Igor Biscan: From Hero To The Proverbial Villain

Ozren Podnar reports...

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The Croatian Federation has suspended Liverpool's Igor Biscan from the national team for six months for leaving the national team without permission last October on the eve of the crucial European Championship qualifying match against Bulgaria, after the 25-year-old later failed to apologize for the incident.

Biscan's suspension was provisionally imposed on December 8th and officially confirmed on February 9th, so that it expires on June 7th, four days before the start of the European Championships in Portugal. Is it a hint to Biscan that, should he repent, he could be pardoned in time to be included in the squad? Or is the date set to tantalize him further as to what might have been?

When Igor Biscan appeared in the Croatian Division One back in spring of 1998 he was quickly labeled the "Croatian Frank Rijkaard", and not in vain. Not only is he equally apt at playing in central defence and in central midfield, but he is also as big and strong as his illustrious Dutch predecessor, with running and tackling capacities and stamina to match.

Biscan's debut in Dinamo Zagreb's first team was somewhat belated, at 19 and a half years, due to the legion of star players present in Croatia's top team in the second half of the nineties. Dinamo was late President Franjo Tudjman's favourite plaything and he made sure the club lacked nothing, although no government money officially reached Dinamo's treasury.

Blond, the 1.91m tall Biscan soon turned out to be the crowd's and writers' favourite as he crushed opponents' attacks and set up offensive plays from deep in his own half. Sometimes he would indulge in long advances, dribbling through enemy defences much in the style of Franz Beckenbauer.

With Biscan Dinamo went on to win three League titles from 1998 to 2000 and the Cup in 1998, in addition to playing in the controversial 2000 Cup finals, when the Federation inexplicably failed to punish Hajduk Split for its fans' massive pitch invasion in the first leg in Split.

Having debuted in the national team in 1999, at 22 he was seriously linked with Barcelona, which at one time confirmed that the signing of the sensational Croat was already a done deal, but then Liverpool stepped in and picked up the popular "Biki", a native of one of Zagreb's wildest city blocks.

Biscan made his Anfield debut in early 2001, and after a promising first five months, he lost form and confidence as Gerard Houllier could field only three of his many non-EU players. Beaten to a place in the three-man non-EU quota by Stephane Henchoz, Patrik Berger and Vladimir Smicer, the Croatian giant sunk deep, playing only 12 Premiership games over the next two seasons.

The loss of his place in the Croatian team was inevitable, but the undaunted Biscan worked hard last summer and forced his way into the first-team squad for the European Championship qualifying campaign.

As soon as Houllier started to field him with more regularity, Croatia's coach Otto Baric did not hesitate to call him up for the crucial Euro 2004 qualifier against Bulgaria in Zagreb. Croatia had to win to be sure of a place in the playoffs, where they eventually overcame Slovenia, and the nation rallied behind the boys in checkered shirts to give them the necessary push to pip the Belgians for second place in the group.

Not so Biscan. Convinced that a dozen games for Liverpool earlier in the season should have guaranteed him a place in the starting eleven, upon finding on the eve of the clash with the Bulgarians that he would be among the reserves, he simply picked up his belongings and abandoned the Croatian camp in Catez, 30 km outside of Zagreb, just across the border in Slovenia.

He did not give any official explanation to the team directors, nor to the press, to whom he has no habit of speaking. The media were furious, calling for Biscan's disqualification from the national team "for good", labeling him a "traitor" and "deserter". One paper even hinted that Biscan was "in a merry condition" when he decided to leave the Croatia camp. The ever serious Croatian FA chairman Vlatko Markovic simply stated that "as long as he held the office, Biscan would never be called up".

Biscan's fellow players on the national team were loyal to a point, limiting their comments to "he should not have done that", and national team coach Otto Baric offered some hope to the "fugitive": "We could welcome him back provided he apologized. It is not as if he had killed someone."

It was not long before the English press got wind of the Biscan issue, but Houllier trusted his player when he claimed that he had left the team because he had not been treated well, denying he had been drinking before the incident. "I believe Biscan, he is a good professional and no drunkard", said the French coach.

The Croatian FA initiated disciplinary proceedings and asked Biscan to offer an explanation of his conduct, which he finally did in a letter that reached the FA offices in mid-January. The press were not shown the player's response, but from the bewildered faces of the FA disciplinary officials, the Liverpool man had not written exactly what they had been expecting.

It was leaked that Biscan insisted he had been mistreated on the national team, and that he even ironically "thanked" the FA for "saying unfair and unverified things" about him that potentially threatened his career with his Premiership club.

He allegedly summed up his position by saying "if the atmosphere around the national team does not improve, I may not find the motivation to return."

The press was again at Biscan's throat. "Now he has definitely blocked his way to the national team with a series of own-goals" or "Who could ever risk calling up such a vagabond again", wrote the Sportske novosti daily, and even the conciliatory Otto Baric spoke in a harsher tone.

"I am greatly disappointed with the news. What he did is incomprehensible. He had some problems in Liverpool but he worked hard and won the coach's trust. He should have had the same patience regarding the national team. He is not so fantastic to have guaranteed place," commented a dejected Baric, resigned to having to make do at the Euro 2004 without the powerhouse from Liverpool.

Ozren Podnar

Igor Biscan

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Position: defender, defensive midfield
Birth date: May 7, 1978
Birthplace: Zagreb
Height & weight: 190 cm, 80 kg
Appearances & goals:
1997/98 Samobor 12 - 1
Dinamo Zagreb 5 - 0
1998/99 Dinamo Zagreb 19 - 2
1999/00 Dinamo Zagreb 29 - 6
2000/01 Dinamo Zagreb 14 - 3
Liverpool 13 - 0
2001/02 Liverpool 6 - 0
2002/03 Liverpool 6 - 0
2003/04 Liverpool 23 - 0
1999-01 Croatia 18 - 1
Honours:
3 Croatian championships (1998-2000)
1 Croatian Cup (1998)
1 FA Cup (2001)
2 League Cups (2001, 2003)
1 Charity Shield (2001)
1 UEFA Cup (2001)
1 European SuperCup (2001)