Robert Prosinecki
 | Age: 32
Position: Mid-Fielder
Club: Grampus Eight (Jpn) |
Robert Prosinecki has just left English club Portsmouth for Grampus Eight of Japan but is in the twilight of a career that began at Dynamo Zagreb and - like Davor Suker - starred in Yugoslavia's World Cup winning under-21 side in Chile where he was voted player of the tournament.
It was when he moved to Red Star Belgrade that his career really took off.
Then a multi-ethnic team, Red Star won the 1991 European Cup, beating Marseille on penalties but Prosinecki did not play in the Red Star side that later added the Intercontinental Cup.
As Red Star broke up along ethnic lines as Yugoslavia disintegrated into civil war Prosinecki sought his fortune abroad but his spells with Real Madrid and Barcelona were destroyed by injury - he was rather cruelly nicknamed "legs of glass" in Spain where he also played for Sevilla.
He has starred in two World Cups and gone close to glory both times. In 1990 in Italy he was a member of the Yugoslavia team eliminated on penalties by a defence-minded Argentina while in 1998 he reached the semis with Croatia who exited to France.
Briefly returned to Dynamo Zagreb - then controversially renamed Croatia Zagreb by late Croatia president Franjo Tudjman - but moved to Portsmouth and will now likely end his playing days in Japan.
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• 3rd 1998 World Cup, France
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