Branimir Poljac (born 17 May 1984) is a former

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

football striker Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to p ...

who was playing for

Konyaspor Konyaspor Kulübü (, Konya Sports Club) is a Turkish professional football club based in Konya. They are better known as Konyaspor. In 1922 Konyaspor were founded with the name Konya Gençlerbirliği and have played at their current home stadium ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

before he had a car accident which ended his career. He has

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n parents.

Career

Poljac started his career in Klemetsrud and

KFUM Oslo KFUM-Kameratene Oslo is the sports branch of the local YMCA in Oslo, Norway. It has sections for association football, futsal, volleyball and track and field. The football team currently plays in 1. divisjon, the second tier of the Norwegian foot ...

and then as a junior player he signed for Stabæk. He played for Stabæk in the Norwegian Tippeliga, but limited playing time saw him moving to

Moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

ahead of the 2008 season. In January 2009, Poljac signed with the Turkish club

. On 2 April 2010, Poljac was seriously injured in a car accident. Poljac lost control of his car in a curve, and went off the road, landing on its roof. According to news reports, Poljac suffered serious neck injuries in the crash, and might be permananently paralyzed. His accident shocked Turkey, since the fans and the city liked him, and saw him as great gentleman and a good player, with potential. Many fan groups, likewise ordinary Turks, are praying for him, since he was popular in the city. On the 6 April, it was first reported that he was still in a serious condition and could potentially die and that the risk for him, becoming paralyzed was as high as 90%. Later the same day, doctors said, that he would survive the accident, whereas Branimir Poljac stated: In order to give him moral support, a website has been created for his honour, called "Legend Poljac" where people wrote messages to him. Poljac is currently in Norway in Sunnaas Hospital and fighting back after his accident. He is slowly regaining use of his limbs. At first he could only move his shoulders, but now he is beginning to feel his arms, and his situation has moved very fast forward. In an interview he stated that he will be back somehow, as fit as before the accident.

Konyaspor's involvement with Poljac after the accident

Konyaspor is constantly in touch with Poljac. The team bus now displays the pictures of Poljac, and the

Turkish Football Federation The Turkish Football Federation (; TFF) is the governing body of association football in Turkey. It was formed on 23 April 1923, and joined FIFA the same year and UEFA in 1962. It organizes the Turkey national football team, the Süper Lig, Turk ...

has reimbursed the player with 100,000 Turkish liras for the accident.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poljac, Branimir 1984 births Living people Norwegian footballers Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Norwegian expatriate footballers Stabæk Fotball players IK Start players Moss FK players Konyaspor footballers Eliteserien players Süper Lig players Expatriate footballers in Turkey Norwegian people of Croatian descent Footballers from Oslo Association football forwards