Ivica Kralj

Ivica Kralj
	Kralj in 2009
Personal information
Date of birth	26 March 1973 (age 51)
Place of birth	Kotor, SR Montenegro, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Partizan (sporting director)
Youth career
	Arsenal Tivat
1987–1989	Partizan
Senior career*
Years	Team
1989–1998	Partizan
1992–1993	→ Zvezdara (loan)
1993–1994	→ Jastrebac Niš (loan)
1998–1999	Porto
1999	→ Radnički Kragujevac (loan)
1999–2002	PSV
2001	→ Partizan (loan)
2003–2007	Partizan
2007	Rostov
2008–2009	Spartak Trnava
Total
International career
1996–2001	FR Yugoslavia
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ivica Kralj (Serbian Cyrillic: Ивица Краљ, pronounced [ǐvitsa krâʎ]; born 26 March 1973) is a Montenegrin former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

During his playing career, Kralj was best known for his time at Partizan, having three spells at the club and winning five major trophies. He also played for Porto and PSV.

At international level, Kralj represented FR Yugoslavia at the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000, reaching the knockout stage in both tournaments.

Club career

Partizan

Born in Kotor and raised in Tivat, Kralj started out at his local club Arsenal Tivat, before joining Partizan as a trainee in the summer of 1987. He broke into their first team at the age of 16, sitting on the bench during a 5–4 away loss to Celtic in the second leg of the European Cup Winners' Cup first round on 27 September 1989. In order to gain experience, Kralj was later sent out on loan to Zvezdara (1992–93) and Jastrebac Niš (1993–94), before returning to Partizan. He made his league debut for the club in the 1995–96 season, as they won the championship title. In the 1996–97 campaign, Partizan won their second consecutive title, as Kralj became the club's undisputed first-choice goalkeeper and earned his first national team cap. He also won the FR Yugoslavia Cup in the 1997–98 season, before going abroad.^[1]

Porto

In the summer of 1998, Kralj moved to Portugal and signed with Porto. He initially established himself as the club's first-choice goalkeeper, helping them win the Supertaça on 9 September 1998. However, following Vítor Baía's return to Porto in the 1999 winter transfer window, Kralj completely lost his place in the starting lineup. He was subsequently loaned to Radnički Kragujevac until the end of the 1998–99 season.

PSV

In the 1999 summer transfer window, Kralj was transferred to Dutch club PSV.^[2] He featured in the UEFA Champions League of that year where PSV suffered a 4–1 defeat to Rangers in the group stage.^[3] Shortly after, Kralj suffered a hamstring injury, ruling him out for five months. He returned to action in April 2000, but was mainly a backup to Ronald Waterreus and Patrick Lodewijks, as the club convincingly won the domestic league in his debut season at Philips Stadion. After failing to make any appearances in the first half of the 2000–01 season, Kralj was loaned to his former club Partizan in January 2001.^[4]^[5] He added one more national cup trophy to his collection, despite not getting any game time in the competition. After returning to PSV, Kralj was the club's third-choice goalkeeper behind Waterreus and Lodewijks. He eventually left the club by mutual consent in 2002.^[6]

Return to Partizan

In June 2003, Kralj made another return to Partizan, signing a one-year deal.^[7]^[8] He quickly found his form and helped the team qualify for the Champions League in the 2003–04 campaign, saving two penalties in the shootout against Newcastle United at St James' Park in the final qualifying round.^[9] However, Kralj failed to make any appearances in the group stage due to an injury.^[10] He eventually signed a three-year extension to his contract with Partizan in May 2004.^[11] After recovering from injury, Kralj was a first team regular, helping his team win the league title in 2005, with an unbeaten record.^[12] He left the club at the end of his contract, stating his disappointment towards some members of the club's board.^[13]^[14]

Rostov

In August 2007, Kralj moved to Russia as a free agent and signed with Rostov.^[15] He was joined by his former teammate Albert Nađ.^[16] However, Kralj failed to make any competitive appearance for the club, as they suffered relegation from the top flight after finishing bottom of the table. He was released by Rostov in December 2007, alongside Nađ and several other players.^[17]^[18]

Spartak Trnava

In July 2008, Kralj moved to Slovak club Spartak Trnava, signed by his former manager Vladimir Vermezović, on a two-year deal.^[19] He agreed to leave the club in late 2009, due to his chronic injury problems, eventually retiring from the game.

