Dado Pršo

Miladin "Dado" Pršo[1] (born 5 November 1974) is a Croatian former professional footballer who played as a forward.

Dado Pršo
Pršo (left) playing for Croatia against Brazil's Lúcio at the 2006 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name Miladin Pršo
Date of birth (1974-11-05) 5 November 1974
Place of birth Zadar, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1981–1983 Bagat
1983–1986 Zadar
1986–1991 Hajduk Split
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1993 Pazinka 26 (2)
1993–1995 Rouen 10 (1)
1995–1996 Stade Raphaëlois 18 (7)
1996–2004 Monaco 101 (28)
1997–1999 → Ajaccio (loan) 53 (21)
2004–2007 Rangers 94 (31)
Total 302 (90)
International career
2003–2006 Croatia 32 (9)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Pršo played for seven different teams and made over 300 league appearances as a professional. He was included in the Monaco team that reached the 2004 UEFA Champions League Final, and part of the Rangers team that won the League and Cup double in 2005. Pršo received 32 caps for Croatia and was part of the squad at UEFA Euro 2004 and 2006 FIFA World Cup. He retired in June 2007 from the Scottish Premier League club Rangers.[2]

Pršo holds French nationality,[3] thus he was not considered a foreigner during his stay in Ligue 1. He was a coach for a youth team in Villefranche-sur-Mer.[4]

Club career

Early career

Born in Zadar, Pršo began training with the local clubs NK Bagat and NK Zadar before moving to HNK Hajduk Split, at aged 12. He went through the ranks of Hajduk until, in 1991, a medical check allegedly revealed that he had an irregular heartbeat, prompting the team to release him, thinking he was therefore unfit for professional football. Pršo showed no traces of such a defect ever since though. When the Croatian league was formed he joined NK Pazinka, playing his only season at the top level of Croatian football at 18 years of age.[5] In 1993, he moved to France to play for FC Rouen, and then moved to Saint Raphaël in 1995, where he worked as a car mechanic while he continued playing football.[6]

Monaco

In 1996, then-AS Monaco manager Jean Tigana noticed Pršo and bought the forward, although he would spend that season in the reserve side (alongside David Trezeguet), he was sent on loan to AC Ajaccio. In 1999-2000, he helped AS Monaco win the national championship. Pršo also helped them to the UEFA Champions League final in 2004. He is perhaps best remembered for his four goals in the 8–3 win over Deportivo La Coruña (a game which was played on his 29th birthday), which was the highest scoring Champions League scoreline.[7] That night, he also equaled the competition record, joining Marco van Basten and Simone Inzaghi as the competition's top scorer in a single match; this has since been surpassed by Lionel Messi and Luiz Adriano.

Rangers

In May 2004, Pršo signed for Scottish side Rangers on a free transfer. In his first season at the club he played 34 league matches, scoring 18 goals to help Rangers win the Scottish Premier League amid dramatic scenes in the final minutes on the last day of the season; he also won the Scottish League Cup. Departing Rangers manager Alex McLeish hailed Pršo as his "best Rangers signing,"[8] at the end of the 2005–06 season.

Pršo remained a member of the 2006–07 Rangers team, despite announcing his retirement from international football. He suggested he would retire from club football on the expiration of his contract in 2007.[9] Despite this, Pršo's agent stated early in 2007 that he would like to continue playing for Rangers if his fitness allowed it,[10] only to announce in February 2007 that his retirement was potentially imminent. Shortly afterwards, it was confirmed that Pršo could play on for a minimum of one season.[11] But this comment proved to be premature as Pršo announced he would part company with Rangers at the end of the 2007 season due to his recurring knee problems.[12] Pršo's agent also stated that he would seek a transfer to a league where physical fitness was not as much of a requirement, rather than end his footballing career completely, and suggested North America and Asia as possible destinations.

At Pršo's last game at Ibrox Stadium, he walked out after the final whistle wearing a brace on his leg due to damage to his ankle. He waved at the 50,000 fans who waited, and was then given the "Guard of Honour" by his teammates, led by Barry Ferguson before going back up the tunnel with tears in his eyes.[13]

It was announced on 8 June 2007 that Rangers would release a DVD featuring highlights of Pršo's three seasons at Ibrox, with a large amount of proceeds donated to the Rangers Charity Foundation.[14]

International career

He made his debut for Croatia in a March 2003 European Championship qualification match against Belgium and earned a total of 32 caps, scoring 9 goals.[15][16] Pršo was part of the Croatian team at UEFA Euro 2004 where he played in three games. Pršo is remembered in this tournament for the one goal he scored against France in Leiria on 17 June 2004.[17] After scoring four goals during qualifying he was selected to represent his country at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. But he scored no goals during the tournament itself (where the team, as in 2004, was eliminated after the first round).

