Andrej Kramaric benched for club and country amid Hoffenheim slump | OneFootball

Andrej Kramaric, 35, Hoffenheim’s record scorer, has slipped to the fringes for club and Croatia after years as talisman. He is goalless this season and has played only 68 minutes across six competitive matches.

Slaven Bilic returned as Croatia coach with a 2-1 win in the Czech Republic, and left Kramaric unused in Prague. According to Goal.com, that was a first for him this season with the national team, while at Hoffenheim he is yet to start under Christian Ilzer.

Last season Hoffenheim finished fifth, Kramaric started 28 times and delivered 15 goals and eight assists in 36 matches. Since arriving in 2016 he has 158 goals in 366 games, and this slump echoes the first half of 2017/18 under Julian Nagelsmann, when he was benched for five straight league games but saw more minutes than now.

Two factors loom large. He featured at the World Cup as a substitute in three of four matches before the round-of-32 exit. Five days after losing to Portugal he had groin surgery, returned to TSG training late and has not closed that gap.

Hoffenheim’s deeper squad, shaped by Europa League demands, has raised the bar. Bazoumana Toure joined Newcastle United for about €50 million and Grischa Prömel left for VfB Stuttgart, while six signings cost €66 million.

Bambase Conte and Adam Daghim are ahead on the flanks, and up front Adam Hlozek, Tim Lemperle, Max Moerstedt and Fisnik Asllani are also in the mix.

Even so, Ilzer has praised Kramaric as a meticulous professional and a vital presence, and the club extended his contract to 2028 in early May.

A route back could open soon. Hoffenheim have scored seven in four league games, 10 clubs have more, and they sit fifth from bottom for chance conversion and in the table. A punishing run of seven matches in three weeks after the international break could force change if results do not improve.

For Croatia, Bilic’s approach in the three remaining Nations League ties, twice against Spain and at home to England, remains to be seen. Despite limited minutes in Germany, Kramaric has been called up and sits on 119 caps, behind Luka Modric on 203, Ivan Perisic on 159 and Darijo Srna on 134. He is chasing Perisic’s mark, three ahead on 39, with Davor Suker’s 45 still in reach.

For now he must play his way out of this lull. The last time he reacted to bench duty he scored 11 after the winter break and drove Hoffenheim to third and the Champions League.

Source: Goal.com

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”