Ivo Iličević (born 14 November 1986) is a retired

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 le ...

. Born in Germany, he represented

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 ...

at international level.

Club career

Early days

Iličević was born in

Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg (; South Franconian: ''Aschebersch'') is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is its administrative seat. Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

Bosnian Croat The Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina (), often referred to as Bosnian Croats () or Herzegovinian Croats () are the third most populous ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina, ethnic group in the country after Bosniaks and Serbs of Bosnia and H ...

parents. His father emigrated to West Germany from a small village near

Odžak Odžak ( sr-cyrl, Оџак) is a town and municipality located in Posavina Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the northern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, near the river Sav ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

, then part of the

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...

). He began his career in the youth ranks of

Viktoria Aschaffenburg SV Viktoria 01 Aschaffenburg is a German football club based in Aschaffenburg, Bavaria. Even though Aschaffenburg is located in Bavaria, Viktoria Aschaffenburg historically played its football in the Hessenliga (V) and the associated Hessian le ...

, before joining Regionalliga Süd side

Darmstadt 98 Sportverein Darmstadt 1898 e.V., commonly known as Darmstadt 98 (), is a German football club based in Darmstadt, Hesse. The club was founded on 22 May 1898 as FC Olympia Darmstadt. Early in 1919, the association was briefly known as ''Rasen-Sp ...

in January 2005. At the club, he quickly became a first-team regular under former

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

star

Bruno Labbadia Bruno Labbadia (; born 8 February 1966) is a German football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the current manager of Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart. Personal life Labbadia is of Italian ancestry. His family roots go bac ...

and scored eight goals in 44 league matches. As a youth-team player, he played as a forward, but later became mainly deployed as an attacking midfielder.

VfL Bochum

In the summer of 2006, Iličević joined Bundesliga side

VfL Bochum Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as simply VfL Bochum (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club has spent 35 seas ...

and made his top-flight debut in the club's opening match of the 2006–07 league season, a 2–1 defeat at

Mainz 05 1. Fußball- und Sportverein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05, Mainz 05 () or simply Mainz (), is a German sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. 1. FSV Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the top ...

on 12 August 2006. On 24 September 2006, he scored his first Bundesliga goal, netting the match-winning goal in a 2–1 win at home to

Arminia Bielefeld DSC Arminia Bielefeld (; full name: ; commonly known as Arminia Bielefeld (), also known as ''Die Arminen'' or ''Die Blauen'' ), or just Arminia (), is a German sports club from Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. Arminia offers the sports of ...

. He made a total of 19 Bundesliga appearances in his first season with Bochum, scoring two goals. In January 2008, he was loaned to Greuther Fürth of the 2. Bundesliga, after making just six Bundesliga appearances (without scoring a goal) with Bochum in the first half of the 2007–08 league season. He went on to spend a season and a half with Greuther Fürth, scoring 4 goals in 38 league appearances.

1. FC Kaiserslautern

In the summer of 2009, Bochum loaned Iličević to another 2. Bundesliga side, 1. FC Kaiserslautern, for the entire 2009–10 season. He scored 4 goals in 30 league appearances, helping the team to secure promotion to the Bundesliga for the 2010–11 season. He eventually signed a contract with Kaiserslautern in the summer of 2010. He had a great start to the 2010–11 Bundesliga season with Kaiserslautern, scoring two goals and recording two assists in the club's opening two matches, a 3–1 win at 1. FC Köln and a 2–0 win at home to

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

. In November 2010, he scored a goal in three consecutive Bundesliga matches. On 20 November 2010, he participated in all of his team's three goals in a 3–1 win at 1. FC Nürnberg, scoring their second goal and setting up the remaining two.

Hamburger SV

On 31 August 2011, on the last day of summer transfer window, Iličević signed a four-year contract with

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of three ...

. He made his debut for Hamburg in a match against

SC Freiburg Sport-Club Freiburg e.V., commonly known as SC Freiburg () or just Freiburg, is a German football club, based in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg. It plays in the Bundesliga, having been promoted as champions from the 2. Bund ...

coming in as a substitute in 66th minute. He scored his first goal only seven minutes later by scoring a winning goal for Hamburg. In his first season, his playing period was not consistent due to various injuries, including a torn muscle. He made 18 appearances and scored two goals. In the 2012–13 season, he suffered a hamstring injury in the match against

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), Hannover, HSV or simply 96, is a German professional football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years betwe ...

at the end of September 2012 which sidelined him for almost seven weeks. After recovery, Iličević made his comeback 15 December 2012 (matchday 17) in the match against

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, th ...

(0–3). In the second part of the season, he was sidelined due to a stomach muscle injury for more than ten weeks. Due to all these injuries, the season was disappointing for Iličević, as he made only eight appearances and scored one goal. Previously, he worn kit number 11 for Hamburg, but after

Ivica Olić Ivica Olić (; born 14 September 1979) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player who is an assistant coach of the Croatia national team. During his career, he played for German Bundesliga clubs such as Hamburger SV, VfL Wolf ...

