Ivica Olić (; born 14 September 1979) is a Croatian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

and former

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...

who is an assistant coach of the Croatia national team. During his career, Olić played for German

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

clubs such as

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), or HSV (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its Association football, football department. Though the current HSV was founde ...

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg (), is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of Wolfsburg. I ...

and

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

; won the

2004–05 UEFA Cup The 2004–05 UEFA Cup was the 34th edition of the UEFA Cup. The format of the competition had changed from previous seasons, replacing that from the previous one after the abolition of the Cup Winners' Cup in 1999; an extra qualifying round was ...

with

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...

; and appeared over 100 times for the Croatia national team. Olić primarily played as a striker but could also operate as a winger. He has been described as a relentless pursuer of the ball and possessing "power and a decent bit of pace with him". Former Croatia manager

Slaven Bilić Slaven Bilić (; born 11 September 1968) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player. Bilić, who played as a defender, began his career in 1988 with his hometown club Hajduk Split, later having successful spells with Karls ...

described him as a typical "match-winner" and "king of important matches" due to his ability to score against big opponents at critical moments. Named the

Croatian Footballer of the Year The Croatian Footballer of the Year () 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, regardless of the league they ...

in 2009 and 2010, Olić appeared with Bayern Munich in two

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

finals, in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

and

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

. Olić represented Croatia at three

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

s–in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

–and two

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

s–in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

; earning his 100th cap on 16 November 2014, before retiring from international football in 2015. He started his coaching career in 2017, joining the coaching staff upon appointment of

Zlatko Dalić Zlatko Dalić (; born 26 October 1966) is a Croatian people, Croatian professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former Football player, player. He has been the manager of the Croatia national football ...

as Croatia national team head coach. He helped the team reach the

2018 FIFA World Cup Final The 2018 FIFA World Cup final was the final match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, 2018 World Cup, the 21st edition of FIFA's competition for national association football, football teams. The match was played at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russ ...

and qualify for

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's association footb ...

, interrupting his tenure with the team to briefly coach his former club CSKA Moscow.

Club career

Early career

Olić was born and raised in the village of Davor near

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 is the 7th lar ...

, Croatia. He started playing football for the local club

NK Marsonia NK Marsonia is a Croatian football club based in the city of Slavonski Brod. They currently play in the third division Treća HNL. NK Marsonia was founded in 1909. From 1945 to 1962 the club was called ''NK Radnički Brod'', and then ''BSK'' fro ...

in 1996, and spent two good seasons there, before he was acquired by German club

Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC () or Hertha Berlin, is a German professional football club based in Berlin. Hertha BSC plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football league system, German footbal ...

in 1998. He did not see much play there and returned to Marsonia the following year, where he earned promotion to the top flight after winning the Croatian Second League with his team. After another successful season at Marsonia, in the 2000–01 season, he scored 17 goals in 29 games – in 2001, he moved to

NK Zagreb Nogometni klub Zagreb (''Zagreb Football Club''), commonly known as NK Zagreb or simply Zagreb (), is a Croatian football club based in the capital city of Zagreb. It currently competes in the fifth tier league competition of Croatian footbal ...

on loan, where he scored 21 goals in 28 appearances and helped his team win the league. The following season, he was transferred to

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb (), commonly referred to as simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Cr ...

, where he scored 16 goals in 27 games, and became the best striker in the

Croatian First League The Hrvatska nogometna liga (; ), abbreviated as HNL and also known for sponsorship reasons as the SuperSport HNL, is a professional association football league in Croatia and the highest level of the Croatian football league system. Establish ...

CSKA Moscow

In 2003, Olić was acquired by

. His form rose gradually, and in the 2005 season, he contributed with ten goals in twice as many games. With CSKA Moscow, he won the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, the

Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; , ''Rossiyskaya premyer-liga''; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is a professional association football league in Russia and the highest level of the Russian football league system. It was establis ...

three times (in 2003, 2005 and 2006), the Russian Cup twice (in 2005 and 2006), and twice the

Russian Super Cup The Russian Super Cup () is a one-match football (soccer), football annual competition. Its official sponsored name is ''OLIMPBET Russian Supercup'' (). The two participating clubs are the Russian Premier League champions and the Rambler Russian ...

