Robert Prosinecki
Encyclopedia
Robert Prosinečki (ˈrɔbɛrt ̩prɔsiˈnɛtʃki, born 12 January 1969) is a Croatia
n football manager and former football midfielder. Prosinečki is regarded by many as the player with best technique that ever played in and for Croatia. Former national squad teammate Zvonimir Boban
, humbly, also agreed with this. His dribbling is considered excellent, and his ability to keep possession of the ball is very highly regarded. He is one of the few footballers to have played for both the Spanish rival clubs FC Barcelona
and Real Madrid
.
After retiring from active football he worked as assistant manager of the Croatia national football team
between 2006 and 2010, before being appointed manager of Red Star Belgrade
in December 2010.
, West Germany
, into a family of Yugoslav gastarbeiter
s of mixed ethnicity. His father Đuro was Croatian
, hailing from Gornji Čemehovec village near Kraljevec na Sutli
, and his mother Emilija Đoković is Serbian
, originally from Ježevica village near Čačak
.
He spent his childhood in Germany before moving back to SR Croatia with his family in 1979, at the age of ten. By that time Prosinečki had already been playing in the Stuttgarter Kickers
youth system. Once in Croatia, he continued in the youth setup of Dinamo Zagreb.
. On his league debut versus FK Željezničar, he managed to score a goal. By the end of the season, he recorded one more league appearance.
Wanting to secure his son's financial future, Prosinečki's father Đuro started pushing within club hierarchy for a professional contract to be given to his 18-year-old son. However, coach Blažević sent him away, famously claiming that he would eat his coaching diploma if Prosinečki ever became a real football player.
and got the professional contract they were after. Dragan Džajić
, Red Star
's then football director, remembers the transfer as follows:
Immediately upon arrival to his new club, Prosinečki became a first team regular and furthermore, much to Blažević's chagrin, also rapidly established himself as one of Yugoslavia's most gifted and talented players. Playing under head coach Vasović, the youngster earned a spot in Red Star's midfield alongside Dragan Stojković
, Žarko Đurović
, and Goran Milojević
just a few weeks into the 1987–88 league season and never looked back. In October 1987 he was part of the Yugoslav youth squad
which won the World Youth Championship
in Chile
, with Prosinečki winning the Golden Ball award as the tournament's best player. Playing in Chile meant that he was away from the club for the entire month of October, and he was already held in such high regard at Red Star that club brass attempted to bring him back from South America after the tournament's group stages, so that he could play in their 1987–88 UEFA Cup second round tie versus Club Brugge. The Yugoslav team players protested to FIFA, and João Havelange
, the organisation's chairman at the time, intervened to keep Prosinečki in Chile.
During his four-year spell at the club Prosinečki helped Red Star win three Yugoslav First League
titles and one Yugoslav Cup
, as well as participating in the club's greatest success in history by winning the 1991 European Cup
.
He then played with Real Madrid
, Real Oviedo
, Barcelona
, Sevilla
, NK Croatia Zagreb, Standard Liège
, Portsmouth
(where he is considered a legend despite playing only one season in the latter stages of his career), Olimpija Ljubljana
, and Zagreb
.
2.5 billion (€15 million). Led by club president Ramón Mendoza
and head coach Radomir Antić
, the club had huge expectations from their expensive and highly rated signing. Real went through a difficult previous season, twice making a coaching change and barely getting a UEFA Cup spot by finishing third in La Liga under Antić, their third head coach that season.
However, pretty much immediately 22-year-old Prosinečki got sidelined with a string of muscular injuries. Administered by team doctors, he went underwent a series of tests as well as a strict dietary regime in addition to getting forced into changing many lifestyle-related habits. Still, the first season turned out to be a complete write-off: he appeared in only three league matches with a notable shining moment - scoring a free-kick goal versus FC Barcelona in El Clásico
on 19 October 1991.
Although injury-riddled as well, Prosinečki's second season at Real did provide a bit of a breakthrough with 29 league appearances and 3 goals, however, it was still far off the expectations indicated by his reputation and price tag.
His best season was incidentally his last, with six league goals. Still, during 1994 summer transfer window, Real brass decided that his physical fragility and injuries are too much to deal with and offloaded him to Real Oviedo.
Prosinečki is still held as a folk hero at Portsmouth for his marvelous one man performances in the centre of midfield, his goals and assists saving the club from relegation in the 2001/02 season. At the end of the 2007-08 Premier League season the readers of The News have picked Prosinečki for all-time best Portsmouth
eleven. He is only non-British player among elected.
It was after talking to Prosinečki that current Croatia international Niko Kranjčar
decided to sign for Portsmouth in the summer of 2006.
|1986-87||Dinamo Zagreb||First League
||2||1||||||||||||||||
|-
|1987-88
||rowspan="4"|Red Star Belgrade
||rowspan="4"|First League
||23||4||||||||||4||0||||
|-
|1988-89
||33||4||||||||||2||0||||
|-
|1989-90
||32||5||||||||||6||1||||
|-
|1990-91||29||12||||||||||9||4||||
|-
|1991-92
||rowspan="3"|Real Madrid
||rowspan="3"|La Liga
||3||1||||||||||||||||
|-
|1992-93
||29||3||||||||||||||||
|-
|1993-94
||23||6||2||0||-||-||5||0||30||6
|-
|1994-95
||Real Oviedo
||La Liga
||30||5||||||||||||||||
|-
|1995-96
||Sevilla
||La Liga
||20||4||||||||||||||||
|-
|1996-97
||Barcelona
||La Liga
||19||2||||||||||||||||
|-
|1997-98||rowspan="3"|Croatia Zagreb||rowspan="3"|Prva HNL||16||5||||||||||||||||
|-
|1998-99
||15||4||||||||||||||||
|-
|1999-00
||19||5||||||||||||||||
|-
|2000-01
||Hrvatski dragovoljac
||Prva HNL||4||1||||||||||||||||
|-
|2000-01
||Standard Liège
||First Division||21||4||||||||||||||||
|-
|2001-02
||Portsmouth
||First Division
||33||9||||||||||||||||
|-
|2002-03
||Olimpija
||Slovenian PrvaLiga||23||3||||||||||||||||
|-
|2003-04||NK Zagreb
||Prva HNL||26||5||||||||||||||||
119||25||||||||||||||||
124||21||||||||||||||||
80||20||||||||||||||||
20||4||||||||||||||||
33||9||||||||||||||||
23||3||||||||||||||||
400||82||||||||||||||||
|-
|1989||5||1
|-
|1990||7||2
|-
|1991||3||1
|-
!Total||15||4
|}
|-
|1994||5||1
|-
|1995||5||2
|-
|1996||9||0
|-
|1997||7||1
|-
|1998||8||4
|-
|1999||0||0
|-
|2000||2||0
|-
|2001||8||2
|-
|2002||5||0
|-
!Total||49||10
|}
and has scored 10 goals for his country. He was also capped 15 times, scoring four goals, for Yugoslavia
. In 1987, Prosinečki was named the tournament's best player as Yugoslavia won the World Youth Championship in Chile
along with fellow Croatians Davor Šuker
and Igor Štimac
. He then played for Yugoslavia at the 1990 World Cup
and for Croatia at Euro 96 and the 1998 and 2002 World Cups. It was in 1998 that Prosinečki and the Croatian squad won third place in the World Cup, with Prosinečki scoring two goals along the way.
