Rade Prica
FullnameRade Stanislav Prica
Birth date30 June 1980 (age 46)
Birth placeLjungby, Sweden
Height1.85 m
PositionStriker
Youthclubs 1Ljungby IF
Years 11995–1997
Clubs 1Ljungby
Caps 137
Goals 114
Years 21998–2002
Clubs 2Helsingborg
Caps 274
Goals 227
Years 32002–2006
Clubs 3Hansa Rostock
Caps 3113
Goals 320
Years 42006–2008
Clubs 4AaB
Caps 448
Goals 428
Years 52008–2009
Clubs 5Sunderland
Caps 56
Goals 51
Years 62009–2012
Clubs 6Rosenborg
Caps 6104
Goals 657
Years 72013–2015
Clubs 7Maccabi Tel Aviv
Caps 762
Goals 724
Years 82015
Clubs 8Helsingborg
Caps 89
Goals 82
Years 92016
Clubs 9Maccabi Petah Tikva
Caps 910
Goals 93
Years 102016
Clubs 10Landskrona BoIS
Caps 109
Goals 104
Totalcaps472
Totalgoals180
Nationalyears 11995–1997
Nationalteam 1Sweden U17
Nationalcaps 131
Nationalgoals 15
Nationalyears 21998–1999
Nationalteam 2Sweden U19
Nationalcaps 221
Nationalgoals 24
Nationalyears 31999–2001
Nationalteam 3Sweden U21
Nationalcaps 313
Nationalgoals 35
Nationalyears 42001–2008
Nationalteam 4Sweden
Nationalcaps 414
Nationalgoals 42

Rade Stanislav Prica (born 30 June 1980) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the only player who has won league championships in the three Scandinavian countries – Sweden, Denmark and Norway.[1] He also played in the Bundesliga, the Premier League, and the Israeli Premier League during a career that spanned between 1995 and 2016. A full international between 2001 and 2008, he won 14 caps and scored two goals for the Sweden national team.

Club career

Early career

Prica started his footballing career as a youth player for Ljungby, he then made his way into the first team, making 37 appearances and scoring 14 goals, over a period of three seasons.[2]

After leaving Ljungby, Prica signed for renowned Swedish club Helsingborg in 1998, he then went on to play for them for five seasons playing 73 times scoring 27 goals, Prica then moved to German team Hansa Rostock.[3]

Prica signed for Aalborg BK in 2006 after being released by Hansa Rostock,[4] During the 2006–07 season, he was topscorer in the Danish Superliga scoring 19 goals.[5]

Sunderland

Sunderland completed the signing of Prica on 23 January 2008 for a fee of more than £2 million on a three-and-a-half-year contract.[6]

He scored on his debut for at Sunderland against Birmingham City on 29 January 2008, and missed out in scoring a second with referee Mark Halsey ruling it out for handball.[7]

Prica came on as a substitute for Kieran Richardson in a League game against Liverpool at Anfield after just 7 minutes, but was then substituted himself after 56 minutes.[8]

Prica was rarely featured in the Sunderland squad. In January 2009, official sources with the club acknowledged that he was sought by two unnamed British clubs and a European club, rumored to be his previous Danish club Aalborg BK.[9]

Prica was given limited opportunities by Sunderland and did not start a game. It was reported on Sky Sports that Prica had been made available for loan.

Rosenborg

On 9 March 2009, Prica signed a four-year deal with Rosenborg for £2.3 million.[10] He became the top scorer in the Norwegian top division in the 2009 season, scoring 17 goals in 27 appearances.[11] On 10 April 2011, round three of the 2011 Tippeligaen, Prica scored all four goals for Rosenborg in a 4–4 draw with Lillestrøm SK.[12]

Later career

On 9 January 2013, it was reported Prica had agreed terms with Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Israeli Premier League.[13] Prica signed in January 2013. Since his arrival to the club he has been very appreciated by either the Israeli fans and media, and had an instant impact for Maccabi Tel Aviv, scoring 8 goals in his first 18 appearances.

