Where are they now? – Bosko Balaban

Bosko Balaban, for those unacquainted with the Central European sportsman, is a Croatian footballer who endured a torturous two year spell with West Midlands outfit Aston Villa, from 2001-2003. Villa Chairman Doug Ellis, who was notorious for his tight wallet, sanctioned a £5.8 million swoop for the former Croatia front man from Dinamo Zagreb at the beginning of the 2001/02 campaign. Balaban arrived at Villa Park with an impressive goal scoring pedigree; having netted 38 times in only 55 appearances at previous employers Zagreb. Opportunities at Villa were sparse though for the Croatian, and Balaban failed to make any impact; with a paltry nine appearances, seven as substitute, in two-and-a-half years and was unsuccessful in front of goal during his ill-fated spell.

Balaban graduated from his hometown youth academy HNK Rijeka and made 97 first team appearances, scoring 31 times over a five year period, before moving 100 miles inland to the Croatian capital, Zagreb. It was here at Croatia’s most successful team where Balaban made a name for himself and became the league’s top scorer with 14 goals in 25 matches. Balaban’s natural goalscoring ability attracted the attention of Villa boss, John Gregory, who was keen to snare the forward and build a sizeable squad capable of competing for honours in all competitions. Gregory, however, used the striker very sparingly and appeared to have little faith in the forward, despite the significant outlay, and considered Juan Pablo Angel, Darius Vassell, Dion Dublin, Peter Crouch and Stefan Moore to be ahead in the pecking order.

In December 2003 Villa opted to cut their losses and terminated Balaban’s contract and he agreed a deal to join Belgian side Club Brugges on a free transfer. Balaban-reminiscent of his stint at Zagreb- excelled, and amassed an incredible 25 goals in just 24 appearances in his first season in Belgium. The Croatian continued his remarkable goal scoring exploits into the following campaign with a further 27 goals in a mere 30 games. Whilst at Brugges, Balaban was idolised among supporters and earned the nickname ‘Super Bosko’ due to his exceptional record of a goal every other game and the praiseworthy feat of scoring four goals in one game.

Balaban now plies his trade at Malaysian Super League team Selangor FA and made his debut last month, scoring the winning goal against league leaders Kelantan FA. The Croatian, however, will always be remembered by English football fans as one of the most expensive flops in the history of the Premier League, despite his achievements on foreign shores.