| Personal information | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1970-01-21)21 January 1970 (age 55) | ||||||||||
| Place of birth | Makarska,SR Croatia,SFR Yugoslavia | ||||||||||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||
| Position | Forward | ||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||
| Zmaj Makarska | |||||||||||
| Hajduk Split | |||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||
| 1987–1991 | Hajduk Split | 95 | (27) | ||||||||
| 1991–1992 | Cannes | 1 | (0) | ||||||||
| 1992–1993 | Marseille | 49 | (26) | ||||||||
| 1993–1996 | Lazio | 67 | (17) | ||||||||
| 1996–1997 | Juventus | 22 | (3) | ||||||||
| 1997–2000 | Lazio | 48 | (14) | ||||||||
| 2000–2003 | Middlesbrough | 68 | (22) | ||||||||
| Total | 359 | (116) | |||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||
| 1988–1991 | Yugoslavia U21 | 11 | (3) | ||||||||
| 1993–2002 | Croatia | 40 | (10) | ||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Croatia (assistant) | ||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||
Alen Bokšić (pronounced[bǒkʃitɕ]; born 21 January 1970) is a former Croatian professionalfootballer. Aforward who spent most of his career in France and Italy, he was renowned for his technique and power, and is regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of theCroatia national football team.[1][2]
WithMarseille, Bokšić won the1992–93 UEFA Champions League, and was voted fourth in the 1993European Footballer of the Year poll. That same year he was namedCroatian Footballer of the Year. He also won twoSerie A titles in 1997 and 2000 withJuventus andLazio respectively, and is regarded as one of the best foreign players in the history of Serie A since 1980.[3]
Although selected forYugoslavia squad at the1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, the 20-year-old Bokšić did not play in the tournament, with coachIvica Osim preferring more experienced forwards in the lineup. Following Croatia's independence from Yugoslavia Bokšić became an integral part of Croatia's national team in the 1990s under coachMiroslav Blažević. He played for Croatia at the1996 European Championship but was not included in the squad for the1998 FIFA World Cup in France due to an injury he suffered only weeks before the tournament. Bokšić finally made his World Cup debut at the age of 32 at the2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan, appearing in all three of the team's group stage matches, before retiring only a year later in 2003.
Bokšić was born inMakarska and started his club career atZmaj, from Makarska. As a young player, he moved toHajduk Split and was introduced into the first team (1987–91). With Hajduk, he won theYugoslav Cup in 1987 and 1991. In 174 games for Hajduk, he scored 60 goals. Bokšić scored in the 1991 Yugoslavian Cup final againstRed Star Belgrade for what proved to be the winning goal. It was the last ever goal scored in the Yugoslavian Cup, as the country dissolved just few months after that.
Bokšić moved toCannes in France (1991–92), but was plagued by injuries and played only one game for the entire season.
In the summer of 1992, he was signed by French clubMarseille. In his only full season with Marseille (1992–93), he was theLigue 1 top goalscorer, leading the charts with 23 goals. That season he won the French league, but Marseille were laterstripped of the title. His biggest success with the club came in May 1993, when Marseille defeatedAC Milan to win the1993 UEFA Champions League Final. Bokšić was the club's joint top goalscorer in the competition alongside teammateRudi Völler, as he scored six goals in the1992–93 UEFA Champions League.
He played another 12 league matches for the club at the beginning of the1993–94 season, until December 1993, when he was sold toLazio. Bokšić left the club in the wake of one of the biggest football club scandals in history. In 1994, due to financial irregularities and a match fixing scandal involving then president Bernard Tapie, they suffered enforced relegation to the second division.
After joiningLazio in Italy in 1993, Bokšić was voted fourth for the 1993European Footballer of the Year, behind winnerRoberto Baggio,Dennis Bergkamp andEric Cantona. In his first half-season with Lazio, Bokšić appeared in 21 Serie A matches, scoring four goals, as Lazio ended fourth.