His final international was at that World Cup against Australia.[18]

Personal life

Pršo comes from a Serb family located in Obrovac, Zadar County. His nephew[19] Milan Pršo has mostly played for FK Rad and represented the Serbian national youth team.[20][21] According to Milan, Dado's parents once lived in Bačka Topola, Serbia, but moved back to Zadar, Croatia.[22]

Pršo and his wife Carol, who is French, have two children, Nicoline (born c. 1999) and Lorenzo (born 2001), who is also a footballer.[23][24]

Career statistics

Club
Sources:[25][26]
Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Croatia League Croatian Cup Super Cup Europe Total
1992–93PazinkaPrva HNL262–––262
France League Coupe de France Coupe de la Ligue Europe Total
1993–94RouenFrench Division 2101–––101
1994–95Championnat National 200–––00
1995–96Stade RaphaëloisChampionnat National 2187–––187
1996–97MonacoChampionnat National 200–––00
1997–98AjaccioChampionnat National238–––238
1998–99Division 230131010–3213
1999–00MonacoDivision 1202532151327
2000–01214002050284
2001–021123120–163
2002–03Ligue 120120033102415
2003–0429841101174516
Scotland League Scottish Cup League Cup Europe Total
2004–05RangersPremier League34181032814621
2005–063291010734112
2006–07284001070364
Total Croatia 262000000262
France 1925813511421823775
Scotland 9431205222412337
Career total 3029028101664312389118

International goals
No.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1 29 March 2003 Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Croatia 1  Belgium 2–0 4–0 UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
2 15 November 2003 8  Slovenia 1–0 1–1 UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
3 19 November 2003 Stadion Bežigrad, Ljubljana, Slovenia 9 1–0 1–0
4 17 June 2004 Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, Leiria, Portugal 14  France 2–1 2–2 UEFA Euro 2004
5 4 September 2004 Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Croatia 16  Hungary 1–0 3–0 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
6 26 March 2005 19  Iceland 4–0 4–0
7 30 March 2005 20  Malta 1–0 3–0
8 2–0
9 28 May 2006 Stadion Gradski vrt, Osijek, Croatia 28  Iran 1–1 2–2 Friendly

Honours

Club

AC Ajaccio

Monaco

Rangers

Individual

References
  1. "Prso takes long path to the top". Agence France-Presse. 22 May 2006. Archived from the original on 31 October 2006. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  2. "Prso to part company with Rangers". BBC Sport website. 29 March 2007.
  3. "Euro 2004 Football - EURO 2004 - LES JOUEURS. IL SAUVE LES BLEUS DE LA DÉFAITE". La Dépêche du Midi (in French). 18 June 2004. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  4. "Dado Pršo poslao poruku Modrima: 'Samo hrabro, pokažite kako Hrvati igraju nogomet'" (in Serbo-Croatian). jutarnji.hr. 24 October 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  5. Football: HE'S DONE IT ALL IN RISE TO THE TOP: Dado Prso.
  6. Croatia's Prso - mechanic who turned into first-class attacker Archived 2 June 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Edgar, Bill (28 September 2004). "Game of the week: AS Monaco v Deportivo La Coruña". The Times. London. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
  8. "The Dado Of 'Em All". Sunday Mail. 7 May 2006.
  9. "Prso fears he is in final season". BBC News. 24 May 2006.
  10. "Rangers striker shelves retirement plans". ESPN Soccernet. 18 January 2007.
  11. "Prso given all-clear to play on". BBC Sport website. 7 February 2007.
  12. "Prso to part company with Rangers". BBC News. 29 March 2007.
  13. "TEARIO DADO; Prso breaks down as Gers stars give him an emotional send-off". The Daily Record. 14 May 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
  14. "Dado Prso DVD". Rangers FC website. 8 June 2007.
  15. "Statistics - Caps: Dado Pršo". Croatian Football Federation. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  16. "Appearances for Croatia National Team". RSSSF. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  17. "Battling Croatia rattle holders France". UEFA. 18 June 2004.
  18. "Player Database". EU-football. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  19. "Hajduk zove maloga Pršu" (in Croatian). slobodnadalmacija.hr. 30 January 2005. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  20. "SRBIN BRANI RENDŽERE: Miladin Dado Pršo na protestima uz navijače" (in Serbo-Croatian). kurir.rs. 16 February 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  21. "Press nabrojao "hrvatske Srbe": Zar vam Tesla i Arsen Dedić nisu ništa dobro donijeli?" (in Serbo-Croatian). Index.hr. 11 October 2009. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  22. "Milan Pršo: Nastupit ću jedino za Srbiju" (in Serbo-Croatian). jutarnji.hr. 28 November 2006. Archived from the original on 5 January 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  23. "I mene je iznenadio Barićev poziv". Nacional (in Croatian). 26 March 2003. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  24. "HRVATSKA DOBIVA NOVOG VELIKOG IGRAČA: SIN LEGENDE VATRENIH ZADIVIO STRUČNJAKE 'Ima 19 godina i bolju tehniku od tate, jako mi nalikuje na Modrića!'". sportske.jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). 17 April 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  25. ダド・プルソ
  26. Dado Pršo HNL stats
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