Igor Bišcan
Encyclopedia
Igor Bišćan (ˈiɡɔr ˈbiʃːtɕan; born 4 May 1978 in Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...

, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...

) is a Croatian professional footballer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

, playing for Dinamo Zagreb
Dinamo Zagreb
GNK Dinamo Zagreb, commonly referred to as Dinamo Zagreb , or by their nickname Modri are a Croatian football club based in Zagreb. They play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Croatian football, having won thirteen Croatian championship titles, ten...

. He also played for the English team Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

 and Greek side Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos FC
Panathinaikos Football Club is a Greek professional football club based in Athens. Founded in 1908, they play in the Super League Greece and are one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Greek football history. They have won 20 Greek Championships and 17 Greek Cups.Panathinaikos is the most...

, also spending one-year loan at NK Samobor
NK Samobor
NK Samobor is a Croatian football club based in the town of Samobor in Zagreb County.Former Liverpool defender Igor Biscan played for the club on loan early on in his career....

 in his early career. Bišćan represented Croatia at the international level, debuting in UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying match against Macedonia in Skopje
Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...

 on 13 June 1999.

Early career

At the start of his career, Bišćan began to amass an impressive level of playing experience, representing Croatia at youth football level and then captaining his club, Dinamo Zagreb, in the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

 and the UEFA Cup. He was part of what is considered the most successful era of Dinamo Zagreb in Prva HNL, winning two consecutive league titles, in 1999
Prva HNL 1998-99
-Overview:It was contested by 12 teams, and Croatia Zagreb won the championship.In the first stage upper six teams advance to Championship Group, bottom six to Relegation Group, with 50% of points taken to the next phase of the competition.-First stage:...

 and 2000
Prva HNL 1998-99
-Overview:It was contested by 12 teams, and Croatia Zagreb won the championship.In the first stage upper six teams advance to Championship Group, bottom six to Relegation Group, with 50% of points taken to the next phase of the competition.-First stage:...

, and participating in two consecutive group stages of Champions League (Group A, 1998–99 and Group D, 1999–2000). During his four seasons in Croatia Bišćan bagged eleven goals in 84 appearances in domestic leagues, which brought attention of foreign clubs to promising midfielder.

Move to Anfield

On 8 December 2000, his contract was bought by Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

 manager Gérard Houllier
Gérard Houllier
Gérard Houllier, OBE , is a French football manager, who was last manager of Premier League club Aston Villa. He stepped down on 1 June 2011, following hospitalisation over heart problems towards the end of the 2010-2011 season....

 for £5.5 million, having been sought after by Juventus, Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....

, Ajax
Ajax Amsterdam
Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax , also referred to as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam or simply Ajax , is a professional football club from Amsterdam, Netherlands...

 and Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...

. Although Bišćan was originally signed as a central midfielder, Gérard Houllier felt he was more useful as centre back and often played Bišćan out of his natural position, sometimes even as a winger or full back. His debut came in a Premier League match against Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....

, which Liverpool lost 1–0, with Bišćan coming off the bench to replace Christian Ziege
Christian Ziege
Christian Ziege is a former German football defender and midfielder. With the German national team, Ziege won Euro 96. An attacking left wingback, Ziege was considered a dead-ball specialist.-Club career:...

 in 71st minute. A week later he played full 90 minutes against Manchester United at Old Trafford
Old Trafford
Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...

, with Liverpool breaking 3,240 minutes of United's undefeated run at their home ground by defeating them 1–0. He notched up 21 appearances by the end of the 2000–01 season, of which he started in 15 and coming off the bench in 6 matches. His scored his first goal for Liverpool on 14 January 2001, bagging a goal in 18th minute of the 2000–01 League Cup match against Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...

 in a 5–0 victory. Unfortunately for Bišćan, he was cup–tied and therefore ineligible to play for Liverpool in their UEFA Cup winning season.

Bišćan fell out of favour after his first year at Liverpool, capping only 23 appearances in the next two seasons and spending a total of 37 matches on the bench without being used as a substitute. A major injury crisis of the team in 2003–04 season gave Bišćan a comeback chance, and by the start of the new Premier League season he was returned into the first eleven. By the end of the season Bišćan featured in 39 matches, of which 30 he played until full time. He was sent–off in 36th minute of Liverpool's UEFA Cup second leg match against Marseille
Olympique de Marseille
Olympique de Marseille is a French association football club based in Marseille. Founded in 1899, the club plays in Ligue 1 and have spent most of its history in the top tier of French football. Marseille have been French champions nine times and have won the Coupe de France a record ten times. In...

, which turned things around for Liverpool as they were knocked–out of the competition.

In 2004–05 season, he played a vital part in Liverpool's run to the finals of the Champions League and was notable particularly for his marauding runs from midfield during matches against Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...

 and Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

. He was an unused substitute against Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...

 in the final
2005 UEFA Champions League Final
The 2005 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League, Europe's primary club football competition. The showpiece event was contested between Liverpool of England and Milan of Italy at the Atatürk Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey on 25 May 2005...

