Ivica Kralj

Ivica Kralj

Kralj in 2009
Personal information
Full name	Ivica Kralj
Date of birth	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. † Appearances (goals)

Ivica Kralj (Cyrillic: Ивица Краљ; 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 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.^[1][2] 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.^[3]

In June 2003, Kralj made another return to Partizan, signing a one-year deal.^[4][5] 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.^[6] He eventually signed a three-year extension to his contract with Partizan in May 2004.^[7] After recovering from injury, Kralj was a first team regular, helping his team win the league title in 2005, with an unbeaten record.^[8] He left the club at the end of his contract, stating his disappointment towards some members of the club's board.^[9][10]

In August 2007, Kralj moved to Russia as a free agent and signed with Rostov.^[11] He was joined by his former teammate Albert Nađ.^[12] 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.^[13][14]

In July 2008, Kralj moved to Slovak club Spartak Trnava, signed by his former manager Vladimir Vermezović, on a two-year deal.^[15] He decided to retire in the fall of 2009, due to chronic injury problems.

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.^[16]

Despite not playing regularly at club level, Kralj was named by Vujadin Boškov in the Yugoslavia's final UEFA Euro 2000 squad.^[17] 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.^[18]

In June 2001, after a one-year absence from the national team, Kralj was selected to represent his country at the Kirin Cup.^[19] 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

In January 2015, Kralj became the president of Mačva Šabac.^[20]

Statistics

Club

Club	Season	League		Cup		League Cup		Super Cup		Continental		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Jastrebac Niš (loan)	1993–94	13	0			–		–		–		13	0
Partizan	1994–95	0	0			–		–		–		0	0
	1995–96	13	0			–		–		–		13	0
	1996–97	30	0			–		–		0	0	30	0
	1997–98	26	0			–		–		2	0	28	0
Porto	1998–99	7	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	3	0	12	0
Radnički Kragujevac (loan)	1998–99	3	0	0	0	–		–		0	0	3	0
PSV	1999–2000	4	0			–		0	0	1	0	5	0
	2000–01	0	0			–		0	0	0	0	0	0
Partizan (loan)	2000–01	6	0	0	0	–		–		0	0	6	0
PSV	2001–02	3	0			–		0	0	1	0	4	0
Partizan	2003–04	18	0	2	0	–		–		3	0	23	0
	2004–05	23	0	3	0	–		–		11	0	37	0
	2005–06	21	0	0	0	–		–		5	0	26	0
	2006–07	12	0	2	0	–		–		5	0	19	0
Rostov	2007	0	0	0	0	–		–		0	0	0	0
Spartak Trnava	2008–09	13	0			–		0	0	0	0	13	0
	2009–10	4	0			–		0	0	3	0	7	0
Career total		196	0	7	0	0	0	2	0	34	0	239	0

International

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
FR Yugoslavia	1996	1	0
	1997	11	0
	1998	12	0
	1999	5	0
	2000	8	0
	2001	4	0
Total		41	0

Honours

Partizan

• First League of FR Yugoslavia: 1995–96, 1996–97, 2004–05
• FR Yugoslavia Cup: 1997–98, 2000–01

Porto

• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 1998

PSV

• Eredivisie: 1999–2000, 2001–02

References

1. "Jači za Kralja" (in Serbian). glas-javnosti.rs. 11 January 2001. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
2. "Kralj back at Belgrade". bbc.co.uk. 20 January 2001. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
3. "Mogu da biram klub, ali nigde ne žurim" (in Serbian). glas-javnosti.rs. 4 November 2002. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
4. "Pehar na stolu, Kralj na golu!" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 4 June 2003. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
5. "Kralj back at Partizan". uefa.com. 5 June 2003. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
6. "Knee injury rules out Kralj". uefa.com. 15 September 2003. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
7. "Ivica Kralj produžio ugovor" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 25 May 2004. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
8. "Crno-beli - šampioni bez poraza!" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 28 May 2005. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
9. "Kralj: Ne kukam, ali me boli!" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 30 May 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
10. "Kralj: "Partizan liči na Titanik"" (in Serbian). b92.net. 30 May 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
11. "«РОСТОВ» ПОДПИСАЛ КОНТРАКТ С ИВИЦЕЙ КРАЛЕМ" (in Russian). fc-rostov.ru. 6 August 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
12. "Kralj i Nađ otišli u Rusiju!" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 9 August 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
13. "Nađ i Kralj slobodni igrači" (in Serbian). b92.net. 28 November 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
14. "БЮДЖЕТ «РОСТОВА» СВЕРСТАН ПОД ЗАДАЧУ" (in Russian). fc-rostov.ru. 10 December 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
15. "Ivica Kralj podpísal v pondelok 2-ročnú zmluvu so Spartakom" (in Slovak). profutbal.sk. 14 July 2008. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
16. "WORLD CUP '98; Netherlands' Davids Comes in From Cold". nytimes.com. 30 June 1998. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
17. "Under-fire Boskov announces squad". bbc.co.uk. 1 June 2000. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
18. "Six of the best for Holland". bbc.co.uk. 26 June 2000. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
19. "Ja sam Kralj!" (in Serbian). glas-javnosti.rs. 23 June 2001. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
20. "Ivica Kralj predsednik Mačve!" (in Serbian). telegraf.rs. 12 January 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2016.

External links

• Ivica Kralj profile at ForaDeJogo
• Ivica Kralj profile at Reprezentacija
• Ivica Kralj – FIFA competition record
• Ivica Kralj at National-Football-Teams.com