Mario Mandžukić (; born 21 May 1986) is a Croatian football coach and a former player who was most recently an assistant coach for the Croatian national team. As a player, he played as a forward and was known for his aggressiveness, defensive contribution, and aerial prowess.
Starting his career in 2004 at hometown club Marsonia, Mandžukić then moved to two Zagreb-based clubs: NK Zagreb in 2005 and Dinamo Zagreb in 2007. He was Croatian First League top goalscorer in the 2008–09 season. After joining VfL Wolfsburg in 2010, Mandžukić moved to fellow-Bundesliga side Bayern Munich in 2012. He helped Bayern win their first continental treble (Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, Champions League) in his first season, and became the first Croatian to score in a Champions League final. After winning a domestic double the following season, he left Bayern for La Liga club Atlético Madrid in 2014, and a season later was signed by Juventus in the Serie A. Mandžukić won four league titles and three Coppa Italia titles with Juventus, and reached the 2017 Champions League final. He left Juventus in December 2019 for Qatari side Al-Duhail, but returned to Italy in January 2021, signing with AC Milan. He retired in September of the same year.
At the international level, Mandžukić debuted for Croatia in November 2007 under manager Slaven Bilić. He participated in four major tournaments with his national side, Euro 2012, the 2014 World Cup, Euro 2016, and the 2018 World Cup, reaching the final of the latter tournament, after which he retired from international football. In total, he made 89 international appearances and, with 33 goals, he is the Croatia national team's third-most prolific scorer of all time. He was named Croatian Footballer of the Year in 2012 and 2013.
Club career Youth and early career Mandžukić started playing football in Germany, where he and his parents relocated to due to the Croatian War of Independence. In 1992, he joined German club TSF Ditzingen, near Stuttgart. Upon returning to his home country, the newly independent Croatia, he spent the period between 1996 and 2003 at NK Marsonia before spending a season at the city minnows NK Željezničar. The next season, he returned to Marsonia and in the summer of 2005 he made a move to NK Zagreb.
Dinamo Zagreb
In the summer of 2007, Mandžukić was bought by the Croatian powerhouse Dinamo Zagreb for €1.3 million as a replacement for their Arsenal-bound star striker Eduardo da Silva. Upon his arrival, he managed to secure his spot in starting eleven, playing mostly in the position of second striker. On 4 October 2007, he put on an impressive performance against AFC Ajax in Amsterdam when he scored two goals in extra-time to secure Dinamo's 2–3 away win, as Dinamo qualified for the group stage of 2007–08 UEFA Cup. He finished his first season at Dinamo with 12 goals and 11 assists throughout 29 matches, but also had a poor discipline record, collecting eight yellow cards.
He started the 2008–09 season with two goals against Linfield in a qualifier for the UEFA Cup. In the 2008–09 Prva HNL, Mandžukić was the league's top goalscorer, bagging 16 goals in 28 appearances. He also scored three goals in the season's UEFA Cup. This was the season of his rise in the Croatia national team as well, as he collected eight caps in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches. After the 2008–09 season had finished, he was linked with German side Werder Bremen, but the €12 million offer was rejected by the Dinamo board, who were of opinion that Mandžukić's worth was at least €15 million. He started the 2009–10 season by scoring a goal in a Champions League play-off match against Red Bull Salzburg. Mandžukić received red card in the last minutes of the game. After he told the referee that he got hit by the bottle that somebody threw from the stands, he gave him his second yellow card and ruled him out of the game. On 17 September 2009, after Dinamo lost 2–0 at home to Anderlecht in Europa League, Mandžukić was controversially fined €100,000 after being accused of poor effort. It was the first time in the history of the club that a player was financially fined. On 20 September, Mandžukić captained Dinamo to a 6–0 victory against HNK Rijeka in Prva HNL. In a post–match interview, Mandžukić rejected any speculation about him leaving the club after the fine, stating that it was his childhood dream to captain the Dinamo side and that he gives his best in any match he plays for the club. During that season, he appeared in 24 league matches, scoring 14 goals. He appeared in five Europa League matches as well.
Wolfsburg On 14 July 2010, Mandžukić signed for VfL Wolfsburg for a fee believed to be around €7 million. Upon his arrival, in the first half of the 2010–11 season, he played regularly but mostly coming on as a substitute. At the time, he was mostly used as left winger under coach Steve McClaren, who played with only one striker, Edin Džeko. Things changed for Mandžukić, however, after the departure of Džeko to Manchester City in January 2011. Mandžukić scored his first Bundesliga goal for Wolfsburg on Matchday 26 against 1. FC Nürnberg under interim manager Pierre Littbarski. Upon the arrival of manager Felix Magath, Mandžukić was played in his natural position as striker. In the last seven matches of the domestic season, he scored eight goals, two of which came in the last match against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, and were crucial for the club as they avoided relegation. In his second season in Wolfsburg, he became a regular starter in the Bundesliga and was the club's top goalscorer with 12 goals. In his two years at Wolfsburg, he scored 20 times in 56 appearances, establishing himself as one of Wolfsburg's best players during his stay and quickly becoming a fan favourite due to his goalscoring ability and attitude.