, but still got a winner's medal. His last official match for the Reds was on 15 May 2005, in a Premier League clash against Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...

. During his last season Bišćan scored two more goals (against Fulham and Bolton) and made a total of 35 appearances. Although Biscan failed to live up to expectations, he is fondly remembered by Liverpool fans after his impressive final year at the club.

As a Liverpool player he also made a cameo appearance in the film Goal!
Goal! (film)
Goal! is a 2005 film directed by Danny Cannon. It is the first installment of a trilogy also named Goal!. This film was made with full cooperation from FIFA, which is one of the reasons actual teams and players are used throughout the film...

, scoring a header in the final game of the film when Liverpool were playing Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

.

Panathinaikos

Following his contract termination with the Reds, on 15 June 2005, Bišćan signed for one of the two major Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 clubs, Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos FC
Panathinaikos Football Club is a Greek professional football club based in Athens. Founded in 1908, they play in the Super League Greece and are one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Greek football history. They have won 20 Greek Championships and 17 Greek Cups.Panathinaikos is the most...

. During his two years in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

 he made 36 appearances and scored 3 goals. Unfortunately, Bišćan had a huge decline in game, disappointing both the fans and the club owners. On 1 June 2007, Bišćan's contract expired and the club showed no interest in renewing his contract, so he was free-agent once again.

Return to Dinamo Zagreb

The next six months Bišćan spent resting from football and mostly avoiding the huge public interest shown for him. He was constantly approached by Dinamo Zagreb
Dinamo Zagreb
GNK Dinamo Zagreb, commonly referred to as Dinamo Zagreb , or by their nickname Modri are a Croatian football club based in Zagreb. They play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Croatian football, having won thirteen Croatian championship titles, ten...

 director Zdravko Mamić, who was interested in bringing Biščan back to his home club. After months of negotiations, Bišćan finally signed contract on 3 December 2007. Although he was criticized for his lacking performances by the fans, Bišćan rose to become the captain of the club after the departure of Luka Modrić
Luka Modric
Luka Modrić is a Croatian footballer who plays for Tottenham Hotspur and for the Croatia national football team.Modrić's childhood coincided with the Croatian War of Independence. After showing promise in hometown club Zadar's youth team, he was signed by Dinamo Zagreb as a teenager in 2002. His...

 to Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....

. Following his return Dinamo played for two consecutive seasons in UEFA Cup group stages, also winning two domestic league titles and two Croatian Cup
Croatian Cup
The Croatian Cup is an annually held football tournament for Croatian football clubs and is the second most important competition in Croatian football after the Prva HNL league championship. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation and usually runs from late August to May...

 titles.
On 19th on April 2011. It has been announced by unconfirmed reports that Igor has been scheduled for an operation on a joint that could spell the end of his career. Luckily, Igor Bišćan decided to continue playing football and end his career at Dinamo Zagreb

National team

Bišćan's debut appearance for Croatia came on a UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying match against Macedonia in Skopje
Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...

 on 13 June 1999. His scored his first and only international goal against Mexico
Mexico national football team
The Mexican national football team represents Mexico in association football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation , the governing body for football in Mexico. Mexico's home stadium is the Estadio Azteca and their head coach is José Manuel de la Torre...

 on 16 June 1999. He also collected yellow cards on three occasions. Eleven out of fifteen Croatia's matches Bišćan featured in have finished by a draw. His last official match was against Scotland
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...

 on 1 September 2001. After leaving the national team camp in 2003, Bišćan has been suspended by Croatian Football Federation
Croatian Football Federation
The Croatian Football Federation is the governing body of association football in Croatia. It was originally formed in 1912 and is based in the capital city of Zagreb. The organisation is a member of both FIFA and UEFA, and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the game of football in Croatia...

 and has refused to play for the national team ever since, although he has not yet announced his retirement, leaving chance that he might accept invitation to national team in the future. He also represented Croatia at the under–21 level and was capped in the Croatia B team on one occasion.

International goal

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
01. 16 June 1999 Seoul World Cup Stadium
Seoul World Cup Stadium
The Seoul World Cup Stadium, also known as Sangam Stadium, is located in Seongsan, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It was built for the 2002 FIFA World Cup and opened in 2001. It was designed to represent the image of a traditional Korean kite...

, Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...

, Korea
2 – 1
2 – 1
Friendly match

Honours

Dinamo Zagreb
  • Croatian First League (7): 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10
    2009–10 Prva HNL
    The 2009–10 Prva HNL season was the nineteenth season of the Prva HNL since its establishment in 1992. It began on 24 July 2009 and ended on 13 May 2010...

    , 2010–11
    2010–11 Prva HNL
    The 2010–11 Prva HNL season was the twentieth season of the Prva HNL since its establishment in 1992. It began on 23 July 2010 and ended on 21 May 2011...

  • Croatian Cup
    Croatian Cup
    The Croatian Cup is an annually held football tournament for Croatian football clubs and is the second most important competition in Croatian football after the Prva HNL league championship. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation and usually runs from late August to May...