He is the only player in World Cup history to score for two different national teams. In 1990, he scored one goal for Yugoslavia in a group match against the United Arab Emirates
and eight years later he added two goals for Croatia by scoring in a group match against Jamaica
and in the third place match against the Netherlands
. He played in a total of nine World Cup matches, three for Yugoslavia in 1990 and six for Croatia in 1998 and 2002.
Real Madrid
at the Croatian national football team.
, Prosinečki was announced as the new head coach of Red Star Belgrade
. Returning to the club of his biggest playing successes, the announcement made major headlines all over the Balkans and also generated plenty of buzz in the rest of Europe. The angle of Prosinečki being the first Croatian to coach in Serbia following the Yugoslav Wars
also got a lot of attention. His annual sallary was not officially disclosed, however, Serbian press speculated with figures from US$100,000 to $250,000 per year.
Fifteen matches into the season, the famous yet recently beleaguered Serbian club was in second place, five points behind league leaders FK Partizan. Red Star brass led by club president Vladan Lukić
(Prosinečki's former teammate at Marakana) thus steered clear of stating league title as an explicit requirement for the club legend, still, it was understood that making an outside run at the title remained a priority. Prosinečki announced his intent to mold Red Star into an attacking team that utilizes short-passing game to break down opponents, picking Slobodan Marović
and Žarko Đurović
(also Red Star colleagues from playing days) to be his assistants. Immediately, however, the issue of Prosinečki's pro coaching licence came up when it was discovered that he may not yet meet criteria for one, which according to Serbian Superliga rules would preclude him from being physically present on the sidelines during official matches. The things were straightened out by the time league restarted and Prosinečki's bench debut, which was scheduled to take place versus FK Smederevo
at Marakana on 26 February 2011.
However, due to heavy snowfall and extreme cold in Serbia, the entire league restart got pushed back by a week so that the match ended up being played on Saturday, 5 March 2011. Red Star won 1-0 on a penalty kick by Cadú
with 18,742 fans in the stands - the club's second biggest home crowd of the season
, only behind the derby versus Partizan on 23 October 2010 that drew 31,135. Prosinečki's team continued in winning fashion beating FK Inđija, FK Jagodina
, and BSK Borča
in the next three rounds, which combined with Partizan drawing 2-2 away at Rad allowed Red Star to reduce the crno-beli lead to 3 points. The talk of title was now officially reignited as confident Prosinečki did away with diplomatic caution, openly stating in the press for the first time that the team is after both titles - in the league and in the cup. Red Star kept up the pressure with three more wins versus Javor, Čukarički, and Metalac
, and it paid off as Partizan slipped up again, this time losing at home versus Vojvodina. The two teams were now tied on points at the top of the table as both recorded big wins in the next round, before meeting one another on 23 April 2011. Shaping up as the league decider, the 140th Eternal Derby at Partizan Stadium featured a lot gamesmanship before the big match. At the showdown on Partizan's ground, Red Star played a great first half and was very unlucky not to score as the half finished 0-0. After the restart, Prosinečki's team faded inexplicably as Partizan scored through Prince Tagoe
and held on until the end. Partizan's lead was again back to 3 points, as Prosinečki got forced back to the drawing board with only six matches remaining in the season.
, Real Madrid
, FC Barcelona
as well as Yugoslav and Croatian national teams, the story of him being chased away from Dinamo Zagreb
in 1987 by the famous coach Ćiro Blažević grew in Croatian and Yugoslav media and public. To this day it is often cited and referenced as an example of football mismanagement, poor judgement, and bad work with youth categories. Colourful Blažević, the villain of the piece, rarely talked on the record about the circumstances of Prosinečki's departure. However, in 2010, Blažević deflected responsibility for the flap by claiming he actually gave the youngster a four-year contract that was eventually, according to Blažević, annulled by Dinamo president Ante Pavlović on a technicality due to not being processed administratively by the subfederation responsible. On the same occasion, Blažević went on to accuse Prosinečki's father Đuro of not negotiating in good faith with Dinamo by saying "he already had his combination with Red Star". Asked about his famous quote about eating his diploma if Prosinečki ever became a player, Blažević responded that he only used it as a motivation tool.
Blažević and Prosinečki would reignite their simmering feud eleven years later during the 1998 World Cup
where they were part of the Croatian national team that made it all the way to the third-place play-off. In the semifinal match that Croatia lost 1-2 versus eventual winners France after going ahead 1-0, Blažević decided to leave 29-year-old Prosinečki on the bench (he eventually entered the contest in the 90th minute, coming on for Mario Stanić
), which led to a lot of criticism.
Years later in 2009, court ruled against Prosinečki, mostly due to asserting that the lawsuit against Dinamo had no merit since Prosinečki played for Croatia Zagreb, and not Dinamo Zagreb. Commenting on the verdict in late 2009, Prosinečki said he was cheated out of his money.
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n football manager and former football midfielder. Prosinečki is regarded by many as the player with best technique that ever played in and for Croatia. Former national squad teammate Zvonimir Boban
Zvonimir Boban
Zvonimir Boban is a Croatian former football midfielder who played most of his professional career for Serie A club Milan, with whom he won four Serie A titles and the Champions League. He was a member of the Croatia national team which attained third place at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, with Boban...
, humbly, also agreed with this. His dribbling is considered excellent, and his ability to keep possession of the ball is very highly regarded. He is one of the few footballers to have played for both the Spanish rival clubs FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
and Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
.