Bayern Munich 2012–13 season On 26 June 2012, Mandžukić signed a contract with Bundesliga club Bayern Munich for a transfer fee of €13 million, pending a medical test, subsequent to his strong performance at UEFA Euro 2012 in Ukraine and Poland, and because of his terrific form for Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga. On 27 June, the transfer was officially announced by Bayern Munich.
On 24 July 2012, Mandžukić made his debut for Bayern in a 6–0 win against Chinese Super League side Beijing Guoan, scoring the fifth goal in the friendly match in the 79th minute. On 12 August, he scored his first goal in an official game against reigning Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund in the sixth minute, helping his team win the German DFL Supercup. He scored his first league goal for Bayern against Greuther Fürth on matchday one and added another one the next matchday in a 6–1 win against VfB Stuttgart. He went on to score twice against his former club Wolfsburg.
Mandžukić then added four more goals in five more Bundesliga matches, taking his tally to nine goals in 11 matches in the German top tier. After the Bundesliga winter break, Mandžukić continued with his goal scoring activity, netting three more goals in first two games, against Greuther Fürth and Stuttgart. He scored another brace against 1. FSV Mainz 05. He finished his first Bundesliga season with Bayern as the club's top goalscorer, netting a total of 15 goals in 24 matches and having a major impact in winning the Bundesliga title. He scored his first Champions League goal of the season in the Round of 16 match against Arsenal. He netted another one in the quarter-final match against Juventus in Turin, giving Bayern the 0–1 away lead. On 25 May, Bayern faced Borussia Dortmund in the 2013 UEFA Champions League Final and Mandžukić scored the first goal of the match, giving Bayern a 1–0 lead in 60th minute. Bayern went on to win the match 2–1 after a late goal from Arjen Robben. With this goal, Mandžukić became the first Croat to score in a Champions League final game and it capped a highly successful first season for him in Munich, as the club completed a treble-winning season, claiming the Bundesliga, Champions League, and DFB-Pokal, as well as the German Supercup at the start of the campaign.
2013–14 season Mandžukić first began the season slowly, having small issues adjusting to new Bayern coach Pep Guardiola's system. Guardiola changed Bayern's formation from the 4–2–3–1 they had used previously under Jupp Heynckes to a new 4–1–4–1 style. While it took a bit of time to adjust, Mandžukić regained his form nonetheless in time for league play. He opened the new season in the Bundesliga by scoring two goals in two league appearances. Mandžukić scored his first Champions League goal of the season when Bayern Munich began the defence of their Champions League title against CSKA Moscow with a 3–0 victory at the Allianz Arena. He headed the only goal as Bayern defeated a valiant FC Viktoria Plzeň in November to move into the knockout stages with a record-equalling ninth successive UEFA Champions League win. Mandžukić scored his tenth goal of the new Bundesliga season in a December match against Hamburger SV.
In the first semi-final of 2013 FIFA Club World Cup, Mandžukić dove low to head Thiago Alcantara's cross into goal for 2–0 against Guangzhou Evergrande. He eventually won the competition with Bayern after the final with Raja Casablanca, ended with a 2–0 victory. Upon the Bundesliga winter break, Mandžukić was left out of the Bayern Munich 18-man roster in their match against Borussia Mönchengladbach, with Guardiola reportedly unimpressed with his performances in training. He returned to the squad for the next match against VfB Stuttgart. A week later, against Eintracht Frankfurt, Mandžukić delivered a response with a commanding performance in Bayern's 5–0 win, scoring the last goal of the match and delivering a pinpoint pass to Mario Götze who opened the scoring. On 12 February, Mandžukić scored his first hat-trick of the season, as Bayern Munich eased their way into the DFB-Pokal semi-final with a 5–0 rout of Hamburger SV. In the match against Hannover 96, Mandžukić celebrated his 100th Bundesliga appearance by meeting Rafinha's cross to complete the goal. Despite being the club's top scorer with 26 goals, Mandžukić was dropped from the team by Guardiola ahead of the 2014 DFB-Pokal Final. Mandžukić stated that he wanted to leave Bayern because "the playing style of coach Pep Guardiola simply does not fit" him.
Atlético Madrid
On 10 July 2014, Mandžukić signed a four-year deal with the Spanish club Atlético Madrid for an undisclosed fee. On 24 July, Mandžukić was presented to Atlético Madrid fans at Vicente Calderón, wearing the number 9 shirt. He made his competitive debut in the first leg of the 2014 Supercopa de España on 19 August, a 1–1 draw away to Real Madrid, in which he played 78 minutes before being replaced by fellow debutant Raúl Jiménez. In the second leg at Vicente Calderón, Mandžukić scored his first competitive goal for the club, netting the winner after just two minutes. It was the quickest goal in the competition.
Mandžukić scored his first league goal against SD Eibar, on 30 August, as Atlético recorded their first win of the new Primera División season. In the opening match of the new Champions League campaign, against Olympiacos, Mandžukić collected Cristian Ansaldi's cross and sent home a close-range header into the bottom corner to make it 1–2, in eventual 2–3 loss. Mandžukić helped Atlético move within two points of joint-league leaders Barcelona and Sevilla on 26 October when he tapped in Arda Turan's cross to score the solitary goal in a win over Getafe.