Alen Bokšić (; born 21 January 1970) is a former Croatian professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
. A
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
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
The Croatia national football team ( hr, Hrvatska nogometna reprezentacija) represents Croatia in international football matches. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation (HNS), the governing body for football in Croatia. It is a ...
.
With
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
Bokšić won the
1992–93 UEFA Champions League, and was voted fourth in the 1993
European Footballer of the Year
The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual football award presented by French news magazine '' France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (f ...
poll. That same year he was named
Croatian Footballer of the Year The Croatian Footballer of the Year ( hr, Nogometaš godine) is the most prestigious annual association football award in Croatia. It is awarded by the newspaper ''Večernji list'' to the best Croatian football player in the preceding year, regardle ...
. He also won two
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
titles in 1997 and 2000 with
Juventus
Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...
and
Lazio
it, Laziale
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respectively, and is regarded as one of the best foreign players in the history of Serie A since 1980.
Although selected for
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
squad at the
1990 FIFA World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being Me ...
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
Miroslav "Ćiro" Blažević (; born 10 February 1935) is a Croatian former professional football manager and player. His professional playing career spanned from 1954 to 1966, during which he played for Dinamo Zagreb, Lokomotiva Zagreb, FK Saraje ...
. He played for Croatia at the
1996 European Championship but was not included in the squad for the
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the ...
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
The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
in Japan, appearing in all three of the team's group stage matches, before retiring only a year later in 2003.
Club career
Hajduk Split
Bokšić was born in
Makarska and started his club career at
Zmaj, from Makarska. As a young player he moved to
Hajduk Split
Hrvatski nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split () or simply Hajduk, is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, t ...
and was introduced into the first team (1987–91). With Hajduk, he won the
Yugoslav Cup
The Yugoslav Cup ( hr, Pokal Jugoslavije; sr, Куп Југославије; sl, Pokal Jugoslavije, mk, Куп на Југославија), officially known between 1923 and 1940 as the King Alexander Cup ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Kup kralja Aleksandra, ...
in 1987 and 1991. In 174 games for Hajduk, he scored 60 goals. Bokšić scored in the 1991 Yugoslavian Cup final against
Red Star Belgrade
Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional football club based in Bel ...
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.
Olympique Marseille
Bokšić moved to
AS Cannes
Association Sportive de Cannes Football (; commonly referred to as AS Cannes or simply Cannes) is a French association football club based in Cannes. The club was formed 1902 as a sports club and currently plays in the Championnat National 3, ...
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 giants
Olympique Marseille
Olympique de Marseille (, ; oc, Olimpic de Marselha, ), also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional men's football club based in Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Founded in 1899, the club pl ...
. In his only full season with
Olympique Marseille
Olympique de Marseille (, ; oc, Olimpic de Marselha, ), also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional men's football club based in Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Founded in 1899, the club pl ...
(1992–93), he was the
Ligue 1
Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...
top goalscorer, leading the charts with 23 goals. That season he won the French league, but Marseille were later
stripped
Stripped may refer to:
Music
* "Stripped" (song), by Depeche Mode, 1986
* ''Stripped'' (Christina Aguilera album) or the title song, 2002
* ''Stripped'' (Daniel Ash album), 2014
* ''Stripped'' (Macy Gray album), 2016
* ''Stripped'' (Pretty Ma ...
of the title. His biggest success with the club came in May 1993, when
Olympique Marseille
Olympique de Marseille (, ; oc, Olimpic de Marselha, ), also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional men's football club based in Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Founded in 1899, the club pl ...
defeated
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional Association football, football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 ...
to win the
1993 UEFA Champions League Final
The 1993 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match between French club Marseille and Italian club Milan, played on 26 May 1993 at the Olympiastadion in Munich.
The final, which followed the second-ever UEFA Champions League group stage, ...
. Bokšić was the club's joint top goalscorer in the competition alongside teammate
Rudi Völler
Rudolf "Rudi" Völler (; born 13 April 1960), nicknamed "''Tante Käthe''" ("Aunt Käthe"), is a German former professional football player and manager who serves as the sporting director for Bayer Leverkusen.