(2004 and 2006). After winning the

, Olić was awarded with the

Order of Friendship The Order of Friendship (, ') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation established by Boris Yeltsin by presidential decree 442 of 2 March 1994 to reward Russian and foreign nationals whose work, deeds and efforts have been aimed at ...

by the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Hamburger SV

In January 2007, Olić moved to

, playing his first

match with them against

Energie Cottbus FC Energie Cottbus (Lower Sorbian: ''Energija Chóśebuz'') is a Football in Germany, German football club based in Cottbus, Brandenburg. It was founded in 1963 as SC Cottbus in what was East Germany. After the German reunification, reunificatio ...

on 31 January. He was signed because Hamburg were in deep trouble, finishing in the relegation zone before the winter break. It worked out in the end, and Hamburg finished seventh, which even acquired them a

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...

place, which they eventually won. He scored two goals in the last match in the 2006–07 Bundesliga season against

Alemannia Aachen Aachener Turn- und Sportverein Alemannia 1900 e. V., short Alemannia Aachen (), is a German football club from the western city of Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia. A long-term fixture of the country's second division, Alemannia enjoyed a three- ...

in a 4–0 win. In October 2007, Olić scored a hat-trick in the Bundesliga match against

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...

, which Hamburg won 4–1. He was the first player in the club's history to score three successive goals in one half. Olić effectively won the 2008

Emirates Cup The Emirates Cup is a pre-season association football invitational competition hosted by English club Arsenal F.C., Arsenal at their home ground, Emirates Stadium, in Holloway, London. The two-day competition was inaugurated in 2007 and is na ...

for Hamburg, with two injury time goals against

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

, increasing the team's points tally to an unassailable level (due to the points-for-goals system). He endeared himself to Hamburg fans for his commitment and consistent work rate on the pitch. In his last game for the north German club, he sported a T-shirt with the words, "''Danke fans''" ("Thank you, fans") written on it, as he bid farewell to the fans.

Bayern Munich

On 3 January 2009, Olić signed a three-year contract with Bundesliga rivals

. He joined the club on a free transfer on 1 July 2009. Initially, he was supposed to be back-up to the likes of

Miroslav Klose Miroslav Josef Klose (, ; born Mirosław Marian Klose; 9 June 1978) is a German professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who currently serves as head coach of 1. FC Nürnberg. A Forward (as ...

and

Mario Gómez Mario Gómez García (; born 10 July 1985) is a German former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. He represented the Germany national football team, Germany national team ...

, but due to injury and fitness issues, he began to be preferred as the club's first choice. On 8 August, his Bayern debut, he scored the opening goal against 1899 Hoffenheim in a 1–1 draw and soon became a favourite with the Bayern fans. He reached new heights upon scoring a crucial goal in the 2010 Champions League quarter-final (first leg) against

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

in injury time, to give Bayern a slender 2–1 lead. He also scored the first goal in the second leg for his team, but they trailed 3–1. The game ended 3–2. Bayern, however, won on away goals. He scored his first

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

for the Bavarians against

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, scoring with his left foot, right foot, and his head, in the Champions League semi-final second leg on 27 April 2010. The victory against Lyon secured his team a place in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

against

Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Since 1 ...

, which they eventually lost 2–0. On 3 April 2012, he scored a brace in a 2–0 win against

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

in the

2011–12 UEFA Champions League The 2011–12 UEFA Champions League was the 57th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 20th season in its current Champions League format. As part of a trial that started in the 2009–10 UEFA Europa Lea ...

quarter-finals. Olić played his final game for Bayern in the

2012 UEFA Champions League Final The 2012 UEFA Champions League final was an association football match which took place on Saturday, 19 May 2012 between Bayern Munich of Germany and Chelsea of England at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany. The match was to decide the winner ...

against Chelsea, in which he came on as a 97th-minute substitute for the injured

Franck Ribéry Franck Henry Pierre Ribéry (; born 7 April 1983) is a French former professional footballer who primarily played as a winger, preferably on the left side, and was known for his pace, energy, skill, and precise passing. He is regarded as one ...

