Igor Bišćan

Igor Bišćan (Croatian pronunciation: [îɡor bǐʃtɕan]; born 4 May 1978) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of the Croatia national under-21 team. In his playing career, he was a versatile player and could play almost every position in the defence or midfield, but featured mostly as a central midfielder, or as a central defender in his latter years.

Igor Bišćan
Bišćan playing for Dinamo Zagreb in 2008
Personal information
Full name Igor Bišćan
Date of birth (1978-05-04) 4 May 1978
Place of birth Zagreb, SR Croatia,
SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position(s)
Club information
Current team
 Croatia U21 (manager)
Youth career
Dinamo Zagreb
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–2000 Dinamo Zagreb 67 (11)
1995–1996 → Samobor (loan) 12 (1)
2000–2005 Liverpool 72 (2)
2005–2007 Panathinaikos 36 (3)
2008–2012 Dinamo Zagreb 61 (1)
Total 248 (18)
National team
1998 Croatia U20 2 (1)
1997–2000 Croatia U21 15 (1)
1999 Croatia B 1 (0)
1999–2001 Croatia 15 (1)
Teams managed
2016–2017 Rudeš
2017–2018 Olimpija Ljubljana
2018–2019 Rijeka
2019– Croatia U21
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Bišćan played for his hometown club Dinamo Zagreb, English club Liverpool, with whom he won a Champions League winners medal, Greek side Panathinaikos and represented the Croatia national team internationally, debuting in UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying match against Macedonia on 13 June 1999.

Club career

Early career

At the start of his career, Bišćan began to amass an impressive level of playing experience, representing Croatia at youth football level and then captaining his club, Dinamo Zagreb, in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup. He was part of what is considered the most successful era of Dinamo in the Prva HNL, winning two consecutive league titles in 1999 and 2000 and participating in two consecutive group stages of Champions League (Group A, 1998–99 and Group D, 1999–2000). During his four seasons in Croatia, Bišćan scored 11 goals in 84 appearances in domestic leagues, which brought attention of foreign clubs to the promising midfielder.

Liverpool

On 8 December 2000, Bišćan contract was bought-out by Liverpool for £5.5 million at the behest of its manager, Gérard Houllier,[1] having been sought by Juventus, Barcelona, Ajax and Milan. His debut came in a Premier League match against Ipswich Town, which Liverpool lost 1–0, with Bišćan coming off the bench to replace Christian Ziege in 71st minute. One week later, he played full 90 minutes against Manchester United at Old Trafford, with Liverpool breaking 3,240 minutes of United's undefeated run at their home ground by defeating them 1–0.[2] He made an impressive start to his Liverpool career, briefly displacing Dietmar Hamann from the starting 11 as the defensive midfielder. He made 21 appearances by the end of the 2000–01 season, 15 of which he started and six of which he came off the substitutes' bench in. He scored his first goal for Liverpool on 14 January 2001, converting in the 18th minute of the 2000–01 League Cup match against Crystal Palace in a 5–0 victory.[3] Unfortunately for Bišćan, he was cup–tied and therefore ineligible to play for Liverpool in their UEFA Cup-winning season.

Although Bišćan was originally signed as a central midfielder, Gérard Houllier felt he was more useful as centre back and often played Bišćan out of his natural position, sometimes even as a winger or full back. Bišćan fell out of favour after his first year at Liverpool, making only 23 appearances in the next two seasons. During this time, he made few starts and spent a total of 37 matches on the bench without being used as a substitute. A major injury crisis of the team in 2003–04 season gave Bišćan a comeback chance, and by the start of the new Premier League season, he had returned into the starting 11, featuring regularly as a centre-back in the absences of Stéphane Henchoz and Jamie Carragher. By the end of the season, Bišćan featured in 39 matches, 30 of which he played the entire 90 minutes. He was sent-off in 36th minute of Liverpool's UEFA Cup second leg match against Marseille, which turned things around for Liverpool as they were eliminated from the competition, after which he struggled to regain his place.

In 2004–05 season, Bišćan returned to a central midfield role and played a vital part in Liverpool's run to the finals of the UEFA Champions League and was notable particularly for his marauding runs from midfield during matches against Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus and Chelsea. He was an unused substitute against Milan in the final, but still received a winner's medal. His last official match for the Reds was on 15 May 2005 in a Premier League clash against Aston Villa. During his last season Bišćan scored two more goals (against Fulham[4] and Bolton Wanderers[5]) and made a total of 35 appearances. Although Bišćan failed to live up to expectations, he is fondly remembered by Liverpool fans after his impressive final year at the club.

