Ivica Kralj

Club

International

Kralj made his international debut for FR Yugoslavia on 28 December 1996, coming on as a late second-half substitute for Zvonko Milojević in a 3–2 friendly win away to Argentina. He subsequently became the first-choice goalkeeper for the national team under Slobodan Santrač, helping them to qualify for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. In the final tournament, Kralj played the full 90 minutes in all of his team's four games, as they were eliminated by the Netherlands in the knockout stage. Despite not playing regularly at club level, Kralj was named by Vujadin Boškov in Yugoslavia's final UEFA Euro 2000 squad, choosing the number 22 shirt. They went on to reach the quarter-finals of the competition, where the team was eliminated by the Netherlands. The hosts achieved a convincing 6–1 victory, including a hat-trick by Patrick Kluivert and a brace by Marc Overmars. In June 2001, after a one-year absence from the national team, Kralj was selected to represent his country at the Kirin Cup. He made his last appearance for FR Yugoslavia in a 1–1 home draw with Slovenia on 5 September 2001, as the country failed to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Over a five-year international career, Kralj earned 41 caps for Yugoslavia.

After hanging up his boots, Kralj worked for some time as a player agent. He was appointed as president of Mačva Šabac in January 2015. In November 2020, after spending five and a half years in charge, Kralj stepped down from his position. In September 2022, Kralj was appointed as sporting director of Partizan. In September 2024, Kralj was dismissed from the position, and was replaced by previous sporting director Ivica Iliev.

Partizan

Born in Kotor and raised in Tivat, Kralj started out at his local club Arsenal Tivat, before joining Partizan as a trainee in the summer of 1987. He broke into their first team at the age of 16, sitting on the bench during a 5–4 away loss to Celtic in the second leg of the European Cup Winners' Cup first round on 27 September 1989. In order to gain experience, Kralj was later sent out on loan to Zvezdara (1992–93) and Jastrebac Niš (1993–94), before returning to Partizan. He made his league debut for the club in the 1995–96 season, as they won the championship title. In the 1996–97 campaign, Partizan won their second consecutive title, as Kralj became the club's undisputed first-choice goalkeeper and earned his first national team cap. He also won the FR Yugoslavia Cup in the 1997–98 season, before going abroad.

Porto

In the summer of 1998, Kralj moved to Portugal and signed with Porto. He initially established himself as the club's first-choice goalkeeper, helping them win the Supertaça on 9 September 1998. However, following Vítor Baía's return to Porto in the 1999 winter transfer window, Kralj completely lost his place in the starting lineup. He was subsequently loaned to Radnički Kragujevac until the end of the 1998–99 season.

PSV

In the 1999 summer transfer window, Kralj was transferred to Dutch club PSV. He featured in the UEFA Champions League of that year where PSV suffered a 4–1 defeat to Rangers in the group stage. Shortly…