Alen Bokšić (pronounced ; born 21 January 1970) is a former Croatian professional footballer. A forward who spent most of his career in France and Italy, he was renowned for his technique and power, and is regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the Croatia national football team.
With Marseille, Bokšić won the 1992–93 UEFA Champions League, and was voted fourth in the 1993 European Footballer of the Year poll. That same year he was named Croatian Footballer of the Year. He also won two Serie A titles in 1997 and 2000 with Juventus and Lazio respectively, and is regarded as one of the best foreign players in the history of Serie A since 1980.
Although selected for Yugoslavia squad at the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, the 20-year-old Bokšić did not play in the tournament, with coach Ivica Osim preferring more experienced forwards in the lineup. Following Croatia's independence from Yugoslavia Bokšić became an integral part of Croatia's national team in the 1990s under coach Miroslav Blažević. He played for Croatia at the 1996 European Championship but was not included in the squad for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France due to an injury he suffered only weeks before the tournament. Bokšić finally made his World Cup debut at the age of 32 at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan, appearing in all three of the team's group stage matches, before retiring only a year later in 2003.
Twenty-year-old Bokšić was a member of the Yugoslavia national squad during 1990 World Cup, but coach Ivica Osim did not give him a single minute of action, preferring the more experienced Zlatko Vujović and Darko Pančev for places upfront.
For the Croatia national team, Bokšić was capped 40 times, scoring ten goals. He made his debut for them in a June 1993 friendly match against Ukraine and his final international was an October 2002 European Championship qualification match against Bulgaria. He played for his country at Euro 96. He missed Croatia's surprising third-place run in the 1998 FIFA World Cup due to injury. This was a devastating blow for the Croatian team as they could not pair him together with Davor Šuker. He finally made his World Cup playing debut in the 2002 World Cup at the age of 32.
Bokšić married Ajda in 1990. The couple had three children (daughter Stella and sons Toni and Alen) before divorcing in 2000.
In 2004 from a relationship with girlfriend Jadranka Bokšić had another daughter Laura.
English Premier League 2 Goals 2000-09-30 | English Premier League 2 Goals 2000-08-19 |
1987-1991 |
1991-1993 |
1991-1992 (Loan) |
1993-1996 |
1993-2002 |
1996-1997 |
1997-2000 |
2000-2003 |
| Middlesbrough | Appearances | FA Cup | 2000-2001 | 3 |
| Middlesbrough | Appearances | English Premier League | 2000-2001 | 28 |
| Middlesbrough | Goals | English Premier League | 2000-2001 | 12 |