Ivica Kralj

Ivica Kralj

Kralj pictured in 2009
Personal information
Full name Ivica Kralj
Date of birth (1973-03-26) 26 March 1973
Place of birth Kotor, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.97 m (6 ft 5 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Goalkeeper
Youth career
Arsenal Tivat
1987–1989 Partizan
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–1998 Partizan 69 (0)
1993–1994 → Jastrebac Niš (loan) 13 (0)
1998–1999 Porto 7 (0)
1999 → Radnički Kragujevac (loan) 3 (0)
1999–2002 PSV 7 (0)
2001 → Partizan (loan) 6 (0)
2003–2007 Partizan 74 (0)
2007 Rostov 0 (0)
2008–2009 Spartak Trnava 17 (0)
Total 196 (0)
National team
1996–2001 FR Yugoslavia 41 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Ivica Kralj (Cyrillic: Ивица Краљ [ı̑ʋitsa krâʎ]; born 26 March 1973) is a Montenegrin former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

A journeyman, Kralj is best known for his time at Partizan, having three spells at the club and winning five major trophies. He also played for Porto and PSV, but struggled to make an impact.

At international level, Kralj represented FR Yugoslavia in one World Cup and one European Championship, reaching the knockout stage in both tournaments.

Club career

Born in Kotor and raised in Tivat, Kralj started out at local club Arsenal Tivat, before joining Partizan as a trainee in the summer of 1987. He broke into their first team at the age of 16, sitting on the bench during a 4–5 away loss to Celtic in the second leg of the European Cup Winners' Cup first round on 27 September 1989. In order to gain experience, Kralj was loaned to Jastrebac Niš in the 1993–94 season. He made his league debut for Partizan in the 1995–96 season, as the club won the championship title. In the 1996–97 season, Partizan won their second consecutive title, as Kralj became the club's undisputed first-choice goalkeeper and earned his first national team cap. He also won the national cup in the 1997–98 season, before going abroad.

In the summer of 1998, Kralj moved to Portugal and signed with Porto. He initially established himself as the club's first-choice goalkeeper, winning the Supertaça on 9 September 1998. However, after Vítor Baía returned to Porto in the 1999 winter transfer window, Kralj completely lost his place in the starting lineup. He was subsequently loaned to Radnički Kragujevac until the end of the 1998–99 season.

In the 1999 summer transfer window, Kralj was transferred to Dutch club PSV. He featured in the Champions League of that year where PSV suffered a 4-1 defeat to Rangers in the group stage.[1] He suffered an injury early into his debut season at Philips Stadion, being a backup to Ronald Waterreus and Patrick Lodewijks, as the club convincingly won the domestic league. After failing to make an appearance in the first half of the 2000–01 season, Kralj was loaned to his former club Partizan in January 2001.[2][3] He added one more national cup title to his collection, despite not getting any game time in the competition. After returning to PSV, Kralj was the club's third-choice goalkeeper behind Waterreus and Lodewijks. He eventually left the club by mutual consent in 2002.[4]

In June 2003, Kralj made another return to Partizan, signing a one-year deal.[5][6] He quickly found his form and helped the team qualify for the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League. However, Kralj failed to make an appearance in the group stage due to an injury.[7] He eventually signed a three-year extension to his contract with Partizan in May 2004.[8] After recovering from injury, Kralj was a first team regular, helping his team win the league title in 2005, with an unbeaten record.[9] He left the club at the end of his contract, stating his disappointment towards some members of the club's board.[10][11]

In August 2007, Kralj moved to Russia as a free agent and signed with Rostov.[12] He was joined by his former teammate Albert Nađ.[13] However, Kralj failed to make any competitive appearance for the club, as they suffered relegation from the top flight after finishing bottom of the table. He was released by Rostov in December 2007, alongside Nađ and several other players.[14][15]

In July 2008, Kralj moved to Slovak club Spartak Trnava, signed by his former manager Vladimir Vermezović, on a two-year deal.[16] He agreed to leave the club in late 2009, due to his chronic injury problems, eventually retiring from the game.

