Zvonimir Boban

Zvonimir Boban (Croatian pronunciation: [zʋônimiːr bǒban] (listen); born 8 October 1968) is a Croatian former footballer who was Deputy Secretary General of FIFA. He was most recently the Chief Football Officer of A.C. Milan. Boban played as a midfielder and was usually deployed as an attacking midfielder. He played most of his professional career for Italian club Milan with whom he won four Serie A titles and one UEFA Champions League title. He also captained the Croatia national team which won third place at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

Zvonimir Boban

Boban in 2008
Personal information
Full name	Zvonimir Boban
Date of birth	8 October 1968
Place of birth	Imotski, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Youth career
1978–1981	Mračaj Runović
1981–1982	Hajduk Split
1983–1985	Dinamo Zagreb
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1985–1991	Dinamo Zagreb	109	(45)
1991–2001	Milan	178	(21)
1991–1992	→ Bari (loan)	17	(2)
2001	→ Celta Vigo (loan)	4	(0)
Total		308	(68)
National team
1987	Yugoslavia U20	6	(3)
1988–1991	Yugoslavia	7	(1)
1992–1999	Croatia	49	(12)
Honours Representing  Yugoslavia FIFA U-20 World Cup 1987 UEFA U-21 Euro 1990 Representing  Croatia FIFA World Cup 1998
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Before 1990 and the international recognition of Croatia's national team, Boban had played for the Yugoslavia under-20 team which won the 1987 World Youth Championship. Boban scored three times in this tournament, as well as scoring in the final (drawn 1–1 with West Germany) and then converting the decisive penalty in the shootout. Having made his debut for the senior Yugoslavia team in 1988, Boban switched to playing for Croatia after the national team's inception, debuting against Romania in December 1990. Having appeared seven times for Yugoslavia, scoring once, Boban was capped 51 times for Croatia, scoring 12 goals, between 1990 and 1999.

Since retiring from playing in 2002, Boban gained a history degree from the University of Zagreb. He has also become a football pundit on Croatian and Italian television, working most notably for Sky Italia and RTL Televizija. He has a reputation as an outspoken analyst.

Club career

Dinamo Zagreb

Born in Imotski, Boban started his career with Dinamo Zagreb. He made his debut for the team in the 1985–86 season, aged 16. He would play 109 games for the club over six seasons, scoring 45 goals and becoming club captain aged 19.[1]

Dinamo Zagreb–Red Star Belgrade riot

In a game against Red Star Belgrade on 13 May 1990, Boban attacked a policeman who was assaulting a Dinamo supporter after a riot had broken out in the stadium. This incident made Boban a nationalist icon in Croatia[1][2] and is cited by some as the expression of Croatian discontent with the Yugoslav regime.[3][4] It also earned him a suspension from the Yugoslav national team, causing him to miss the 1990 World Cup in Italy. In January 2011, the match (due to the incident) was named by CNN as one of "five football games that changed the world".[5]

Serie A

A.C. Milan signed Boban in 1991 in a deal worth £8 million.[1] Milan immediately loaned him to Bari, 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 at the time. Bari were relegated in this season, but Boban ably demonstrated his ability in the team and was recalled to Milan. He stayed in the club for nine seasons, and enjoyed great success with them, helping the team to the 1994 Champions League title and contributing to the 1995 campaign in which they ended as runners-up. Playing 251 games for Milan and scoring 30 goals, Boban won four Serie A titles, as well as three Italian Supercups. In the second leg of the 1994 UEFA Super Cup Final against Arsenal in Milan, he scored the opening goal in Milan's 2–0 aggregate victory.[6] In August 2001, with his role at Milan diminished due to the signing of Rui Costa,[1] he was loaned to La Liga side Celta Vigo[7] where he played in only four league matches. Unhappy with his role as a substitute, he retired in October 2001 and finished his last season earlier than he intended.[8][9][10]

International career

Yugoslavia

Boban played a big part in Yugoslavia's win in the 1987 World Youth Championship. He scored three goals for Yugoslavia in this tournament, and also scored a decisive penalty in the final's shootout.[11] At the full international level, he earned seven caps for Yugoslavia between 1988 and 1991,[12] debuting against the Republic of Ireland on 27 April 1988. He played his last game for Yugoslavia on 16 May 1991 against the Faroe Islands, during which he scored his only goal for Yugoslavia.[13]

Croatia

When the nation of Croatia declared its independence of Yugoslavia, Boban left Yugoslavia to play for Croatia. He played his first international match for Croatia against a Romanian side on 22 December 1990. The match was considered unofficial because Croatia at that time was not affiliated to FIFA.[14][15] This match was only the second fixture Croatia had played as an independent nation since 1956. Boban played his last match for the national team in a friendly against France on 13 November 1999. He blamed back pain for his decision to quit international football,[16] but would go on to play in two more seasons of club football. In his career with the Croatian national team, Boban won 49 international caps and scored 12 goals.