. Bayern eventually lost the game in a penalty shootout when the game ended 1–1 after extra time. Olić missed the team's fourth penalty, as they lost the shootout 4–3.

VfL Wolfsburg

upOlić playing for Wolfsburg in 2014 Olić signed for

at the start of the 2012–13 season. He scored his first Bundesliga goal for Wolfsburg against Greuther Fürth, and he netted another one against

Fortuna Düsseldorf Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a Football in Germany, German football club based in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga. Founded in 1895, Fo ...

. He started the season with a

against Schönberg 95 in the 2012–13 DFB-Pokal. He scored another goal in the quarter-final match of the

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

against

Kickers Offenbach Offenbacher Fussball-Club Kickers, commonly known as Kickers Offenbach, is a German association football club in Offenbach am Main, Hesse. The club was founded on 27 May 1901 in the Rheinischer Hof restaurant by footballers who had left establis ...

on 26 February 2013, as Wolfsburg secured a spot in the semi-finals. He produced an "acrobatic overhead kick" to score the first of his two goals in a 5–2 win against

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

in March 2013. He finished the season as first-choice striker for the club, with 15 goals and 6 assists. On 24 April 2014, Olić signed a new two-year deal with the German side. In the opening match of the

2014–15 Bundesliga The 2014–15 Bundesliga was the 52nd season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier association football, football competition. The season started on 22 August 2014 and the final matchday took place on 23 May 2015. FC Bayern Munich, Bayern Munich w ...

season, he scored a spectacular goal against his former club Bayern Munich.

Return to Hamburger SV

Olić returned to Hamburger SV on 30 January 2015 after signing an 18-month contract for an undisclosed fee. He was given kit number 8, but at the end of the 2014–15 season, Ivo Iličević changed his kit number from 11 to 7, prompting Olić to reclaim number 11, which he had worn previously at both Bayern and Wolfsburg, and also in his first spell at Hamburg.

1860 Munich

On 26 July 2016, Olić signed a one-year deal with 2. Bundesliga side

1860 Munich , commonly known as TSV 1860 München (; ''sechzig'' locally ; lettered as ) or 1860 Munich, is a sports club based in Munich. The club's football team plays in the 3. Liga, the third tier of the German football pyramid. Their current home gr ...

. On 25 June 2017, Olić announced his retirement. Later, he revoked that comment saying "I know Bild published I am retiring, but that is not true. ..Maybe I have played my last game and maybe not. It is the same as last summer – if I receive an offer that is good for me, I will continue."

International career

Olić was part of the Croatia national team 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 ...

, where he played in two games and scored one important goal against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in a 2–1 Croatia victory. Shortly after scoring, Olić revealed a picture of his newly born child at the time under his jersey. He was remembered as being unable to put his jersey back on, as the material became tangled in the excitement during his celebration. Olić also played three games for Croatia at

UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...

and two games at the

2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams represe ...

. In September 2006, Olić was dropped from the Croatian squad for a Euro 2008 qualifying match for one game, due to a late-night partying binge together with

Darijo Srna Darijo Srna (; born 1 May 1982) is a Croatian former professional association football, footballer and current director of football of Ukrainian Premier League club FC Shakhtar Donetsk, Shakhtar Donetsk. During most of his career he played as a r ...

and Boško Balaban. He was named

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

in the very last qualifier of their group, in which Croatia defeated

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

3–2 at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

. He was named in Croatia's 23-man squad for the final tournament, and scored in their second

Group B Group B was a set of regulations for Grand tourer, grand touring (GT) cars used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World S ...

match against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

to give the Croats a 2–1 shock win over the pre-tournament favourites. Olić was recalled to the side for the

2010 World Cup qualifiers Qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation – the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oc ...

