 Bišćan in 2021 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1978-05-04)4 May 1978 (age 47)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Zagreb,SR Croatia,Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[1][2] | ||
| Position(s) | Defender,midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Al-Ahli (head coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Dinamo Zagreb | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1995–2000 | Dinamo Zagreb | 67 | (11) |
| 1995–1996 | →Samobor (loan) | 12 | (1) |
| 2000–2005 | Liverpool | 72 | (2) |
| 2005–2007 | Panathinaikos | 36 | (3) |
| 2008–2012 | Dinamo Zagreb | 61 | (1) |
| Total | 248 | (18) | |
| International career | |||
| 1998 | Croatia U20 | 2 | (1) |
| 1997–2000 | Croatia U21 | 15 | (1) |
| 1999 | Croatia B | 1 | (0) |
| 1999–2001 | Croatia | 15 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2016–2017 | Rudeš | ||
| 2017–2018 | Olimpija Ljubljana | ||
| 2018–2019 | Rijeka | ||
| 2019–2023 | Croatia U21 | ||
| 2023 | Dinamo Zagreb | ||
| 2023 | Al-Shabab | ||
| 2024– | Al-Ahli | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Igor Bišćan (Croatian pronunciation:[îɡorbǐʃtɕan]; born 4 May 1978) is a Croatian professionalfootballmanager and formerplayer who is the currently head coach ofQatar Stars League clubAl-Ahli. In his playing career, he was a versatile player and could play almost every position in the defence or midfield, but featured mostly as acentral midfielder, or as acentral defender in his latter years.
Bišćan played for his hometown clubDinamo Zagreb, English clubLiverpool, with whom he won aChampions League winners medal, Greek clubPanathinaikos, and represented theCroatia national team internationally, debuting inUEFA Euro 2000qualifying match againstNorth Macedonia on 13 June 1999.
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 theUEFA Champions League and theUEFA Cup. He was part of what is considered the most successful era of Dinamo in thePrva HNL, winning two consecutive league titles in1999 and2000 and participating in two consecutive group stages of Champions League (Group A, 1998–99 andGroup D, 1999–2000). During his four seasons in Croatia, Bišćan scored 11 goals in 84 appearances in domestic leagues, which brought attention of foreign clubs to the promising midfielder.
On 8 December 2000, Bišćan contract was bought-out byLiverpool for £5.5 million at the behest of its manager,Gérard Houllier,[3] having been sought byJuventus,Barcelona,Ajax andMilan. His debut came in aPremier League match againstIpswich Town, which Liverpool lost 1–0, with Bišćan coming off the bench to replaceChristian Ziege in 71st minute. One week later, he played full 90 minutes againstManchester United atOld Trafford, with Liverpool breaking 3,240 minutes of United's undefeated run at their home ground by defeating them 1–0.[4] He made an impressive start to his Liverpool career, briefly displacingDietmar Hamann from the starting 11 as the defensive midfielder. He made 21 appearances by the end of the2000–01 season, 15 of which he started and six of which he came off the substitutes' bench in. He scored his first goal for Liverpool on 14 January 2001, converting in the 18th minute of the2000–01 League Cup match againstCrystal Palace in a 5–0 victory.[5] Unfortunately for Bišćan, he was cup–tied and therefore ineligible to play for Liverpool in theirUEFA Cup-winning season.
Although Bišćan was originally signed as acentral midfielder, Gérard Houllier felt he was more useful as centre back and often played Bišćan out of his natural position, sometimes even as awinger orfull back. Bišćan fell out of favour after his first year at Liverpool, making only 23 appearances in the next two seasons. During this time, he made few starts and spent 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 had returned into the starting 11, featuring regularly as a centre-back in the absences ofStéphane Henchoz andJamie Carragher. By the end of the season, Bišćan featured in 39 matches, 30 of which he played the entire 90 minutes. He was sent-off in 36th minute of Liverpool'sUEFA Cup second leg match againstMarseille, which turned things around for Liverpool as they were eliminated from the competition, after which he struggled to regain his place.
In the 2004–05 season, Bišćan returned to a central midfield role and played a vital part in Liverpool's run to the finals of theUEFA Champions League and was notable particularly for his marauding runs from midfield during matches againstBayer Leverkusen, Juventus andChelsea. He was an unused substitute against Milan inthe final. His last official match forthe Reds was on 15 May 2005 in aPremier League clash againstAston Villa. During his last season Bišćan scored two more goals (againstFulham[6] andBolton Wanderers[7]) and made a total of 35 appearances. Although Bišćan 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 filmGoal!, scoring a header in the final match of the film when Liverpool were playingNewcastle United.
