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With both size and strength, Croatia's Alen Boksic
already makes for an intimidating opponent. Add the
skills of a playmaker and touch of a scorer to his six-foot-two,
180-pound frame, and Boksic can file his name among
the best strikers in the world.
Often compared to legendary Dutch striker Marco Van
Basten, Boksic or "The Croat Van Basten,"
as he's affectionately known, stars for Middlesbrough,
helping the squad maintain its first division status
this year.
But although Boksic has led the Croats into every major
tournament in soccer, the 32-year-old has thus far been
unable to play in them because of injuries.
"It's just plain bad luck," Boksic said of
his incessant string of injuries. "Hopefully, I've
had my share, and this time I'll be fit as a fiddle."
"Everything is focused on the World Cup this year,
and that's where I hope to make a splash," he added.
In 1997, Boksic scored a key goal in a qualifying match
against Ukraine that earned Croatia a berth in the World
Cup in France. But Boksic was felled by injury prior
to the World Cup and was unable to enjoy the team's
surprising third-place finish.
Two years earlier, when Croatia made its debut at Euro
'96, Boksic was with the team, but couldn't play because
of a nagging injury.
He's hoping the 2002 World Cup will be different. Though
he only appeared in two qualifying matches, he scored
two goals, including the game-winner against Belgium
in October that clinced the Croats a berth for South
Korea and Japan.
As a 20-year-old, Boksic made his first World Cup appearance
in Italy in 1990 as a member of the Yugoslav squad,
but he did not play then, either.
That same year, after helping Hajduk Split top Red
Star Belgrade for the Yugoslav Cup, Boksic was picked
up by Olympique Marseille, but could not play because
the team had exceeded its number of foreign players.
Perhaps itching from his season on the bench, Boksic
dominated the league in his first full season, taking
the French scoring title and winning the European Cup
with Marseille in 1992-93.
After his time in the French league, Boksic went on
to star in Italy's Serie A for Lazio, then Juventus,
where he led the squad to the Champions League final.
He signed with Middlesbrough in for 2.5 million pounds
in August 2000.
Undoubtedly one of the best players to come out of
Croatia, the finally-fit Boksic's skill and experience
should be take some of the defensive heat off striker
David Suker, who won the Golden Boot as the 1998 World
Cup's top scorer. It's a prospect that has Croatian
coach Mirko Jozic drooling.
"A healthy and fit Boksic up front is the dream
of any coach," Jozic said. "He is not only
dangerous on the ball, but he can often draw two or
more players onto himself and throw the opposition's
back formation into complete disarray."
With files from Associated Press
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