Sandro Kulenović

Sandro Kulenović

Personal information
Full name	Sandro Kulenović
Date of birth	(1999-12-04) 4 December 1999 (age 24)[1]
Place of birth	Zagreb, Croatia[1]
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Dinamo Zagreb
Number	17
Youth career
2008–2016	Dinamo Zagreb
2017–2018	→ Juventus (loan)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2017	Legia Warsaw II	26	(8)
2018–2019	Legia Warsaw	24	(5)
2019–	Dinamo Zagreb	42	(10)
2020	Dinamo Zagreb II	1	(0)
2020–2021	→ Rijeka (loan)	29	(7)
2021–2023	→ Lokomotiva (loan)	66	(20)
International career^‡
2013	Croatia U14	3	(0)
2015	Croatia U15	4	(0)
2014–2015	Croatia U16	10	(2)
2015–2016	Croatia U17	16	(6)
2016–2017	Croatia U19	9	(3)
2018–2019	Croatia U20	3	(3)
2019–2021	Croatia U21	16	(6)
2022–	Croatia U23	2	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 August 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 January 2023

Sandro Kulenović (Croatian pronunciation: [sâːndro kulěːnoʋitɕ]; born 4 December 1999) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Dinamo Zagreb.

Club career

Kulenović was born in Zagreb in 1999. His father Almin, who hails from Bihać, is a former Bosnian international who has seven caps for Bosnia and Herzegovina.^[2][3] Kulenović joined the academy of Dinamo Zagreb in 2008. During the 2015–16 season, he played 27 times for the reserves, scoring 22 goals and adding 11 assists.^[4] On 7 June 2016, he moved abroad and joined the academy of Polish club Legia Warsaw on a three-year contract.^[1] On 22 July 2017, he was loaned out to the youth team of Italian club Juventus,^[5] but returned to his parent club in the following June.^[6]

On 10 July 2018, Kulenović made his first team debut, playing the last nine minutes of a 1–0 victory over Irish club Cork City in the UEFA Champions League.^[7] On 22 August, he signed a three-year contract extension with the club.^[8] On 27 October, he scored his first goal for the club in a 1–1 league draw against Jagiellonia Białystok.^[9]

On 2 September 2019, Kulenović returned to Dinamo Zagreb, signing a long-term deal.^[10] He debuted on 21 September against Varaždin. However, after an unsuccessful season where he failed to scored a single goal, he was loaned out to Rijeka on 21 September 2020.^[11][12] On 24 September, in a Europa League third qualifying round against Kolos Kovalivka, he made his debut for Rijeka. The match went into extra time and, while the score was 1–0, Kulenović notably had an opportunity to set the score to 2–0; however, the ball stopped in a puddle of mud on the goal line as the pitch was soaking wet due to heavy rain. It was then netted in by teammate Franko Andrijašević.^[13][12] He scored his first goal for Rijeka on 4 October, a penalty kick in a 2–0 victory over Slaven Belupo.^[14] In the second half of the season, Kulenović fell out of favour with coach Simon Rožman, who left him out of the squad during the training ahead of the derby with Hajduk Split on 27 February 2021.^[15]

International career

Kulenović has been capped at the youth international level and also captained the Croatia under-16 team.^[1] He was part of Croatia's 23-man squads for UEFA Under-21 Euros 2019 and 2021.^[16][17]

Style of play

Kulenović plays as a typical number 9.^[1] Croatian journalists have often hailed him as "the new Mandžukić",^[18] whom he named his idol alongside Fernando Torres.^[19]

Career statistics

As of match played on 25 August 2024

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Legia Warsaw	2018–19[20]	Ekstraklasa	21	4	3	0	1	0	—		25	4
	2019–20		3	1	0	0	8	1	—		11	2
	Total		24	5	3	0	9	1	—		36	6
Dinamo Zagreb	2019–20	Prva HNL	16	0	0	0	0	0	—		16	0
	2020–21		2	0	0	0	0	0	—		2	0
	2021–22		0	0	0	0	1	0	—		1	0
	2023–24		21	7	6	4	8	0	—		35	11
	2024–25		4	5	0	0	1	2	—		5	7
	Total		43	12	6	4	10	2	—		59	18
Rijeka (loan)	2020–21	Prva HNL	29	7	2	0	6	1	—		37	8
Lokomotiva (loan)	2021–22		29	10	3	1	—		—		32	11
	2022–23		34	9	3	3	—		—		37	12
	2023–24		3	1	—		—		—		3	1
	Total		66	20	6	4	—		—		72	24
Career total			162	44	17	8	25	4	0	0	204	56