International career

Kralj made his international debut for FR Yugoslavia on 28 December 1996, coming on as a late second-half substitute for Zvonko Milojević in a 3–2 friendly win away to Argentina. He subsequently became the first-choice goalkeeper for the national team under Slobodan Santrač, helping them to qualify for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. In the final tournament, Kralj played the full 90 minutes in all of his team's four games, as they were eliminated by the Netherlands in the knockout stage.^[20]

Despite not playing regularly at club level, Kralj was named by Vujadin Boškov in Yugoslavia's final UEFA Euro 2000 squad,^[21] choosing the number 22 shirt.^[22] They went on to reach the quarter-finals of the competition, where the team was eliminated by the Netherlands. The hosts achieved a convincing 6–1 victory, including a hat-trick by Patrick Kluivert and a brace by Marc Overmars.^[23]

In June 2001, after a one-year absence from the national team, Kralj was selected to represent his country at the Kirin Cup.^[24] He made his last appearance for FR Yugoslavia in a 1–1 home draw with Slovenia on 5 September 2001, as the country failed to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Over a five-year international career, Kralj earned 41 caps for Yugoslavia.^[25]

Post-playing career

After hanging up his boots, Kralj worked for some time as a player agent.^[26] He was appointed as president of Mačva Šabac in January 2015.^[27] In November 2020, after spending five and a half years in charge, Kralj stepped down from his position.^[28]

In September 2022, Kralj was appointed as sporting director of Partizan.^[29] In September 2024, Kralj was dismissed from the position, and was replaced by previous sporting director Ivica Iliev.^[30]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Continental		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Zvezdara (loan)	1992–93	Belgrade Zone League			—		—		—		—
Jastrebac Niš (loan)	1993–94	First League of FR Yugoslavia	13	0	—		—		—		—		13	0
Partizan	1995–96	First League of FR Yugoslavia	13	0	4	0	—		—		—		17	0
	1996–97	First League of FR Yugoslavia	30	0	0	0	—		0	0	—		30	0
	1997–98	First League of FR Yugoslavia	26	0	9	0	—		2	0	—		37	0
	Total		69	0	13	0	—		2	0	—		84	0
Porto	1998–99	Primeira Divisão	7	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	2^[a]	0	12	0
Radnički Kragujevac (loan)	1998–99	First League of FR Yugoslavia	3	0	0	0	—		—		—		3	0
PSV	1999–2000	Eredivisie	4	0	0	0	—		1	0	0	0	5	0
	2000–01	Eredivisie	0	0	0	0	—		0	0	0	0	0	0
	2001–02	Eredivisie	3	0	0	0	—		1	0	0	0	4	0
	Total		7	0	0	0	—		2	0	0	0	9	0
Partizan (loan)	2000–01	First League of FR Yugoslavia	6	0	0	0	—		0	0	—		6	0
Partizan	2003–04	First League of Serbia and Montenegro	18	0	2	0	—		3	0	—		23	0
	2004–05	First League of Serbia and Montenegro	23	0	3	0	—		11	0	—		37	0
	2005–06	Serbia and Montenegro SuperLiga	21	0	0	0	—		5	0	—		26	0
	2006–07	Serbian SuperLiga	12	0	2	0	—		5	0	—		19	0
	Total		74	0	7	0	—		24	0	—		105	0
Rostov	2007	Russian Premier League	0	0	0	0	—		—		—		0	0
Spartak Trnava	2008–09	Slovak Superliga	13	0	2	0	—		0	0	0	0	15	0
	2009–10	Slovak Superliga	4	0	0	0	—		3	0	0	0	7	0
	Total		17	0	2	0	—		3	0	0	0	22	0
Career total			196	0	22	0	0	0	34	0	2	0	254	0

