Sandi LovriÃÂ (born 28 March 1998) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Italian club Hellas Verona, on loan from Udinese, and for the Slovenia national team. After playing for Austria at all youth levels, he decided to represent Slovenia at senior level.
Lovriàjoined Sturm Graz in 2012 from SV Rapid Lienz. He made his league debut on 17 August 2014 in a 1âÂÂ1 home draw against Austria Wien by coming on as a substitute for Marko StankoviÃÂ. On 9 May 2018, he won the Austrian Cup with Sturm after defeating Red Bull Salzburg 1âÂÂ0 in the final.
On 3 July 2019, LovriÃÂ 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, Lovriàmoved on loan to Hellas Verona until the end of the 2025âÂÂ26 season.
Eligible to represent Austria, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia internationally, LovriÃÂ 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 Matjaà ¾ 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 VerbiÃÂ.
On 14 October 2020, Lovriàscored his first goal in a 4âÂÂ0 UEFA Nations League victory over Moldova. On 24 March 2021, he scored his second goal, the only goal in the 1âÂÂ0 World Cup qualifying victory over his fatherland Croatia. The upset victory was notably Slovenia's first victory over Croatia in history.
LovriÃÂ's parents are of Croatian descent. His father hails from Slavonski Brod and his mother is a Bosnian Croat from ModriÃÂa. They moved to Piran, Slovenia as migrant workers, and later to Austria, where LovriÃÂ was born. Alongside German, he also fluently speaks Croatian and Italian.
As a youngster, LovriÃÂ often spent summer vacations in Slovenia, and cited his connection to the country as the main reason to represent the Slovenia national team.
LovriÃÂ named Luka ModriÃÂ as his football idol.
Sturm Graz
Lugano