Mario Stanić

Mario Stanić (born 10 April 1972) is a former Croatian footballer. Being a versatile offensive player, he was no stranger to any forward or attacking midfield position, and was even deployed as a wing-back in the national team.

Mario Stanić
Personal information
Date of birth (1972-04-10) 10 April 1972
Place of birth Sarajevo, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina,
SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Forward
Youth career
Željezničar
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988–1992 Željezničar 63 (12)
1992–1993 Croatia Zagreb 26 (11)
1993–1994 Sporting Gijón 34 (7)
1994–1995 Benfica 14 (5)
1995–1996 Club Brugge 37 (27)
1996–2000 Parma 77 (19)
2000–2004 Chelsea 59 (7)
Total 310 (88)
National team
1991 Yugoslavia 2 (0)
1993 Croatia U21 2 (1)
1995–2003 Croatia 49 (7)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Stanić started his career with Željezničar Sarajevo. He was considered to be one of the most talented young players in former Yugoslavia. In 1992, war began and Stanić escaped to Slavonski Brod wading the Sava and moved to Croatia, where he played for Croatia Zagreb. After only one season, he moved to Spanish Sporting de Gijón, and year later to S.L. Benfica in Portugal. In 1995, he arrived at Club Brugge and was top scorer of the Belgian First Division that year with 20 goals. Then Parma bought him in late 1996 and he played four seasons with that side.

Chelsea

Stanić joined Chelsea on a £5.6 million transfer in June 2000. He became Vialli's third signing, after Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Eiður Guðjohnsen.[1] Stanić made his league debut in a 4–2 home win against West Ham United in August 2000, where he scored a brace, one of them a strike from 35 yards.[2] The goal was later nominated for the Goal of the Season on BBC's Match of the Day programme.[3]

International career

He won 49 international caps and scored seven goals for the Croatian national team between 1995 and 2003, making his international debut in a Euro 1996 qualifier against Estonia in September 1995. He made three appearances for Croatia at the Euro 1996 finals in England and went on to appear in all of the team's seven matches at the 1998 FIFA World Cup finals in France, where they won the bronze medal. At the latter tournament, he scored Croatia's first-ever World Cup goal in their opening 3–1 victory over Jamaica and assisted in Robert Jarni's opening goal in their 3–0 victory over Germany in the quarterfinals. Stanić also made two appearances for Croatia at the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals as a second-half substitute, only to see Croatia fall short of qualifying for the second round of the tournament. His last international appearance came in April 2003 as a half-time substitute in a friendly match against Sweden.

He was forced to retire at the age of 32 after developing a serious knee injury during the 2003–04 league season.

Career statistics

Club

[4][5]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup League Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Yugoslavia League Yugoslav Cup League Cup Europe Total
Željezničar Sarajevo1988–89Yugoslav First League0000––––00
1989–9014000––––140
1990–9128110––––291
1991–92211151––––2612
Total 63126100006913
Croatia League Croatian Cup Super Cup Europe Total
Croatia Zagreb1992–93Prva HNL261198––––3519
Spain League Copa del Rey Supercopa de España Europe Total
Sporting Gijon1993–94La Liga34743––––3810
Portugal League Taca de Portugal Supertaça Europe Total
Benfica1994–95Primeira Divisão1351010––155
Belgium League Belgian Cup Super Cup Europe Total
Brugge1995–96First Division30205410414025
1996–9777000061138
Total 372754101025333
Italy League Coppa Italia Supercoppa Italiana Europe Total
Parma1996–97Serie A133––––––133
1997–9823451––40325
1998–9918770––60317
1999–20002461000943410
Total 78201310019411025
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
Chelsea2000–01FA Premier League122200000152
2001–02271412020352
2002–03184312120256
2003–042000201050
Total 5979261508010
Career total 31088421730346400114

International goals
Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 10 April 1996 Gradski vrt, Osijek  Hungary 4 – 1 4 – 1 Friendly
2–3 22 April 1998 Gradski vrt, Osijek  Poland 2 – 0 4 – 1 Friendly
3 – 0
4 14 June 1998 Félix-Bollaert, Lens  Jamaica 1 – 0 3 – 1 World Cup 1998
5 21 August 1999 Maksimir, Zagreb  Malta 1 – 0 2 – 1 Euro 2000 Qualifying
6 9 October 1999 Maksimir, Zagreb FR Yugoslavia 2 – 2 2 – 2 Euro 2000 Qualifying
7 26 April 2000 Ernst Happel, Vienna  Austria 2 – 1 2 – 1 Friendly

Honours

Club

Croatia Zagreb

Club Brugge

Parma

Chelsea

International

Croatia

Individual

Orders

References
  1. "Chelsea sign Croatian star". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 28 June 2000. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  2. "Stanic brace sinks Hammers". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 20 August 2000. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  3. "Super Mario arrives". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 15 May 2001. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  4. "Stanić Mario statistics". bdfutbol.com. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  5. "Dinamo". Povijest.gnkdinamo.hr. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  6. "ODLUKU KOJOM SE ODLIKUJU REDOM DANICE HRVATSKE S LIKOM FRANJE BUČARA" (in Croatian). hrvatska.poslovniforum.hr.
  7. "PREDSJEDNIK TUDJMAN ODLIKOVAO HRVATSKU NOGOMETNU REPREZENTACIJU" (in Croatian). hrt.hr. Archived from the original on 8 November 2016.
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