1998 World Cup

Boban was a member of the Croatian team that finished third at the 1998 World Cup, captaining the squad at that tournament, as he had at the 1996 European Football Championship. A mistake he made in the semi-final allowed France to equalize immediately after Croatia had fought hard to earn a one-goal lead.[17] To make matters worse, Boban was injured and wanted to come off at half time[18] but stayed on until the 65th minute, when he was replaced by Silvio Maric. France won the match 2–1 and eventually won the tournament. Croatia went on to defeat the Netherlands, with Boban providing the pass to Davor Šuker to score the winner,[19] allowing Croatia to attain third place and receive the bronze medal.

Style of play

Nicknamed Zorro, Boban was a talented and creative yet tenacious and hard-working player, known for his use of feints to beat opponents. He was gifted with excellent vision, passing range, dribbling skills, technical ability, and an eye for the final ball; he mixed these attributes with a unique tactical versatility and intelligence, which enabled him to be deployed in several midfield and offensive positions throughout his career. In addition to his preferred playmaking role behind the forwards as an attacking midfielder, he was also capable of playing on the wing, as a central midfielder, or even as a supporting striker, due to his powerful and accurate bending shots from distance; he was also effective from set-pieces. Throughout his career, he also became known for his vocal presence, determination and aggression on the pitch, as well as his strong character.[20][21][22]

Retirement

Boban officially retired from football in 2002 after receiving little pitch time at Celta Vigo.[10] On 7 October 2002, Boban organised and played in a farewell testimonial, with Croatia's 1998 World Cup team supported by tennis star Goran Ivanišević matching up against a World XI featuring such stars as Rivaldo, Marco van Basten and Lothar Matthäus.[23]

Since retiring from football, Boban, always known to be a literary man, completed his history degree at the University of Zagreb. He graduated from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb in 2004, with a thesis named "Christianity in the Roman Empire".[24][25]

He also started a career in sports journalism, being the administration president for the Croatian daily sports newspaper Sportske novosti, a co-commentator during live broadcasts of the Croatian national team's away matches on the country's commercially-funded national TV station RTL Televizija as well as a commentator for SKY Italia and columnist for La Gazzetta dello Sport. Boban also owns a restaurant in Zagreb, called "Boban".[1]

Boban has always maintained that he will never become a coach.

Football has broadened my horizons. For a while I will take a rest from it but one thing is certain. Never, never shall I become a coach. My nerves are not up to it.

— Zvonimir Boban, interview after retirement[23]

FIFA

On 30 May 2016, Boban was appointed FIFA's Deputy Secretary General, focusing on developing the game and the organization of competitions. He has been immediately among the endorsers of the implementation of technology on the field and played a fundamental role in the development of the video assistant referee. In fact, during the 2018 World Cup played in Russia, the first ever with the VAR, he lived in Moscow alongside Pierluigi Collina, chairman of FIFA's Referees' Committee, and Massimo Busacca, head of FIFA's Refereeing Department, thus bringing referees' world closer to the Institutions. On 14 June 2019, after three years in office, he resigned. FIFA President Gianni Infantino had words of thanks for the Croatian: "I cannot thank Zvonimir enough for everything he has done for FIFA and for the game of football over the last three years by our side. Nobody embodies football better than he does and he has always worked for the good of the game. Many of the positive changes that we have made over the last three years could not have been achieved without Zvone. He has shown the same commitment, heart and passion at FIFA that characterized his attitude on the pitch. We will miss him a lot at FIFA." One ne of Infantino’s collaborators at FIFA said it was a massive loss, especially now that his work was beginning to make the difference for the whole organization. [26]

Reputation

Boban made headlines, as the Dinamo Zagreb captain, by kicking a Yugoslav policeman in the face after the officer had attacked a Dinamo Zagreb supporter during an on-pitch riot.[27] For this act alone, Boban was proclaimed a national hero in Croatia at that time.

Here I was, a public face prepared to risk his life, career, and everything that fame could have brought, all because of one ideal, one cause; the Croatian cause.

