The incredible Euro scorer scored against England. He is 30 years old and in a weak league there are fewer goals than in the Euro!
Georgy Ilyushchenko June 30, 2024, 22:05 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Schranz’s transfer fee is only 2 million euros. And he is not even the main player of Czech Slavia!
Ivan Shrants. Until June this year, you were unlikely to have heard this name. And then he did everything to be remembered: he scored against the English in the round of 16 of Euro 2024 and almost saved the tournament from a boring favourite. And this is not the first feat of the 30-year-old right winger of the Slovak national team.
Ivan Shrants is the real hero of Euro 2024
Schrantz’s case is unique. His transfer fee is just 2 million euros. It is simply a joke compared to the English, Belgian and even Ukrainian stars whose teams he defeated. No one could have imagined that Ivan would become the star of the tournament. But he became it.
In the first match, the winger played a perfect back-heel pass to Juraj Kutska and put it into the Belgian goal. He then avoided the offside position and finished skilfully with his empty hands. The goal was the winner (1:0).
Full broadcasts of matches and highlights from Euro 2024 are available on Okko.
Slovakia could no longer face Ukraine (1-2). But it was Schranz who opened the scoring, taking off Alexander Zinchenko and making a great header that bounced off the grass.
Full match broadcasts and highlights from Euro 2024 are available on Okko.
The Slovaks achieved the draw they needed to qualify from the group with Romania without Iván’s goal. But against England, Schrantz once again demonstrated his talent as a goalscorer: like a child, he shook Mark Geha with his body and clearly placed the ball into the far corner. Now the winger is the top scorer of Euro 2024 along with Georges Mikautadze and Jamal Musiala.
What did Schranz achieve before the Euro?
He spent the last three years at Slavia Prague. And even there he was not the main player. In his last season he played only 1,731 minutes. That is less than 20 full games and only the team’s 14th result. He converted his time on the pitch into eight goals and three assists. Moreover, only two are in the domestic league. There were also health problems, but he simply was not considered the main player.
In total, he has 28+17 in 107 games with Slavia. He previously played in his homeland at České Budejovice, Dukla and Jablonec. Ivan also tried himself as a legionnaire in Cyprus. Things didn’t go very well: only seven games with AEL and a quick separation; I was only there six months. But in Limassol Schranz won the only trophy of his career: the National Cup.
Do you remember Marek Hamsik? He retired, but he is still important for the Slovak national team:
Gamshik is now unrecognizable! But in the Slovak national team he remains the most important figure.
Schranz’s main club in his career is also not from the Czech Republic: Slovakian Spartak Trnava, where he played 127 games from 2017 to 2019 and accumulated 25+11.
Ivan made his debut for the national team in September 2020 and has since played 26 games in their uniform. What is striking is that he had only scored three times until this summer. That is, the same number as in four games at the European Championships: the Czech Republic in the Nations League, as well as Cyprus and Croatia in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. The goal against the Belgians came almost three years later.
Another interesting fact about Schrantz is that no club paid compensation for him. After the Euro Cup the situation may change. Yes, he will be 31 in September. However, this advancement will certainly be appreciated.