. He contributed with three goals in eight games, but Croatia missed out on a play-off spot by a point. Olić was injured in a friendly match against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, which was the cause of his last-moment absence in

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 ...

. On 22 March 2013, Olić scored his first goal since November 2011 and assisted

Mario Mandžukić Mario Mandžukić (; born 21 May 1986) is a Croatian association football, football coach and a former player who was most recently an assistant coach for the Croatia national football team, Croatia national team. As a player, he played as a for ...

in a qualifier for 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 ri ...

against

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. In the opening game of the finals, on 12 June, his left-wing cross led to the first goal of the tournament, deflected into his own net by

Marcelo Marcelo is a given name, the Spanish and Portuguese form of Marcellus (name), Marcellus. Marcelo may refer to: Given name *Marcelo Costa de Andrade (born 1967), Brazilian serial killer, rapist, and necrophile *Marcelo Arriagada (born 1973), Chile ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. In the second group game against

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

on 18 June, Olić opened the scoring in the 11th minute for an eventual 4–0 win. It was his first goal after 12 years in the World Cup, a difference only previously matched by

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Michael Laudrup Michael Laudrup (, born 15 June 1964) is a Danish professional Association football, football coach and former player. Renowned for his composure, passing, vision, technical skills, ball control, and dribbling ability, Laudrup is widely regarded ...

, and with this goal he became his country's oldest World Cup goal-scorer. On 16 November 2014, in a Euro 2016 qualifying match against Italy at the

San Siro San Siro is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy. It has a seating capacity of 75,817, making it the largest stadium in Italy and one of the largest stadiums in Europe. It is the home stadium of the city's principal ...

, Olić earned his 100th cap in a 1–1 draw. On 2 March 2016, Olić retired from international football in an open letter to the public. His final international was an October 2015 European Championship qualification match away against

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. He scored 20 goals in 104 caps for his country.

Managerial career

On 23 October 2017, Olić was presented as an assistant coach of newly appointed

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

head coach

ahead of a World Cup qualifier against

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. In late March 2021, ''

Sport-Express ''Sport-Express'' () is a Russian daily sports newspaper founded by Vladimir Kuchmiy. Printed in 31 cities of Russia, Latvia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and the United States, it is the biggest-selling sports newspaper in Russia, with the dail ...

'' and '' Sportske novosti'' published a story about Olić succeeding

Viktor Goncharenko Viktar Mihailavich Hancharenka (; , ''Viktor Mikhailovich Goncharenko''; born 10 June 1977), is a Belarusian football manager. Early life and career Formative years and education Viktar Mihailavich Hancharenka was born in 1977 to a middle- ...

at his former club

. The rumours were confirmed by Croatia head coach Dalić to ''Sportske novosti''. His assistant coaches were rumoured to be

Miloš Krasić Miloš Krasić ( sr-Cyrl, Милош Красић; born 1 November 1984) is a Serbian former professional association football, footballer who played as a winger (association football), winger. He played for the Serbia national football team, Ser ...

and

Elvir Rahimić Elvir Rahimić (born 4 April 1976) is a Bosnian football manager and former player. He is the current sporting director of Bosnian Premier League club Željezničar. Rahimić spent the majority of his career playing for Russian Premier League ...

. The appointment was made official on 23 March 2021. The move was met with skepticism due to Olić's inexperience in the head coach job. Despite earlier rumours, Krasić and Rahimić were not hired as assistant coaches, instead Ilija Aračić was hired as an assistant coach, with previously hired Aleksei Berezutski and Dmitry Kramarenko rounding up the coaching staff. He made his debut on 4 April, in the 2–1 league victory over

Tambov Tambov ( , ; rus, Тамбов, p=tɐmˈbof) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, Central Federal District, central Russia, at the confluence of the Tsna River (Moksha basin), Tsna ...

