Alen Bokšić
Alen Bokšić (pronounced [bǒkʃitɕ]; born 21 January 1970) is a former Croatian professional footballer. A forward 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 the Croatia national football team.
| Personal information | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 21 January 1970 | ||||||||||
| Place of birth | Makarska, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia | ||||||||||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||
| Position(s) | 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
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||
With Marseille, Bokšić won the 1992–93 UEFA Champions League, and was voted fourth in the 1993 European Footballer of the Year poll. That same year he was named Croatian Footballer of the Year. He also won two Serie A titles in 1997 and 2000 with Juventus and Lazio respectively, and is regarded as one of the best foreign players in the history of Serie A since 1980.
Although selected for Yugoslavia squad at the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, the 20-year-old Bokšić did not play in the tournament, with coach Ivica 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 coach Miroslav Blažević. He played for Croatia at the 1996 European Championship but was not included in the squad for the 1998 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 the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan, appearing in all three of the team's group stage matches, before retiring only a year later in 2003.