In the 1994–95 season, Lazio were managed byZdeněk Zeman, and Bokšić played an important part in the club's best Serie A position since 1974, finishing second. Bokšić was a part of a praised attacking trident formed by Bokšić,Giuseppe Signori andPierluigi Casiraghi. He scored a total of nine goals in the1994–95 Serie A season.
In the summer of 1996, Bokšić signed forJuventus, then managed byMarcello Lippi. During his one season with the club, he managed to win three trophies, asJuventus won the1996–97 Serie A, the1996 Intercontinental Cup and the1996 UEFA Super Cup.[2] The club also reached the final of the1996–97 UEFA Champions League, but lost the match 3–1 againstBorussia Dortmund. Bokšić played as a forward until the 88th minute of the match, alongsideChristian Vieri, and provided the assist forAlessandro Del Piero's goal.[4] Bokšić was the club's top goalscorer in the competition with four goals. He also netted three goals in 22 league appearances on their way to the Serie A title.[2]
Bokšić returned to Lazio in 1997, now under new managerSven-Göran Eriksson. In his first season back at the club, he scored ten goals in Serie A, with Lazio finishing seventh in the league; this was a disappointing result for Lazio, but they managed to reach thefinal of the 1998UEFA Cup and also won theCoppa Italiathat year.
In the1998–99 season, Lazio won theSupercoppa Italiana, finished second in the league and won the1998–99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. However, Bokšić made only three Serie A appearances due to injury.
The 1999–2000 Season was Bokšić's most successful season with Lazio, as the club won theUEFA Super Cup, the1999–2000 Serie A title and anotherCoppa Italia; Bokšić scored four goals en route to the scudetto. After six years of playing in Serie A, he decided to leave Italy at the end of the season.
In 2010, Bokšić was voted number 32 on the list of the best foreign players in the history ofSerie A.[5]
Following his spell atLazio, Bokšić surprised the footballing world by joining EnglishPremier League clubMiddlesbrough for a transfer fee of £2.5 million.[6] On his debut for Middlesbrough, Boksic scored twice and claimed an assist in a 3–1 win overCoventry City.[7] At the time of his signing, some reports claimed that he had become the highest-paid player in English football, earning a reputed £63,000 per week.[7][8] However, there are no documented sources for this claim, which was vehemently denied by manager Bryan Robson: "The wages quoted are a total nonsense. I got to hear about this long before anyone else and that's why we acted quickly and decisively. Talk of £63,000 a week is utter rubbish."[9]
Despite his injury problems, he went on to score twelve goals in his first season at Middlesbrough, and was subsequently named their Player of the Year. He was less affected by injuries in the 2001–02 season, but could only muster eight goals in a Boro side short of goals and creativity throughout the entire side. Whilst a Middlesbrough player, he went to the2002 World Cup finals with Croatia, but failed to score in his country's three group games.
On 1 February 2003, Boksic announced his decision to retire from football, after a succession of injuries had restricted his appearances at theRiverside Stadium. Bokšić came to a mutual agreement with Middlesbrough to bring the curtain down on his illustrious career. His last match for Middlesbrough was on 11 January 2003, in a 2–2 draw withSouthampton,[10] while his final goal for the club had come in a memorable 3–1 win overManchester United onBoxing Day 2002.[11]
Twenty-year-old Bokšić was a member of theYugoslavia national squad during1990 World Cup, but coachIvica Osim did not give him a single minute of action, preferring the more experiencedZlatko Vujović andDarko Pančev for places upfront.
For theCroatia national team, Bokšić wascapped 40 times, scoring ten goals. He made his debut for them in a June 1993friendly match againstUkraine and his final international was an October 2002European Championship qualification match againstBulgaria.[12] He played for his country atEuro 96. He missed Croatia's surprising third-place run in the1998 FIFA World Cup due to injury. This was a devastating blow for the Croatian team as they could not pair him together withDavor Šuker. He finally made hisWorld Cup playing debut in the2002 World Cup at the age of 32.
