Facts Every Football Fan Should Know About Ognjen Vukojevic

If you are a real football fan especially in Europe, you are familiar with the name Ognjen Vukojevic. One of the most celebrated football players in Croatia during his times as a football player. Vukojevic is currently a scout for Dynamo Kyiv in the Southeastern part of Europe. Here are some info and facts about him:

When Was Ognjen Born?

Ognjen Vukojevic was born on December 20^th, 1983 at Bjelovar, Croatia. His father and mother are Bozidar Vukojevic and Blanka Vukojevic respectively.

What’s the Height of Vukojevic

The former Croatia international is six feet tall.

Vukojevic’s Football Career

Junior Football Career

Like all professional football players, Vukojevic started playing football at a young age. His journey to professional football began at MladostZdralovi, a football club in is hometown Bjelovar. Before making his first professional football career he transferred to NK Bjelovar a club still in his home base.

He later moved to SlavenBelupo, a football club in Belgium, where he started his professional football career in 2003. He played as a defensive midfielder for the club for two seasons. While in SlavenBelupo he played 53 games scoring five times. After a successful period at SlavenBelupo, he moved to Lierse S.K. a club in Belgium.

Life at Dinamo Zagreb

However, with his prolific talent, he was only given a few chances to showcase himself. Hence, left the club as the first season ended. He made a return back to Croatia where he started his football career. In December 2005, he signed with Dinamo Zagreb one of the dominating clubs in the Croatian football top tier league.

On his first game for Dinamo Zagreb, they won against Medimurje that was in March 2006. Vukojevic made to a regular starting player for Dinamo and was even nicknamed ‘Gattuso’ by Zagreb’s fans. This was because of his style of play that resembled GennaroGattuso the former Italian football player.

His football career shined more when Dinamo participated in the European top league the UEFA Champions League. Vukojevic made six appearances for Dinamo Zagreb in all of their four games while in the championships. He played teams such as Arsenal, Ekranas, and Auxerre. Ognjen scored a vital goal for Dinamo playing against Ekranas. This was on his first season for the Croatian champions.

In his second season, 2007-2008, Vukojevic made twelve appearances for Dinamo Zagreb in all European matches for Dinamo. This was in both UEFA champions league and Europa league. He emulated his performance during the first season for Dinamo in the second season while in the European competitions. He scored goals for Zagreb while playing against Domzale and Werder Bremen in the champions’ league.

In addition, he also scored goals for Dinamo in the Europa league against Brann and Rennes. Vukojevic’s brilliant football career went to high times while in the second season. In the Croatian league, he scored eleven goals in twenty-nine league appearances enabling the club win its third league cup. While in Dinamo Zagreb he won two league titles.

His Career in Dynamo Kyiv

After his second season with the Croatian champions, he moved to Dynamo Kyiv in Ukraine where he signed a five-year contract with the Ukrainian club. Vukojevic made his first appearance for the Ukrainian outfit on July 19^th, 2008. Where they won 2-0 against Illichivets and made himself a regular starter for Dynamo Kyiv.

Similarly, to Dinamo Zagreb, Ognjen helped Dynamo Kyiv to reach the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. He played all four games during the UEFA champions league qualifiers against Spartak Moscow and Drogheda United. In his first champions league match, he played an important role in the 1-1 draw against Arsenal the English football club.

He scored his first goal for Dynamo Kyiv on October 4^th, 2008, against Kharkiv in the Ukrainian Premier League. He made all six appearances for Dynamo Kyiv in the UEFA champions league. His first European competition goal for Dynamo Kyiv came on March 12^th, 2009 against MetalistKharkiv in the first leg of the UEFA Cup. His lifetime match was against Paris Saint Germain were Dynamo Kyiv won 3-0 in aggregate. Vukojevic scored the final goal during the second leg of the tie.

With time Vukojevic lost his regular playing time in Dynamo Kyiv a move that forced him out of the club to Spartak Moscow on loan. He played for the Russian outfit for a season before returning to Dynamo Kyiv. This was during the 2012-2013 season. Even after his return, he didn’t secure a first team playing time which made him move to Dinamo Zagreb on a season-long loan deal.

Ognjen Vukojevic also made appearances for Croatia. His debut was in August 2007 when Croatia played against Slovakia. He came off the bench to score a second goal for Croatia in his first game. His first competitive game for Croatia was against Macedonia in UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers. In this game, he came off the bench to replace NikoKranjcar.

International Career

In the finals of the UEFA Euro 2008, Vukojevic was named in the Croatian squad that went to Austria and Switzerland. He made two appearances for Croatia in the competition. This was against Austria in the opening match and Poland where Croatia won both matches 1-0. Vukojevic also made appearances for the National team in 2010 FIFA world cup qualifiers against Ukraine and Andorra where they drew and won 4-0 respectively.

Vukojevic has won four Croatian league titles, Croatian cup three times, Croatian super cup once while playing for Dinamo Zagreb. He also won titles with Dynamo Kyiv, one Ukrainian premier league, one Ukrainian cup, and two Supercup while playing in the Ukrainian league. These honors are what define his football career and I don’t think you can say you were a football player if you have never won any title.

Managerial Career

Vukojevic later became the assistant coach of the Croatian national team where he enabled the team to reaches the 2018 FIFA World Cup Finals in Russia. However, he was sacked before the end of the tournament after the defeating Russia and recording himself with a player celebrating praising Ukraine. He was charged for posting a political video. However, his sacking didn’t deter Croatia reaching the finals of the tournament but without winning. Currently, he is a scout for Dynamo Kyiv in the Southeastern part of Europe.