Branko Strupar
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Branko Strupar (born February 9, 1970 in Zagreb, Croatia) was a Belgian football player, notable as a striker. In 1999, he became a naturalised Belgian by marriage. He consequently played for the Belgium national football team with whom he played 17 matches and scored 5 times.
He played in Belgium for K.R.C. Genk, winning promotion in the Jupiler League in 1996 and becoming champion of Belgium with the same team in 1999. He also finished Player of the Year. In 1998, he finished topscorer with 22 goals. He moved to Derby County in December 1999, where he most notably scored the first British league goal of the new millennium after two minutes against Watford F.C..
Despite an excellent goals-to-games ratio when fit, injuries curtailed his Derby career, and he was eventually given a free transfer, with which he returned to Croatia for a brief spell at Dinamo Zagreb to wind up his career.
Preceded by: Pär Zetterberg |
Belgian Golden Shoe 1998 |
Succeeded by: Lorenzo Staelens |
Belgium squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup | ||
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1 De Vlieger | 2 Deflandre | 3 De Boeck | 4 Van Meir | 5 Van Kerckhoven | 6 Simons | 7 Wilmots | 8 Goor | 9 Sonck | 10 Walem | 11 Verheyen | 12 Van Der Heyden | 13 Vandendriessche | 14 Vermant | 15 Peeters | 16 Van Buyten | 17 Englebert | 18 Vanderhaeghe | 19 Thijs | 20 Strupar | 21 Boffin | 22 Mpenza | 23 Herpoel | Coach: Waseige |