Josip Weber, nicknamed Joske, (born Josip Veber; 16 November 1964 – 8 November 2017) was a

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 ...

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

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 ...

. 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 ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

at international level.

Club career

Weber began his senior career in Yugoslavia with lower league side NK Borac Podvinje. He then joined BSK Slavonski Brod where he played 3 seasons before moving to

HNK 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 ...

of the

Yugoslav First League The Yugoslav First Federal Football League ( Serbian: Прва савезна лига у фудбалу / ''Prva savezna liga u fudbalu'', hr, Prva savezna liga u nogometu, sl, Prva zvezna nogometna liga, mk, Прва сојузна лига, ...

in 1985. He spent 2 seasons in Split, winning the 1987

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, ...

. He also played for Yugoslav side NK Dinamo Vinkovci. He then moved to Belgium where he played several seasons for Cercle Brugge. There he proved to be a prolific goalscorer, becoming Belgium's top scorer several years in a row without any contention despite Cercle Brugge only being an average team in the league at the time. Eventually he did join RSC Anderlecht (which was Belgium's top team at the time) and looked like he was headed for a brilliant few years. Unfortunately he got sidelined by a serious knee injury and never got to fulfil his clearly great potential with RSC Anderlecht, one of the few glimpses he was able to show was a strong performance in the Champions League match against Hungarian team Ferencvaros.

International career

In his international career, Weber became notable as one of the last footballers who played for national teams of two countries after being granted permission through clear connection shown from his family members. In July 1992, he started his international career with the Croatian national team during their Australian tour, where he appeared in all three of their friendly matches against the Australian national team and also managed to score Croatia's only goal during the tour as he scored in the second match, which they lost 3–1. The other two matches ended with a 1–0 win for Australia and a goalless draw respectively. After that, he never played for Croatia again. During the 1993–94 season, Weber took the job as a Belgium international team striker. Belgium national team (he was allowed to play for Belgium because his grandfather was originally from Belgium and because the previous matches for Croatia were all friendlies that were not under FIFA. Croatia only joined FIFA and UEFA in 1993). He made his debut for Belgium on 3 June 1994 in their friendly match against

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

, which was highly successful as he managed to score five goals in a 9–0 win. He was also a regular member of the Belgian team at the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...

in the United States and played in all of their four matches at the tournament, starting three of them. He nevertheless did not manage to score any goals before Belgium was eliminated by

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in the round of 16. In minute 63 of the game, he was brought down in the penalty area by

Thomas Helmer Thomas Helmer (born 21 April 1965) is a German former footballer. His preferred playing position was sweeper, but he was primarily deployed as a centre-back.Radnedge, Keir ''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of European Football'' (1997, Carlton Books ...

, but referee

Kurt Röthlisberger Kurt Röthlisberger (born 21 May 1951 in Suhr) is a retired football referee from Switzerland. He is known for supervising five matches in the FIFA World Cup: three matches in 1990, and two in 1994. Career In the 1994 World Cup, he refereed the ...

did not grant the penalty that could have led to a 3–2 score and a red card for the defender. He won a total of eight international caps and scored six goals for Belgium, all in 1994. Five of his goals were scored in a 9-0 Belgian victory over

. His final international was an October 1994 European Championship qualification match away against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Career statistics

International goals for Croatia

International goals for Belgium

Death

Weber died on 8 November 2017 in

Slavonski Brod Slavonski Brod (), commonly shortened to simply Brod, is a city in eastern Croatia, near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Being one of the principal cities in the historical regions of Slavonia and Posavina, Slavonski Brod was the 7th large ...

, Croatia from

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...

Honours

Club

Hajduk Split

: 1986-87 ; RSC Anderlecht *

Belgian First Division The Belgian Pro League,(officially the Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons with Jupiler), is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 18 clubs since the 2020–21 season and reduced to 16 team ...

: 1994-95 *

Belgian Super Cup The Belgian Super Cup ( nl, Belgische Supercup, ; french: Supercoupe de Belgique; german: Belgischer Fußball-Super Cup), ''Pro League Supercup'', is a Belgian club competition played as a single match between the Belgian First Division A champion ...

: 1995

Individual

* Belgian First Division top scorer: 1991-92 (26 goals), 1992-93 (31 goals), 1993-94 (31 goals)

References

External links

*
Profile
- Cercle Brugge {{DEFAULTSORT:Weber, Josip 1964 births 2017 deaths Sportspeople from Slavonski Brod Yugoslav people of German descent Croatian people of German descent Belgian people of German descent Belgian people of Croatian descent Association football forwards Yugoslav footballers Croatian footballers Croatia international footballers Belgian footballers Belgium international footballers Dual internationalists (football) 1994 FIFA World Cup players NK Marsonia players HNK Hajduk Split players HNK Cibalia players Cercle Brugge K.S.V. players R.S.C. Anderlecht players Yugoslav First League players Belgian Pro League players Deaths from prostate cancer Deaths from cancer in Croatia