On 11 August 2015, he returned to Helsingborg.[14]

International career

Having represented the Sweden U17, U19, and U21 teams, Prica made his full international debut for the Sweden national team on 10 February 2001 in a friendly 4–1 win against Thailand when he played for 66 minutes before being replaced by Martin Åslund.[15] He scored his first goal for Sweden on 18 January 2007 in a friendly 1–2 loss against Ecuador.[16] He made his first and only competitive appearance for Sweden on 8 September 2007 in a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier against Denmark, coming on a substitute for Zlatan Ibrahimović in the 88th minute of a 0–0 draw.[17] In total, Prica won 14 caps and scored two goals during an international career that spanned between 2001 and 2008.[15]

Personal life

Prica's father is a Serb and his mother is a Croat.[18][19] Prica's son, Tim Prica, is also a professional footballer.[20] His nephew, Pierre Engvall is a professional hockey player currently employed by the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueCupEuropeTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Ljungby IF1995Division 361000061
1996Division 22050000205
1997Division 31180000118
Total371400003714
Helsingborg1998Allsvenskan10000010
1999Allsvenskan1860000186
2000Allsvenskan241100512912
2001Allsvenskan2570030287
2002Allsvenskan63000063
Total742700818228
Hansa Rostock2002–03Bundesliga2773000307
2003–04Bundesliga2830000283
2004–05Bundesliga2964100337
2005–062. Bundesliga2942100315
Total11320920012222
Aalborg2006–07Superliga321900003219
2007–08Superliga16900522111
Total482800525330
Sunderland2007–08Premier League61000061
2008–09Premier League00000000
Total61000061
Rosenborg2009Tippeligaen281730203317
2010Tippeligaen2313301133716
2011Tippeligaen271652623820
2012Tippeligaen2611321214114
Total1045714431614967
Maccabi Tel Aviv2012–13Ligat Winner1882000208
2013–14Ligat Winner3012001004012
2014–15Ligat Winner17524522411
Total6525441528431
Helsingborg2015Allsvenskan921200104
Maccabi Petah Tikva2015–16Ligat Winner1031000113
Landskrona BoIS2016Division 194000094
Career total47518129125911563204

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[15]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Sweden200120
200210
200320
200410
200500
200600
200762
200820
Total142
Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Prica goal.
List of international goals scored by Rade Prica
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetitionRef.
118 January 2007Estadio Alejandro Serrano Aguilar, Cuenca, EcuadorEcuador1–21–2Friendly[16]
212 September 2007Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, MontenegroMontenegro2–12–1Friendly[21]

Honours

Helsingborgs IF

Aalborg

Rosenborg

Maccabi Tel Aviv

Maccabi Petah Tikva

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Prica skandinavisk mester" (in Norwegian). RBKweb. 29 September 2009. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  2. ^ "Rade Prica" (in Swedish). ronaldzwiers.0catch.com. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
  3. ^ "Rade Prica signs for Hansa Rostock". abcgoal.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
  4. ^ "Rade Prica signs for AaB Aalborg". abcgoal.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
  5. ^ "Rade Prica". safc.com. Archived 3 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
  6. ^ "Rade Prica signs for Sunderland". safc.com. 23 January 2008. Archived 29 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
  7. ^ Lyon, Sam (29 January 2008). "Sunderland 2–0 Birmingham". BBC. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
  8. ^ Boyle, David (2 August 2011). "The Top Ten: SAFC's Strangest Transfer Tales". rokerreport.sbnation.com. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  9. ^ "Trio chasing Prica deal". Sky Sports. 10 January 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  10. ^ "Rade Prica er klar for Rosenborg" [Rade Prica signs for Rosenborg] (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 10 March 2009.
  11. ^ "– Kjennes veldig bra å bli toppscorer" (in Norwegian). Fotballadressa. 1 November 2009. Archived from the original on 3 November 2009. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  12. ^ "Rosenborg – Lillestrøm". fotball.no. 10 April 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  13. ^ "Prica nær Israel-overgang" [Prica near the Israel-transition] (in nb). Nettavisen. 7 January 2013. Archived from the original on 8 January 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  14. ^ "Prica showed at Helsingborg" (in Hebrew). One. 11 August 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  15. ^ "Rade Prica - Spelarstatistik - Svensk fotboll" (in Swedish). www.svenskfotboll.se.. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  16. ^ "Ecuador - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll" (in Swedish). www.svenskfotboll.se. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  17. ^ "Sverige - Danmark - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll" (in Swedish). www.svenskfotboll.sehttps. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  18. ^ "Prica skandinavisk mester" (in Norwegian). RBKweb. 29 September 2009. Retrieved 10 November 2018. måljegeren med serbisk far og kroatisk mor
  19. ^ "– Keanes "dårligste" kjøp nærmer seg RBK" (in Norwegian). dagbladet.no. 16 February 2009. Archived from the original on 20 August 2010. Retrieved 10 November 2018. svensken, med serbisk far og kroatisk mor
  20. ^ "MFF skriver kontrakt med HIF-ikonens son". www.expressen.se. 2 August 2018.
  21. ^ "Montenegro - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll" (in Swedish). www.svenskfotboll.sehttps. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  22. ^ "Mestvinnende spillere" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. 19 October 2006. Retrieved 2 November 2010.