Ivica Olić

Ivica Olić

Personal information
Full name	Ivica Olić
Date of birth	14 September 1979 (1979-09-14) (age 31)
Place of birth	Davor, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Playing position	Forward / Winger
Club information
Current club	Bayern Munich
Number	11
Youth career
	Posavac Davor
	Marsonia
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1996–1998	Marsonia	42	(17)
1998–2000	Hertha BSC	2	(0)
2000–2001	Marsonia	42	(21)
2001–2002	NK Zagreb	29	(21)
2002–2003	Dinamo Zagreb	27	(16)
2003–2007	CSKA Moscow	78	(35)
2007–2009	Hamburg	78	(29)
2009–	Bayern Munich	29	(11)
National team‡
1996	Croatia U17	3	(0)
1997	Croatia U18	1	(0)
1997–1998	Croatia U19	9	(1)
1998	Croatia U20	1	(0)
2000–2001	Croatia U21	6	(2)
2002–	Croatia	69	(13)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14:10, 28 June 2010 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:30, 22 May 2010 (UTC)

Ivica Olić (Croatian pronunciation: [ˈiʋitsa ˈɔːlitɕ]; born 14 September 1979) is a Croatian professional footballer who currently plays for Bayern Munich in Germany and internationally for the Croatian national team.

Club career

Early career

Olić was born and raised in the village of Davor near Nova Gradiška, Croatia. He started playing football for the local club NK Marsonia in 1996, and spent two good seasons there before he was acquired by Hertha BSC in 1998. He did not see much play there and returned to Marsonia the following year.

After another successful season at Marsonia — in the 2000–01 season, he scored 17 goals in 29 games — in 2001, he moved to NK Zagreb where he scored 21 goals in 28 appearances and helped his team win the league. The following season, he moved to Dinamo Zagreb, where he scored 16 goals in 27 games, and became the best striker of the Croatian First League.

Olić with Hamburg.

CSKA Moscow

In 2003, Olić was acquired by CSKA Moscow. His form rose gradually, and in the 2005 season, he contributed 10 goals in twice as many games. With CSKA Moscow, he won the UEFA Cup in 2005, the Russian Premier League three times (in 2003, 2005 and 2006), the Russian Cup twice (in 2005 and 2006), and twice the Russian Super Cup (2004 and 2006).

Hamburg

In January 2007, Olić moved to Hamburger SV, playing his first Bundesliga game with them against Energie Cottbus on 31 January.^[2] He was signed because Hamburg were in deep trouble, finishing in the relegation zone before the winter break. It worked out in the end, and Hamburg finished seventh, which even acquired them an Intertoto Cup place, which they eventually won. He scored two goals in the last match in the 2006–07 Bundesliga season against Alemannia Aachen in a 4–0 win. In October 2007, Olić scored a hat-trick in the Bundesliga match against VfB Stuttgart, which Hamburg won 4–1. He was the first player in the club's history to score three successive goals in one half.

Olić effectively won the 2008 Emirates Cup for Hamburg, with two injury time goals against Juventus increasing the team's points tally to an unassailable level (due to the points-for-goals system). He endeared himself to Hamburg fans for his commitment and consistent work rate on the pitch. In his last game for the north German club, he sported a t-shirt with the words, "Danke fans" ("Thank you, fans") written on it as he bid farewell to the fans.

Olić with Bayern.

Bayern Munich

On 3 January 2009, Olić signed a three year contract with Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich. He joined the club on a free transfer on 1 July 2009.^[3] Initially, he was supposed to be back-up to the likes of Miroslav Klose and Mario Gómez, but due to injury and fitness issues, he began to be preferred as first choice. On 8 August, his Bayern debut, he scored the opening goal against TSG Hoffenheim in a 1–1 draw and soon became a favourite with the Bayern fans. He reached new heights upon scoring a crucial goal in the 2010 Champions League quarter-final (first leg) against Manchester United in injury time, to give Bayern a slender 2–1 lead. He also scored the first goal in the second leg for his team, but they trailed 3–1. The game ended 3–2. Bayern, however, won on away goals, knocking Manchester United out of the Champions League.^[4] He scored his first hat-trick for the Bavarians against Olympique Lyonnais in the second leg of the semi-finals of the Champions League on 27 April 2010. His versatility was evident as he scored each goal in a different manner: one with his right foot, one with his left foot, and a header, although his head was previously injured in the Borussia Mönchengladbach match on 24 April 2010. The victory against Lyon secured his team a place in the UEFA Champion's League final, against Inter Milan which they eventually lost 2-0.^[5]

International career

Olić was part of the Croatian national team at the 2002 FIFA World Cup where he played in two games and scored one goal, but an important one against Italy which ended 2–1 for Croatia. Shortly after scoring, Olić revealed a picture of his newly born child at the time under his jersey. He was remembered as being unable to put his jersey back on, as the material became tangled in the excitement during his celebration. Olić also played three games for Croatia in Euro 2004, and two games in 2006 FIFA World Cup.

In September 2006, Olić was dropped from Croatian squad for a qualifying match for one game due to a late-night partying binge together with Darijo Srna and Boško Balaban.^[6]

Olić was named man of the match in the very last qualifier of their group in which Croatia defeated England 3–2.^[7] He famously scored the second goal in the match, which gave Croatia a two goal lead and knocked England out of contention for a place at the Euro 2008.^[8] England manager Steve McClaren was sacked as a result.