After retiring from active football he worked as assistant manager of the Croatia national football team
Croatia national football team
The Croatia national football team represents Croatia in international football. The team is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in the country, and has been managed since 2006 by former player Slaven Bilić...
between 2006 and 2010, before being appointed manager of Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is a part of the Red Star Sports Society.Red Star Belgrade is the most successful Serbian club, with a record of 25 national championships and 23 national cups in both Serbian and ex-Yugoslav competitions...
in December 2010.
Early life and career
Prosinečki was born in SchwenningenVillingen-Schwenningen
Villingen-Schwenningen is a city in the Schwarzwald-Baar district in southern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It has 80,941 inhabitants .-History:...
, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, into a family of Yugoslav gastarbeiter
Gastarbeiter
Gastarbeiter is German for "guest worker." It refers to migrant workers who had moved to West Germany mainly in the 1960s and 70s, seeking work as part of a formal guest worker programme...
s of mixed ethnicity. His father Đuro was Croatian
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
, hailing from Gornji Čemehovec village near Kraljevec na Sutli
Kraljevec na Sutli
Kraljevec na Sutli is a village and municipality in Krapina-Zagorje county in Croatia. According to the 2001 census, there are 1,815 inhabitants in the area, absolute majority which are Croats....
, and his mother Emilija Đoković is Serbian
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
, originally from Ježevica village near Čačak
Cacak
Čačak is a city in central Serbia. It is the administrative center of the Moravica District of Serbia. Čačak is also the main industrial, cultural and sport center of the district...
.
He spent his childhood in Germany before moving back to SR Croatia with his family in 1979, at the age of ten. By that time Prosinečki had already been playing in the Stuttgarter Kickers
Stuttgarter Kickers
Stuttgarter Kickers is a German association football club that plays in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, founded on 21 September 1899 as FC Stuttgarter Cickers...
youth system. Once in Croatia, he continued in the youth setup of Dinamo Zagreb.
Dinamo Zagreb
After moving up the youth ranks for years, Prosinečki started getting occasional first team appearances during the 1986–87 league season under head coach Miroslav BlaževićMiroslav Blaževic
Miroslav "Ćiro" Blažević is a Bosnian Croat football manager. He is the current head coach of Mes Kerman in Iran Pro League....
. On his league debut versus FK Željezničar, he managed to score a goal. By the end of the season, he recorded one more league appearance.
Wanting to secure his son's financial future, Prosinečki's father Đuro started pushing within club hierarchy for a professional contract to be given to his 18-year-old son. However, coach Blažević sent him away, famously claiming that he would eat his coaching diploma if Prosinečki ever became a real football player.
Red Star Belgrade
In the summer of 1987 Đuro Prosinečki took Robert over to BelgradeBelgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
and got the professional contract they were after. Dragan Džajić
Dragan Džajic
Dragan Džajić is widely considered to have been one of the best Serbian football players to emerge from former Yugoslavia. Regarded as a preeminent and very proficient left winger, he is strongly reputed to have been one of the finest European players of his generation...
, Red Star
Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is a part of the Red Star Sports Society.Red Star Belgrade is the most successful Serbian club, with a record of 25 national championships and 23 national cups in both Serbian and ex-Yugoslav competitions...
's then football director, remembers the transfer as follows:
Immediately upon arrival to his new club, Prosinečki became a first team regular and furthermore, much to Blažević's chagrin, also rapidly established himself as one of Yugoslavia's most gifted and talented players. Playing under head coach Vasović, the youngster earned a spot in Red Star's midfield alongside Dragan Stojković
Dragan Stojkovic
Dragan Stojković , also known under the nickname Piksi is a Serbian former footballer and current manager of J...
, Žarko Đurović
Žarko Đurović
Žarko Đurović is a Serbian football manager and former player...
, and Goran Milojević
Goran Milojevic
Goran Milojević Radivojević , known as Milojević, is a retired Serbian football attacking midfielder, and a current manager.-Club career:...
just a few weeks into the 1987–88 league season and never looked back. In October 1987 he was part of the Yugoslav youth squad
Yugoslavia national under-20 football team
The Yugoslavia national under-20 football team represented the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia at the FIFA World Youth Championship and various friendly youth tournaments in the period between the mid-1970s and the country's dissolution in the early 1990s...
which won the World Youth Championship
1987 FIFA World Youth Championship
The 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Chile from October 10 to October 25, 1987. The 1987 championship was the 6th contested and won for the first time by Yugoslavia. Remarkably, in the course of the tournament the Yugoslavs defeated each of the three other semi-finalists, and...
in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, with Prosinečki winning the Golden Ball award as the tournament's best player. Playing in Chile meant that he was away from the club for the entire month of October, and he was already held in such high regard at Red Star that club brass attempted to bring him back from South America after the tournament's group stages, so that he could play in their 1987–88 UEFA Cup second round tie versus Club Brugge. The Yugoslav team players protested to FIFA, and João Havelange
João Havelange
Jean-Marie Faustin Goedefroid de Havelange , more commonly known as João Havelange , was the 7th President of FIFA, serving from 1974 to 1998. He received the title of Honorary President when leaving office. He succeeded Sir Stanley Rous and was succeeded by Joseph Blatter...
, the organisation's chairman at the time, intervened to keep Prosinečki in Chile.
During his four-year spell at the club Prosinečki helped Red Star win three Yugoslav First League
Yugoslav First League
The Yugoslav First League was the premier football league in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and socialist Yugoslavia...
titles and one Yugoslav Cup
Yugoslav Cup
The Yugoslav Cup, officially the Marshal Tito Cup, was one of two major football competitions in the former Yugoslavia, the other one being the Yugoslav League Championship. The Yugoslav Cup took place after the league championships when every competitive league in Yugoslavia had finished, in order...
, as well as participating in the club's greatest success in history by winning the 1991 European Cup
1991 European Cup Final
The 1991 European Cup Final was a football match held at the Stadio San Nicola in Bari, Italy, on 29 May 1991, that saw Red Star Belgrade of Yugoslavia defeat Olympique Marseille of France in a penalty shootout. After normal time and extra time could not separate the two sides, the match was to be...
.
He then played with Real Madrid
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
, Real Oviedo
Real Oviedo
Real Oviedo is a Spanish football club based in Oviedo, in the autonomous community of Asturias. Founded on 26 March 1926, it currently plays in Segunda División B - Group 2....
, Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
, Sevilla
Sevilla FC
Sevilla Fútbol Club S.A.D. is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, Spain that plays in the Spanish La Liga championship.They are one of the most successful clubs in Spanish football having won a 1 La Liga title, 5 Spanish "Copa del Rey" Cups, 1 Spanish Super Cup and 2 UEFA...
