Rade Prica
Personal information
Full name Rade Stanislav Prica
Date of birth (1980-06-30) 30 June 1980 (age 43)
Place of birth Ljungby, Sweden
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
Ljungby IF
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–1997 Ljungby 37 (14)
1998–2002 Helsingborg 74 (27)
2002–2006 Hansa Rostock 113 (20)
2006–2008 AaB 48 (28)
2008–2009 Sunderland 6 (1)
2009–2012 Rosenborg 104 (57)
2013–2015 Maccabi Tel Aviv 62 (24)
2015 Helsingborg 9 (2)
2016 Maccabi Petah Tikva 10 (3)
2016 Landskrona BoIS 9 (4)
Total 472 (180)
International career
1995–1997 Sweden U17 31 (5)
1998–1999 Sweden U19 21 (4)
1999–2001 Sweden U21 13 (5)
2001–2008 Sweden 14 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Rade Stanislav Prica (born 30 June 1980) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the only player who has won league championships in the three Scandinavian countries – Sweden, Denmark and Norway.[1] He also played in the Bundesliga, the Premier League, and the Israeli Premier League during a career that spanned between 1995 and 2016. A full international between 2001 and 2008, he won 14 caps and scored two goals for the Sweden national team.

Club career

Early career

Prica started his footballing career as a youth player for Ljungby, he then made his way into the first team, making 37 appearances and scoring 14 goals, over a period of three seasons.[2]

After leaving Ljungby, Prica signed for renowned Swedish club Helsingborg in 1998, he then went on to play for them for five seasons playing 73 times scoring 27 goals, Prica then moved to German team Hansa Rostock.[3]

Prica signed for Aalborg BK in 2006 after being released by Hansa Rostock,[4] During the 2006–07 season, he was topscorer in the Danish Superliga scoring 19 goals.[5]

Sunderland

Sunderland completed the signing of Prica on 23 January 2008 for a fee of more than £2 million on a three-and-a-half-year contract.[6]

He scored on his debut for at Sunderland against Birmingham City on 29 January 2008, and missed out in scoring a second with referee Mark Halsey ruling it out for handball.[7]

Prica came on as a substitute for Kieran Richardson in a League game against Liverpool at Anfield after just 7 minutes, but was then substituted himself after 56 minutes.[8]

Prica was rarely featured in the Sunderland squad. In January 2009, official sources with the club acknowledged that he was sought by two unnamed British clubs and a European club, rumored to be his previous Danish club Aalborg BK.[9]

Prica was given limited opportunities by Sunderland and did not start a game. It was reported on Sky Sports that Prica had been made available for loan.

Rosenborg

On 9 March 2009, Prica signed a four-year deal with Rosenborg for £2.3 million.[10] He became the top scorer in the Norwegian top division in the 2009 season, scoring 17 goals in 27 appearances.[11] On 10 April 2011, round three of the 2011 Tippeligaen, Prica scored all four goals for Rosenborg in a 4–4 draw with Lillestrøm SK.[12]

Later career

On 9 January 2013, it was reported Prica had agreed terms with Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Israeli Premier League.[13] Prica signed in January 2013. Since his arrival to the club he has been very appreciated by either the Israeli fans and media, and had an instant impact for Maccabi Tel Aviv, scoring 8 goals in his first 18 appearances.

On 11 August 2015, he returned to Helsingborg.[14]

International career

Having represented the Sweden U17, U19, and U21 teams, Prica made his full international debut for the Sweden national team on 10 February 2001 in a friendly 4–1 win against Thailand when he played for 66 minutes before being replaced by Martin Åslund.[15] He scored his first goal for Sweden on 18 January 2007 in a friendly 1–2 loss against Ecuador.[16] He made his first and only competitive appearance for Sweden on 8 September 2007 in a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier against Denmark, coming on a substitute for Zlatan Ibrahimović in the 88th minute of a 0–0 draw.[17] In total, Prica won 14 caps and scored two goals during an international career that spanned between 2001 and 2008.[15]

Personal life

Prica's father is a Serb and his mother is a Croat.[18][19] Prica's son, Tim Prica, is also a professional footballer.[20] His nephew, Pierre Engvall is a professional hockey player currently employed by the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League.