— Zvonimir Boban, after the incident

As a commentator and pundit, Boban has become known as a frank and outspoken analyst.[28]

Personal life

Boban married Leonarda Boban, a fashion designer, in 1994.[29] They have five children: adopted children Marija, Gabrijel, Marta, Rafael as well as a biological daughter Ruža (Rose).[30]

Boban is also a keen tennis player.[18] He is known to be close friends with Goran Ivanišević,[31] with whom he plays at his private indoor clay tennis court.[32]

Career statistics

Club

Sources:[33][34][35]

Club performance			League		Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Yugoslavia			League		Yugoslav Cup		League Cup		Europe		Intercontinental Cup		Total
1985–86	Dinamo Zagreb	First League	2	0	0	0	-	-	0	0	-	-	2	0
1986–87			28	8	0	0	-	-	0	0	-	-	28	8
1987–88			30	13	1	1	-	-	0	0	-	-	31	14
1988–89			0	0	0	0	-	-	0	0	-	-	0	0
1989–90			26	9	2	1	-	-	2	0	-	-	30	10
1990–91			26	15	2	0	-	-	2	1	-	-	30	16
Italy			League		Coppa Italia		Supercoppa Italiana		Europe		Intercontinental Cup		Total
1991–92	Bari	Serie A	17	2	0	0	-	-	0	0	-	-	17	2
1992–93	Milan	Serie A	13	0	3	0	0	0	6	1	-	-	22	1
1993–94			20	4	2	0	1	0	8	0	0	0	31	4
1994–95			21	1	3	0	1	0	11	2	1	0	37	3
1995–96			13	3	2	0	1	0	5	3	-	-	21	7
1996–97			28	1	3	0	-	-	5	1	-	-	36	2
1997–98			23	2	6	1	-	-	0	0	-	-	29	3
1998–99			27	2	4	0	-	-	0	0	-	-	31	2
1999–2000			17	6	3	0	0	0	2	0	-	-	22	6
2000–01			16	2	3	1	-	-	7	0	-	-	26	3
Spain			League		Copa del Rey		Supercopa de España		Europe		Other		Total
2001–02	Celta Vigo	La Liga	4	0	0	0	-	-	2	0	-	-	6	0
Total	Yugoslavia		112	45	5	2	-	-	4	1	-	-	121	48
	Italy		195	23	29	2	3	0	44	7	1	0	272	33
	Spain		4	0	0	0	-	-	2	0	-	-	6	0
Career total			311	68	34	4	2	3	50	8	1	0	398	81

International

Team	Year	Apps	Goals
Yugoslavia	1988	2	0
	1989	1	0
	1990	2	0
	1991	2	1
Total		7	1
Croatia	1992	1	0
	1993	1	0
	1994	5	0
	1995	5	2
	1996	9	2
	1997	8	3
	1998	13	5
	1999	7	0
Total		49	12

International goals

Results list Yugoslavia's and Croatia's goal tallies first.

#	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
Yugoslavia goals
1	16 May 1991	Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, Yugoslavia	7	Faroe Islands	5–0	7–0	Euro 1992 qualifying
Croatia goals
1	25 March 1995	Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Croatia	10	Ukraine	1–0	4–0	Euro 1996 qualifying
2	3 September 1995		13	Estonia	4–1	7–1
3	2 June 1996	Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland	17	Republic of Ireland	2–1	2–2	Friendly
4	16 June 1996	Hillsborough, Sheffield, England	19	Denmark	2–0	3–0	Euro 1996
5	2 April 1997	Stadion Poljud, Split, Croatia	25	Slovenia	2–0	3–3	1998 World Cup qualification
6					3–1
7	6 September 1997	Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Croatia	27	Bosnia and Herzegovina	3–2	3–2
8	22 April 1998	Stadion Gradski vrt, Osijek, Croatia	32	Poland	1–0	4–1	Friendly
9	6 June 1998	Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Croatia	35	Australia	4–0	7–0
10					7–0
11	14 October 1998		44	Macedonia	2–1	3–2	Euro 2000 qualifying
12					3–2

Honours

Club

Milan[20]

• Serie A: 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1998–99
• Supercoppa Italiana: 1992, 1993, 1994
• UEFA Champions League: 1993–94
• UEFA Super Cup: 1994

International

Yugoslavia

• FIFA World Youth Championship: 1987
• UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship: 1990 (Runners-up)

Croatia

• FIFA World Cup: 1998 (Third place)

Individual

• FIFA World Youth Championship Silver Ball: 1987
• Croatian Footballer of the Year: 1991, 1999
• Ballon d'Or: 1994 (24th place)
• SN Yellow Shirt Award: 1991
• Franjo Bučar State Award for Sport: 1998, 2002
• AC Milan: The 20 Greatest Rossoneri of All-Time[36]
• A.C. Milan Hall of Fame[20]
• Fair Play Menarini Award 2017[37]
• Globe Soccer Awards 2018: Special Career Award

