Zvonimir Boban
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Zvonimir Boban [ˈzʋɔnimir ˈbɔban] (born October 8, 1968 in Imotski, in what is now Croatia, but at the time SFR Yugoslavia) is a former football midfielder who gained most of his fame playing for AC Milan and captaining Croatia to 3rd Place at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Even though Boban was an intelligent footballer it was his crucial mistake in the semi-final which allowed the French to equalise immediately after Croatia had fought so hard to earn a one goal lead. As a result, Croatia never had the chance to consolidate and defend thier advantage for any significant amount of time. France eventually won the match 2-1 and then demolished a weaken Brazilian team affected by the illness to Ronaldo in the final to win the World Cup. Croatia had to settle for third place and the bronze medal.
His professional career began with Dinamo Zagreb. In the now-famous game against Red Star Belgrade, he attacked a police officer who was beating on a Dinamo supporter when a riot broke out between the fans (see Dinamo Zagreb-Red Star Belgrade riot). The incident made Boban a national hero in Croatia. He played a big part in Yugoslavia's win in the 1987 World Youth Championship, foreshadowing his future with Croatia.
AC Milan signed him in 1991, immediately loaning him to AS Bari for a season, as they felt he needed time to settle in Italy without counting as one of the 3 non-Italian players the club was limited to. He stayed in Milan for 9 seasons, and enjoyed great successes with the club. He helped the team win the 1994 Champions League title and become runners-up in 1995. He won 4 Serie A titles with Milan as well. In 2001, with his role at Milan diminished, he was loaned to Celta Vigo, but played there in only a few matches during his last season before going into retirement in 2002.
Boban played a great part in Croatia's third-place finish at the 1998 World Cup, and was captain of the team at both that tournament and the 1996 European Football Championship. He made his debut for Croatia in a 1990 friendly against Romania and played his last match for the national team in a 1999 friendly against France. In his career with the Croatian national team, Boban won 51 international caps and scored 12 goals.
Since retiring from football, Boban has completed his history degree at the University of Zagreb. He also started a career in sports journalism, being the administration president for the Croatian sports newspaper Sportske novosti, a commentator during live broadcasts of the Croatian national team's matches on the national TV station RTL Televizija as well as a commentator for the Italian Sky Italia and columnist for La Gazzetta dello Sport.
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Croatia squad - 1996 European Championship | |
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1 Ladić | 2 Jurčević | 3 Jarni | 4 Štimac | 5 Jerkan | 6 Bilić | 7 Asanović | 8 Prosinečki | 9 Šuker | 10 Boban | 11 Bokšić | 12 Mrmić | 13 Stanić | 14 Soldo | 15 Pavličić | 16 Mladenović | 17 Pamić | 18 Brajković | 19 Vlaović | 20 Šimić | 21 Cvitanović | 22 Gabrić | Coach: Blažević |
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Croatia squad - 1998 FIFA World Cup Third Place | |
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1 Ladić | 2 Krpan | 3 Šerić | 4 Štimac | 5 Jurić | 6 Bilić | 7 Asanović | 8 Prosinečki | 9 Šuker | 10 Boban | 11 Marić | 12 Mrmić | 13 Stanić | 14 Soldo | 15 Tudor | 16 Kozniku | 17 Jarni | 18 Mamić | 19 Vlaović | 20 Šimić | 21 Jurčić | 22 Vasilj | Coach: Blažević |
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