Iván Knez

Iván Knez (born 21 July 1974) is a former footballer who played as a defender during the 1990s and 2000s.

Ivan Knez
Personal information
Full name Iván Knez
Date of birth (1974-07-21) 21 July 1974
Place of birth Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Youth career
SC Emmen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1999 FC Lucerne 66 (2)
1999–2002 FC Basel 51 (0)
2002–2003 SK Rapid Wien 50 (1)
2003–2005 BSC Young Boys 56 (2)
2005–2007 FC Augsburg 10 (0)
Total 233 (5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Football career

Although he was born in Argentina, Knez was raised in Switzerland and started playing football in the youth movement of the local club SC Emmen. He began his professional career with FC Lucerne in 1994. After five years at the club, he moved to FC Basel in 1999.

Knez joined Basel's first team for their 1999–2000 season under new head coach Christian Gross. After playing one test match, his debut for his new club was in the home game in the Stadion Schützenmatte on 26 June 1999 as Basel beat Korotan 6–0 in return leg of the first round of the 1999 UI Cup and advanced to the next round. After playing in another UIC and another test game Knez played his domestic league debut for the club in the away game in the Cornaredo on 7 July 1999 as Basel played a 1–1 draw against Lugano.[1] He scored his first goal for the club on 24 August in the away game in the stadion Espenmoos as Basel played a 1–1 draw against St. Gallen.[2] Knez played as centre-back together with Oliver Kreuzer. FC Basel reached the final of the 2001 UEFA Intertoto Cup, but they lost to Aston Villa. Knez helped the club win the Double during the 2001/02 season.[3]

Between the years 1999 and 2002 Knez played a total of 122 games for Basel scoring just the afore mentioned goal. 68 of these games were in the Nationalliga A, 5 in the Swiss Cup, 5 in the UEFA cup, 7 in the UI Cup and 37 were friendly games.[4]

In August 2002, he signed for Austrian Bundesliga club SK Rapid Wien, but returned to the Swiss Nationalliga a year later with BSC Young Boys. He then headed off to Germany's second division with FC Augsburg, and he retired in the summer of 2007.

Honours
Lucerne
Basel
Augsburg

References
  1. Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (7 July 1999). "FC Lugano - FC Basel 1:1 (0:1)". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  2. Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (24 August 1999). "FC St. Gallen - FC Basel 1:1 (0:0)". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  3. Müller, Lukas (2009). "Rotblau: Ivan Knez, der solide Fels in der Brandung beim FCB". Rotblau. FC Basel Marketing AG. ISSN 1660-0878.
  4. Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (2007). "Ivan Knez - FCB statistic". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 16 November 2020.

Sources
  • Rotblau: Jahrbuch Saison 2017/2018. Publisher: FC Basel Marketing AG. ISBN 978-3-7245-2189-1
  • Die ersten 125 Jahre. Publisher: Josef Zindel im Friedrich Reinhardt Verlag, Basel. ISBN 978-3-7245-2305-5
  • Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv" Homepage


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