Who is Dejan Lovren? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Age: 34 Years, 34 Year Old Males

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Anita Lovren (m. 2012)

Born Country: Croatia/hrvatska

Football Players Croatian Men

Height: 6'2" (188 cm), 6'2" Males

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Childhood & Early Life

Dejan Lovren was born on July 5, 1989, in Zenica, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, to Silva and Sasa Lovren. When he was three years old, his family moved to Munich to avoid the consequences of the ‘Bosnian War.’

He spent his childhood in Germany where he attended school and played football for a minor club. After spending seven years in Germany, his family relocated to Karlovac, Croatia as they did not have the necessary documentation to live in Germany.

After settling in Croatia, he started playing football for local teams, such as ‘NK Karlovac’ and ‘NK Ilovac.’ In 2004, he joined the professional football club ‘GNK Dinamo Zagreb.’ He made his ‘Croatian First Football League’ debut for ‘Dinamo Zagreb’ on May 10, 2006, when he played against ‘VŠNK Varaždin.’

He appeared in 38 matches and scored three goals for ‘Dinamo Zagreb’ during the 2008–09 season. In the subsequent season, he played in all four ‘UEFA Champions League’ qualifiers and scored a goal while playing against ‘Football Club Pyunik.’

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Career

In January 2010, Lovren signed a four-and-a-half-year contract worth €9.5 million with the popular French ‘Ligue 1’ club ‘Olympique Lyonnais’ (Lyon). He made his ‘Ligue 1’ debut on January 31 and helped his team beat ‘Paris Saint-Germain.’

During the 2010–11 season, he established himself as a regular starter for Lyon’s first team. In November 2010, Lovren was named by ‘Don Balón’ magazine as one of the ‘100 best young players in the world.’ In 2012, his team won the prestigious ‘Coupe de France’ title after beating ‘Quevilly’ in the final game which took place at the ‘Stade de France’ stadium.

On June 14, 2013, Lovren signed a four-year contract with ‘Southampton Football Club’ for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut for ‘Southampton’ on August 17, 2013, helping his team to a 1–0 win against ‘West Bromwich Albion.’

He scored his first goal for ‘Southampton’ on September 21, 2013, helping his team beat ‘Liverpool.’ On October 19, he assisted Adam Lallana for an equalizer against ‘Manchester United.’ His second goal at the ‘Premier League’ came against ‘Sunderland A.F.C.’ on January 18, 2014.

At the end of his first season in the league, Lovren was named in the ‘Power 50’ list issued by ‘Bloomberg Sports.’ On July 25, 2014, ‘The Liverpool Echo’ reported that ‘Southampton’ had agreed to sell Lovren to ‘Liverpool.’ He then signed a four-year contract worth £20 million with ‘Liverpool,’ becoming the most expensive defender in the club’s history.

He made his competitive debut for the club on August 17, 2014. His first competitive goal for ‘Liverpool’ came against ‘Swansea City’ in the fourth round of the ‘EFL Cup.’ Towards the end of the 2014–15 season, Lovren lost his place in the club’s first team after a poor performance in a defeat against ‘FC Basel’ in the ‘UEFA Champions League.’

He regained his place in the team at the beginning of the subsequent season. However, he once again lost his place when his team lost to ‘West Ham United’ and ‘Manchester United.’ On November 8, 2015, he played as a substitute in his team’s 2–1 defeat against ‘Crystal Palace.’

On April 14, 2016, he scored the winning goal against ‘Borussia Dortmund’ in the ‘UEFA Europa League’ quarter-final match. On April 28, 2017, ‘Liverpool’ extended his contract until 2021. On December 17, he scored his first goal of the season against ‘Bournemouth.’ After securing a 4–0 win over ‘Bournemouth,’ ‘Liverpool’ became the first ‘Premier League’ team to win four successive away league matches by a margin of three goals or more.

Lovren captained ‘Liverpool’ on January 14, 2018, when his team registered a 4–3 win against ‘Manchester City.’ He scored his second goal of the season on May 13, helping ‘Liverpool’ to an impressive 4–0 win against ‘Brighton and Hove Albion.’ The win secured Liverpool’s place in the ‘UEFA Champions League.’

International Career

Lovren started his international career by playing for various junior teams, such as the Croatia national under-17 team and under-21 team. He made 54 appearances and scored six goals while playing for junior national teams. Lovren made his national senior team debut on November 8, 2009, when he played against Qatar.

He scored his first international goal as a senior player in a ‘UEFA Euro 2012’ qualifying match against Malta on September 2, 2011. Though he was included in the preliminary 23-man squad for the 2012 ‘UEFA European Championship,’ he could not participate in the tournament due to an injury which he incurred one week before the tournament.

He scored his second goal for Croatia in a ‘World Cup’ qualifying match against Wales on March 26, 2013. In May 2014, he was named in the 30-man squad for the 2014 ‘FIFA World Cup.’ Unfortunately, Croatia failed to advance to the ‘knockout stage’ in the ‘World Cup.’

In May 2018, Lovren was named in Croatia’s national team squad for the 2018 ‘FIFA World Cup.’ He played throughout the ‘World Cup’ and helped his team reach the final. However, he couldn’t score in the final game against France, thereby missing an opportunity to win the 2018 ‘World Cup.’

Family & Personal Life

Dejan Lovren married Anita Sekulić in July 2012. On August 28, 2012, Lovren and Anita were blessed with a daughter named Elena. On June 21, 2015, Anita gave birth to her son Josip who was named after Lovren’s paternal grandfather.

Lovren has a younger brother named Davor who too is a football player. Davor made his professional debut for ‘GNK Dinamo Zagreb’ in a game against ‘NK Lokomotiva’ in the ‘Croatian First Football League.’

Lovren founded a fashion brand named ‘Russell Brown’ in 2013. However, the brand was shut down after three years for unknown reasons. In May 2018, he came up with another fashion brand named ‘Rock Filius.’ In the same month, he opened a four-star hotel called ‘Joel’ in Novalja.

Dejan Lovren Biography