
Zvonimir Boban [ˈzʋɔnimir ˈbɔban] (born October 8, 1968) is a Croatian former football midfielder who played most of his professional career for Serie A club AC Milan and was a member of the Croatia national team, which he captained to third place at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
Boban is much loved in Croatia, ever since he made headlines by kicking the Yugoslav policeman. He is known for his patriotism, stating he loves Croatia more than anything, and that he would die for his country. He has also said that although he always played fairly for Yugoslavia, playing for Croatia and hearing the Croatian national anthem was always his dream. Respect for Boban during and after the war was very high, and still continued to this day.
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One of the most gifted European midfielders of the 1990s, Boban starred on the international stage for Yugoslavia then Croatia as well as enjoying a glittering club career with, amongst others, Italian giants AC Milan.
Heroic Croatian midfielder Zvonimir Boban began with Dinamo Zagreb and was particularly remembered for intervening to defend a young fan who was being attacked by a Serbian policeman during a Dinamo v Red Star League match.
He joined AC Milan for a reported £8 million from another Serie A club, Bari, in 1992. He was a member of the Milan team that won the European Cup so impressively in 1994, beating Barcelona 4-0 in Athens, and was many people's 'Player of the Season' when they pipped Lazio for the Italian League title in 1999.
Boban starred in Yugoslavia's World Youth Championship-winning team in 1987 and, for Croatia, he was their playmaker and captain at both Euro '96 and the 1998 World Cup. In France this dynamic and resourceful midfielder helped his country to an unexpected place in the semi-finals.
One of the bet midfielders of modern times
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