, NK Croatia Zagreb, Standard Liège
Standard Liège
Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (Dutch: Standard Luik [], German: Standard Lüttich , is a Belgian football club from the city of Liège....
, Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
(where he is considered a legend despite playing only one season in the latter stages of his career), Olimpija Ljubljana
NK Olimpija Ljubljana (1911)
NK Olimpija Ljubljana was a Slovenian association football club based in Ljubljana. The club had traced its origin back to 1911 when it was originally founded as SK Ilirija. It had gone through a series of mergers in the first half of the 20th century before adopting the name Olimpija in 1962...
, and Zagreb
NK Zagreb
NK Zagreb is a Croatian football club, from the Croatian capital of Zagreb.NK Zagreb's home is the Stadion Kranjčevićeva with capacity of 8,850. The club's fans are known as the White Angels...
.
Real Madrid
Prosinečki joined the Spanish giants during the summer 1991 for a transfer fee of ₧Spanish peseta
The peseta was the currency of Spain between 1869 and 2002. Along with the French franc, it was also a de facto currency used in Andorra .- Etymology :...
2.5 billion (€15 million). Led by club president Ramón Mendoza
Ramón Mendoza
Ramón Mendoza was a Spanish lawyer and business man, most famous for his stint as football chairman of Real Madrid from 1985 until 1995. He was born in Madrid, Spain....
and head coach Radomir Antić
Radomir Antic
Radomir Antić is a Serbian former football defender and former football manager for the Serbian national team.Following a 17-year playing career he found his true calling in coaching....
, the club had huge expectations from their expensive and highly rated signing. Real went through a difficult previous season, twice making a coaching change and barely getting a UEFA Cup spot by finishing third in La Liga under Antić, their third head coach that season.
However, pretty much immediately 22-year-old Prosinečki got sidelined with a string of muscular injuries. Administered by team doctors, he went underwent a series of tests as well as a strict dietary regime in addition to getting forced into changing many lifestyle-related habits. Still, the first season turned out to be a complete write-off: he appeared in only three league matches with a notable shining moment - scoring a free-kick goal versus FC Barcelona in El Clásico
El Clásico
El Clásico , also known as El derbi Español, is the name given in football to a match between Real Madrid and Barcelona. It is contested twice a year in the Spanish La Liga competition, and more often if the clubs meet in other competitions...
on 19 October 1991.
Although injury-riddled as well, Prosinečki's second season at Real did provide a bit of a breakthrough with 29 league appearances and 3 goals, however, it was still far off the expectations indicated by his reputation and price tag.
His best season was incidentally his last, with six league goals. Still, during 1994 summer transfer window, Real brass decided that his physical fragility and injuries are too much to deal with and offloaded him to Real Oviedo.
Portsmouth
In 2001 Prosinečki signed for Nationwide Division 1 side Portsmouth on a one-year deal.Prosinečki is still held as a folk hero at Portsmouth for his marvelous one man performances in the centre of midfield, his goals and assists saving the club from relegation in the 2001/02 season. At the end of the 2007-08 Premier League season the readers of The News have picked Prosinečki for all-time best Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
eleven. He is only non-British player among elected.
It was after talking to Prosinečki that current Croatia international Niko Kranjčar
Niko Kranjcar
Niko Kranjčar is a Croatian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur and the Croatia national team.He represented two of the biggest clubs in his homeland, playing for Dinamo Zagreb before sparking controversy by making a move to their fierce rivals Hajduk Split in 2005...
decided to sign for Portsmouth in the summer of 2006.
Career statistics
|-|1986-87||Dinamo Zagreb||First League
Yugoslav First League
The Yugoslav First League was the premier football league in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and socialist Yugoslavia...
||2||1||||||||||||||||
|-
|1987-88
Yugoslav First League 1987-88
The 1987–88 Yugoslav First League season was the 42nd season of the First Federal League , the top level association football competition of SFR Yugoslavia, since its establishment in 1946. The season began on 2 August 1987 and ended on 12 June 1988...
||rowspan="4"|Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is a part of the Red Star Sports Society.Red Star Belgrade is the most successful Serbian club, with a record of 25 national championships and 23 national cups in both Serbian and ex-Yugoslav competitions...
||rowspan="4"|First League
Yugoslav First League
The Yugoslav First League was the premier football league in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and socialist Yugoslavia...
||23||4||||||||||4||0||||
|-
|1988-89
Yugoslav First League 1988-89
The 1988–89 Yugoslav First League season was the 43rd season of the First Federal League , the top level association football competition of SFR Yugoslavia, since its establishment in 1946....
||33||4||||||||||2||0||||
|-
|1989-90
Yugoslav First League 1989-90
The 1989–90 Yugoslav First League season was the 44th season of the First Federal League , the top level association football competition of SFR Yugoslavia, since its establishment in 1946....
||32||5||||||||||6||1||||
|-
|1990-91||29||12||||||||||9||4||||
|-
|1991-92
La Liga 1991-92
La Liga 1991-92 season, the 61st since its establishment, started on August 31, 1991 and finished on June 7, 1992. It was composed of the following clubs:-Final table:-Relegation playoff:-Results table:...
||rowspan="3"|Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
||rowspan="3"|La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
||3||1||||||||||||||||
|-
|1992-93
La Liga 1992-93
La Liga 1992-93 season, the 62nd since its establishment, started on September 5, 1992, and finished on June 20, 1993. It was composed of the following clubs:-Clubs and locations:* Albacete* Athletic Bilbao* Atlético Madrid* FC Barcelona* Cádiz CF...
||29||3||||||||||||||||
|-
|1993-94
La Liga 1993-94
La Liga 1993-94 season, the 63rd since its establishment, started on September 4, 1993 and finished on May 15, 1994. It was composed of the following clubs:-League table:Excluded From The 1994-95 UEFA Champions League...
||23||6||2||0||-||-||5||0||30||6
|-
|1994-95
La Liga 1994-95
La Liga 1994–95 season, the 64th since its establishment, started on September 3, 1994 and finished on June 18, 1995. It was composed of the following clubs:-League table:||style="background-color:#F9F9F9;"|...
||Real Oviedo
Real Oviedo
Real Oviedo is a Spanish football club based in Oviedo, in the autonomous community of Asturias. Founded on 26 March 1926, it currently plays in Segunda División B - Group 2....
||La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
||30||5||||||||||||||||
|-
|1995-96
La Liga 1995-96
La Liga 1995-96 season, the 65th since its establishment, started on September 9, 1995 and finished on May 26, 1996. It was composed of the following clubs:...
