Igor Cvitanović facts for kids
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 1 November 1970 | ||
| Place of birth | Osijek, SR Croatia, Yugoslavia |
||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1989–1997 | Croatia Zagreb | 181 | (117) |
| 1992 | → Varteks (loan) | 21 | (9) |
| 1998–1999 | Real Sociedad | 29 | (3) |
| 1999–2002 | Dinamo Zagreb | 40 | (18) |
| 2002 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 5 | (1) |
| 2002–2004 | Osijek | 5 | (0) |
| Total | 281 | (148) | |
| International career | |||
| 1993 | Croatia U21 | 1 | (0) |
| 1992–1999 | Croatia | 27 | (4) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2013–2016 | Dinamo Zagreb (assistant) | ||
| 2018–2019 | Dubrava | ||
| 2019 | Istra 1961 | ||
| 2021– | Dinamo Zagreb II | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Igor Cvitanović, born on November 1, 1970, is a famous Croatian former football player. He was known for being a great striker, which means he was good at scoring goals. He played for the Croatian national team.
Igor is one of the top goal scorers in the Croatian First League, which is Croatia's main football league. He scored 126 goals in total. He also scored 122 goals for his club, Dinamo Zagreb. Today, he is a coach for Dinamo Zagreb II.
Contents
Playing for Clubs
Starting His Football Journey
Igor Cvitanović was born in Osijek, a city in Croatia. He began his professional football career in 1989 with Dinamo Zagreb. In his first season, he played 10 matches and scored five goals.
In 1992, he played for NK Varteks for a short time. He scored nine goals in 21 games there. After that, he returned to Dinamo Zagreb.
Becoming a Top Scorer
From 1992 to 1997, Cvitanović played for Dinamo Zagreb for five and a half seasons. He became the top goal scorer in the Croatian First League two years in a row. He scored 19 goals in the 1995-96 season and 20 goals in the 1996-97 season.
In 1995, he almost moved to Middlesbrough in England. However, the transfer did not happen because he could not get a work permit.
He also scored 27 goals in the 1993-94 season. His teammate, Goran Vlaović, scored even more goals that season, with 29. Before leaving Dinamo Zagreb, Cvitanović scored 104 goals in league games for the club. This made him one of their best goal scorers ever.
Playing Abroad and Retirement
In 1998, Igor moved to Spain to play for Real Sociedad. He did not score many goals there, only three in 29 matches. He returned to Dinamo Zagreb in 1999.
Later, in 2002, he played for Shimizu S-Pulse in Japan for one season. After that, he came back to Croatia and played for Osijek in 2003-04. He then retired from playing football.
Playing for Croatia
Making His National Team Debut
Igor Cvitanović first played for the Croatian national team on October 22, 1992. This was a friendly match against Mexico in Zagreb.
On August 17, 1994, he scored his first two goals for Croatia. This happened in a friendly match against Israel.
Euro 1996 and World Cup Qualifiers
Cvitanović was part of the Croatian team for the UEFA Euro 1996 tournament in England. However, he did not play in any matches during the main tournament. He had only played one short game in the qualifying rounds.
He played in six matches during Croatia's qualifying games for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. But he was not part of the team for the World Cup finals. He played his last international match in June 1999. He finished his career with the national team having played 27 games and scored four goals.
Coaching Career
After retiring as a player, Igor Cvitanović became a football coach. In 2013, he worked as an assistant coach for Dinamo Zagreb.
In March 2019, he became the manager of Istra 1961. He later returned to Dinamo Zagreb in April 2021. He is now in charge of the Dinamo Zagreb II team.
Honours and Awards
Club Achievements
- Prva HNL (Croatian First League Champion): 1992–93, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1999–2000
- Croatian Cup Winner: 1994, 1996, 1997
Individual Awards
- Prva HNL top scorer: 1995–96 (19 goals), 1996–97 (20 goals)
- Prva HNL Player of the Year: 1992, 1996, 1997
- Yellow Shirt Award (for top scorer in Croatia): 1996, 1997
See also
In Spanish: Igor Cvitanović para niños
