BoKrkic: 2013

Bojan Krkić Pérez (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈβojan ˈkrkitʃ ˈpeɾeθ]; Serbian Cyrillic: Бојан Кркић Перез, pronounced [bojan krkitɕ perez]; born 28 August 1990), also known as simply Bojan, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger for Italian Serie A club Milan.^[1] Bojan is of partly Serbian descent and was born in Linyola in Catalonia, beginning his footballing career with FC Barcelona. He has represented both theSpanish national team and the Catalonian regional team.^[2]

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Born in Linyola, Lleida, Catalonia, to a Serbian father (Bojan Krkić, Sr.) who was a professional footballer for the Serbian side Red Star Belgradeand a Spanish mother (Maria Lluïsa Pérez),^[3] Bojan played for FC Barcelona's youth teams from 1999 to 2006.^[4] A quick striker with quite notabledribbling skills, it was reported that he scored over 500 goals for the youth teams in five and a half years.^{[citation needed]} He then 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 24 April 2007, scoring a goal in a friendly match against Egyptian giants Al-Ahly.^[5]

[edit]Barcelona

[edit]2007–08 season

Bojan playing in the 2008 Joan Gamper Trophy against Boca Juniors

On 16 September 2007 (at 17 years and 19 days), Bojan made his official debut for Barcelona against CA Osasuna, replacing Giovani dos Santosin the 78th minute^[3]^[6] and breaking Lionel Messi's record of the youngest Barcelona player to feature in a La Liga match.^[7] Three days later, he made his UEFA Champions League debut against Olympique Lyonnais, coming on at the 88th minute for Messi. He was, at the time, the youngest Barcelona player ever to feature in a Champions League game, at 17 years and 22 days.^[8] He made his second Champions League appearance on 2 October, coming on at the 81st minute for Ronaldinho against VfB Stuttgart. On 20 October 2007 (at 17 years and 53 days), Bojan made his first league start for Barcelona away to Villarreal CF 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.^[9]^[10]

Bojan scored his first ever Champions League goal on 1 April 2008 (at 17 years and 217 days) against Schalke 04, netting the only goal in the first (away) leg of the quarter-finals, 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 Olympiacos, who scored at the age of 17 years and 195 days.^[3]^[11]^[12] Bojan finished the season with a record of 10 goals, breaking Raúl's record of most goals scored in a debut season.^[3]

[edit]2008–09 season

Bojan celebrates his goal against Sporting Gijón on 31 August 2009 at Camp Nou

Upon the departure of Gianluca Zambrotta, Bojan was handed the number 11 shirt. After 14 games (13 of which he entered as a substitute), Bojan ended a goal drought by netting a brace against UD Almería in a 2-0 victory.^[13] Despite featuring less compared to the previous season, Bojan helped Barcelona to their 19th La Liga title. He also aided Barcelona to their first Copa del Rey win in 11 years by scoring five goals in the competition, including one in the final against Athletic Bilbao. Bojan was an unused substitute in the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final against Manchester United, which Barcelona won 2-0 and saw them cap off a treble-winning campaign. Bojan's three goals in ten appearances throughout the competition saw him finish as the equal sixth highest goalscorer for the season.^[14]

[edit]2009–10 season

On the first day of the La Liga campaign against Atlético Madrid, Bojan scored a header in the 18th minute courtesy of a flick from Seydou Keita. Barcelona went on to win the game by a scoreline of 3-0.^[15] On 10 November, he scored twice in the second leg of the Copa del Rey against Cultural Leonesa, helping his team to a 5-0 victory.^[16] Coming off the bench as a late substitute for Andrés Iniesta, Bojan scored his first and only Champions League goal of the season against VfB Stuttgart.^[17] He began finding the net more often towards the end of the season; 7 of his 8 league goals for the season came from the last 12 games.^[18]

[edit]2010–11 season

Bojan took the number 9 shirt after Zlatan Ibrahimović moved on loan to A.C. Milan. The season saw Bojan find himself behind Lionel Messi, Pedro Rodríguez and David Villa in the pecking order. In the match against AD Ceuta in the Copa del Rey, Bojan captained Barcelona for the first time in an official match. He came off of the bench against UD Almería to score the sixth and eighth goal in an 8-0 win and later came on against Real Madrid in El Clásico to set up the fifth goal in a 5-0 win for Jeffrén Suárez. In a La Liga match against Real Sociedad, Bojan again came off the bench to score the fifth goal in 5-0 win. He scored a crucial league goal from a Daniel Alves assist for Barcelona against Sevilla in a 1-1 draw. He marked his 100th league appearance for the Catalan club with a goal against Getafe CF.

