Drazen Ladic
CroatiaBiography of Dražen Ladić
Dražen Ladić, a former goalkeeper for the Croatian national football team, was born on January 1, 1963, in Čakovec, Yugoslavia (now Croatia). He grew up in the nearby village of Gornji Hrašćan.
Playing Career
In 1977, Ladić began his professional football career with the club NK Varteks, initially playing for the youth team and then moving up to the senior team in 1980. In 1984, he transferred to Dinamo Zagreb, but was immediately loaned to Iskra Bugojno for two seasons. He finally played for Dinamo in 1986. Ladić remained with Dinamo Zagreb for 14 years and appeared in 802 matches, setting an absolute record for the club. During this time, he also competed in the UEFA Champions League and fought for the UEFA Cup. In 1997, he saved Dinamo's goal from a penalty kick in a match against Partizan Belgrade in the Champions League qualifiers, helping Dinamo win the game 5-0. However, the team ultimately lost 4-3 to Newcastle United in the last minute of extra time and 2-1 to Atletico Madrid. Ladić also participated in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League in the autumn of 1998. After playing six matches, Dinamo Zagreb finished second in their group, behind Olympiacos, and was eliminated from the competition. In the following year, the team once again qualified for the Champions League, but performed poorly in the group stage, and Ladić suffered a serious injury during one of the matches, causing him to miss the last two games. However, he soon returned to play for his club, with whom he won the Croatian First League title six times (1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000) and the Croatian Cup four times (1994, 1996, 1997, and 1998).
International Career
In 1990, Ladić was initially selected to represent the Yugoslavian national team at the FIFA World Cup, but was ultimately not included in the squad. However, he later joined the newly-formed Croatian national team and participated in their first match, a friendly against the United States. Although he won two matches for the Croatian national team, Ladić managed to secure a place in the Yugoslavian squad. He played 90 minutes against the Turkish national team in February 1991 and 25 minutes against the Faroe Islands in May 1991. However, this match was the last in which Croatian players participated as part of the Yugoslavian team. In the 1990s, Ladić was the main goalkeeper for the Croatian national team and won 59 international matches before ending his international career in 2000. In 1996, he played in nine out of ten qualification matches for the 1996 UEFA European Championship, missing one due to a red card. He appeared in three out of four matches during the tournament itself, only missing the match against Portugal when Croatia fielded a second-string team. In the quarter-finals, Croatia lost to Germany and was eliminated from the tournament.
Coaching Career
After retiring as a player, Ladić became a goalkeeper coach for the national team and, starting in 2006, the head coach of the Croatian youth national team.