References

1. "Sandro Kulenović wielki talent Chorwackiej piłki" [Sandro Kulenović: A great talent of Croatian football] (in Polish). Legia Warsaw. 7 June 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
2. A. Letić (14 November 2020). "Sin bivšeg reprezentativca BiH želi igrati za Hrvatsku". BH Lopta (in Bosnian). Retrieved 26 February 2021.
3. Dasović, Tomislav (23 June 2019). "Sa 16 godina je napustio Dinamo, a danas je novi Mandžo i najmlađi vatreni na Euru". Večernji list (in Croatian). Retrieved 26 February 2021.
4. "Sandro Kulenović pożegnał się z kibicami Dinama i potwierdził przejście do Legii Więcej" [Sandro Kulenović said goodbye to Dinam fans and confirmed the passage to Legia Warsaw] (in Polish). Legia Sport. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
5. "Sandro Kulenović zamienił Legię na Juventus" [Sandro Kulenović turned Legia into Juventus] (in Polish). Onet. 22 July 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
6. "INTERVISTA – Sandro Kulenovic: "Alla Juve momenti che ricorderò per sempre. Torneo di Viareggio il ricordo più bello. Il più forte? Morachioli, ma anche…"" [INTERVIEW - Sandro Kulenovic: "At Juve, moments that I will always remember. Tournament of Viareggio the most beautiful memory. The strongest? Morachioli, but also ... "] (in Italian). Giovani Bianconeri. 29 June 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
7. "Chorwacki talent na dłużej w Legii. Sandro Kulenović chce wykorzystać w Warszawie doświadczenie zdobyte w Juventusie" [Croatian talent for longer in Legia. Sandro Kulenović wants to use the experience gained at Juventus in Warsaw] (in Polish). Sportowe Fakty. 22 August 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
8. "Sandro Kulenović 2021!" (in Polish). Legia Warsaw. 22 August 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
9. "Sandro Kulenović: To pierwsza poważna bramka w moim życiu" [Sandro Kulenović: This is the first serious goal in my life] (in Polish). Gol 24. 28 October 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
10. "Sandro Kulenović vratio se u svoj Dinamo". GNK Dinamo (in Croatian). 2 September 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
11. "Sandro Kulenović novi igrač Rijeke: 'Rijeka je pravi odabir za mene'". HNK Rijeka (in Croatian). 21 September 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
12. Vrdoljak, Juraj (13 October 2020). "Kulenović: For koji ne daje gol". Telesport (in Croatian). Retrieved 28 March 2021.
13. Čičin-Mašansker, Goran (24 September 2020). "Video: Najljepši kraj velike drame na Rujevici! Rijeka ostaje u Europi, Hrvatska ima dva kluba u playoffu". Sportske novosti (in Croatian). Retrieved 28 March 2021.
14. "NK Rijeka". Facebook (in Croatian). 5 October 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
15. Dobrinić, Damir (26 February 2021). "Tri igrača Rijeke 'na hlađenju'! Šef kod kuće ostavio čak i dinamovca u kojega je imao ogromno povjerenje". Sportske novosti (in Croatian). Retrieved 28 March 2021.
16. HINA (7 June 2019). "Konačan popis za Euro: S ovim mladima Hrvatska napada Olimpijske igre". Gol.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 28 March 2021.
17. Kajtazi Roth, Anita (9 March 2021). "Bišćan objavio popis igrača za U-21 Euro: Na njemu najviše igrača Dinama i neka nova imena". Gol.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 28 March 2021.
18. "Tin Matić i Sandro Kulenović piłkarzami Legii" [Tin Matić and Sandro Kulenović with Legia's players] (in Polish). Gol 24. 7 June 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
19. Olivari, Davorin (2 November 2018). "TALENTIRANI HRVATSKI TINEJDŽER PREKO NOĆI POSTAO ZVIJEZDA Napustio je Dinamo, a sada ga nazivaju 18-godišnjim spasiteljem i novim Mandžukićem!". Sportske novosti (in Croatian). Retrieved 26 February 2021.
20. "S. Kulenovic". Soccerway. Retrieved 1 September 2018.

External links

• Sandro Kulenović at 90minut.pl (in Polish)
• Sandro Kulenović at the Croatian Football Federation
• Sandro Kulenović at Soccerway