Ante Rebić


Ante Rebić is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Milan, on loan from Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt, and the Croatia national team.
He began his senior career at RNK Split, and in 2013 signed for Serie A club Fiorentina for an undisclosed fee. He spent most of his time there out on loan to RB Leipzig, Hellas Verona, and Eintracht Frankfurt. Rebić joined Eintracht Frankfurt permanently in July 2018.
Rebić made his senior international debut for Croatia in 2013. That same year, he was voted Croatian Football Hope of the Year. He represented them at the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and 2018, reaching the final of the latter.

Club career

Youth levels

Rebić started his career playing at youth level for Vinjani before he moved to Imotski in 2008, where he spent two seasons. After his good performances at a tournament in Italy in 2010, where he went with Hajduk Split youth team, Rebić was brought to RNK Split by Darko Butorović.

RNK Split

Rebić made his debut for the first team against Dinamo Zagreb on 21 May 2011 in the last round of the 2010–11 Prva HNL as a second-half substitute. The match ended in a 1–1 draw, with Rebić scoring the late equalizer. In August 2011, Rebić signed a professional three-year contract with RNK Split. In the 2011–12 season, Rebić scored five league goals in twenty appearances, four of them when coming off the bench. In the 2012–13 season, Rebić scored ten league goals in twenty-nine appearances. Performing extraordinarily well in both club and national team, Rebić drawn much attention from both the media and football world, resulting in interest from a number of clubs, including Fiorentina, Tottenham Hotspur and Swansea City.

Fiorentina

On 28 August 2013, Rebić signed a five-year contract with Italian side Fiorentina, for an undisclosed fee. Upon passing the medical exams, he was given the number 9 shirt. He made a debut on 30 September, coming on as a 36th-minute substitute for injured teammate Giuseppe Rossi, in a 2–2 home draw against Parma. During his debut he sustained an injury, causing him to be sidelined for three weeks. Rebić made three more appearances for Fiorentina before he scored his first goal on 8 January 2014, starting and scoring the second goal of a 2–0 Coppa Italia last-16 home win against Chievo Verona. On 18 May, he scored his first goal in Serie A in 2–2 draw against Torino at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, two minutes after replacing Manuel Pasqual.
On 3 August 2014, Rebić joined 2. Bundesliga club Leipzig for a season-long loan deal. After his loan spell with Leipzig ended, Rebić returned to Fiorentina and was given the number 11 shirt, previously worn by Juan Cuadrado, and was used primarily on the left wing. He made his European debut with the club on 1 October in a 4–0 defeat of Belenenses in the Europa League. In their next match in that competition, Rebić was sent off for a reckless challenge in stoppage time in a 2–1 defeat to Lech Poznań. On 1 November, he scored his first goal in Serie A, in a 4–1 win against Frosinone.
After only making six appearances and scoring once for Fiorentina, Rebić was loaned to Hellas Verona on 14 January 2016. However, he failed to score in nine appearances, and Verona were relegated to Serie B. On 20 March, on as a halftime substitute for Giampaolo Pazzini, he was sent off for two yellow cards at the end of a 2–1 loss to Carpi in the Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi.

Eintracht Frankfurt

Rebić joined Eintracht Frankfurt on a season-long loan on 11 July 2016, reuniting with former national team manager Niko Kovač. After a short battle with mononucleosis, Rebić made his debut on 17 September against Bayer Leverkusen, coming on as a substitute and assisting Marco Fabián for the winning goal in a 2–1 victory. On 5 February 2017 he scored his first goal for his new team to conclude a 2–0 win over fellow Hesse team SV Darmstadt 98 at the Commerzbank Arena. On 27 May, he equalised in the 2017 DFB-Pokal Final, though Frankfurt lost 2–1 to Borussia Dortmund.
On 31 August 2017, Rebić joined Eintracht a second time on loan for another year with an option to buy. Across all competitions, he scored nine goals and assisted three that season. This included two goals on 19 May in the 2018 DFB-Pokal Final, a 3–1 victory that gave his club their first cup since 1988 and denied Bayern Munich to complete their double. At the conclusion of the season, Eintracht Frankfurt exercised their option to purchase Rebić permanently for €2 million.
On 10 August 2018, Rebić signed a new contract to last until June 2022. He had been tracked by clubs including Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Bayern Munich and Sevilla, and Eintracht had lost several of their star players in addition to Kovač, who joined Bayern. Two days later, Eintracht lost the 2018 DFL-Supercup at home to precisely that team, with Rebić a 64th-minute substitute.
On 11 August 2019, he scored a hat-trick in a DFB-Pokal match against Waldhof Mannheim, which Eintracht won 5–3.

