagreb and Hajduk Split almost two years earlier.
Schildenfeld made his Super League debut on 9 February 2008, coming on as a late substitute in Beşiktaş's 2–0 defeat at Kayserispor.[2] He played his first full Super League match a week later as Beşiktaş beat Ankaraspor 3–2 at home.[3]
In September 2008, Schildenfeld joined MSV Duisburg of the 2nd Bundesliga on loan until the end of the season. He made his league debut for the club on 16 November 2008 in a 4–3 defeat at Greuther Fürth, coming on as a substitute for Olcay Sahan in the 83rd minute.[4] He made just four appearances for the club in the league, all of them as a substitute.
In July 2009, Schildenfeld joined SK Sturm Graz of the Austrian Bundesliga on a season-long loan from Beşiktaş. He made his league debut for the club on 26 July 2009 in a 3–0 win at home to SC Magna Wiener Neustadt, coming on as a substitute for Ferdinand Feldhofer in the 89th minute.[5] He later managed to find his place as a regular at the club, appearing in 34 league matches during the season. His only goal in the league during the season came on 27 March 2010, when he netted the opening goal in a 3–0 win at Kapfenberger SV.[6]
During his first season with Sturm Graz, he also made ten appearances for the club in the UEFA Europa League and was also a regular feature in their run to the Austrian Cup title, making six appearances in the competition. On 15 August 2009, he netted a brace against TSV St. Johann in the Austrian Cup, helping Sturm to grab a 4–2 extra-time win in the first-round match. He also completed the full 90 minutes in the Cup final on 16 May 2010, which Sturm won 1–0 against SC Magna Wiener Neustadt. On 8 June 2010, he signed a three-year contract with Sturm Graz.[7]
On 1 March 2006, Schildenfeld won his only international cap for the Croatian national under-21 team, coming on as a substitute in a friendly match against Denmark.[8]
Schildenfeld went on to make his full international debut for Croatia on 14 November 2009, coming on as a substitute for Darijo Srna in the 58th minute of a friendly match against Liechtenstein in Vinkovci.
In 2010, he made a total of six international appearances, of which four were in friendlies. His competitive international debut came on 9 October 2010 in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier at Israel, in which he played the full 90 minutes. In November 2011, he played the full 90 minutes in both play-off matches against Turkey, helping Croatia to qualify for the finals after a 3-0 aggregate win.
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