 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1980-04-22)22 April 1980 (age 44) | ||
| Place of birth | Rijeka,SFR Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1997–1999 | Rijeka | 33 | (3) |
| 1999–2002 | Venezia | 19 | (2) |
| 2000–2001 | →Empoli (loan) | 5 | (1) |
| 2001 | →Bellinzona (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | Palermo | 0 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | →Venezia (loan) | 7 | (1) |
| 2003 | →Ancona (loan) | 15 | (3) |
| 2003–2006 | Atalanta | 51 | (16) |
| 2006 | →Ascoli (loan) | 11 | (4) |
| 2006–2008 | Parma | 50 | (20) |
| 2008–2013 | Palermo | 63 | (12) |
| 2010–2011 | →Cesena (loan) | 17 | (1) |
| 2013 | →Atalanta (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| Total | 274 | (63) | |
| International career | |||
| 1998–1999 | Croatia U-18[1] | 8 | (0) |
| 1999 | Croatia U-20[1] | 4 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | Croatia[1] | 6 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Igor Budan (born 22 April 1980) is a Croatian former professionalfootballer who played as aforward. He also represented theCroatia national football team atUEFA Euro 2008. Since leaving hometown clubNK Rijeka, Budan spent most of the rest of his career playing for football clubs across Italy.
Budan played for his nativeNK Rijeka for two seasons before moving to Italy in 1999. At that time Serie A imposed non-EU quota per team that each team could be used in the field. Budan spent 2000–01 season withEmpoli as well as Swiss clubBellinzona (in Italian speaking region of Switzerland) in order to free the quota for other players. Budan was one of the players transferred toPalermo fromVenezia in 2002. The ex-owner of Venezia,Maurizio Zamparini, had bought Palermo in July 2002.
He spent two very good seasons between 2003 and 2005 withAtalanta, where he was a regular. Atalanta excised the option to sign Budan in June 2004 but Palermo also excised the counter-option,[2] however, the loan later extended. Atalanta signed Budan inco-ownership deal in summer 2005 for €1 million.[3] Along withAdriano, they were part of the deal ofStephen Makinwa.
The co-ownership deal with Atalanta being terminated in June 2006 for €1 million,[4][5] Budan was then loaned toParma F.C. with a co-ownership option (€1.25 million),[5] That season Palermo signedMark Bresciano (€2.5 million) andFábio Simplício (€4.6 million); Budan andMaurizio Ciaramitaro were the possible alternative compensation other than cash in the deals to Parma. Parma excised the option in June 2007[6] and boughtDavide Matteini (50% for €900,00) andFrancesco Parravicini (€950,000 to Palermo and €950,000 to Fiorentina)[7] Budan scored a lesser goal in2007–08 Serie A but with a better goal per game, Palermo bought back Budan for €4.5million from relegated Parma in June 2008.[8][9][10] Budan also signed a new five-year contract.[8]
At Palermo, Budan opportunities to play were limited in the first season because of knee injuries and a surgery on his left knee.[11]
However, he was confirmed to the Palermo squad for the 2009–10 season, and he started the new season by coming on as a substitute in the first two league games, against Napoli and Fiorentina. In the third game of the 2009–10 season, Budan scored his first goal for Palermo, a late injury-time equalizer in a 1–1 home tie againstBari. His new season with Palermo was then later stopped by another serious knee injury that kept him out of action for the remained of the tournament.
On 31 August 2010, he was loaned out to newly promoted Serie A clubCesena until the end of the season.[12] He returned to Palermo by the end of the season and remained in Sicily due to the club failing to find a team for him. Initially kept off the first team squad, he was subsequently re-included due to an injury crisis and featured in a number of league games under head coachDevis Mangia, and then gaining a starting lineup spot under new bossBortolo Mutti. His improved condition, together with the sale ofMauricio Pinilla toCagliari, turned him into a starter and gave him the opportunity to play more continuously; he scored his first goal of the season on 22 January 2012, netting the 1–1 equalizer in a 5–3 home win againstGenoa, that was followed by him scoring both goals in a 2–0 victory againstNovara one week later. During 2011–12 season Budan also extended his contract with the club to 30 June 2015.[13]
In January 2013 he moved on loan toAtalanta.[14] After his loan expired, Budan confirmed his retirement in June 2013.
Budan was capped for the Croatian U-18 team at the1998 UEFA European Under-18 Football Championship (now U-19 event) and the1999 FIFA World Youth Championship (nowFIFA U-20 World Cup). Budan also played in1999 UEFA European Under-18 Football Championship qualification.
On 7 February 2007, Budan made his international debut forCroatia in a 2–1 friendly win against Norway, coming on as a 62nd-minute substitute forBoško Balaban.[15]
Budan was selected for Croatia'sEuro 2008 campaign, where he came on as a substitute in the second half against Austria. This would be Budan's final cap for Croatia.[16]
After his retirement, Budan returned to Palermo with his family and successively confirmed he was about to join therosanero staff as a team manager starting from the 2013–14 season, accepting an offer from presidentMaurizio Zamparini who had already regularly stated this intention in the past.[17]
He left Palermo after one season to pursue a career as adirector of football, accepting an offer to work asGuido Angelozzi's deputy atSerie B clubSpezia.[18] In July 2015 he was promoted as director of football,[19] but on 17 November 2015, he relinquished his role as director of football for personal reasons.[20]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| HNK Rijeka | 1997–98 | Prva HNL | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 10 | 2 | |
| 1998–99 | 23 | 1 | 2 | 1 | – | 25 | 2 | |||
| Total | 33 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 4 | ||
| Venezia | 1999–2000 | Serie A | 16 | 2 | 4 | 0 | – | 20 | 2 | |
| 2001–02 | Serie A | 3 | 0 | – | – | 3 | 0 | |||
| 2002–03 | Serie B | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 7 | 1 | ||
| Total | 26 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 3 | ||
| Empoli (loan) | 2000–01 | Serie B | 5 | 1 | – | – | 5 | 1 | ||
| Bellinzona (loan) | 2000–01 | Nationalliga B | 1 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||
| Palermo | 2002–03 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | |
| Ancona (loan) | 2002–03 | Serie B | 15 | 3 | – | – | 15 | 3 | ||
| Atalanta | 2003–04 | Serie B | 23 | 11 | 0 | 0 | – | 23 | 11 | |
| 2004–05 | Serie A | 28 | 5 | 4 | 1 | – | 32 | 6 | ||
| 2005–06 | Serie B | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 9 | 0 | ||
| Total | 59 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 64 | 17 | ||
| Ascoli (loan) | 2005–06 | Serie A | 11 | 4 | – | – | 11 | 4 | ||
| Parma | 2006–07 | Serie A | 35 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 38 | 16 |
| 2007–08 | 15 | 7 | 1 | 0 | – | 16 | 7 | |||
| Total | 50 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 54 | 23 | ||
| Palermo | 2008–09 | Serie A | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 5 | 0 | |
| 2009–10 | 30 | 5 | 1 | 2 | – | 31 | 7 | |||
| 2010–11 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2011–12 | 22 | 6 | 1 | 0 | – | 23 | 6 | |||
| 2012–13 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | 7 | 1 | |||
| Total | 63 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 66 | 14 | ||
| Cesena (loan) | 2010–11 | Serie A | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 17 | 1 | |
| Atalanta (loan) | 2012–13 | Serie A | 2 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 274 | 63 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 292 | 70 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Croatia | 2007 | 3 | 0 |
| 2008 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 6 | 0 | |
