Igor Bišćan

Igor Bišćan

Personal information
Height	0.02 m (1 in)
Position(s)	Defensive Midfielder
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of July 2007

Igor Bišćan (born May 4, 1978 in Zagreb, Croatia) is a Croatian football player, who plays primarily as a defensive central midfielder. He is currently a free agent, having left Panathinaikos. He has played 15 games for Croatia, scoring one goal, though his international career has suffered from an incident in which he walked out of an international training camp, leading to a long-standing ban.

At the start of his career Bišćan began to amass an impressive level of playing experience, representing Croatia at youth football level and then captaining his club, Dinamo Zagreb, in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup.

His contract was bought by former Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier for £5.5 million in December 2000, having been sought after by Juventus, Barcelona, Ajax and A.C. Milan. However, Houllier often played Bišćan out of position, opting to play him sometimes as a winger or full back, but most often as a centre back, where he played for 39 games in the 2003-04 season.

The following season, though not an automatic choice for the first team under new manager Rafael Benítez, Bišćan was played in his favourite position when he got a chance through injuries to other players, playing a vital part in Liverpool's run to the final of the Champions League, and was notable particularly for his marauding runs from midfield during matches against Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus and Chelsea F.C..

Bišćan made 118 appearances for Liverpool, and scored three goals. The first came in a Worthington Cup semi-final second leg against Crystal Palace at Anfield, which Liverpool won 5-0 on the night (having previously been 2-1 down after the first leg). The second came in a 4-2 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage. Liverpool came from 2-0 down to win 4-2. Biscan came on as a late substitute and scored with his second touch of the game. His third goal was a late winner in the 1-0 victory over Bolton Wanderers at Anfield. During his time at Liverpool, Bišćan made himself a cult hero among the fans, particularly in his final European campaign.

Biscan joined Greek side Panathinaikos in July 2005 after he was released by Liverpool.

Biscan has been strongly linked with English Championship side Sheffield Wednesday, however he is yet to sign a contract.

Liverpool fans have recently started a campaign to find Biscan a new club and are discussing this on the message boards of their website. They are even e-mailing some Premiership and Championship clubs in order to find Biscan a new club

External links

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