Ivica Vastić

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Ivica Vastić
Personal information
Date of birth	29 September 1969 (1969-09-29) (age 40)
Place of birth	Split, SFR Yugoslavia/now Croatia
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Midfielder / Striker
Club information
Current club	FC Waidhofen/Ybbs (Head Coach)
Youth career
	GOŠK Adriachem
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1989–1991 1991–1992 1992–1993 1993 1994 1994–2002 2002–2003 2003–2005 2005–2009	RNK Split First Vienna VSE St. Pölten Admira Wacker Mödling MSV Duisburg Sturm Graz Nagoya Grampus Eight Austria Wien LASK Linz Total	022 00(5) 023 00(8) 034 0(18) 018 00(7) 010 00(0) 250 (124) 027 0(13) 067 0(14) 123 0(59) 561 (246)
National team2
1996–2008	Austria	050 0(14)
Teams managed
2009–	FC Waidhofen/Ybbs
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19 June 2009. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 21 August 2008. * Appearances (Goals)

Ivica Vastić (born in Split, Croatia, 29 September 1969) is an Austrian football midfielder, formerly a striker, who last plays for LASK Linz and the Austria national football team and works now as Head Coach of FC Waidhofen/Ybbs.

[edit] Club career

Born in Split, Vastić started to play for local clubs Jugovinil (today GOŠK Adriachem) and RNK Split before moving to Austria and joining First Vienna FC in 1991. He subsequently also played for VSE St. Pölten and Admira Wacker Mödling in Austria, and also had a short spell with German Bundesliga side MSV Duisburg, where he only made 10 league appearances without scoring a goal.

[edit] Sturm Graz

His most notable spell was with Sturm Graz between 1994 and 2002, during which he helped the club winning the Austrian Bundesliga two consecutive times in 1998 and 1999, as well as winning the Austrian Cup in 1996, 1997 and 1999. With the club, he also played in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League in the 1998/1999 and 1999/2000 seasons of the competition.

[edit] Japan and return to Austria

He left Sturm for a one-season spell with Japanese club Nagoya Grampus Eight, after which he returned to Austria to spend two seasons with Austria Vienna before joining his current club, LASK Linz, in the summer of 2005. He performed well for LASK in the Erste Liga, the Austrian second division, and was the top goalscorer of the league in two consecutive seasons, scoring a total of 42 goals in 62 league appearances between 2005 and 2007. After helping LASK winning promotion to the Austrian Bundesliga in 2007, he went on to help the club finish sixth in the 2007/2008 Austrian Bundesliga season and himself finished the season as the club's top goalscorer in the league, having netted 13 goals in 32 appearances. Vastić announced his retirement on 18 May 2009, he gived also the professional football off to 30 June 2009.^[1]

[edit] International career

Vastić became an Austrian national in 1996 and subsequently started to play for the Austrian national team. By 2005, Vastić had won a total of 46 caps and scored 12 goals as an Austrian international.^[2] He then disappeared from the team for a period before making a spectacular comeback in 2008, being a surprise selection in the Euro 2008 squad and scoring Austria's first ever goal in the European Championship, also becoming the oldest goalscorer in the history of the tournament.

[edit] 1998 World Cup

Vastić's first appearance at a major tournament with Austria was at the 1998 FIFA World Cup finals in France,^[3] where he appeared in all of the team's three group matches and scored a last-minute equaliser in their second match at the tournament, a 1–1 draw against Chile. The Austrians were, however, eliminated from the tournament in the first round after recording two draws and one defeat.

[edit] Euro 2008

On 24 April 2008, Vastić was surprisingly added to Austria's preliminary squad for the UEFA Euro 2008 finals co-hosted by Austria and Switzerland in June. His last appearance for the national team prior to the call-up had more than two and a half years before, on 17 August 2005 in their 2–2 draw in a friendly match against Scotland.^[4] He then made his international comeback, winning his 47th cap, as a substitute in Austria's friendly match against Nigeria on 27 May 2008 and was eventually added to their final 23-man squad for the Euro 2008 finals, where he was the oldest player.^[5] In Austria's next friendly match three days later, he scored the team's fourth goal in their 5–1 victory over Malta.

On 8 June, Vastić made his Euro 2008 bow in the 1–0 defeat to his native Croatia, replacing Jürgen Säumel in the 61st minute.^[6]

On 12 June, Vastić appeared in Austria's second match of the tournament, a 1–1 draw with Poland, winning his 50th international cap as he replaced captain Andreas Ivanschitz in the 64th minute. In the match, he scored Austria's first goal in the final tournaments of the UEFA European Championship by netting an injury-time penalty to equalise, also becoming the oldest goalscorer of the European Championship finals at age &0000000000000038.00000038 years, &0000000000000257.000000257 days, over four years older than Nené who held the record since 1984.^[7]

[edit] Coaching career

On 16 June 2009 was named as Head Coach of FC Waidhofen/Ybbs of the Regionalliga Ost^[8] coincident went the club an cooperation with the former Vastic club LASK Linz.^[9] He started his coaching career very well, his team topping the table after 14 games in the Regionalliga Ost.

[edit] Honours

• Austrian Football Bundesliga (2):
  • 1998, 1999
• Austrian Cup (4):
  • 1996, 1997, 1999, 2005
• Austrian Bundesliga Top Goalscorer (2):
  • 1996, 2000 ^[10]

[edit] Personal awards

Vastić won the Austrian Footballer of the Year award in 1995, 1998, 1999 and 2007. During his time with Sturm Graz, he was the top goalscorer of the Austrian Bundesliga two times, in 1996 and 2000.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Player profile - EURO2008
• Profile - Austria Archive
• Profile at Weltfussball.de (German)
• Career stats - National Football Teams
• Ivica Vastić FIFA competition record

v • d • e Austria squad – 1998 FIFA World Cup 1 Konsel • 2 Schopp • 3 Schöttel • 4 Pfeffer • 5 Feiersinger • 6 Kogler • 7 Haas • 8 Pfeifenberger • 9 Vastić • 10 Herzog • 11 Amerhauser • 12 Hiden • 13 Cerny • 14 Reinmayr • 15 Wetl • 16 Wohlfahrt • 17 Mählich • 18 Stöger • 19 Polster • 20 Heraf • 21 Knaller • 22 Kühbauer • Coach: Prohaska

v • d • e Austria squad – UEFA Euro 2008 1 Manninger • 2 Standfest • 3 Stranzl • 4 Pogatetz • 5 Fuchs • 6 Aufhauser • 7 Vastić • 8 Leitgeb • 9 Linz • 10 Ivanschitz • 11 Korkmaz • 12 Gërçaliu • 13 Katzer • 14 Garics • 15 Prödl • 16 Patocka • 17 Hiden • 18 Kienast • 19 Säumel • 20 Harnik • 21 Macho • 22 Hoffer • 23 Özcan • Coach: Hickersberger