Monaco's and Croatia's Dado Prso: On The Way To San Siro?
No, Glasgow Rangers

Ozren Podnar reports...

USA | Japan

Until half-way through the last season, few Croats had heard of Dado Prso. The pundits knew he was one of a myriad of Croatian footballers playing abroad, scoring now and then for AS Monaco, but only the biggest soccer fanatics would have been able to identify him on a photo. About a year later, Prso (pronounced Per-shoh) is a household name for every Croat, the symbol of the current national team which he helped on the way to the Euro 2004 final stage in Portugal.

Not only did he sweep the competition in the traditional Footballer of the Year contest in the leading daily Vecernji List, but he became the first player to do so with maximum points, which means that each one of the voters gave him the most points!

Not even Davor Suker, the top scorer and hero of the World Cup in France, managed that. Of course, the competition back then in 1998 was stiffer, with people like Boban, Prosinecki, Asanovic or Boksic still active, but that does not make Prso's feat any less amazing.

Previously plagued by injuries, Prso hit a fantastic scoring streak last season with Monaco and the president of the Croatian FA Vlatko Markovic took notice. Markovic himself bludgeoned coach Otto Baric to go to France to take a look at Prso.

A prolific scorer was badly needed since the national team was close to the bottom of their qualifying group behind Bulgaria, Belgium and Estonia, having scored, er, zero goals in their first two games. Baric finally saw Prso in action and was convinced. "He may be what we need to get back in the game," said the coach.

The 191 cm tall striker made his debut on March 29th 2003 in Zagreb against Belgium and scored the second of the four goals with a truly magnificent header. "I felt like crying, but I resisted and just ran to the stands to greet my sister and my brother in law," said an overwhelmed Prso after his baptism of fire.

His goal and a vast array of inspired moves impressed the nation. "Could it be that we again have a player capable of deciding games on his own?" wrote the press, comparing Prso to Suker. Some wondered how come such a quality forward had not been discovered sooner, and argued he had been ignored by the Croatian leading clubs back then in the wartime of 1994 because of his Serb ethnicity.

After several more injury-ridden months, the pony-tailed Dalmatian returned in time for the key stage of the qualifications. With a wonderful solo effort he set up Ivica Olic for the winning, second-place clinching goal against Bulgaria in October, made headlines by scoring four goals for Monaco against hapless Deportivo in the Champions League, and then went on to lead Croatia, paired with Slovenia in the additional qualifiers for Euro 2004.

He was on target in both games, in the first leg's 1-1 draw in Zagreb, and the second leg in Ljubljana, when he netted the only goal of the game, two minutes after Croats had suffered the blow of losing the stopper Igor Tudor through two silly bookings.

"It may be that I would make much more at Milan than I do at Monaco, but more money does not necessarily mean a happier player," said the 29-year-old who has recently been described as "the only Croatian footballer fit to play for Brasil" and "the Croatian Van Basten".

If he indeed ends up with that famed red and black striped shirt, the comparison may just sound somewhat less strained...even though Prso is currently a full year older than the Dutchman was when he played his last game for Milan before being shattered by injuries.

To be considered the best player of a relevant footballing nation is no mean feat for someone who has made his way out of the deepest provinces of Croatia and France. At 20 he did actually play in the Croatian First Division for the unfashionable Pazinka, earning around 200 dollars a week.

Tired of waiting to be spotted by one of the two "big guns", Dinamo Zagreb and Hajduk Split, at the end of 1993/94 season, he simply packed his bags and travelled to France, where his agents had arranged for him a transfer to the Second Division Rouen.

After a season there, he was so discouraged with the little impact he had made that he quit the club, found a job in a car repair shop and started spending his nights in the local bars playing pool and roulette. He almost abandoned football altogether, settling temporarily in the Fourth Division San Raphael, playing there with little motivation until 'she' came along. Carol, today his wife, inspired him with a fresh will to fight to realize his footballing dreams.

One day in early 1997 his club played a friendly against Monaco, and the coaches from the principality were stunned to see such a good player "rotting" in the Fourth Division. They offered him a contract, but the presence of Trezeguet and Henry in Monte Carlo meant that he was ceded to Ajaccio for the next two years.

When he finally debuted for Monaco in the 1999/00 season, he was only moderately used, but he did notch that goal against Caen which sealed his new club's win in the Championnat. Injuries were cruel to him until last season, when he was healthy enough to score a hefty figure of 12 goals in 20 appearances.

Around Christmas it was rumoured that AC Milan would bring him to San Siro this January, but most likely Prso will become a citizen of Serie A only next summer. Gazzetta dello Sport has already introduced him as the new Milan player, and the Croatian press also report that he has already come to an agreement with the current European champions. The only stumbling block in the future transfer may be Prso's own reluctance to move from the peaceful, quiet and pressureless life at Monte Carlo.

Dado Prso finally agreed a 3-year deal with Glasgow Rangers in May 2004.

Ozren Podnar