. After two more victories, Olić suffered his first defeat in his fourth match, 2–1 loss to

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

on 18 April. On 25 April, he suffered his third defeat in a row after losing 1–0 to Spartak Moscow in his first Main Moscow derby, with CSKA's Ilzat Akhmetov getting

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

in the 37th minute. After losing 3–2 to

Dynamo Moscow MGO VFSO "Dynamo" (), commonly known as Dynamo Moscow (), is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. Founded by Felix Dzerzhinsky on 18 April 1923, Dynamo Moscow was the first institution created from the All-Union Dynamo Sports Club. Dynamo Mosco ...

on 16 May, Olić finished the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

in sixth place, with CSKA missing out on European competitions for the first time in 20 years. He was unexpectedly sacked on 15 June and succeeded by Berezutski, returning to Zlatko Dalić's team for the

Personal life

Olić and his Croatian-

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

wife Natalie have two sons and a daughter, named Luka, Antonio and Lara, respectively. Unlike many of his counterparts, he prefers to keep a low media profile and generally lives a quiet private life.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Croatia's goal tally first.''

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Hertha BSC II *

NOFV-Oberliga The NOFV- Oberliga is a division at step 5 of the German football league system. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, it became the successor of the DDR-Oberliga, and functions today as a 5th division in the former territory of East Germany and the ...

: 1998–99 Marsonia * Croatian Second League: 1999–2000 NK Zagreb *

: 2001–02 Dinamo Zagreb *Croatian First League: 2002–03 * Croatian Super Cup: 2003 CSKA Moscow *

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

* Russian Cup: 2004–05, 2005–06 *

: 2004–05 Hamburger SV *

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

Bayern Munich *

: 2009–10 *

DFL-Supercup The Franz Beckenbauer Supercup or ''German Super Cup'' is a one-off association football, football match in Germany that features the winners of the Bundesliga championship and the DFB-Pokal. The competition is run by the Deutsche Fußball Liga (E ...

runner-up: 2009–10, 2011–12 Individual * Croatian Football Hope of the Year: 2001 * SN Yellow Shirt Award: 2002, 2003 * Prva HNL Player of the Year: 2002 *Croatian First League top scorer: 2002, 2003 * Bundesliga Player of the Month: October 2007 * ARD Goal of the Month: November 2008, March 2013 * DFB Pokal Top scorer: 2008–09 *

: 2009, 2010

Assistant manager

Croatia *

runner-up:

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

; third place:

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Orders

by Russia: 2005 * Order of Danica Hrvatska with face of Franjo Bučar: 2018 *

Order of the Croatian Trefoil The Order of the Croatian Trefoil () 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 extraordinary circumstances in ...

: 2018 * Order of the Croatian Interlace: 2018

References

External links

* * * * *
Profile on Soccerphile.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olic, Ivica 1979 births Living people People from Davor, Croatia Footballers from Brod-Posavina County Men's association football forwards Croatian men's footballers Croatian expatriate men's footballers Croatia men's youth international footballers Croatia men's under-21 international footballers Croatia men's international footballers Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Russia NK Marsonia players Hertha BSC players NK Zagreb players GNK Dinamo Zagreb players PFC CSKA Moscow players UEFA Europa League–winning players Hamburger SV players FC Bayern Munich footballers VfL Wolfsburg players TSV 1860 Munich players Croatian Football League players First Football League (Croatia) players Second Football League (Croatia) players Russian Premier League players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Russia 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players 2014 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2004 players UEFA Euro 2008 players FIFA Men's Century Club Croatian football managers PFC CSKA Moscow managers Russian Premier League managers Croatian expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Russia 21st-century Croatian sportsmen

Club career

Early career

CSKA Moscow

Hamburger SV

Bayern Munich

VfL Wolfsburg

Return to Hamburger SV

1860 Munich

International career

Managerial career

Personal life

Career statistics

Club

International

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Assistant manager

Orders

See also

References

External links