Robert Prosinečki
Robert Prosinečki arrived in the world on the 12th of January 1969 inside a small apartment in Schwenningen, West Germany. His parents were Yugoslav gastarbeiters who had left their homeland to work in German factories. His father Đuro ran a construction business while his mother Emilija managed the household. The family moved to Nürtingen near Stuttgart when Robert was only five years old. That decision placed him within reach of the Stuttgarter Kickers youth system. Đuro drove his son to every practice session and watched every match from the sidelines. He monitored the boy's progress with intense focus. The parents decided to move back to SR Croatia within SFR Yugoslavia in 1979. They brought ten-year-old Robert and his two siblings along for the journey home.
In the summer of 1987, Đuro took eighteen-year-old Robert over to Belgrade to secure a professional contract. Dragan Džajić served as Red Star's technical director during this transfer window. Prosinečki played a friendly match versus FK Rad shortly after arriving. He opened his scoring account during only his second match for the club. A 7, 1 home rout of Priština occurred on the 9th of August 1987. Six weeks later he faced cross-town rival FK Partizan at Stadion JNA before 55,000 spectators. Prosinečki set up Bora Cvetković with an accurate long-distance through pass early into the second half. The team won that match 2, 3. In October 1987 he joined the Yugoslav youth squad which won the World Youth Championship in Chile. João Havelange intervened to keep him in South America when the club tried to recall him. He helped Red Star win three Yugoslav First League titles and one Yugoslav Cup. The club secured its greatest success by winning the 1991 European Cup.
Real Madrid signed Prosinečki during the summer of 1991 for a fee of €15 million. Club president Ramón Mendoza and head coach Radomir Antić held huge expectations for the expensive signing. Twenty-two-year-old Prosinečki got sidelined immediately with a string of muscular injuries. Team doctors administered tests while forcing him to change many lifestyle habits. His first season turned out as a complete write-off. He appeared in only three league matches despite scoring a free-kick goal versus Barcelona on the 19th of October 1991. His best season came in 1993, 94 when he scored six league goals. Real brass decided his physical fragility was too much to deal with after three indifferent seasons. They offloaded the twenty-five-year-old to Real Oviedo on loan during the 1994 summer transfer window. Reuniting with Radomir Antić allowed him to play his best season yet in Spain. He won a league match against his former club Real Madrid in May 1995. Barcelona then signed him on the 20th of July 1995 for €3 million over three seasons. Johan Cruyff relegated him to the substitution bench once recovered from injury.
Prosinečki earned 49 caps for Croatia between 1994 and 2002 while scoring ten goals. He also received fifteen caps for Yugoslavia where he scored four goals. In 1987 he became the tournament's best player as Yugoslavia won the World Youth Championship in Chile. Fellow Croatians Zvonimir Boban, Robert Jarni, Davor Šuker and Igor Štimac played alongside him at that event. He scored one goal for Yugoslavia in a group match against the United Arab Emirates on the 19th of June 1990. Eight years later he added two goals for Croatia by scoring in a group match against Jamaica and in the third place match against the Netherlands. The 1998 World Cup saw Prosinečki score two goals throughout the tournament including one in Croatia's 2, 1 victory over the Netherlands. He remains the only player in history to have scored World Cup finals goals for two different national teams. He played in nine total World Cup matches across his career spanning three decades of conflict.
In December 2010 Prosinečki was announced as the new manager of Red Star Belgrade replacing Aleksandar Kristić. His annual salary remained undisclosed though Serbian press speculated figures from US$100,000 to $250,000 per year. Club president Vladan Lukić steered clear of stating league title as an explicit requirement. Prosinečki picked Slobodan Marović and Žarko Đurović to be his assistants. His side finished second in both seasons before he resigned in August 2012. On the 15th of October 2012 it was announced that Prosinečki would replace Shota Arveladze as manager of struggling Kayserispor. He gained thirteen wins in twenty-seven league matches finishing fifth overall. In November 2013 Prosinečki definitively resigned after losing to Tokatspor in the Turkish Cup. On the 3rd of December 2014 he became the new manager of the Azerbaijan national football team with a contract fee around $1.5 million. Under his guidance Azerbaijan drew against Croatia 0, 0 and defeated San Marino 5, 1. He left the team shortly after failing to guide them to qualify for any major competitions.
During the late 1980s the story grew of him being chased away from Dinamo Zagreb by coach Čiro Blažević. Blažević deflected responsibility in 2010 claiming he gave the youngster a four-year contract annulled on technicality. He accused Prosinečki's father Đuro of not negotiating in good faith. The feud reignited during the 1998 World Cup semi-final match where Croatia lost 1, 2 versus France. Blažević decided to leave twenty-nine-year-old Prosinečki on the bench until entering the contest in the 90th minute. In late 2001 Prosinečki initiated a lawsuit over DM1,550,000 in unpaid wages against Dinamo Zagreb. Years later in 2009 the court ruled against him asserting no merit since he played for Croatia Zagreb not Dinamo Zagreb. Commenting on the verdict Prosinečki said he was cheated out of his money. His wife Vlatka faced police investigation in 2019 regarding a Range Rover Sport SDV6 HSE vehicle purchase linked to an organized crime import ring. His brother Sven Daniel was also interviewed during that investigation.
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Common questions
When and where was Robert Prosinečki born?
Robert Prosinečki arrived in the world on the 12th of January 1969 inside a small apartment in Schwenningen, West Germany. His parents were Yugoslav gastarbeiters who had left their homeland to work in German factories.
How did Robert Prosinečki start his professional football career with Red Star Belgrade?
In the summer of 1987, Đuro took eighteen-year-old Robert over to Belgrade to secure a professional contract under technical director Dragan Džajić. He opened his scoring account during only his second match for the club and helped Red Star win three Yugoslav First League titles and one Yugoslav Cup before winning the 1991 European Cup.
What happened during Robert Prosinečki's time at Real Madrid between 1991 and 1995?
Real Madrid signed Prosinečki during the summer of 1991 for a fee of €15 million but he got sidelined immediately with a string of muscular injuries that ruined his first season. Team doctors forced him to change many lifestyle habits while his best season came in 1993, 94 when he scored six league goals before being offloaded to Real Oviedo on loan during the 1994 summer transfer window.
Why is Robert Prosinečki unique regarding World Cup finals goals for different national teams?
He remains the only player in history to have scored World Cup finals goals for two different national teams after scoring for Yugoslavia against the United Arab Emirates on the 19th of June 1990 and later adding two goals for Croatia by scoring in a group match against Jamaica and in the third place match against the Netherlands eight years later.
When did Robert Prosinečki become manager of Red Star Belgrade and what were the results?
In December 2010 Prosinečki was announced as the new manager of Red Star Belgrade replacing Aleksandar Kristić with an annual salary speculated between US$100,000 and $250,000 per year. His side finished second in both seasons before he resigned in August 2012.