A forward, Völler won the FIFA W ...
, as he scored 6 goals in the
1992–93 UEFA Champions League.
He played another 12 league matches for the club at the beginning of the
1993–94 season, until December 1993, when he was transferred to
Lazio
it, Laziale
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. 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.
Lazio
After joining
Lazio
it, Laziale
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in Italy in 1993, Bokšić was voted fourth for the 1993
European Footballer of the Year
The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual football award presented by French news magazine '' France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (f ...
, behind winner
Roberto Baggio,
Dennis Bergkamp, and
Eric Cantona
Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona (; ; born 24 May 1966) is a French actor, director, producer, and former professional footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Cantona is credited as having made Manchester United a d ...
. In his first half-season with Lazio, Bokšić appeared in 21 Serie A matches, scoring 4 goals as Lazio ended 4th.
In the 1994–95 season Lazio were managed by
Zdeněk Zeman, and Bokšić played an important part in the club's best Serie A position since 1974, finishing 2nd. Bokšić was a part of a praised attacking trident formed by Bokšić,
Giuseppe Signori
Giuseppe "Beppe" Signori (; born 17 February 1968) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward.
He played for several clubs in Italy throughout his career, and also had spells in Greece and Hungary with Iraklis Thessal ...
and
Pierluigi Casiraghi
Pierluigi Casiraghi (; born 4 March 1969) is an Italian professional football coach and former player who played as a striker.
Casiraghi began his playing career in Italy in 1985, with Monza. He later played for Juventus, and Lazio, before end ...
. He scored a total of 9 goals in the
1994–95 Serie A season.
Juventus
In the summer of 1996 Bokšić signed for
Juventus
Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...
, then managed by
Marcello Lippi. During his one season with the club he managed to win three trophies, as
Juventus
Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...
won the
1996–97 Serie A, the
1996 Intercontinental Cup and the
1996 UEFA Super Cup
The 1996 UEFA Super Cup was a two-legged match that took place on 15 January 1997 and 5 February 1997 between Paris Saint-Germain F.C., Paris Saint-Germain of France, champions of the 1995–96 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, and Juventus F.C., Juventus of ...
.
[ The club also reached the final of the 1996–97 UEFA Champions League but lost the match 3–1 against ]Borussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...
. Bokšić played as a forward until the 88th minute of the match, alongside Christian Vieri
Christian "Bobo" Vieri (; born 12 July 1973) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre forward.
Having been born in Italy, Vieri moved with his family to Australia as a child, before returning to Italy to pursue his p ...
, and provided the assist for Alessandro Del Piero
Alessandro Del Piero (; born 9 November 1974) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a deep-lying forward, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. Since 2015, he has worked as a pundit fo ...
's goal. Bokšić was the club's top goalscorer in the competition with 4 goals. He also netted 3 goals in 22 league appearances on their way to the Serie A title.[
]
Return to Lazio
Bokšić returned to Lazio in 1997, now under new manager Sven-Göran Eriksson
Sven-Göran Eriksson (; born 5 February 1948) is a Swedish football manager and former player.
After an unassuming playing career as a right-back, Eriksson went on to experience major success in club management between 1977 and 2001, winning 18 ...
. In his first season back at the club, he scored 10 goals in Serie A, with Lazio finishing 7th in the league; this was a disappointing result for Lazio, but they managed to reach the final of the 1998 UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
and also won the Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
that year.
In the 1998–99 season, Lazio won the Supercoppa Italiana, finished 2nd in the league and won the 1998–99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. However, Bokšić made only 3 Serie A appearances due to injury.
The 1999–2000 Season was Bokšić's most successful season with Lazio, as the club won the UEFA Super Cup
The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...
, the 1999–2000 Serie A title and another Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
; Bokšić scored 4 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 of Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
.
Middlesbrough
Following his spell at Lazio
it, Laziale
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, Bokšić surprised the footballing world by joining English Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
club Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
for a transfer fee of £2.5 million. On his debut for Middlesbrough, Boksic scored twice and claimed an assist in a 3-1 win over Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...
. 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. 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."