||Sevilla
Sevilla FC
Sevilla Fútbol Club S.A.D. is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, Spain that plays in the Spanish La Liga championship.They are one of the most successful clubs in Spanish football having won a 1 La Liga title, 5 Spanish "Copa del Rey" Cups, 1 Spanish Super Cup and 2 UEFA...
||La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
||20||4||||||||||||||||
|-
|1996-97
La Liga 1996-97
* It was the last season with 22 teams in La Liga. To reduce the number of teams in the league, the last four teams, CF Extremadura, Sevilla FC, Hércules CF and CD Logroñés, were relegated and the fifth-to-last team, Rayo Vallecano, played a relegation playoff and was also relegated.-League...
||Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
||La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
||19||2||||||||||||||||
|-
|1997-98||rowspan="3"|Croatia Zagreb||rowspan="3"|Prva HNL||16||5||||||||||||||||
|-
|1998-99
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:...
||15||4||||||||||||||||
|-
|1999-00
Prva HNL 1999-00
-Stadia and locations:-League table:-Matches 1–22:During matches 1–22 each team plays every other team twice ....
||19||5||||||||||||||||
|-
|2000-01
Prva HNL 2000-01
The 2000–01 Prva HNL season was the tenth season of the Prva HNL, Croatia's top association football league, since its establishment in 1992. It began on 30 July 2000 and ended on 27 May 2001. Dinamo Zagreb were the defending champions, having won their fifth consecutive title the previous season...
||Hrvatski dragovoljac
NK Hrvatski Dragovoljac
NK Hrvatski Dragovoljac is a Croatian football club based in the Novi Zagreb neighbourhood of the country's capital city of Zagreb. The team's fans are known as the "Black Warriors"...
||Prva HNL||4||1||||||||||||||||
|-
|2000-01
Jupiler League 2000-01
The 2000/01 season of the Jupiler League began on August 12, 2000 and ended on May 20, 2001. Anderlecht became champions.-Promoted teams:These teams were promoted from the second division at the start of the season:*Antwerp...
||Standard Liège
Standard Liège
Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (Dutch: Standard Luik [], German: Standard Lüttich , is a Belgian football club from the city of Liège....
||First Division||21||4||||||||||||||||
|-
|2001-02
The Football League 2001-02
-Overview:The 2001–2002 season was the 102nd completed season of The Football League.-Final league tables and results :The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at website, with home and away statistics separated...
||Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
||First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
||33||9||||||||||||||||
|-
|2002-03
Slovenian PrvaLiga 2002-03
-Season 2002-2003:The season started on July 14, 2002 and ended on June 1, 2003.*Each team plays a total of 31 matches.-Final table:-External links:* '* '...
||Olimpija
NK Olimpija Ljubljana (1911)
NK Olimpija Ljubljana was a Slovenian association football club based in Ljubljana. The club had traced its origin back to 1911 when it was originally founded as SK Ilirija. It had gone through a series of mergers in the first half of the 20th century before adopting the name Olimpija in 1962...
||Slovenian PrvaLiga||23||3||||||||||||||||
|-
|2003-04||NK Zagreb
NK Zagreb
NK Zagreb is a Croatian football club, from the Croatian capital of Zagreb.NK Zagreb's home is the Stadion Kranjčevićeva with capacity of 8,850. The club's fans are known as the White Angels...
||Prva HNL||26||5||||||||||||||||
119||25||||||||||||||||
124||21||||||||||||||||
80||20||||||||||||||||
20||4||||||||||||||||
33||9||||||||||||||||
23||3||||||||||||||||
400||82||||||||||||||||
|-
|1989||5||1
|-
|1990||7||2
|-
|1991||3||1
|-
!Total||15||4
|}
|-
|1994||5||1
|-
|1995||5||2
|-
|1996||9||0
|-
|1997||7||1
|-
|1998||8||4
|-
|1999||0||0
|-
|2000||2||0
|-
|2001||8||2
|-
|2002||5||0
|-
!Total||49||10
|}
International career
Prosinečki has 49 caps for CroatiaCroatia national football team
The Croatia national football team represents Croatia in international football. The team is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in the country, and has been managed since 2006 by former player Slaven Bilić...
and has scored 10 goals for his country. He was also capped 15 times, scoring four goals, for Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia national football team
The Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed a modicum of success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international...
. In 1987, Prosinečki was named the tournament's best player as Yugoslavia won the World Youth Championship in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
along with fellow Croatians Davor Šuker
Davor Šuker
Davor Šuker , is a retired Croatian footballer. He played as a striker for a number of European clubs as well as the Croatian national team, where he is the all-time top goal scorer with 45 goals....
and Igor Štimac
Igor Štimac
Igor Štimac is a retired Croatian football player. He is now a football agent and a manager...
. He then played for Yugoslavia at the 1990 World Cup
1990 FIFA World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...
and for Croatia at Euro 96 and the 1998 and 2002 World Cups. It was in 1998 that Prosinečki and the Croatian squad won third place in the World Cup, with Prosinečki scoring two goals along the way.
