Igor Bišćan

Early career

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. He was part of what is considered the most successful era of Dinamo in the Prva HNL, winning two consecutive league titles in 1999 and 2000 and participating in two consecutive group stages of Champions League (Group A, 1998–99 and Group D, 1999–2000). During his four seasons in Croatia, Bišćan scored 11 goals in 84 appearances in domestic leagues, which brought attention of foreign clubs to the promising midfielder.

Liverpool

On 8 December 2000, Bišćan contract was bought-out by Liverpool for £5.5 million at the behest of its manager, Gérard Houllier,^[1] having been sought by Juventus, Barcelona, Ajax and Milan. His debut came in a Premier League match against Ipswich Town, which Liverpool lost 1–0, with Bišćan coming off the bench to replace Christian Ziege in 71st minute. One week later, he played full 90 minutes against Manchester United at Old Trafford, with Liverpool breaking 3,240 minutes of United's undefeated run at their home ground by defeating them 1–0.^[2] He made an impressive start to his Liverpool career, briefly displacing Dietmar Hamann from the starting 11 as the defensive midfielder. He made 21 appearances by the end of the 2000–01 season, 15 of which he started and six of which he came off the substitutes' bench in. His scored his first goal for Liverpool on 14 January 2001, converting in the 18th minute of the 2000–01 League Cup match against Crystal Palace in a 5–0 victory.^[3] Unfortunately for Bišćan, he was cup–tied and therefore ineligible to play for Liverpool in their UEFA Cup-winning season.

Although Bišćan was originally signed as a central midfielder, Gérard Houllier felt he was more useful as centre back and often played Bišćan out of his natural position, sometimes even as a winger or full back. Bišćan fell out of favour after his first year at Liverpool, making only 23 appearances in the next two seasons. During this time, he made few starts and spent a total of 37 matches on the bench without being used as a substitute. A major injury crisis of the team in 2003–04 season gave Bišćan a comeback chance, and by the start of the new Premier League season, he had returned into the starting 11, featuring regularly as a centre-back in the absences of Stéphane Henchoz and Jamie Carragher. By the end of the season, Bišćan featured in 39 matches, 30 of which he played the entire 90 minutes. He was sent-off in 36th minute of Liverpool's UEFA Cup second leg match against Marseille, which turned things around for Liverpool as they were eliminated from the competition, after which he struggled to regain his place.

In 2004–05 season, Bišćan returned to a central midfield role and played a vital part in Liverpool's run to the finals of the UEFA Champions League and was notable particularly for his marauding runs from midfield during matches against Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus and Chelsea. He was an unused substitute against Milan in the final, but still received a winner's medal. His last official match for the Reds was on 15 May 2005 in a Premier League clash against Aston Villa. During his last season Bišćan scored two more goals (against Fulham^[4] and Bolton Wanderers^[5]) and made a total of 35 appearances. Although Bišćan failed to live up to expectations, he is fondly remembered by Liverpool fans after his impressive final year at the club.

As a Liverpool player, he also made a cameo appearance in the film Goal!, scoring a header in the final match of the film when Liverpool were playing Newcastle United.

Panathinaikos

Following the termination of his contract with the Reds, on 15 June 2005, Bišćan signed for major Greek club Panathinaikos. During his two years in Athens, he made 36 appearances and scored 3 goals. Unfortunately, Bišćan had a major decline in his game, disappointing both fans and the club owners.^[6] On 1 June 2007, Bišćan's contract expired and the club showed no interest in renewing his contract, making him a free agent again.

Return to Dinamo Zagreb

Bišćan spent the next six months resting from football and mostly avoiding the high public interest shown in him. During this time, he was regularly approached by Dinamo Zagreb director Zdravko Mamić, who was interested in bringing Bišćan back to his home club. After months of negotiations, Bišćan finally signed contract on 3 December 2007. Although he was criticized for his lacking performances by the fans, Bišćan rose to become the captain of the club after the departure of Luka Modrić to Tottenham Hotspur. Following his return, Dinamo played for two consecutive seasons in UEFA Cup group stages, also winning two domestic league titles and two Croatian Cup titles.

On 19 April 2011, it was announced by unconfirmed reports that Bišćan has been scheduled for an operation on a joint that could spell the end of his career. Luckily, Bišćan opted to continue playing football and end his career at Dinamo. In April 2012, he terminated his contract with the club.^[7]

Club

^{[11][12][13][14][15]}

¹ Featured in the 2001 FA Charity Shield.

International goal

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	16 June 1999	Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea	Mexico	2 – 1	2 – 1	Friendly match

Player

^[16][17]

Samobor

• Croatian Second League (1): 1995–96 (West)

Dinamo Zagreb^[18]

• Croatian First League (8): 1997–98 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12
• Croatian Cup (4): 1997–98, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11
• Croatian Super Cup (1): 2010

Liverpool

• League Cup (1): 2000–01
• Community Shield (1): 2001
• UEFA Super Cup (1): 2001
• UEFA Champions League (1): 2004–05

Manager

Rudeš

• Croatian Second League (1): 2016–17

Olimpija Ljubljana

• Slovenian PrvaLiga (1): 2017–18
• Slovenian Cup (1): 2017–18