Sandi Lovrić (born 28 March 1998) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Udinese. Born in Austria, he plays for the Slovenia national team.
Club career
Lovrić joined Sturm Graz in 2012 from SV Rapid Lienz. He made his league debut on 17 August 2014 in a 1–1 home draw against Austria Wien by coming on as a substitute for Marko Stanković. On 9 May 2018, he won the Austrian Cup with Sturm after defeating Red Bull Salzburg 1–0 in the final.
On 3 July 2019, Lovrić signed a three-year deal with Swiss side Lugano after he decided to not extend his contract with Sturm Graz.
On 28 March 2022, he signed a five-year contract with Serie A side Udinese.
On 30 January 2026, Lovrić moved on loan to Hellas Verona until the end of the 2025–26 season.
International career Eligible to represent Austria, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia internationally, Lovrić represented Austria in all youth selections from under-16 to under-21, making over 50 appearances between 2013 and 2019. He stated that he was never approached by anyone from the Croatian Football Federation.
In September 2020, he decided to represent Slovenia at senior level after being approached by their coach Matjaž Kek. He debuted for Slovenia on 7 October 2020 in a friendly game against San Marino, playing for 59 minutes before being substituted by Benjamin Verbič.
On 14 October 2020, Lovrić scored his first goal in a 4–0 UEFA Nations League victory over Moldova. On 24 March 2021, he scored his second goal, the only goal in the 1–0 World Cup qualifying victory over his fatherland Croatia. The upset victory was notably Slovenia's first victory over Croatia in history.
Personal life Lovrić's parents are of Croatian descent. His father hails from Slavonski Brod and his mother is a Bosnian Croat from Modriča. They moved to Piran, Slovenia as migrant workers, and later to Austria, where Lovrić was born. Alongside German, he also fluently speaks Croatian and Italian.
As a youngster, Lovrić often spent summer vacations in Slovenia, and cited his connection to the country as the main reason to represent the Slovenia national team.
Lovrić named Luka Modrić as his football idol.
Career statistics
Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupContinentalTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsSturm Graz II2014–15Regionalliga Mitte93——932015–1681——812016–17140——140Total3140000314Sturm Graz2014–15Austrian Bundesliga8000—802015–168020001002016–173010—402017–18250403Appearances in UEFA Europa League03202018–19201104Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League0251Total6418070791Lugano2019–20Swiss Super League27320503432020–2133222—3542021–2233461—395Total9391035010812Udinese2022–23Serie A37520—3952023–2429121—3122024–2536220—382Total102861001089Career total2902224412032626
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsSlovenia2020612021122202270202371202460202561202651Total496
Scores and results list Slovenia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Lovrić goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Sandi LovrićNo.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition114 October 2020Zimbru Stadium, Chișinău, Moldova31–04–02020–21 UEFA Nations League C224 March 2021Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia71–01–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification34 September 2021Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia131–01–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification410 September 2023San Marino Stadium, Serravalle, San Marino303–04–0UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying55 September 2025Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia431–12–22026 FIFA World Cup qualification629 September 2026Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia481–02–02026–27 UEFA Nations League B
Honours Sturm Graz Austrian Cup: 2017–18
Lugano Swiss Cup: 2021–22
References
External links
Sandi Lovrić at Eurosport
Sandi Lovrić at ÖFB (national team)