Following the termination of his contract withthe Reds, on 15 June 2005, Bišćan signed for major Greek clubPanathinaikos. During his two years inAthens, he made 36 appearances and scored 3 goals. Bišćan had a major decline in his game, disappointing both fans and the club owners.[8] On 1 June 2007, Bišćan's contract expired and the club showed no interest in renewing his contract, making him a free agent again.
Bišćan spent the next six months resting from football and mostly avoiding the high public interest shown in him. During this time, he was regularly approached by Dinamo Zagreb directorZdravko Mamić, who was interested in bringing Bišćan 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 ofLuka Modrić toTottenham Hotspur. Following his return, Dinamo played for two consecutive seasons in UEFA Cup group stages, also winning two domestic league titles and twoCroatian Cup titles.
On 19 April 2011, it was announced by unconfirmed reports that Bišćan has been scheduled for an operation on a joint that could spell the end of his career. Luckily, Bišćan opted to continue playing football and end his career at Dinamo. In April 2012, he terminated his contract with the club.[9]
Bišćan's debut appearance for theCroatia national team came on aUEFA Euro 2000 qualifying match againstMacedonia inSkopje on 5 June 1999. He scored his first and only international goal againstMexico on 16 June 1999.[10] He also collected yellow cards on three occasions. Eleven out of fifteen Croatia's matches Bišćan featured in finished in a draw. His last official match was againstScotland on 1 September 2001.
After leaving the national team camp in 2003, Bišćan was suspended byCroatian Football Federation and refused to play for the national team ever since. He also represented Croatia atunder-21 level and was capped in the Croatia B team on one occasion.
Bišćan started his managerial career as an assistant coach at second-tierDruga HNL clubRudeš in 2016. Soon he was named head coach of the club, winning the2016–17 Druga HNL title.[11]
One month later, Bišćan signed withSlovenian PrvaLiga clubOlimpija Ljubljana to be their head coach.[12] In his inaugural season at Olimpija, he won theSlovenian PrvaLiga title and theSlovenian Cup,[13] but in June 2018 club president,Milan Mandarić, unexpectedly sacked him.[14]
On 9 October 2018, Bišćan was named head coach of first-tierPrva HNL clubRijeka.[15]
Immediately after coming to the club, Bišćan faced criticism by the club's supporters,Armada, because of his former acts as a player ofDinamo Zagreb.[16] He debuted at Rijeka bench in a 2–1 away win againstInter Zaprešić on 10 October.[17] After a slew of good results, Bišćan ended the2018–19 season in the second place in thechampionship, and won theCroatian Cup defeating Dinamo 3–1 in thefinal.[18]
On 13 July 2019, he lost theSuper Cup game 1–0 to Dinamo.[19] In August the same year, Bišćan led the team to two victories in thethird qualifying round of theUEFA Europa League over Scottish sideAberdeen. He later failed to take the club to thegroup stage, losing toGent 3–2 onaggregate in theplay-offs.[20]
Bišćan resigned from his position as Rijeka head coach on 22 September 2019, after a 3–0 win againstIstra 1961.[21]
AfterCroatia U21 lost aEuro 2021 qualifier 2–1 againstScotland, head coachNenad Gračan resigned on 11 September 2019 and was succeeded by Bišćan on 1 October.[22][23] Bišćan made his debut in a friendly 4–1 victory overHungary on 11 October.[24]
On 14 October, Croatia broke the record for their biggest victory in history, beatingSan Marino 7–0 inSerravalle.[25] On 18 November, Croatia compromised their qualification for theEuro 2021 after losing another qualifier, this time 2–1 against theCzech Republic.[26] In August 2020, Bišćan tested positive forCOVID-19 and was forced to lead the team to a 5–0 victory overGreece fromisolation.[27][28] However, after drawing 0–0 with the Czech Republic four days later, on 7 September, Croatia were forced to win all their remaining games to have a chance to qualify directly.[29] On 8 October, Croatia once again broke the record for their biggest victory in history, beating San Marino 10–0 inZagreb.[30] On 12 November, Croatia failed to win their crucial qualifier against Scotland away, drawing 2–2.[31] However, thanks to a high 7–0 win overLithuania and Scotland losing to Greece away on 17 November, Croatia secured the second place in their qualifying group.[32] Subsequently, they qualified for the tournament as one of five best ranked second-placed teams.[33] Upon qualification, Bišćan received widespread national praise for his approach and utilization of the qualities of the national team, which had turned into a synonym for failure in Croatian football throughout the years.[34][35][36][37][38]