Orders

• Order of Danica Hrvatska with face of Franjo Bučar: 1995[38]
• Order of the Croatian Trefoil: 1998[39]

References

1. Schiavone, David. "Legend of Calcio: Zvonimir Boban". Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
2. Podnar, Ozren. "The Day Yugoslav Soccer Died". Retrieved 10 June 2011.
3. machiavelli. "Arkan, Zvonimir Boban, football and the bloody end of Yugoslavia". Retrieved 6 June 2011.
4. J-Rock. "May 13 – The Match That Started a War". Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
5. "Utakmica Dinamo-Crvena zvezda među pet koje su promijenile svijet". Sarajevo-x.com. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
6. Harris, Harry (9 February 1995). "Taking the pizza". Daily Mirror. London. pp. 36–37.
7. Evans, Nic. "Boban agrees to Celta loan deal". Sky Sports. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
8. "Zvonimir Boban". acmilan-online.com. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
9. "Boban to call it a day". The Sunday Herald. 14 October 2001. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
10. "Boban retires". BBC. 16 October 2001. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
11. "FIFA – Zvonimir Boban Stats". FIFA.com. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
12. "Serbian National Team – Zvonimir Boban Stats". Retrieved 6 June 2011.
13. "Serbian National Team Statistics – Yugoslavia vs Faroe Islands". Retrieved 8 June 2011.
14. "Croatia v Romania, 22 December 1990. The match was considered unofficial by FIFA". 11v11.com. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
15. "Sve o sportu". Sve o sportu. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
16. "Boban calls time on Croatia career". Retrieved 6 June 2011.
17. Oberjurge, Paul. "Thuram finds perfect time to finally find net". Retrieved 7 June 2011.
18. Hale, Alex. "Zvonimir Boban". Trivela.co.uk. Archived from the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
19. "CROATIA – NETHERLANDS". Retrieved 7 June 2011.
20. "A.C. Milan Hall of Fame: Zvonimir Boban". A.C. Milan. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
21. "Zvonimir BOBAN" (in Italian). Magliarossonera.it. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
22. Holiga, Aleksandar (29 April 2014). "Where Does Luka Modric Rank Among Croatia's Greatest Midfielders?". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
23. Bach, Nenand. "Croatia's Boban leaves football with farewell match". Retrieved 7 June 2011.
24. "50 najbogatijih Hrvata" [50 richest Croats] (in Croatian). Nacional (weekly). 30 March 2004. Archived from the original on 1 July 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
25. Podnar, Ozren. "Zvonimir Boban: Next Croatian FA President, Or Deputy Minister Of Sports?". Retrieved 6 June 2011.
26. Homewood, Brian. "Former Croatia captain Boban given high-ranking FIFA role". Reuters UK. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
27. Haylett, Trevor (10 October 1995). "Boban the inspiration for Croatia". The Independent. London. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
28. Romao, Kevin. "Whatever happened to – Zvonimir Boban". The Graduate Times. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
29. "Zvonimir & Leonarda Boban". Story.Hr. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
30. "Zvonimir Boban becomes father for a fifth time". Croatian Times. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
31. Staunton, Peter. "Top 10 – Roland Garros Special: When Football Meets Tennis". Retrieved 10 June 2011.
32. Law, David (1 January 2003). "Ivanisevic promises final display of fireworks". The Independent. London. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
33. Boban, Zvonimir at National-Football-Teams.com
34. "Zvonimir Boban". FootballDatabase.eu. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
35. "Zvonimir Boban Dinamo Zagreb statistics". Povijest.gnkdinamo.hr. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
36. "AC Milan: The 20 Greatest Rossoneri of All-Time". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
37. https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/news/y=2017/m=7/news=boban-presented-with-fair-play-award-2900731.html
38. "ODLUKU KOJOM SE ODLIKUJU REDOM DANICE HRVATSKE S LIKOM FRANJE BUČARA" (in Croatian). hrvatska.poslovniforum.hr.
39. "PREDSJEDNIK TUDJMAN ODLIKOVAO HRVATSKU NOGOMETNU REPREZENTACIJU" (in Croatian). hrt.hr. Archived from the original on 8 November 2016.

External links

• Zvonimir Boban – FIFA competition record
• Zvonimir Boban at National-Football-Teams.com
• Zvonimir Boban Yugoslavia stats at Reprezentacija.rs at the Wayback Machine (archived 2 February 2014) (in Serbian)