AC Milan vs Dinamo Zagreb (Zvonimir Boban last match)

08/10/02
ZAGREB, Croatia - Croat soccer star Zvonimir Boban laced up his cleats again Monday in a testimonial match that saw another Croatian sports great — tennis ace Goran Ivanisevic — steal the show by scoring a goal against some of Boban's best-known teammates.

Boban was joined by soccer greats Marco Van Basten, Lothar Matthaeus and Franco Baresi, as well as other stars — some active, others retired — in a match honoring the Croat player, who retired a year ago.

Boban organized the celebration at Zagreb's stadium on his 34th birthday to raise funds for orphans and neglected children.

He led Croatia's 1998 squad — a surprise semifinalist at the 1998 World Cup in France — in an exhibition match against an international All-Stars selection.

Matthaeus, Rivaldo, Leonardo, Serginho, Giuseppe Bergomi, Fernando Redondo, Andriy Shevchenko, Rui Costa, Jean Marie Papin, George Weah and Mark Viduka came for the occasion.

Papin scored first in the 11th minute, giving the "internationals" a 1-0 lead.

Near the end of the match, Boban left a field to a standing ovation and Ivanisevic replaced him. The crowd welcomed him euphorically, only to explode with joy when Ivanisevic, who won Wimbledon last year, scored for Croatia minutes after joining play.

The All-Stars won 2-1, with Leonardo scoring the other goal.

Earlier in the day, Boban also saw action in a match pitting the country's leading club, Dinamo Zagreb, and AC Milan — both with their lineups from the early 90s.

Milan won 3-1, with Boban defending against AC Milan in the first half — but then scoring two goals for the Italian powerhouse in the second, after switching sides.

Gianluigi Lentini got the other goal for the Italians in the fourth minute, while Miralem Arslanagic put the Croats on the scoreboard near the end of the match.

Milan's players included Baresi, Van Basten, Paolo Maldini, Marcel Desailly, Daniel Massaro, Alessandro Costacurta, Demetrio Albertini, Lentini and Dejan Savicevic.

Boban rose to stardom across Croatia as an 18-year-old, becoming the youngest player to captain Dinamo Zagreb.

But it was at AC Milan that the talented midfielder reached the pinnacle of his league career, winning four Serie A titles and three domestic Super Cups during the 1990s.

A playmaker with creative vision and sublime ball control, Boban also reached dizzy heights with the Croatian national team, skippering the side to the quarterfinals of the 1996 European Championships and third place two years later at the World Cup.

"For a decade, Croatian soccer has been overshadowed by the extraordinary talent of Zvonimir Boban," wrote longtime sportswriter Tomislav Zidak in a tribute in the daily Sportske Novosti.

CROATIA:
Dražen Ladic, Dario Simic, Robert Jarni, Igor Stimac, Slaven Bilić, Zvonimir Soldo, Aljosa Asanović, Robert Prosinecki, Davor Suker, Zvonimir Boban (Goran Ivanisevic), Alen Boksic
Coach: Miroslav Ciro Blazevic

WORLD:
Stipe Pletikosa, Lothar Matthaeus, Jean-Pierre Papin, George Weah, Serginha, Leonardo, Mark Viduka, Igor Tudor, (Rivaldo), Rui Costa (Andrei Sevcenko), Fernando Redondo