International goals
- Results list Yugoslavia's goal
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 September 1989 | Stadium of Vojvodina, Novi Sad Novi Sad Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river.... , Yugoslavia Yugoslavia Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century.... |
Friendly Exhibition game An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition... |
|||
| 2 | 19 June 1990 | Stadio Renato Dall'Ara Stadio Renato Dall'Ara Stadio Renato Dall'Ara is a multi-purpose stadium in Bologna, Italy. It is currently used mostly for football matches and the home of Bologna F.C. 1909. The stadium was built in 1927 and holds 38,279... , Bologna Bologna Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,... , Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... |
World Cup 1990 1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated... |
|||
| 3 | 12 September 1990 | Windsor Park Windsor Park Windsor Park is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland and the home ground of Linfield F.C. and the Northern Ireland national football team. It is also where the Irish Cup and Irish League Cup finals are played.-History:... , Belfast Belfast Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly... , Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west... |
Euro 1992 Qualifying | |||
| 4 | 16 May 1991 | Stadion Crvena Zvezda Stadion Crvena Zvezda The Red Star Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Belgrade, Serbia. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Red Star Belgrade. The stadium is all-seated and the capacity is 51,328. It was opened in 1963 after construction which had started three years... , Belgrade Belgrade Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe... , Yugoslavia Yugoslavia Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century.... |
Euro 1992 Qualifying | |||
- Results list Croatia's goal
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 March 1994 | Estadio Luís Casanova, Valencia, Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... |
Friendly Exhibition game An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition... |
|||
| 2 | 25 March 1995 | Maksimir Stadium Maksimir Stadium Maksimir Stadium is a stadium in the Croatian capital of Zagreb. It takes its name from the neighbourhood of Maksimir. It is primarily the home of Dinamo Zagreb, the top football team in the country. It is also home to Dinamo Zagreb's farm team NK Lokomotiva.... , 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... , Croatia Croatia Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ... |
Euro 1996 Qualifying | |||
| 3 | 26 April 1995 | Maksimir Stadium Maksimir Stadium Maksimir Stadium is a stadium in the Croatian capital of Zagreb. It takes its name from the neighbourhood of Maksimir. It is primarily the home of Dinamo Zagreb, the top football team in the country. It is also home to Dinamo Zagreb's farm team NK Lokomotiva.... , 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... , Croatia Croatia Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ... |
Euro 1996 Qualifying | |||
| 4 | 2 April 1997 | Poljud Gradski stadion u Poljudu Stadion Poljud is a multi-use stadium in the Croatian city of Split. It takes its name from the neighbourhood of Poljud, and is located on the northern side of the Split peninsula. its original name is "Gradski stadion u Poljudu" . The stadium was built for the 1979 Mediterranean Games and is the... , Split Split (city) Split is a Mediterranean city on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, centered around the ancient Roman Palace of the Emperor Diocletian and its wide port bay. With a population of 178,192 citizens, and a metropolitan area numbering up to 467,899, Split is by far the largest Dalmatian city and... , Croatia Croatia Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ... |
World Cup 1998 Qualifying 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification -Qualified teams:The following 32 teams qualified for the 1998 FIFA World Cup: - qualified automatically as hosts - qualified automatically as defending champions-Notes:... |
|||
| 5 | 3 June 1998 | Kantrida Stadium, Rijeka Rijeka Rijeka is the principal seaport and the third largest city in Croatia . It is located on Kvarner Bay, an inlet of the Adriatic Sea and has a population of 128,735 inhabitants... , Croatia Croatia Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ... |
Friendly Exhibition game An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition... |
|||
| 6 | 6 June 1998 | Maksimir Stadium Maksimir Stadium Maksimir Stadium is a stadium in the Croatian capital of Zagreb. It takes its name from the neighbourhood of Maksimir. It is primarily the home of Dinamo Zagreb, the top football team in the country. It is also home to Dinamo Zagreb's farm team NK Lokomotiva.... , 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... , Croatia Croatia Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ... |
Friendly Exhibition game An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition... |
|||
| 7 | 14 June 1998 | Stade Félix Bollaert Stade Félix Bollaert Stade Félix Bollaert is the main football stadium in Lens, France, that was built in 1932. It is the home of RC Lens. The stadium's capacity is 41,233 – about 4,000 more than the city's population. This is similar to that of SC Heerenveen ground the Abe Lenstra Stadion which has a bigger capacity... , Lens Lens, Pas-de-Calais Lens is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. It is one of France's large Picarde cities along with Lille, Valenciennes, Amiens, Roubaix, Tourcoing, Arras, and Douai.-Metropolitan area:... , France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... |
World Cup 1998 1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final... |
|||
| 8 | 11 July 1998 | Parc des Princes Parc des Princes The Parc des Princes is an all-seater football stadium located in the southwest of Paris, France. The venue, with a seating capacity of 48,712 spectators, has been the home of French football club Paris Saint-Germain since 1974. The current Parc des Princes was inaugurated on 4 June 1972, endowed... , Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... , France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... |
World Cup 1998 1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final... |
|||
| 9 | 5 September 2001 | Stadio Olimpico Stadio Olimpico (San Marino) Stadio Olimpico is a multi-purpose stadium in Serravalle, San Marino. It is currently used mostly for football matches. It is the national stadium of San Marino, and is also used by the club San Marino Calcio, which plays in the Italian football league. The Stadio Olimpico was also used by... , Serravalle Serravalle, San Marino Serravalle is a castello located in the European republic of San Marino. With a population of 9,394 inhabitants and a surface of 10.53 km², it is not only the most densely populated municipality in San Marino, but it also contains its largest city... , San Marino San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino , is a state situated on the Italian Peninsula on the eastern side of the Apennine Mountains. It is an enclave surrounded by Italy. Its size is just over with an estimated population of over 30,000. Its capital is the City of San Marino... |
World Cup 2002 Qualifying 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification A total of 199 teams entered the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 32 spots in the final tournament. and , as the co-hosts, and , as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 29 spots open for competition.... |
|||
| 10 | 5 September 2001 | Stadio Olimpico Stadio Olimpico (San Marino) Stadio Olimpico is a multi-purpose stadium in Serravalle, San Marino. It is currently used mostly for football matches. It is the national stadium of San Marino, and is also used by the club San Marino Calcio, which plays in the Italian football league. The Stadio Olimpico was also used by... , Serravalle Serravalle, San Marino Serravalle is a castello located in the European republic of San Marino. With a population of 9,394 inhabitants and a surface of 10.53 km², it is not only the most densely populated municipality in San Marino, but it also contains its largest city... , San Marino San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino , is a state situated on the Italian Peninsula on the eastern side of the Apennine Mountains. It is an enclave surrounded by Italy. Its size is just over with an estimated population of over 30,000. Its capital is the City of San Marino... |
World Cup 2002 Qualifying 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification A total of 199 teams entered the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 32 spots in the final tournament. and , as the co-hosts, and , as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 29 spots open for competition.... |
|||
He is the only player in World Cup history to score for two different national teams. In 1990, he scored one goal for Yugoslavia in a group match against the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates national football team
The United Arab Emirates national football team represents United Arab Emirates in association football and is controlled by the United Arab Emirates Football Association, the governing body for football in United Arab Emirates...
and eight years later he added two goals for Croatia by scoring in a group match against Jamaica
Jamaica national football team
The Jamaica national football team is the national team of Jamaica and is controlled by the Jamaica Football Federation. After decades in CONCACAF obscurity, they gained many fans throughout the world after they qualified for the 1998 FIFA World Cup...
and in the third place match against the Netherlands
Netherlands national football team
The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...
. He played in a total of nine World Cup matches, three for Yugoslavia in 1990 and six for Croatia in 1998 and 2002.
International
- with
- 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship1987 FIFA World Youth ChampionshipThe 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Chile from October 10 to October 25, 1987. The 1987 championship was the 6th contested and won for the first time by Yugoslavia. Remarkably, in the course of the tournament the Yugoslavs defeated each of the three other semi-finalists, and...