Loan to Milan

On 2 September 2019, Rebić returned to Italy and signed a two-year loan deal with Milan.
After spending the first half of the season on the bench, having played more minutes for the national team than the club, Rebić scored his first two league goals in a 3–2 victory over Udinese on 19 January 2020, having been subbed on for Giacomo Bonaventura in 46th minute. A week later, he continued his supersub goalscoaring run with a single goal in a 1–0 away victory over Brescia. On 9 February, he scored the opener in Derby della Madonnina; however, the game ended as a 4–2 victory for Inter Milan. Four days later, he scored Milan's only goal in a 1–1 draw with Juventus in Coppa Italia. On 17 February he scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Torino.
On 12 June, in the club's first game after the COVID-19 pandemic, the second leg of Coppa Italia fixture against Juventus, Rebić was sent off after sixteen minutes due to a rough tackle on Juventus' defender Danilo. On 4 July, he scored the third goal in a 3–0 victory over title contenders Lazio, their first home defeat of the season. On 7 July, he won a penalty, provided an assist and scored in a 4–2 comeback victory over Juventus.

International career

On 31 July 2013, Rebić was called up for the first time to the national team, ahead of a friendly away to Liechtenstein. He came on as a 63rd-minute substitute for Ivica Olić in the match, and four minutes later he scored in the 3–2 win. He was praised by manager Igor Štimac after the game.
Upon the arrival of the new national team coach Niko Kovač, his former Croatia U21 coach, Rebić was called up for the decisive World Cup play-off matches against Iceland in November 2013. He came on as a substitute in both games, as Croatia secured their spot in the 2014 FIFA World Cup by winning 2–0 on aggregate.
Rebić was named in Kovač's final 23-man squad for the tournament in Brazil. He took part in the opening match against the hosts in São Paulo, as a late substitute in a 3–1 defeat. He played the same role in the next two matches as the Croats were eventually eliminated from the group, and lasted only 20 minutes before being sent off versus Mexico in their last match for a studs-up tackle on Carlos Peña.
From June 2015 to November 2017, Rebić was not capped for Croatia. He was named in manager Zlatko Dalić's final squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. In the second group match against Argentina in Nizhny Novgorod, he volleyed after a mistake by opposing goalkeeper Willy Caballero to open a 3–0 Croatian win. In the last 16 against Denmark, he had a chance to score near the end of extra time but was fouled by Mathias Jørgensen; Luka Modrić missed the resulting penalty but the Croats won in the shootout. Rebić started in the final, and was substituted for Andrej Kramarić after 71 minutes of a 4–2 loss to France at the Luzhniki Stadium.
He scored his third international goal on 24 March 2019 in an upset 2–1 defeat to Hungary in Budapest during Croatia's Euro 2020 qualifying campaign. After he had been benched at the club, his drop in form could as well be felt in the qualifying games, which caused a public outcry and endangered his spot in the Euro squad.

Style of play

Rebić is known for his physical strength and running speed, both on and off the ball; in 2019, he was the second fastest player in the Bundesliga alongside Achraf Hakimi after clocking at 21.81 mph while playing for Eintracht, as well as the fastest player at the 2018 World Cup alongside Cristiano Ronaldo after clocking at 34 km/h. He is good at dribbling, especially in one on one situations, and at protecting the ball with his body strength when challenged. His first touch, however, has been cited as one of the areas of his game that is in need of improvement, with the others being the accuracy of his passing, crossing, and shots from long range, as well as his decision-making in high-pressure situations. Tactically, Rebić is a versatile forward who can operate in several positions across various formations. While he is mainly fielded as a left winger in a 4–3–3 or 4–2–3–1, he can also play as an out-and-out striker or supporting striker in a 4–4–2, while during Eintracht's 2018–19 season he was deployed as an attacking midfielder in a 3–4–1–2, forming a fluid goalscoring triangle with Luka Jović and Sébastien Haller. Aside from his attacking duties, he has been praised for his willingness to participate in his team's defensive plays, including the pressing or counter-pressing of the opposition.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

No.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
114 August 2013Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein
1
2–1
3–2
Friendly
221 June 2018Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
18
1–0
3–0
2018 FIFA World Cup
324 March 2019Groupama Arena, Budapest, Hungary
28
1–0
1–2
UEFA Euro 2020 qualification

Honours

Eintracht Frankfurt
Croatia
Individual
Orders