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Alen BokshitcCroatian football player.
Date of Birth: 21.01.1970
Country:  Croatia |
Biography of Alen Bokšić
Early Life and CareerAlen Bokšić is a Croatian football player who was born in the well-known seaside resort town of Makarska. He took his first steps in football at a local club called "Zmaj". At the age of 17, Bokšić joined one of the best teams in Yugoslavia, Hajduk, from the Croatian city of Split. In his first season with the team (1987/88), he mostly came off the bench but managed to score 2 goals in the Yugoslav Championship. In the 1988/89 season, he became a regular player in the starting lineup, scoring 7 goals. In the 1990/91 season, he scored another 12 goals. Leading European clubs began to take notice of the talented striker, but he stayed at Hajduk for one more season. Bokšić left the club in the summer of 1991 after winning the Yugoslav Cup, scoring the decisive goal in the final against Crvena Zvezda. In addition to winning the Yugoslav Cup, Bokšić also won the Yugoslav League Cup in 1987 and 1991. During his time at Hajduk, he played 174 matches and scored 60 goals.
Move to Marseille
Bokšić then moved to the French club Olympique de Marseille. However, he was forced to go on loan to Cannes as Marseille already had three foreign players. Bokšić was plagued by injuries, limiting him to just one league match on December 21, 1991, against Lyon (0-0). In the following season (1992/93), Bokšić returned to Marseille and made his club debut on August 8, 1992, in a victorious match against Toulouse (2-1). He played in 37 out of 38 matches that season and formed an attacking duo with the German striker Rudi Völler. Bokšić's 23 goals earned him the title of the top scorer in the French Championship. Marseille became the champion of France, but due to a corruption scandal, the club was stripped of the title and demoted to the second division. In the same season, Bokšić also won the Champions League with Marseille, playing in the final against Milan (1-0). In the France Football poll for the European Footballer of the Year, Bokšić finished second after Roberto Baggio. Bokšić played 12 more matches for Marseille in the autumn of 1993, but he did not want to play in the second division, so he moved to the Italian club Lazio.
Career in Italy
Bokšić made his debut for Lazio in Serie A on November 7, 1993, in a victorious match against Napoli (2-1). He scored his first goal in the next round, on November 21, in a home match against Torino (1-2), opening the scoring in the 9th minute. He had to compete with top Italian forwards Pierluigi Casiraghi and Giuseppe Signori for a place in the starting lineup. However, throughout the 1993/94 season, Bokšić played in the starting lineup but only scored 4 goals. Lazio finished fourth in the league. In the 1994/95 season, Bokšić played less frequently and often remained on the bench, as he also had to recover from an injury. Signori scored 17 goals, and Casiraghi also scored more goals than Bokšić (12 compared to Alen's 9). However, the team benefited from their performances, and Lazio finished as the runners-up in Serie A, securing a place in the UEFA Cup. Bokšić continued to be a substitute in the 1995/96 season, while Signori and Casiraghi demonstrated excellent form (Signori became the top scorer in Serie A with 21 goals). Lazio finished third in the league that season. In the summer of 1996, Lazio signed former Serie A top scorer Igor Protti from Bari, and Bokšić decided to move to Juventus.
Move to Juventus and Return to Lazio
Despite winning the Italian championship with Juventus, the season was not successful for Bokšić, as he only scored 3 goals in 22 league matches. He also participated in the Champions League final, where Juventus lost to Borussia Dortmund with a score of 1-3. At the end of the season, the club released Bokšić, who decided to return to Lazio. In the 1997/98 season, Lazio won the Italian Cup, earning a spot in the Cup Winners' Cup. In the league, the club finished only 7th, which was considered a failure. However, Bokšić had a good season and scored 10 goals, second only to Pavel Nedvěd (11 goals) in the team. He suffered a serious knee injury in the 1998/99 season and missed almost the entire season. He played in only three league matches but was still involved in Lazio's victory in the Cup Winners' Cup, although he did not play in the final against Mallorca. In the 1999/2000 season, Bokšić won his second Italian championship with Lazio, but his form was not at its best. Marcelo Salas or Fabrizio Ravanelli often appeared in the club's attack. As it turned out, this was Bokšić's last season in Serie A, where he scored 4 goals in 19 league matches before deciding to leave Italy.
Move to Middlesbrough
In the summer of 2000, Bokšić signed a contract with the English club Middlesbrough. He became the highest-paid player in the English Premier League, earning £62,000 per week. Bokšić made his debut for Middlesbrough in the first round of the Premier League on August 19, 2000, in an away match against Coventry City, which ended in a 3-1 victory. Bokšić scored two goals and demonstrated excellent gameplay. During the season, he scored 12 goals for Middlesbrough and was the team's top scorer. He was also voted the club's best player of the season by the fans. In the following season (2001/02), Bokšić helped Middlesbrough retain their place in the Premier League with his 8 goals, and the team finished 12th. The 2002/03 season turned out to be Bokšić's last season in his career. He was once again plagued by injuries, only playing in half of the matches and scoring just 2 goals. In the summer of 2003, he decided to retire from football. Bokšić played a total of 40 matches for the Croatian national team, scoring 10 goals.
International Career
Bokšić initially played for the Yugoslavian youth national team. He was included in the squad for the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy but did not play a single minute. The coach chose to rely on the forward duo of Zlatko Vujović and Darko Pančev. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, Bokšić began playing for the Croatian national team. He made his debut for the team under coach Miroslav Blažević on June 29, 1993, in Zagreb, where Croatia won a friendly match against Ukraine with a score of 3-1. Interestingly, he also scored his first goal for the national team against Ukraine, on March 25, 1995, at the same Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb. Croatia won the match with a score of 4-0 in the Euro 96 qualifying match. Bokšić also played for the national team in the final tournament of Euro 96, starting in the opening match against Turkey. Another important moment in Bokšić's international career was the 1998 FIFA World Cup held in France. However, just before the tournament, he suffered the aforementioned knee injury, which prevented him from participating in the World Cup. Croatia achieved its highest success in history by winning the bronze medal. Bokšić played in the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea. By that time, he was 32 years old but played in all three matches for the national team. He did not score any goals, and Croatia failed to advance from the group stage. Bokšić played his final match for the national team on October 12, 2002, in Sofia, where Croatia lost to Bulgaria with a score of 0-2 in a Euro 2004 qualifying match. Throughout his career, Bokšić played 40 matches for the Croatian national team and scored 10 goals.
Achievements
National Tournaments:
- French Champion: 1993 (Olympique de Marseille, stripped of the title due to a corruption scandal)
- Italian Champion (2): 1997 (Juventus), 2000 (Lazio)
- Yugoslav Cup Winner: 1991 (Hajduk)
- Italian Cup Winner (2): 1998, 2000 (Lazio)
- Yugoslav League Cup Winner (2): 1987, 1991 (Hajduk)
- Italian Super Cup Winner (2): 1997 (Juventus), 2000 (Lazio)
International Tournaments:
- UEFA Champions League Winner: 1993 (Olympique de Marseille)
- Cup Winners' Cup Winner: 1999 (Lazio)
- UEFA Super Cup Winner (2): 1996 (Juventus), 1999 (Lazio)
- Intercontinental Cup Winner: 1996 (Juventus)
Individual Achievements:
- Top Scorer of the French Championship 1992/1993 (23 goals)