First place - 1990 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship1990 UEFA European Under-21 Football ChampionshipThe UEFA U-21 Championship 1990, which spanned two years , had 30 entrants. San Marino competed for the first time. USSR U-21s won the competition....
Second place
- 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship
- with
- 1998 FIFA World Cup1998 FIFA World CupThe 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...
Third place
- 1998 FIFA World Cup
Club
Red Star BelgradeRed Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is a part of the Red Star Sports Society.Red Star Belgrade is the most successful Serbian club, with a record of 25 national championships and 23 national cups in both Serbian and ex-Yugoslav competitions...
-
- Yugoslav First LeagueYugoslav First LeagueThe Yugoslav First League was the premier football league in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and socialist Yugoslavia...
: 1988Yugoslav First League 1987-88The 1987–88 Yugoslav First League season was the 42nd season of the First Federal League , the top level association football competition of SFR Yugoslavia, since its establishment in 1946. The season began on 2 August 1987 and ended on 12 June 1988...
, 1990Yugoslav First League 1989-90The 1989–90 Yugoslav First League season was the 44th season of the First Federal League , the top level association football competition of SFR Yugoslavia, since its establishment in 1946....
, 1991 - Yugoslav CupYugoslav CupThe Yugoslav Cup, officially the Marshal Tito Cup, was one of two major football competitions in the former Yugoslavia, the other one being the Yugoslav League Championship. The Yugoslav Cup took place after the league championships when every competitive league in Yugoslavia had finished, in order...
: 1990Yugoslav Cup 1989–90The 1989–90 Yugoslav Cup was the 42nd season of the top football knockout competition in SFR Yugoslavia, the Yugoslav Cup , also known as the "Marshal Tito Cup" , since its establishment in 1946. In total, 5,378 clubs across SFR Yugoslavia took part in the competition.-Final:-See also:*1989–90... - European CupEuropean Cup and Champions League historyThe history of the European Cup and Champions League is long and remarkable, with fifty years of competition finding winners and losers from all parts of the continent....
(now called Champions LeagueUEFA Champions LeagueThe 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...
): 1991European Cup 1990-91The 1990–91 season of the European Cup football club tournament was won for the first time by Red Star Belgrade on penalties in the final against Marseille. This was only the second time that an Eastern European side had won the competition, after Steaua Bucureşti of Romania...
- Yugoslav First League
Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
-
- Copa del ReyCopa del ReyThe Copa del Rey is an annual football cup competition for Spanish football teams. Its full name is Campeonato de España – Copa de Su Majestad el Rey de Fútbol ....
: 1993 - Spanish Super Cup: 1993
- Copa IberoamericanaCopa IberoamericanaThe Copa Iberoamericana or Copa Iberia, is a defunct football competition. It was created to face the champions of the Copa Oro and the Copa del Rey, because of an agreement signed between CONMEBOL and the Royal Spanish Football Federation....
: 1994 Dinamo ZagrebDinamo ZagrebGNK 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... - Prva HNL: 1998, 1999, 2000
- Croatian SupercupCroatian SupercupThe Croatian Supercup is a football match between the winners of the Prva HNL and the Croatian Cup. The Supercup serves as a curtain raiser of the new football season and is only held when different clubs happen to win the two most important competitions during the previous season The Croatian...
: 1998 - Croatian CupCroatian CupThe 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...
: 1998 Olimpija LjubljanaNK Olimpija Ljubljana (1911)NK Olimpija Ljubljana was a Slovenian association football club based in Ljubljana. The club had traced its origin back to 1911 when it was originally founded as SK Ilirija. It had gone through a series of mergers in the first half of the 20th century before adopting the name Olimpija in 1962... - Slovenian Cup: 2002
- Copa del Rey
Individual
- 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship1987 FIFA World Youth ChampionshipThe 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Chile from October 10 to October 25, 1987. The 1987 championship was the 6th contested and won for the first time by Yugoslavia. Remarkably, in the course of the tournament the Yugoslavs defeated each of the three other semi-finalists, and...
Golden Ball - Bravo AwardBravo AwardThe Bravo Award is an annual award which is handed out by the Italian magazine Guerin Sportivo to the most outstanding young European footballer. The first winner of the award was English Jimmy Case. Until 1992 only under-23 players participating in one of the three European club cups were eligible...
: 1991 - Franjo Bučar State Award for SportFranjo Bucar State Award for SportFranjo Bučar State Award for Sport is the highest recognition that Republic of Croatia gives for extraordinary achievements and contributions of remarkable meaning for the development of sport in Croatia.This award has been given since 1991...
: 1997, 1998 - Croatian Player of the Year: 1990, 1997
- Portsmouth All-time Best 11
- Only player to score in the World Cup finals for two different teams
- The fifth non-Spaniard who played for FC Barcelona and Real Madrid
- Šesta Zvezdina zvezda
Coaching career
Prosinečki began his coaching career in 2006 as an assistant to head coach Slaven BilićSlaven Bilic
Slaven Bilić is a former Croatian footballer and current head coach of the Croatia national team. His playing tenure predominantly comprised extended vocations in his hometown with Hajduk Split and a combination of foreign spells in Germany and England...
at the Croatian national football team.
Red Star Belgrade
In December 2010 during the mid-season winter break in 2010-11 Serbian Superliga2010–11 Serbian Superliga
-League table:-Results:...
, Prosinečki was announced as the new head coach of Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is a part of the Red Star Sports Society.Red Star Belgrade is the most successful Serbian club, with a record of 25 national championships and 23 national cups in both Serbian and ex-Yugoslav competitions...
. Returning to the club of his biggest playing successes, the announcement made major headlines all over the Balkans and also generated plenty of buzz in the rest of Europe. The angle of Prosinečki being the first Croatian to coach in Serbia following the Yugoslav Wars
Yugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...
also got a lot of attention. His annual sallary was not officially disclosed, however, Serbian press speculated with figures from US$100,000 to $250,000 per year.
Fifteen matches into the season, the famous yet recently beleaguered Serbian club was in second place, five points behind league leaders FK Partizan. Red Star brass led by club president Vladan Lukić
Vladan Lukic
Vladan Lukić is a former Serbian international football player, from Serbia. He is current president of Red Star Belgrade...
(Prosinečki's former teammate at Marakana) thus steered clear of stating league title as an explicit requirement for the club legend, still, it was understood that making an outside run at the title remained a priority. Prosinečki announced his intent to mold Red Star into an attacking team that utilizes short-passing game to break down opponents, picking Slobodan Marović
Slobodan Marovic
Slobodan Marović is a Montenegrin football manager and former player.During his playing career he played for NK Osijek, IFK Norrköping, and Silkeborg IF...
and Žarko Đurović
Žarko Đurović
Žarko Đurović is a Serbian football manager and former player...