Career statistics

Club

As of 11 November 2016
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Ljungby IF 1995 Division 3 6 1 0 0 0 0 6 1
1996 Division 2 20 5 0 0 0 0 20 5
1997 Division 3 11 8 0 0 0 0 11 8
Total 37 14 0 0 0 0 37 14
Helsingborg 1998 Allsvenskan 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
1999 Allsvenskan 18 6 0 0 0 0 18 6
2000 Allsvenskan 24 11 0 0 5 1 29 12
2001 Allsvenskan 25 7 0 0 3 0 28 7
2002 Allsvenskan 6 3 0 0 0 0 6 3
Total 74 27 0 0 8 1 82 28
Hansa Rostock 2002–03 Bundesliga 27 7 3 0 0 0 30 7
2003–04 Bundesliga 28 3 0 0 0 0 28 3
2004–05 Bundesliga 29 6 4 1 0 0 33 7
2005–06 2. Bundesliga 29 4 2 1 0 0 31 5
Total 113 20 9 2 0 0 122 22
Aalborg 2006–07 Superliga 32 19 0 0 0 0 32 19
2007–08 Superliga 16 9 0 0 5 2 21 11
Total 48 28 0 0 5 2 53 30
Sunderland 2007–08 Premier League 6 1 0 0 0 0 6 1
2008–09 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 6 1 0 0 0 0 6 1
Rosenborg 2009 Tippeligaen 28 17 3 0 2 0 33 17
2010 Tippeligaen 23 13 3 0 11 3 37 16
2011 Tippeligaen 27 16 5 2 6 2 38 20
2012 Tippeligaen 26 11 3 2 12 1 41 14
Total 104 57 14 4 31 6 149 67
Maccabi Tel Aviv 2012–13 Ligat Winner 18 8 2 0 0 0 20 8
2013–14 Ligat Winner 30 12 0 0 10 0 40 12
2014–15 Ligat Winner 17 5 2 4 5 2 24 11
Total 65 25 4 4 15 2 84 31
Helsingborg 2015 Allsvenskan 9 2 1 2 0 0 10 4
Maccabi Petah Tikva 2015–16 Ligat Winner 10 3 1 0 0 0 11 3
Landskrona BoIS 2016 Division 1 9 4 0 0 0 0 9 4
Career total 475 181 29 12 59 11 563 204

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[15]
National team Year Apps Goals
Sweden 2001 2 0
2002 1 0
2003 2 0
2004 1 0
2005 0 0
2006 0 0
2007 6 2
2008 2 0
Total 14 2
Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Prica goal.
List of international goals scored by Rade Prica
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 18 January 2007 Estadio Alejandro Serrano Aguilar, Cuenca, Ecuador  Ecuador 1–2 1–2 Friendly [16]
2 12 September 2007 Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro  Montenegro 2–1 2–1 Friendly [21]

Honours

Helsingborgs IF

Aalborg

Rosenborg

Maccabi Tel Aviv

Maccabi Petah Tikva

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Prica skandinavisk mester" (in Norwegian). RBKweb. 29 September 2009. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  2. ^ "Rade Prica" (in Swedish). ronaldzwiers.0catch.com. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
  3. ^ "Rade Prica signs for Hansa Rostock". abcgoal.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
  4. ^ "Rade Prica signs for AaB Aalborg". abcgoal.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
  5. ^ "Rade Prica". safc.com. Archived from the original on 3 April 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
  6. ^ "Rade Prica signs for Sunderland". safc.com. 23 January 2008. Archived from the original on 29 March 2008. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
  7. ^ Lyon, Sam (29 January 2008). "Sunderland 2–0 Birmingham". BBC. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
  8. ^ Boyle, David. "The Top Ten: SAFC's Strangest Transfer Tales". rokerreport.sbnation.com. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  9. ^ "Trio chasing Prica deal". Sky Sports. 10 January 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  10. ^ "Rade Prica er klar for Rosenborg" [Rade Prica signs for Rosenborg] (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 10 March 2009.
  11. ^ "– Kjennes veldig bra å bli toppscorer" (in Norwegian). Fotballadressa. 1 November 2009. Archived from the original on 3 November 2009. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  12. ^ "Rosenborg – Lillestrøm". fotball.no. 10 April 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  13. ^ "Prica nær Israel-overgang" [Prica near the Israel-transition] (in Norwegian Bokmål). Nettavisen. 7 January 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  14. ^ "Prica showed at Helsingborg" (in Hebrew). One. 11 August 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  15. ^ a b c "Rade Prica - Spelarstatistik - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se. (in Swedish). Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  16. ^ a b "Ecuador - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  17. ^ "Sverige - Danmark - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.sehttps (in Swedish). Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  18. ^ "Prica skandinavisk mester" (in Norwegian). RBKweb. 29 September 2009. Retrieved 10 November 2018. måljegeren med serbisk far og kroatisk mor
  19. ^ "– Keanes "dårligste" kjøp nærmer seg RBK". dagbladet.no (in Norwegian). 16 February 2009. Retrieved 10 November 2018. svensken, med serbisk far og kroatisk mor
  20. ^ "MFF skriver kontrakt med HIF-ikonens son". www.expressen.se.
  21. ^ "Montenegro - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.sehttps (in Swedish). Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  22. ^ "Mestvinnende spillere" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. 19 October 2006. Retrieved 2 November 2010.

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