Bokšić was a dynamic, well-rounded, physically strong, and prolific forward, who was renowned for his technique, skill, creativity, movement, power, stamina and pace on the ball, which enabled him to open up defences and create space for his teammates and provide depth to his team with his attacking runs; despite his ability and consistent goalscoring rate throughout his career, he drew criticism at times in the Italian media for his occasional lack of accuracy in front of goal during his time in Serie A. He was also injury prone throughout his career.[1][2][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Hajduk Split | 1987–88 | Yugoslav First League | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 13 | 2 | |||
| 1988–89 | 26 | 7 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 27 | 7 | |||||
| 1989–90 | 27 | 12 | 7 | 1 | – | – | – | 34 | 13 | |||||
| 1990–91 | 29 | 6 | 7 | 2 | – | – | – | 36 | 8 | |||||
| Total | 95 | 27 | 15 | 3 | – | – | – | 110 | 30 | |||||
| Cannes | 1991–92 | Division 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | |||
| Marseille | 1992–93 | Division 1 | 37 | 23 | 1 | 0 | – | 8[c] | 6 | – | 46 | 29 | ||
| 1993–94 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 12 | 3 | |||||
| Total | 49 | 26 | 1 | 0 | – | 8 | 6 | – | 58 | 32 | ||||
| Lazio | 1993–94 | Serie A | 21 | 4 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 21 | 4 | ||
| 1994–95 | 23 | 9 | 3 | 0 | – | 6[d] | 2 | – | 32 | 11 | ||||
| 1995–96 | 23 | 4 | 1 | 0 | – | 1[d] | 0 | – | 25 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 67 | 17 | 4 | 0 | – | 7 | 2 | – | 78 | 19 | ||||
| Juventus | 1996–97 | Serie A | 22 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | 8[c] | 4 | 1[e] | 0 | 34 | 7 | |
| Lazio | 1997–98 | Serie A | 26 | 10 | 6 | 5 | – | 6[d] | 0 | – | 38 | 15 | ||
| 1998–99 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 3[f] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | |||
| 1999–2000 | 19 | 4 | 4 | 3 | – | 11[c] | 1 | – | 34 | 8 | ||||
| Total | 48 | 14 | 10 | 8 | – | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 78 | 24 | |||
| Middlesbrough | 2000–01 | Premier League | 28 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 31 | 12 | ||
| 2001–02 | 22 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 23 | 8 | ||||
| 2002–03 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 19 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 68 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 73 | 22 | ||||
| Career total | 350 | 109 | 36 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 429 | 133 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Croatia | 1993 | 1 | 0 |
| 1994 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1995 | 6 | 2 | |
| 1996 | 5 | 2 | |
| 1997 | 7 | 2 | |
| 1998 | 1 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2000 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 40 | 10 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 September 1995 | Stadion Maksimir,Zagreb, Croatia |  Estonia | 3–1 | 7–1 | UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying |
| 2 | 8 October 1996 | Renato Dall'Ara,Bologna, Italy |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 3–1 | 4–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 4–1 | |||||
| 4 | 11 October 1997 | Bežigrad Stadium,Ljubljana, Slovenia |  Slovenia | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 5 | 15 November 1997 | Olympic Stadium,Kyiv, Ukraine |  Ukraine | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 6 | 22 April 1998 | Gradski Vrt Stadium,Osijek, Croatia |  Poland | 4–0 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 7 | 9 October 1999 | Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Croatia |  Yugoslavia | 1–0 | 2–2 | UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying |
| 8 | 26 April 2000 | Ernst-Happel-Stadion,Vienna, Austria |  Austria | 1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 9 | 11 October 2000 | Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Croatia |  Scotland | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 10 | 6 October 2001 | Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Croatia |  Belgium | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Hajduk Split
Marseille
Juventus[2]
Lazio
Bokšić married Ajda in 1990. The couple had three children (daughter Stella and sons Toni and Alen) before divorcing in 2000.
In 2004 from a relationship with girlfriend Jadranka Bokšić had another daughter Laura.[30]
Alen Bokšić - Navigation boxes and awards | |||||||||||||
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