     (3): 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11
    2010–11 Croatian Cup
    The 2010–11 Croatian Cup is the twentieth season of Croatia's football knockout competition.The defending champions are Hajduk Split, having won their 5th title the previous year by defeating Šibenik in the final....

  • Croatian Super Cup (1): 2010


Liverpool
  • Football League Cup
    Football League Cup
    The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

     (2): 2000–01
    2001 Football League Cup Final
    The 2001 Worthington Cup Final was a football match played between Liverpool and Birmingham City at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff on Sunday 25 February 2001...

    , 2002–03
    2003 Football League Cup Final
    The 2003 Football League Cup Final was the final match of the 2002–03 Football League Cup, a football tournament for teams in the Premier League and the Football League. The match was contested by Liverpool and Manchester United at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on 2 March 2003...

  • Community Shield (1): 2001
    2001 FA Charity Shield
    The 2001 FA Charity Shield was the 79th FA Charity Shield, a football match played between the winners of the previous season's Premier League and FA Cup competitions. The match was played on 12 August 2001 between 2000–01 Premier League champions Manchester United and 2000–01 FA Cup winners...

  • European Super Cup
    European Super Cup
    The UEFA Super Cup is an annual football game between the reigning champions of the two cup competitions organized by UEFA: the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League...

     (1): 2001
    2001 UEFA Super Cup
    The 2001 UEFA Super Cup was a football match between German team Bayern Munich and English team Liverpool on 24 August 2001 at Stade Louis II, the annual UEFA Super Cup contested between the winners of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup. Bayern were appearing in the Super Cup for the third...

  • UEFA Champions League
    UEFA Champions League
    The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

     (1): 2004–05
    2005 UEFA Champions League Final
    The 2005 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League, Europe's primary club football competition. The showpiece event was contested between Liverpool of England and Milan of Italy at the Atatürk Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey on 25 May 2005...


Career statistics

|-
|rowspan="2"|1997–98||Samobor
NK Samobor
NK Samobor is a Croatian football club based in the town of Samobor in Zagreb County.Former Liverpool defender Igor Biscan played for the club on loan early on in his career....

||rowspan="5"|Prva HNL||12||1||||||||||||||12||1
|-
|rowspan="4"|Dinamo Zagreb
Dinamo Zagreb
GNK Dinamo Zagreb, commonly referred to as Dinamo Zagreb , or by their nickname Modri are a Croatian football club based in Zagreb. They play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Croatian football, having won thirteen Croatian championship titles, ten...

||5||0||||||||||||||5||0
|-
|1998–99||19||2||||||||||||||19||2
|-
|1999–00||29||6||||||||||||||29||6
|-
|2000–01||14||3||||||||||||||14||3

|-
|2000–01||rowspan="5"|Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

||rowspan="5"|Premier League||13||0||4||0||4||1||0||0||21||1
|-
|2001–02||5||0||0||0||0||0||4||0||101||0
|-
|2002–03||6||0||1||0||3||0||3||0||13||0
|-
|2003–04||29||0||1||0||2||0||7||0||39||0
|-
|2004–05||19||2||1||0||6||0||9||0||35||2

|-
|2005–06||rowspan="2"|Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos FC
Panathinaikos Football Club is a Greek professional football club based in Athens. Founded in 1908, they play in the Super League Greece and are one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Greek football history. They have won 20 Greek Championships and 17 Greek Cups.Panathinaikos is the most...

||rowspan="2"|Super League Greece
Super League Greece
The Superleague Greece is the highest professional football league in Greece. It was formed on July 16, 2006 and replaced Alpha Ethniki at the top of the Greek football league system. The league consists of 16 teams and runs from August to May, with teams playing 30 games each...

||20||3||||||||||6||0||26||3
|-
|2006–07|||16||0||||||||||5||0||21||0

|-
|2007–08||rowspan="4"|Dinamo Zagreb
Dinamo Zagreb
GNK Dinamo Zagreb, commonly referred to as Dinamo Zagreb , or by their nickname Modri are a Croatian football club based in Zagreb. They play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Croatian football, having won thirteen Croatian championship titles, ten...

||rowspan="4"|Prva HNL||9||0||5||1||||||0||0||14||1
|-
|2008–09||27||1||6||1||||||12||2||45||4
|-
|2009–10||5||0||0||0||||||6||1||11||1
|-
|2010–11||14||0||0||0||||||10||1||24||1
134||14||6||1||||||28||4||168||19
52||2||7||0||15||1||23||0||117||3
36||3||||||||||11||0||47||3
222||19||13||1||15||1||62||4||312||25

1 Featured in the 2001 FA Charity Shield
2001 FA Charity Shield
The 2001 FA Charity Shield was the 79th FA Charity Shield, a football match played between the winners of the previous season's Premier League and FA Cup competitions. The match was played on 12 August 2001 between 2000–01 Premier League champions Manchester United and 2000–01 FA Cup winners...

.

External links

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