Andrej Kramaric may not always be in the spotlight, but he’s one of Croatia’s quiet forces, making their football tick. Known for his incredible goal-scoring ability, which saw him net over 450 goals in his youth team, Andrej’s journey is one of pure passion, early challenges, and unwavering support.
Silent But Stellar: The Making of Andrej Kramaric
For Andrej’s parents, his deepening focus on football was unexpected, especially when his education began to fall behind. While his peers moved up in school, Andrej stayed back, his love for the game overshadowing academics. Realizing his son’s potential, Andrej’s father, Josip Kramaric, made a bold decision: he chose to fully support his son’s dream. One day, with a quiet determination, Josip drove Andrej to Dinamo Zagreb’s training grounds, a moment Andrej still treasures: “One day, Dad put me in the car and didn’t say where we were going.”
This biography unpacks the life of a footballing prodigy, sharing Andrej Kramaric’s story from his early childhood to his rise as a Croatian star. Through his dedication, family support, and an unwavering love for the game, we’ll explore the journey of a quiet genius who lets his skills speak louder than words.
Andrej Kramaric Childhood Story – Early Life and Family Background:
For Biography starters, Andrej Kramaric was born on the 19th day of June 1991 in Zagreb, Croatia. He was born to his parents (his father’s name is Josip Kramaric, and his mother’s name is Danica Kramaric).
Growing up in his hometown, Young Andrej had his taste of career purpose months after he learnt to walk. He played street football with his peers and spent the better part of his first 5 years engrossed in the sport.
Andrej Kramaric’s childhood days were more about playing street football.
As Andrej’s love for football intensified, he thought less of his studies, a development that saw him remain in Nursery school while his peers left him behind as they advanced on the academic ladder.
Knowing that football caused his educational failures left Andrej Kramaric’s parents stunned.
However, little Andrej, despite his parents’ awareness, was even more concerned about the fact that he no longer had peers with whom to play football.
This made him tender and made him make an emotional complaint to his dad. Josip Kramaric, his dad, figured that his son would fare better as a footballer and thus made a decision that was in line with his son’s destiny.
Andrej Kramaric Biography – Career Buildup:
Josip Kramaric resolved to let his son embrace his passion by enrolling him at Dinamo Zagreb’s training grounds.
Recalling the momentous event years later, Andrej explained that he never knew his father would grant him free rein to indulge his passion. As Andrej puts it,
“One day, Dad put me in the car and didn’t say where we were going.”
They arrived at the training ground located at Zagreb’s Subiceva, which was surprisingly five trams’ stop from their domicile.
Andrej’s excitement increased with every step he took as they walked towards the Coaches for academy enrollment.
His excitement, however, took a downturn when the coaches considered him too small to become one of their footballers. However, pleadings by his father saw Andrej enrol and join his academy mates.
This was the start of an interesting football career filled with ups and downs.
Andrej Kramaric Biography – Dinamo Frustrations:
Kramaric committed subsequent years of his life to Dinamo until 2013. One would expect that the promising player who scored over 450 goals for his youth team and won several awards (an example pictured below) would have a smooth career at the club. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
Andrej suffered from a lack of playing during his lengthy senior career stay. This led to him forcing a move to Lokomotiva Zagreb (on loan), where he picked up his prolific goalscoring form.
Returning to Dinamo as a Goal hero, Andrej once more found himself on the bench and complained bitterly about it.
Unhappy with his complaint, the club’s director, club Director Zoran Mamić, resolved to do away with him by placing him on the transfer list, which saw Andrej land at Rijeka.
At Rijeka, Andrej seemingly worked to pay back the frustrations his youth club put him through by helping Rijeka defeat his former club and reigning champion Dinamo Zagreb to clinch the Croatian Supercup.
Andrej Kramaric Biography – Rise To Fame:
Andrej’s impressive form at Rijeka caught the eye of the then relegation-battling club Leicester City, which signed him in 2015. He, however, failed to make the club’s first team and played only two games, which were three more shy of securing him the Leicester City 2015–16 Premier League winners medal. The likes of Ngolo Kante (DM), Jamie Vardy (CF), Ben Chilwell (LB), Riyad Mahrez, etc, were among the driving forces to Leicester City’s Premier League trophy victory.
He was thereafter loaned to the German club 1899 Hoffenheim in January 2016 and signed a four-year deal with the club in May 2016.
It was in the German league that Andrej, who was considered a Leceister flop, achieved international fame. He did that by helping the club finish top-four in the Bundesliga league and setting them on course for the Champions League in April 2018. The rest, as they say, is history.
Who is Freundin? Andrej Kramaric Girlfriend:
Behind every great man, there’s a great woman, or so the saying goes. And behind almost every successful Croatian footballer, there’s a glamorous wife, wag, or girlfriend. Andrej Kramaric’s lifestyle off the pitch builds up a complete picture of him. Kramaric has been in a relationship with his childhood sweetheart, Freundin, pictured below.
Let’s introduce you to Freundin, Andrej Kramaric’s lover.
Their relationship took them from bestie status to true love. Andrej once recalled that one of his earliest childhood memories was declaring his love for Freundin and believing they could get married someday. This finally happened in a secret ceremony.
Andrej Kramarić’s love story is similar to that of Raul Jiminez, which is all about doing the extraordinary in public while in love. This is seen as he gets fond of giving Freundin some lovely piggyback, to the amazement of onlookers. This shows how love-crazy he is for Freundin.
Their love story is sprinkled with humour, evident in Andrej’s playful piggybacks, showcasing his deep affection for her.
Personal Life:
Although little is known of Andrej Kramarić’s personality outside of football.
You’ll have to dig deep into the Croatian press before finding info on his girlfriend, mother, father, brothers, sisters, uncles and aunties.
However, we bring you the personality that he brings to the sport as related by sports journalists and fans.
Rijeka journalist Daniel Vukusic describes Andrej as a good-natured and conserved soul who has a great focus for his football career. According to the Journalist,
“Andrej is a low profile and quiet person. He is a polite and good mannered guy, He doesn’t go partying and never shows off his money.
He is dedicated and very professional in every training session.
Whoever signs him, will get a great person as well as a talented modern striker.”
On their part, fans find Andrej’s personality worth emulating. One of Rijeka fan group leaders, Goran Grudic, asserts that;
“Kramaric is very down to earth and modest, and that’s why fans really love him. He is a clean player too.
Taking both his skills and his character into consideration, you are looking at a player who will be more than welcome in any squad.”
Comparison With Davor Suker:
Andrej has frequently drawn comparisons to Croatian football legend Davor Šuker, with coaches, fans, and sports writers recognizing echoes of the retired star in his playing style and skill. Join us as we delve into the story of how Andrej stacks up against one of Croatia’s most celebrated football icons.
Šuker, like Andrej, began his footballing career in his hometown and functioned in the capacity of a striker. Like Andrej, Suker, who is also Croatian, has a history with Dinamo Zagreb. This development made Dinamo provide Andrej with the number 9 jersey, a number worn by sucker in his heydays.
In addition, the duo happens to be prolific strikers who became top goal-scorers in their respective leagues.
Fact Check:
Thanks for reading the story of Andrej Kramaric, Hoffenheim’s creative force and Croatia’s silent hero. We strive for accuracy and fairness while delivering you the Biography of Croatian Footballers.
In addition to Andrej Kramaric’s biography, we offer a selection of other inspiring childhood stories from well-known football figures for your enjoyment.
That of Luka Modrić, Tim Cahill and Eldor Shomurodov will interest you. If you see something that doesn’t look right in this article, please leave a comment or contact us!