Despite his injury problems, he went on to score 12 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 the 2002 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 the Riverside Stadium
The Riverside Stadium is a football stadium in Middlesbrough, England, which has been the home of Middlesbrough since it opened in 1995. Its current capacity is 34,742, all seated, although there is provisional planning permission in place t ...
. 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 with Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
, while His final goal for the club had come in a memorable 3–1 win over Manchester United on Boxing Day
Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. It ...
2002.
International career
Twenty-year-old Bokšić was a member of the Yugoslavia national squad during 1990 World Cup, but coach Ivica Osim did not give him a single minute of action, preferring the more experienced Zlatko Vujović
Zlatko Vujović (; born 26 August 1958) is a Croatian retired footballer who played as a striker.
His twin brother, Zoran, was also a professional footballer. They were both Yugoslav internationals, and both spent a large part of their profes ...
and Darko Pančev
Darko Pančev ( mk, Дарко Панчев, ; born 7 September 1965) is a Macedonian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He most notably played for FK Vardar and Red Star Belgrade.
He was part of the Red Star Belgrade sq ...
for places upfront.
For the Croatia national team, Bokšić was capped
In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...
40 times, scoring 10 goals. He made his debut for them in a June 1993 friendly match
An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
against Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
and his final international was an October 2002 European Championship qualification match against Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
. He played for his country at Euro 96
The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...
. He missed Croatia's surprising third-place run in the 1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the ...
due to injury. This was a devastating blow for the Croatian team as they could not pair him together with Davor Šuker
Davor Šuker (; born 1 January 1968) is a Croatian football administrator and former footballer who played as a striker. He served as president of the Croatian Football Federation from 2012 to 2021. He began his footballing career in his hometo ...
. He finally made his World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
playing debut in the 2002 World Cup at the age of 32.
Style of play
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.
Career statistics
Club
International
Honours
Player
Hajduk Split
*Yugoslav Cup
The Yugoslav Cup ( hr, Pokal Jugoslavije; sr, Куп Југославије; sl, Pokal Jugoslavije, mk, Куп на Југославија), officially known between 1923 and 1940 as the King Alexander Cup ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Kup kralja Aleksandra, ...
: 1990–91
Marseille
*UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
: 1992–93
Juventus[
*]Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
: 1996–97
* Intercontinental Cup: 1996
Lazio
*Serie A: 1999–2000
*Italian Cup
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
: 1998, 2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
*UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
: 1998–99
Individual
* French Ligue 1 Top Scorer: 1992–93
* French Ligue 1 Foreign Player of the Year: 1993
* Onze d'Argent: 1993
* 1993 Ballon d'Or: 4th place
*Croatian Footballer of the Year The Croatian Footballer of the Year ( hr, Nogometaš godine) is the most prestigious annual association football award in Croatia. It is awarded by the newspaper ''Večernji list'' to the best Croatian football player in the preceding year, regardle ...
: 1993
* Middlesbrough Supporters' club player of the year: 2000–01
Orders
*
Order of Danica Hrvatska with face of Franjo Bučar: 1995
*
Order of the Croatian Trefoil
The Order of the Croatian Trefoil ( hr, Red hrvatskog trolista) is the sixteenth most important medal given by the Republic of Croatia. The order was founded on 1 April 1995. The medal is awarded for excellence in war, direct war danger or in ext ...
: 1998
Personal life
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.Boksic u zagrljaju s djevojkom prosetao zagrebackom spicom
index.hr, 17 November 2010
Notes
References
*''Nogometni leksikon'' (2004, in Croatian)
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boksic, Alen
1970 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Makarska
Association football forwards
Yugoslav footballers
Croatian footballers
Croatia international footballers
1990 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Euro 1996 players
2002 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Champions League winning players
HNK Hajduk Split players
AS Cannes players
Olympique de Marseille players
S.S. Lazio players
Juventus F.C. players
Middlesbrough F.C. players
Yugoslav First League players
Ligue 1 players
Serie A players
Premier League players
Croatian expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in France
Croatian expatriate sportspeople in France
Expatriate footballers in Italy
Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Expatriate footballers in England
Croatian expatriate sportspeople in England