(also Red Star colleagues from playing days) to be his assistants. Immediately, however, the issue of Prosinečki's pro coaching licence came up when it was discovered that he may not yet meet criteria for one, which according to Serbian Superliga rules would preclude him from being physically present on the sidelines during official matches. The things were straightened out by the time league restarted and Prosinečki's bench debut, which was scheduled to take place versus FK Smederevo
FK Smederevo
Fudbalski klub Smederevo is a Serbian professional football club based in the city of Smederevo.-History:...
at Marakana on 26 February 2011.
However, due to heavy snowfall and extreme cold in Serbia, the entire league restart got pushed back by a week so that the match ended up being played on Saturday, 5 March 2011. Red Star won 1-0 on a penalty kick by Cadú
Carlos Eduardo de Fiori Mendes
Carlos Eduardo de Fiori Mendes, commonly known as Cadú , is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Red Star Belgrade.Along with Sávio, he was signed by Red Star Belgrade in June 2009.-Career in European competition:...
with 18,742 fans in the stands - the club's second biggest home crowd of the season
2010–11 Red Star Belgrade season
In season 2010-11 Red Star Belgrade will be competing in Serbian SuperLiga, Serbian Cup and UEFA Europa League.-Previous season positions:The club competed in Serbian SuperLiga, Serbian Cup in domestic and UEFA Europa League in European competitions...
, only behind the derby versus Partizan on 23 October 2010 that drew 31,135. Prosinečki's team continued in winning fashion beating FK Inđija, FK Jagodina
FK Jagodina
Fudbalski klub Jagodina is a professional football club based in the town of Jagodina, Serbia.-History:...
, and BSK Borča
BSK Borca
FK BSK Borča is a football club from Borča, Belgrade, Serbia. It is the football club of the BSK Borča sports society, BSK stands for Borčanski Sportski Klub meaning Sports Society of Borča.- History :...
in the next three rounds, which combined with Partizan drawing 2-2 away at Rad allowed Red Star to reduce the crno-beli lead to 3 points. The talk of title was now officially reignited as confident Prosinečki did away with diplomatic caution, openly stating in the press for the first time that the team is after both titles - in the league and in the cup. Red Star kept up the pressure with three more wins versus Javor, Čukarički, and Metalac
FK Metalac Gornji Milanovac
FK Metalac Gornji Milanovac is a professional football club based in Gornji Milanovac, Serbia. Metalac was founded on June 12, 1961...
, and it paid off as Partizan slipped up again, this time losing at home versus Vojvodina. The two teams were now tied on points at the top of the table as both recorded big wins in the next round, before meeting one another on 23 April 2011. Shaping up as the league decider, the 140th Eternal Derby at Partizan Stadium featured a lot gamesmanship before the big match. At the showdown on Partizan's ground, Red Star played a great first half and was very unlucky not to score as the half finished 0-0. After the restart, Prosinečki's team faded inexplicably as Partizan scored through Prince Tagoe
Prince Tagoe
Prince Tagoe is a Ghanaian international footballer, who plays as a striker for Süper Lig club Bursaspor in Turkey.-Early career:...
and held on until the end. Partizan's lead was again back to 3 points, as Prosinečki got forced back to the drawing board with only six matches remaining in the season.
Relationship with Ćiro Blažević
During late 1980s and early 1990s, parallel with Prosinečki's rise to football superstardom at Red Star BelgradeRed Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is a part of the Red Star Sports Society.Red Star Belgrade is the most successful Serbian club, with a record of 25 national championships and 23 national cups in both Serbian and ex-Yugoslav competitions...
, Real Madrid
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
, FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
as well as Yugoslav and Croatian national teams, the story of him being chased away from 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...
in 1987 by the famous coach Ćiro Blažević grew in Croatian and Yugoslav media and public. To this day it is often cited and referenced as an example of football mismanagement, poor judgement, and bad work with youth categories. Colourful Blažević, the villain of the piece, rarely talked on the record about the circumstances of Prosinečki's departure. However, in 2010, Blažević deflected responsibility for the flap by claiming he actually gave the youngster a four-year contract that was eventually, according to Blažević, annulled by Dinamo president Ante Pavlović on a technicality due to not being processed administratively by the subfederation responsible. On the same occasion, Blažević went on to accuse Prosinečki's father Đuro of not negotiating in good faith with Dinamo by saying "he already had his combination with Red Star". Asked about his famous quote about eating his diploma if Prosinečki ever became a player, Blažević responded that he only used it as a motivation tool.
Blažević and Prosinečki would reignite their simmering feud eleven years later during the 1998 World Cup
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...
where they were part of the Croatian national team that made it all the way to the third-place play-off. In the semifinal match that Croatia lost 1-2 versus eventual winners France after going ahead 1-0, Blažević decided to leave 29-year-old Prosinečki on the bench (he eventually entered the contest in the 90th minute, coming on for Mario Stanić
Mario Stanic
Mario Stanić is a former Croatian football midfielder.-Career:He started his career with Željezničar Sarajevo. He was considered to be one of the most talented young players in former Yugoslavia. In 1992, war began and he went to Croatia, where he played for Dinamo Zagreb...
), which led to a lot of criticism.
Court case versus Dinamo
In the summer of 1997, 28-year-old Prosinečki came back to Zagreb in order to play for the club where he started his professional career. Now called Croatia Zagreb, the club was turned into a state project bankrolled by the Croatian regime's highest echelons and personally supported by president Franjo Tuđman. By 2000, Prosinečki left Croatia Zagreb, but in late 2001 decided to initiate a lawsuit against the club (whose name was now restored back to Dinamo after continuous fan protests) over DM1,550,000 (€750,000) in unpaid wages.Years later in 2009, court ruled against Prosinečki, mostly due to asserting that the lawsuit against Dinamo had no merit since Prosinečki played for Croatia Zagreb, and not Dinamo Zagreb. Commenting on the verdict in late 2009, Prosinečki said he was cheated out of his money.
External links
- Robert Prosinečki interview at Extra-Football.com
- Robert Prosinečki at the Serbia national football teamSerbia national football teamThe Serbia national football team represents Serbia in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia, the governing body for football in Serbia. Serbia's home ground is Stadion Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade and their last head coach was Vladimir Petrović...
website - Robert Prosinečki Portsmouth stats at Soccerbase.com