^ Appearances in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[31]
National team	Year	Apps
FR Yugoslavia	1996	1
	1997	11
	1998	12
	1999	5
	2000	8
	2001	4
Total		41

Honours

Partizan

Porto

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 1998

PSV

References

^ "Ivica Kralj" (in Serbian). partizanopedia.rs. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
^ "Ivica Kralj" (in Dutch). psvweb.nl. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
^ "Mols produces double Dutch misery for PSV". independent.co.uk. 20 October 1999. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
^ "Jači za Kralja" (in Serbian). glas-javnosti.rs. 11 January 2001. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
^ "Kralj back at Belgrade". bbc.co.uk. 20 January 2001. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
^ "Mogu da biram klub, ali nigde ne žurim" (in Serbian). glas-javnosti.rs. 4 November 2002. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
^ "Pehar na stolu, Kralj na golu!" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 4 June 2003. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
^ "Kralj back at Partizan". uefa.com. 5 June 2003. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
^ "Newcastle crash out". bbc.co.uk. 27 August 2003. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
^ "Knee injury rules out Kralj". uefa.com. 15 September 2003. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
^ "Ivica Kralj produžio ugovor" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 25 May 2004. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
^ "Crno-beli - šampioni bez poraza!" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 28 May 2005. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
^ "Kralj: Ne kukam, ali me boli!" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 30 May 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
^ "Kralj: "Partizan liči na Titanik"" (in Serbian). b92.net. 30 May 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
^ ""РОСТОВ" ПОДПИСАЛ КОНТРАКТ С ИВИЦЕЙ КРАЛЕМ" (in Russian). fc-rostov.ru. 6 August 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
^ "Kralj i Nađ otišli u Rusiju!" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 9 August 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
^ "Nađ i Kralj slobodni igrači" (in Serbian). b92.net. 28 November 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
^ "БЮДЖЕТ "РОСТОВА" СВЕРСТАН ПОД ЗАДАЧУ" (in Russian). fc-rostov.ru. 10 December 2007. Archived from the original on 24 February 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
^ "Ivica Kralj podpísal v pondelok 2-ročnú zmluvu so Spartakom" (in Slovak). profutbal.sk. 14 July 2008. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
^ "WORLD CUP '98; Netherlands' Davids Comes in From Cold". nytimes.com. 30 June 1998. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
^ "Under-fire Boskov announces squad". bbc.co.uk. 1 June 2000. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
^ "Ljudi i vreme" (in Serbian). vreme.com. 10 June 2000. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
^ "Six of the best for Holland". bbc.co.uk. 26 June 2000. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
^ "Ja sam Kralj!" (in Serbian). glas-javnosti.rs. 23 June 2001. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
^ "Ivica Kralj, international football player". eu-football.info. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
^ "Z bývalej hviezdy Spartaka Ivicu Kralja sa stal futbalový manažér" (in Slovak). trnavskyhlas.sk. 5 February 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
^ "Ivica Kralj predsednik Mačve!" (in Serbian). telegraf.rs. 12 January 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
^ "Ivica Kralj napustio Mačvu" (in Serbian). b92.net. 5 November 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
^ "Ivica Kralj novi sportski direktor Partizana" (in Serbian). rts.rs. 22 September 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
^ "Šok u Humskoj! Kralj više nije direktor Partizana, vraća se Iliev" (in Serbian). 3 September 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
^ "Kralj Ivica" (in Serbian). reprezentacija.rs. Retrieved 6 December 2022.

External links

Ivica Kralj at ForaDeJogo (archived)
Ivica Kralj – FIFA competition record (archived)
Ivica Kralj at National-Football-Teams.com

[31] Appearances in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira

[1] "Ivica Kralj" (in Serbian). partizanopedia.rs. Retrieved 6 December 2022.

[2] "Ivica Kralj" (in Dutch). psvweb.nl. Retrieved 6 December 2022.