[edit]Roma

Bojan with Roma

On 22 July 2011 A.S. Roma bought Bojan for a fee of €12 million. The sale includes a buyback clause allowing Barcelona to resign Bojan in 2012 or 2013, although with the option of Roma paying an additional €28 million to retain the player.^[19]^[20] He made his unofficial debut on 3 August 2011 against Vasas in Budapest.^{[citation needed]} He scored his first goal from an assist from Daniele De Rossi for the Giallorossi against Atalanta B.C. on 1 October 2011. He made 33 league appearances for Roma in his first season with the club, scoring seven times in total.^[21]

[edit]Milan

On 29 August 2012, Bojan joined Milan on a season-long loan from Roma.^[22] Barcelona later announced that the move would not affect the prior buyback agreement between Roma and them.^[23] However, Milan CEO Adriano Galliani stated that a new agreement was worked out so that Milan have an option to sign the player at the end of the season, but Barcelona still have a buyback option.^[24] Bojan made his debut for Milan on 1 September, coming off the bench during the second half of a 3–1 away win over Bologna F.C. 1909.^[25] He scored his first goal for Milan againstChievo on 3 November 2012.^[26]

[edit]National team

[edit]Spanish national youth teams

Bojan (red right) with teammate Adrián with Spain U21 after Adrián scores in their 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship semi-final match against Belarus

Bojan at Bydgoszcz Ignacy Jan Paderewski Airport, a few days before the U-21 match betweenSpain and Poland

Bojan shot to prominence as a 15-year-old^[27] at the UEFA European Under-17 Championship inLuxembourg 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 in the 53rd minute. When the match went to penalties, he scored and Spain won 5–4 to finish third. In the 2007 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.

There was controversy surrounding Bojan's call up to the Spain U-17 squad for the 2007 Under-17 World Cup in South Korea, because Barcelona wanted to keep him so that he could be part of their Asian tour. The Royal 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.

During the tournament, Bojan scored five goals, finishing as 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 Chrisantus (silver) and Toni Kroos (gold).^[28]

Bojan scored for the Spanish Under 21s in their 2–0 win over Poland on 12 October 2007, quickly establishing himself as an important player, also prompting rumours of an eventual call-up fromsenior side's manager Luis Aragonés. Bojan was selected in the squad for the 2009 UEFA Under-21 Championship. However, the Spanish team underperformed and picked up one point from their first two games, leaving progression almost impossible.

Bojan was called up to the Spain U-21 squad for 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.

[edit]Spanish national team

Bojan with Catalonia in its friendly againstArgentina on 22 December 2009.

Bojan was approached to play for Serbia in 2008 but declined because of his wish to play for Spain.^[29]^[30] He was included in the Spanish squad for a friendly game against France on 6 February 2008. Should he have featured in that 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 had stood for over 70 years.^[31] However, Bojan fell ill and could not play.^[32]

On 17 May 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.^[33] He made his full Spanish debut on 10 September 2008 (at 18 years and 13 days) under Vicente del Bosque against Armenia, where he came on during the last ten minutes for Santi Cazorla and played on the right wing.^[34]

[edit]Catalan national team

Bojan made his official debut with Catalonia in the friendly match against the Basque Country on 29 December 2007 in Bilbao; he scored the Catalan goal in the 1–1 draw. He also scored a year later on 29 December 2008 in the 2–1 win over Colombia and in the 4–2 win against Argentinain 22 December 2009. He scored twice and also provided two assists in a 4–0 win against Honduras on 29 December 2010.

[edit]Club career statistics

As of 13 January 2013

Club	Season	League		Cup		Europe		Other*		Total
Club	Season	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Barcelona B	2006–07	22	10	–						22	10
Barcelona B	Total	22	10	–						22	10
Barcelona	2007–08	31	10	8	1	9	1	–		48	12
	2008–09	23	2	9	5	10	3	–		42	10
	2009–10	23	8	4	2	5	1	4	1	36	12
	2010–11	27	6	5	1	3	0	2	0	37	7
	Total	104	26	25	9	27	5	6	1	163	41
Roma	2011–12	33	7	2	0	2	0	–		37	7
Roma	Total	33	7	2	0	2	0	–		37	7
Milan	2012–13	16	3	2	0	5	0			23	3
Milan	Total	16	3	2	0	5	0			23	3
Spain Total		126	36	25	9	27	5	6	1	185	51
Italy Total		49	10	4	0	7	0	–		60	10
Career Total		175	46	29	9	34	5	6	1	245	61

Includes other competitions, including the Supercopa de España, Supercoppa Italiana, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup

[edit]International career statistics

As of 10 September 2008

National team	Season	Apps	Goals
Spain	2008–09^[18]	1	0
Total		1	0

Bojan Krkić: **Catalonia National Team Goals**
Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	29 December 2007	San Mamés Stadium, Basque Country, Spain	Basque Country	1 - 0 (1-1)	Draw	Friendly
2	28 December 2008	Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain	Colombia	2 - 0 (2-1)	Win	Friendly
3	22 December 2009	Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain	Argentina	1 - 0 (4-2)	Win	Friendly
4	28 December 2009	Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain	Argentina	3 - 1 (4-2)	Win	Friendly
5	28 December 2010	Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Barcelona, Spain	Honduras	1 - 0 (4-0)	Win	Friendly
6	28 December 2010	Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Barcelona, Spain	Honduras	3 - 0 (4-0)	Win	Friendly