Sandi Lovrić (born 28 March 1998) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Udinese and the Slovenia national team.[1] After playing for Austria at all youth levels, he decided to represent Slovenia at senior level.
In September 2020, he decided to represent Slovenia at senior level after being approached by their coach Matjaž Kek.[7][8][9] 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.[10]
On 14 October 2020, Lovrić scored his first goal in a 4–0 UEFA Nations League victory over Moldova.[11] 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.[7][12]
Personal life
Lovrić's parents are of Croatian descent. His father hails from Slavonski Brod and his mother is a Bosnian Croat from Modriča.[7] They moved to Piran, Slovenia as migrant workers, and later to Austria, where Lovrić was born.[13] Alongside German, Lovrić also fluently speaks Croatian[13] and Italian.[7]
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.[13]
^ a b c d e fBurić, Jure (27 March 2021). "Šokirao Vatrene na startu: Iz HNS-a me nisu zvali! A ovo što sam Lovrena kopačkom razderao po licu..." Sportske novosti (in Croatian). Retrieved 27 March 2021.
^Gruden, Toni (7 September 2020). "Kek po okrepitvi z Lovričem upa še na vrnitev Kampla" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
^Uredništvo (1 September 2020). "Sandi Lovrič ne bo več čakal Avstrije: Zdaj želi igrati za Slovenijo, odločitev je dokončna" (in Slovenian). Nogomania. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
^A. G. (7 October 2020). "Mitrović, Vučkić in Rep s prvenci za gladko zmago Slovenije" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
^Lisjak, Mitja (14 October 2020). "Hat-trick Vučkića za gladko zmago v Moldaviji" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
^"VIDEO: Hrvatska prvim porazom od Slovenije u povijesti otvorila kvalifikacije za Svjetsko prvenstvo". Gol.hr (in Croatian). 24 March 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
^ a b cMiljković, Andrej (10 October 2020). "Prvi intervju SANDIJA LOVRIĆA: Zrasel v Avstriji, govorim hrvaško – zlahka pa pojasnim, zakaj hočem igrati za Slovenijo! DARKO MILANIČ? On je ..." Ekipa24 (in Slovenian). Retrieved 11 October 2020.
^"Sandi Lovrič » Club matches". WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
^ a b"Sandi Lovrić". eu-football.info. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
^ a b"Lovrič, Sandi". national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 15 October 2020.