's departure from the club, he changed his number to 7. Number 11 was then handed back to Olić when he returned for a second stint with the club.

Anzhi Makhachkala

On 24 August 2016, Iličević signed a three-year contract with the Russian side

FC Anzhi Makhachkala Football Club Anzhi Makhachkala (russian: link=no, Футбо́льный клуб «Анжи́» Махачкала́, ), known simply as FC Anji, was a Russian professional football club based in the Dagestani capital of Makhachkala. Founded ...

Kairat

On 30 January 2017,

FC Kairat Football Club Kairat ( kk, Qaırat Fýtbol Klýby) is a professional association football, football club based in Almaty, which plays in the Kazakhstan Premier League, the highest level of Football in Kazakhstan, Kazakh football. Founded in 1954 ...

announced the signing of Iličević on a two-year contract, with the option of an additional year.

1. FC Nürnberg

On 30 January 2019, Iličević returned to Germany, joining 1. FC Nürnberg on a short-term deal. He left at the end of the season.

International

In May 2007, Iličević received his first call-up to the Croatia national under-21 team, made his international U21 debut on 2 June 2007 in a 2–0 win against the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

Varaždin ) , image_photo = , image_skyline = , image_flag = Flag of Varaždin.svg , flag_size = , image_seal = , seal_size = , image_shield = Grb_Grad ...

. In his second appearance for the team, on 6 June 2007, he scored a brace to help them to a 3–2 win against

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

Zaprešić Zaprešić () is a town in Hrvatsko zagorje, Zagreb County in Croatia. It has a population of 19,644 inhabitants in the town proper, with 25,223 in the administrative area. The town's metropolitan area, which encompasses the seven neighbouring m ...

. He won a total of 11 international caps and scored five goals for the Croatian U21s, with his last appearance coming on 9 September 2008 in a 1–1 draw against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in Varaždin. On 29 September 2008, he received his first full international call-up for

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 ...

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

qualifiers 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

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

the following October, but did not feature in any of the two matches. He eventually made his full international debut on 12 October 2010, coming on as a half-time substitute for

Luka Modrić Luka Modrić (; born 9 September 1985) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid and captains the Croatia national team. He plays mainly as a central midfielder, but can also play as an attack ...

in a friendly match against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

, which Croatia won 2–1. On 17 November 2010, he made his competitive debut in a 3–0 win at home to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

in the

UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying The qualifying competition for UEFA Euro 2012 was a series of parallel association football competitions held over 2010 and 2011 to decide the qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2012, held in Poland and Ukraine. The draw for the qualifying rounds was held ...

, replacing

Ivan Rakitić Ivan Rakitić (; born 10 March 1988) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a central or attacking midfielder for La Liga club Sevilla. Rakitić started his professional career at Basel and spent two seasons with them before he was s ...

in the 69th minute. On 9 February 2011, he scored his first goal in his third appearance as a full international, netting the final goal in a 4–2 win against the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, in a friendly match played in

Pula Pula (; also known as Pola, it, Pola , hu, Pòla, Venetian language, Venetian; ''Pola''; Istriot language, Istriot: ''Puola'', Slovene language, Slovene: ''Pulj'') is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, and the List of cities and town ...

. He came on as substitute of

Niko Kranjčar Niko Kranjčar (; born 13 August 1984) is a Croatian former professional footballer. He primarily played as an attacking midfielder, but could also operate as a winger or second striker. As of 5 May 2021, he works as an assistant to Josip Šimu ...

in the 64th minute in the match against

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

. Iličević was initially listed amongst the 23 Croatian players selected for

Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

in Poland and Ukraine, but was forced to withdraw due to an injury he suffered during practice with the national team, just one week before the tournament. He also missed the

2014 World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting righ ...

finals in Brazil due to injury. His final international was a November 2013

World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a competitive match that a national association football team takes in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the (men's) FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments are hel ...

match away against

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

Honours

;1. FC Kaiserslautern * 2. Bundesliga: 2009–10

References

External links

*
Ivo Iličević
at goal.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Ilicevic, Ivo 1986 births Living people People from Aschaffenburg Sportspeople from Lower Franconia Footballers from Bavaria German people of Croatian descent Association football midfielders German footballers Croatian footballers Croatia under-21 international footballers Croatia international footballers Viktoria Aschaffenburg players SV Darmstadt 98 players VfL Bochum players VfL Bochum II players SpVgg Greuther Fürth players 1. FC Kaiserslautern players Hamburger SV players FC Anzhi Makhachkala players FC Kairat players 1. FC Nürnberg players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Russian Premier League players Kazakhstan Premier League players Croatian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Russia Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Russia German expatriate sportspeople in Russia Expatriate footballers in Kazakhstan Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Kazakhstan German expatriate sportspeople in Kazakhstan