As a Liverpool player, he also made a cameo appearance in the film Goal!, scoring a header in the final match of the film when Liverpool were playing Newcastle United.

Panathinaikos

Following the termination of his contract with the Reds, on 15 June 2005, Bišćan signed for major Greek club Panathinaikos. During his two years in Athens, he made 36 appearances and scored 3 goals. Unfortunately, Bišćan had a major decline in his game, disappointing both fans and the club owners.[6] On 1 June 2007, Bišćan's contract expired and the club showed no interest in renewing his contract, making him a free agent again.

Return to Dinamo Zagreb

Bišćan spent the next six months resting from football and mostly avoiding the high public interest shown in him. During this time, he was regularly approached by Dinamo Zagreb director Zdravko Mamić, who was interested in bringing Bišćan back to his home club. After months of negotiations, Bišćan finally signed contract on 3 December 2007. Although he was criticized for his lacking performances by the fans, Bišćan rose to become the captain of the club after the departure of Luka Modrić to Tottenham Hotspur. Following his return, Dinamo played for two consecutive seasons in UEFA Cup group stages, also winning two domestic league titles and two Croatian Cup titles.

On 19 April 2011, it was announced by unconfirmed reports that Bišćan has been scheduled for an operation on a joint that could spell the end of his career. Luckily, Bišćan opted to continue playing football and end his career at Dinamo. In April 2012, he terminated his contract with the club.[7]

International career

Bišćan's debut appearance for the Croatia national team came on a UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying match against Macedonia in Skopje on 13 June 1999. He scored his first and only international goal against Mexico on 16 June 1999.[8] He also collected yellow cards on three occasions. Eleven out of fifteen Croatia's matches Bišćan featured in finished in a draw. His last official match was against Scotland on 1 September 2001.

After leaving the national team camp in 2003, Bišćan was suspended by Croatian Football Federation and refused to play for the national team ever since, although he has not yet announced his retirement, leaving chance that he might accept invitation to national team in the future. He also represented Croatia at under–21 level and was capped in the Croatia B team on one occasion.

Managerial career

Early career

He started his managerial career with Croatian Second Football League club Rudeš in 2016, as an assistant manager. Soon, he was named as the head coach of Rudeš, winning the 2016–17 Croatian Second League.

One month later, he signed with Slovenian club Olimpija Ljubljana. In the 2017–18 season, he won the Slovenian PrvaLiga and the Slovenian Cup with the club, but in June 2018, Milan Mandarić, chairman of the club, sacked him.[9]

Rijeka

On 9 October 2018, Bišćan was named the head coach of Croatian First League club Rijeka.[10]

Immediately after coming to the club, Bišćan faced criticism by the club's supporters, Armada, because of his former acts as a player of Dinamo Zagreb.[11] He debuted at the club bench in a 2–1 away win against Inter Zaprešić on 10 October.[12] After a slew of good results, Bišćan ended the 2018–19 season in the second place and won the Croatian Cup final 3–1, against Dinamo Zagreb.

On 13 July 2019, he lost the Super Cup 1–0 to Dinamo Zagreb. In August of the same year, Bišćan led the team to two victories in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League against Aberdeen. He later failed to take the club to the group stages, losing to Gent 3–2 on aggregate in the play-offs.[13]

Bišćan resigned from his position as Rijeka's head coach on 22 September 2019, after a 3–0 win against Istra 1961.[14]

Croatia U21

On 1 October 2019, he was named the head coach of the Croatia national under-21 team.[15]

Career statistics

Club

[16][17][18][19][20]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup League Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Croatia League Croatian Cup League Cup Europe Total
Samobor1997–98Prva HNL121———121
Dinamo Zagreb5020—0070
1998–9919210—30232
1999–0029661—60417
2000–0114310—60213
Total 6711101001509212
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
Liverpool2000–01Premier League130404100211
2001–025000004090
2002–0360103030130
2003–04290102070390
2004–05192106090352
Total 722701512301173
Greece League Greek Cup League Cup Europe Total
Panathinaikos2005–06Superleague Greece203——60263
2006–0716050—50260
Total 3635000110523
Croatia League Croatian Cup League Cup Europe Total
Dinamo Zagreb2007–08Prva HNL9051—00141
2008–0927161—122454
2009–108000—61141
2010–1114041—101282
2011–123000—0030
Total 611153002841048
Total Croatia 140142540043420822
England 722701512301173
Greece 3635000110523
Career total 2481937415177437728

International appearances

[21]

Croatia national team
YearAppsGoals
199971
200040
200140
200200
200300
Total151

International goal
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 16 June 1999 Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea  Mexico
2–1
2–1
 Friendly match