Olić was named in Croatia's 23-man squad for Euro 2008. On 12 June, he scored in the 62nd minute of Croatia's second Group B match against Germany to give the Croats a 2–1 shock win over the pre-tournament favourites.^[9] He was rested for the last group match as they had already secured qualification for the knockout stages ahead of Germany. Croatia was victorious over Poland, making Croatia hold a record of 3–0–0 in the first round of Euro Cup 2008. On 15 June 2008, he was, according to Castrol Index sponsors, the fastest player at Euro 2008.

Olić was recalled to the side for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. He contributed three goals in eight games, but Croatia missed out on a play-off spot by a point.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
01.	17 April 2002	Maksimir Stadium, Zagreb, Croatia	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1 – 0	2 – 0	Friendly
02.	8 June 2002	Kashima Stadium, Kashima, Japan	Italy	1 – 1	2 – 1	2002 World Cup
03.	30 April 2003	Råsunda Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden	Sweden	0 – 1	1 – 2	Friendly
04.	11 October 2003	Maksimir Stadium, Zagreb, Croatia	Bulgaria	1 – 0	1 – 0	2004 Euro Qualifying
05.	29 May 2004	Kantrida Stadium, Rijeka, Croatia	Slovakia	1 – 0	1 – 0	Friendly
06.	5 June 2004	Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark	Denmark	0 – 2	1 – 2	Friendly
07.	16 October 2007	Kantrida Stadium, Rijeka, Croatia	Slovakia	1 – 0	3 – 0	Friendly
08.	16 October 2007	Kantrida Stadium, Rijeka, Croatia	Slovakia	3 – 0	3 – 0	Friendly
09.	21 November 2007	Wembley Stadium, London, England	England	0 – 2	2 – 3	2008 Euro Qualifying
10.	12 June 2008	Hypo-Arena, Klagenfurt, Austria	Germany	2 – 0	2 – 1	Euro 2008
11.	15 October 2008	Maksimir Stadium, Zagreb, Croatia	Andorra	2 – 0	4 – 0	2010 World Cup Qualifying
12.	12 August 2009	Dinamo Stadium, Minsk, Belarus	Belarus	0 – 1	1 – 3	2010 World Cup Qualifying
13.	12 August 2009	Dinamo Stadium, Minsk, Belarus	Belarus	1 – 3	1 – 3	2010 World Cup Qualifying

Honours

Club

NK Zagreb

• Croatian League: 2001-02

Dinamo Zagreb

• Croatian League: 2002-03

CSKA Moscow

• Russian Premier League: 2003, 2005, 2006
• Russian Cup: 2005, 2006
• UEFA Cup: 2005

FC Bayern Munich

• Bundesliga: 2009-10
• DFB-Pokal: 2010

Individual

• Croatian Football Player of the Year: 2009
• Croatian First League Player of the Year: 2002, 2003

Career statistics

Statistics accurate as of 16 May 2010^[10]

Personal life

Olić has two sons named Luka and Antonio.^[8] Unlike many of his counterparts, he prefers to keep a low media profile and generally lives a quiet private life.^[4]

References

External links

• Ivica Olić - FIFA competition record
• Ivica Olić at National-Football-Teams.com
• Ivica Olić at the Croatian Football Federation website
• Ivica Olić career stats at Soccerbase
• Profile on Soccerphile.com

Croatia Squads Croatia squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup 1 Pletikosa • 2 Šerić • 3 Šimunić • 4 Tomas • 5 Rapaić • 6 Živković • 7 Vugrinec • 8 Prosinečki • 9 Šuker (c) • 10 N. Kovač • 11 Bokšić • 12 Butina • 13 Stanić • 14 Soldo • 15 Šarić • 16 Vranješ • 17 Jarni • 18 Olić • 19 Vlaović • 20 Šimić • 21 R. Kovač • 22 Balaban • 23 Vasilj • Coach: Jozić Croatia squad – UEFA Euro 2004 1 Vasilj • 2 Tokić • 3 Šimunić • 4 Tomas • 5 Tudor • 6 Živković (c) • 7 Rapaić • 8 Srna • 9 Pršo • 10 Niko Kovač • 11 Šokota • 12 Butina • 13 Šimić • 14 Neretljak • 15 Leko • 16 Babić • 17 Klasnić • 18 Olić • 19 Mornar • 20 Roso • 21 Robert Kovač • 22 Bjelica • 23 Didulica • Coach: Otto Barić Croatia squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Pletikosa • 2 Srna • 3 Šimunić • 4 R. Kovač • 5 Tudor • 6 Vranješ • 7 Šimić • 8 Babić • 9 Pršo • 10 N. Kovač (c) • 11 Tokić • 12 Didulica • 13 Tomas • 14 Modrić • 15 I. Leko • 16 J. Leko • 17 Klasnić • 18 Olić • 19 N. Kranjčar • 20 Šerić • 21 Balaban • 22 Bošnjak • 23 Butina • Coach: Z. Kranjčar Croatia squad – UEFA Euro 2008 1 Pletikosa • 2 Šimić • 3 Šimunić • 4 R. Kovač • 5 Ćorluka • 6 Vejić • 7 Rakitić • 8 Vukojević • 9 Kalinić • 10 N. Kovač (c) • 11 Srna • 12 Galinović • 13 Pokrivač • 14 Modrić • 15 Knežević • 16 Leko • 17 Klasnić • 18 Olić • 19 Kranjčar • 20 Budan • 21 Petrić • 22 Pranjić • 23 Runje • Coach: Bilić