International career

Kralj made his international debut for FR Yugoslavia on 28 December 1996, coming on as a late second-half substitute for Zvonko Milojević in a 3–2 friendly win away to Argentina. He subsequently became the first-choice goalkeeper for the national team under Slobodan Santrač, helping them to qualify for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. In the final tournament, Kralj played the full 90 minutes in all of his team's four games, as they were eliminated by the Netherlands in the knockout stage.[17]

Despite not playing regularly at club level, Kralj was named by Vujadin Boškov in the Yugoslavia's final UEFA Euro 2000 squad.[18] They went on to reach the quarter-finals of the competition, where the team was eliminated by the Netherlands. The hosts achieved a convincing 6–1 victory, including a hat-trick by Patrick Kluivert and a brace by Marc Overmars.[19]

In June 2001, after a one-year absence from the national team, Kralj was selected to represent his country at the Kirin Cup.[20] He made his last appearance for FR Yugoslavia in a 1–1 home draw with Slovenia on 5 September 2001, as the country failed to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Post-playing career

After finishing his active football career, Kralj worked for some time as a player agent.[21] He was later named the president of Mačva Šabac in January 2015.[22]

Statistics

Club

Club Season League Cup League Cup Super Cup Continental Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Jastrebac Niš (loan) 1993–94 130–––130
Partizan 1994–95 00–––00
1995–96 130–––130
1996–97 300––00300
1997–98 260––20280
Porto 1998–99 7000002030120
Radnički Kragujevac (loan) 1998–99 3000––0030
PSV 1999–2000 4000–001050
2000–01 0000–000000
Partizan (loan) 2000–01 6000––0060
PSV 2001–02 3000–001040
Partizan 2003–04 18020––30230
2004–05 23030––110370
2005–06 21000––50260
2006–07 12020––50190
Rostov 2007 0000––0000
Spartak Trnava 2008–09 13020–0000150
2009–10 4000–003070
Career total 19609000203402410

International

National teamYearAppsGoals
FR Yugoslavia 199610
1997110
1998120
199950
200080
200140
Total410

Honours

Partizan
Porto
PSV

References

  1. ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/football/champions_league/480907.stm
  2. ↑ "Jači za Kralja" (in Serbian). glas-javnosti.rs. 11 January 2001. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  3. ↑ "Kralj back at Belgrade". bbc.co.uk. 20 January 2001. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  4. ↑ "Mogu da biram klub, ali nigde ne žurim" (in Serbian). glas-javnosti.rs. 4 November 2002. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  5. ↑ "Pehar na stolu, Kralj na golu!" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 4 June 2003. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  6. ↑ "Kralj back at Partizan". uefa.com. 5 June 2003. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  7. ↑ "Knee injury rules out Kralj". uefa.com. 15 September 2003. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  8. ↑ "Ivica Kralj produžio ugovor" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 25 May 2004. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  9. ↑ "Crno-beli - šampioni bez poraza!" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 28 May 2005. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  10. ↑ "Kralj: Ne kukam, ali me boli!" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 30 May 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  11. ↑ "Kralj: "Partizan liči na Titanik"" (in Serbian). b92.net. 30 May 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  12. ↑ ""РОСТОВ" ПОДПИСАЛ КОНТРАКТ С ИВИЦЕЙ КРАЛЕМ" (in Russian). fc-rostov.ru. 6 August 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  13. ↑ "Kralj i Nađ otišli u Rusiju!" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 9 August 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  14. ↑ "Nađ i Kralj slobodni igrači" (in Serbian). b92.net. 28 November 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  15. ↑ "БЮДЖЕТ "РОСТОВА" СВЕРСТАН ПОД ЗАДАЧУ" (in Russian). fc-rostov.ru. 10 December 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  16. ↑ "Ivica Kralj podpísal v pondelok 2-ročnú zmluvu so Spartakom" (in Slovak). profutbal.sk. 14 July 2008. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  17. ↑ "WORLD CUP '98; Netherlands' Davids Comes in From Cold". nytimes.com. 30 June 1998. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  18. ↑ "Under-fire Boskov announces squad". bbc.co.uk. 1 June 2000. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  19. ↑ "Six of the best for Holland". bbc.co.uk. 26 June 2000. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  20. ↑ "Ja sam Kralj!" (in Serbian). glas-javnosti.rs. 23 June 2001. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  21. ↑ "Z bývalej hviezdy Spartaka Ivicu Kralja sa stal futbalový manažér" (in Slovak). trnavskyhlas.sk. 5 February 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  22. ↑ "Ivica Kralj predsednik Mačve!" (in Serbian). telegraf.rs. 12 January 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ivica Kralj.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/22/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.