Managerial statistics
As of 18 November 2019[22][23]
Club From To Competition Record
PWDLWin %
Rudeš 7 June 2016 2 June 2017 Druga HNL 33 17 9 7 051.52
Croatian Cup 3 2 0 1 066.67
Rudeš total 36 19 9 8 052.78
Olimpija Ljubljana 2 June 2017 6 June 2018 Slovenian PrvaLiga 36 23 11 2 063.89
Slovenian Cup 6 5 1 0 083.33
UEFA Europa League 2 0 0 2 000.00
Olimpija Ljubljana total 44 28 12 4 063.64
Rijeka 9 October 2018 23 September 2019 Prva HNL 34 20 8 6 058.82
Croatian Cup 4 4 0 0 100.00
Croatian Supercup 1 0 0 1 000.00
UEFA Europa League 4 2 1 1 050.00
Rijeka total 43 26 9 8 060.47
Croatia U21 1 October 2019 Present UEFA Under-21 qual. 3 2 0 1 066.67
Croatia U21 total 3 2 0 1 066.67

Honours

Player

Samobor

  • Croatian Second League: 1995–96 (West)

Dinamo Zagreb[24]

  • Croatian First League: 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12
  • Croatian Cup: 1997–98, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11
  • Croatian Super Cup: 2010

Liverpool[25][26]

Manager

Rudeš

Olimpija Ljubljana

Rijeka

References
  1. "Biscan is a £5.5m 'double risk'". BBC Sport. 8 December 2000. Retrieved 13 April 2008.
  2. "After 3,240 minutes, 296 fouls, 28 bookings and 133 goals, United lose at Old Trafford". Guardian Newspapers Limited 2000. 17 December 2000. Retrieved 11 August 2009.
  3. "Red-hot Liverpool steam through". BBC. 24 January 2001. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  4. "Fulham 2–4 Liverpool". BBC. 16 October 2004. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
  5. "Liverpool 1–0 Bolton". BBC. 2 April 2005. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
  6. "Bišćan igra očajno, navijači mu zvižde svaki put kad dotakne loptu" (in Croatian). index.hr. 26 October 2006. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
  7. "ZNS Glasnik 13 (2012)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016.
  8. "Igor Bišćan, hrvatski reprezentativac - Sportnet.hr". www.sportnet.hr.
  9. M.J./M.G. (6 June 2018). "URADNO: Bišćan ni več trener Olimpije, ime novega trenerja bo znano v prihodnjih dneh" (in Slovenian). Ljubljana: 24ur.com. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  10. "Igor Bišćan novi trener HNK Rijeka". www.nk-rijeka.hr (in Croatian). 9 October 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  11. "IGOR BIŠĆAN NAPRAVIO JE VELIKU GESTU, ALI NIŠTA NE POMAŽE! ARMADA NAJAVILA TEŠKE DANE NOVOM TRENERU 'Bišćan nam je neprihvatljiv!'". www.sportske.jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). 11 October 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  12. "Bišćan debitirao pobjedom iako je Rijeka sat vremena imala grača manje". www.germanijak.hr (in Croatian). 19 October 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  13. "Bišćan: "Pokušali smo sve, dali smo maksimum. Da nismo odmah primili gol..."a". www.sportklub.hr (in Croatian). 29 August 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  14. "IGOR BIŠĆAN: Tko god dođe, neće mu zasigurno biti više stalo do kluba nego što je to bilo meni". www.novilist.hr (in Croatian). 22 September 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  15. "BIŠĆAN POBIJEDIO U UTRCI I IPAK PRIHVATIO SJAJNU PONUDU Bivši trener Rijeke preuzeo izborničku funkciju: 'Sigurni smo da se radi o odličnom rješenju'". sportske.jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). 1 October 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  16. Career statistics at Nogometni Magazin Archived 16 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  17. "Career statistics at Dinamo Zagreb's official website".
  18. "Career statistics at lfchistory.net".
  19. "Igor Bišćan". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman.
  20. "Igor Bišćan » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  21. "Igor Bišćan - Croatian Football Federation". hns-cff.hr.
  22. "Igor Bišćan". hrnogomet.com (in Croatian). Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  23. "Igor Biscan – Stats – titles won". footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  24. "Igor Bišćan - Povijest Dinama". povijest.gnkdinamo.hr.
  25. "Igor BISCAN - Premiership Appearances & biography. - Liverpool FC". Sporting Heroes.
  26. LFChistory.net. "Liverpool career stats for Igor Biscan - LFChistory - Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". www.lfchistory.net.
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