[3] "Mols produces double Dutch misery for PSV". independent.co.uk. 20 October 1999. Retrieved 27 February 2017.

[4] "Jači za Kralja" (in Serbian). glas-javnosti.rs. 11 January 2001. Retrieved 16 February 2016.

[5] "Kralj back at Belgrade". bbc.co.uk. 20 January 2001. Retrieved 16 February 2016.

[6] "Mogu da biram klub, ali nigde ne žurim" (in Serbian). glas-javnosti.rs. 4 November 2002. Retrieved 16 February 2016.

[7] "Pehar na stolu, Kralj na golu!" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 4 June 2003. Retrieved 16 February 2016.

[8] "Kralj back at Partizan". uefa.com. 5 June 2003. Retrieved 16 February 2016.

[9] "Newcastle crash out". bbc.co.uk. 27 August 2003. Retrieved 18 September 2018.

[10] "Knee injury rules out Kralj". uefa.com. 15 September 2003. Retrieved 16 February 2016.

[11] "Ivica Kralj produžio ugovor" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 25 May 2004. Retrieved 16 February 2016.

[12] "Crno-beli - šampioni bez poraza!" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 28 May 2005. Retrieved 16 February 2016.

[13] "Kralj: Ne kukam, ali me boli!" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 30 May 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2016.

[14] "Kralj: "Partizan liči na Titanik"" (in Serbian). b92.net. 30 May 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2016.

[15] ""РОСТОВ" ПОДПИСАЛ КОНТРАКТ С ИВИЦЕЙ КРАЛЕМ" (in Russian). fc-rostov.ru. 6 August 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2016.

[16] "Kralj i Nađ otišli u Rusiju!" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 9 August 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2016.

[17] "Nađ i Kralj slobodni igrači" (in Serbian). b92.net. 28 November 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2016.

[18] "БЮДЖЕТ "РОСТОВА" СВЕРСТАН ПОД ЗАДАЧУ" (in Russian). fc-rostov.ru. 10 December 2007. Archived from the original on 24 February 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2016.

[19] "Ivica Kralj podpísal v pondelok 2-ročnú zmluvu so Spartakom" (in Slovak). profutbal.sk. 14 July 2008. Retrieved 16 February 2016.

[20] "WORLD CUP '98; Netherlands' Davids Comes in From Cold". nytimes.com. 30 June 1998. Retrieved 16 February 2016.

[21] "Under-fire Boskov announces squad". bbc.co.uk. 1 June 2000. Retrieved 16 February 2016.

[22] "Ljudi i vreme" (in Serbian). vreme.com. 10 June 2000. Retrieved 12 May 2020.

[23] "Six of the best for Holland". bbc.co.uk. 26 June 2000. Retrieved 16 February 2016.

[24] "Ja sam Kralj!" (in Serbian). glas-javnosti.rs. 23 June 2001. Retrieved 16 February 2016.

[25] "Ivica Kralj, international football player". eu-football.info. Retrieved 19 September 2020.

[26] "Z bývalej hviezdy Spartaka Ivicu Kralja sa stal futbalový manažér" (in Slovak). trnavskyhlas.sk. 5 February 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2016.

[27] "Ivica Kralj predsednik Mačve!" (in Serbian). telegraf.rs. 12 January 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2016.

[28] "Ivica Kralj napustio Mačvu" (in Serbian). b92.net. 5 November 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2022.

[29] "Ivica Kralj novi sportski direktor Partizana" (in Serbian). rts.rs. 22 September 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022.

[kralj-dismissed-partizan-30] "Šok u Humskoj! Kralj više nije direktor Partizana, vraća se Iliev" (in Serbian). 3 September 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024.

[32] "Kralj Ivica" (in Serbian). reprezentacija.rs. Retrieved 6 December 2022.

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Ivica Kralj

Club career

Partizan

Porto

PSV

Return to Partizan

Rostov

Spartak Trnava

International career

Post-playing career

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

References

External links

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