Bišćan named his23-man squad for the group stage of the tournament on 9 March 2021.[39] However, during the month, several important players were ruled out, mostly due to injuries,[40][41] such asJosip Brekalo,[42]Boško Šutalo,[43]Joško Gvardiol,[44]Luka Sučić[45] andBorna Sosa.[46] After the opening match, the 1–0 loss toPortugal on 25 March, Bišćan was criticized for hiscatenaccio tactics that were deemed uncharacteristic for Croatian football, which is best known for itsmidfielders.[47][48] Three days later, Bišćan led Croatia to their first ever victory at theEuropean Under-21 Championships, beatingSwitzerland 3–2.[49] However, despite losing 2–1 toEngland in the finalgroup game on 31 March, Croatia qualified for thequarter-finals for the first time in their history due to a better goal difference.[50] In the quarter-final againstreigning championsSpain on 31 May, Croatia lost 2–1 afterextra time.[51]
On 6 April 2023, a day afterŠibenik unexpectedly eliminated Dinamo Zagreb in thesemi-finals of the national cup, Dinamo parted ways with head coachAnte Čačić and appointed Bišćan as the new head coach.[52][53] He was sacked on 21 August of the same year after Dinamo were eliminated byAEK Athens in thethird qualifying round of the2023–24 UEFA Champions League season.[54]
On 18 October 2023, Bišćan was appointed as manager ofSaudi Pro League clubAl-Shabab.[55] He was sacked on 27 December 2023 after a 1–0 defeat toAl-Okhdood.[56]
On 7 June 2024, Bišćan was appointed as manager ofQatar Stars League clubAl-Ahli SC (Doha). He was named coach of the month twice in a row (August and September).
In 2007, Bišćan married his wife, Marija, whom he started dating three years earlier.[57] The couple have four daughters: Nina Marija, Bruna, Lena, and Borna.[58][59][60]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Samobor (loan) | 1997–98 | Prva HNL | 12 | 1 | — | — | — | 12 | 1 | |||
| Croatia Zagreb | 1997–98 | Prva HNL | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1998–99 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 23 | 2 | |||
| Total | 24 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 30 | 2 | ||
| Dinamo Zagreb | 1999–00 | Prva HNL | 29 | 6 | 6 | 1 | — | 6 | 0 | 41 | 7 | |
| 2000–01 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | 21 | 3 | |||
| Total | 43 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 62 | 10 | ||
| Liverpool | 2000–01 | Premier League | 13 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 1 |
| 2001–02 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 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 | ||
| Total | 72 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 23 | 0 | 117 | 3 | ||
| Panathinaikos | 2005–06 | Alpha Ethniki | 20 | 3 | — | — | 6 | 0 | 26 | 3 | ||
| 2006–07 | Super League Greece | 16 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | 26 | 0 | ||
| Total | 36 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 52 | 3 | ||
| Dinamo Zagreb | 2007–08 | Prva HNL | 9 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | |
| 2008–09 | 27 | 1 | 6 | 1 | — | 12 | 2 | 45 | 4 | |||
| 2009–10 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 1 | 14 | 1 | |||
| 2010–11 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | 10 | 1 | 28 | 2 | |||
| 2011–12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||
| Total | 61 | 1 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 4 | 104 | 8 | ||
| Career total | 248 | 19 | 37 | 4 | 15 | 1 | 77 | 4 | 377 | 28 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Croatia | 1999 | 7 | 1 |
| 2000 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2001 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 15 | 1 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 June 1999 | Seoul World Cup Stadium,Seoul, South Korea | 3 |  Mexico | 2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Rudeš | 7 June 2016 | 2 June 2017 | 36 | 19 | 9 | 8 | 052.78 |
| Olimpija Ljubljana | 2 June 2017 | 6 June 2018 | 44 | 28 | 12 | 4 | 063.64 |
| Rijeka | 9 October 2018 | 23 September 2019 | 43 | 26 | 9 | 8 | 060.47 |
| Croatia U21[a] | 1 October 2019 | 6 April 2023 | 25 | 15 | 3 | 7 | 060.00 |
| Dinamo Zagreb | 6 April 2023 | 21 August 2023 | 17 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 058.82 |
| Al-Shabab | 18 October 2023 | 27 December 2023 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 027.27 |
| Total | 176 | 101 | 41 | 34 | 057.39 | ||
Samobor
Dinamo Zagreb[67]
Rudeš
Olimpija Ljubljana
Rijeka
Dinamo Zagreb
Nakon što je izbornik Igor Bišćan bio pozitivan na koronavirus pa je cijeli stručni stožer završio u samoizolaciji, momčad su vodili glavni instruktor Hrvatskog nogometnog saveza Petar Krpan i izbornik Hrvatske U-17 Tomislav Rukavina. Bišćan je sve zamislio, a Krpan i Rukavina posao obavili sjajno.
Mlada reprezentacija je s godinama postala sinonim za neuspjeh u hrvatskom nogometu.
