Davor Šuker
Davor Šuker was born on January 1, 1968. See ranking, bio blurb, and everyone else born that day.
About Davor Šuker
Davor Šuker (Croatian pronunciation: [dâʋoːr ʃǔker] ; born 1 January 1968) is a Croatian football administrator and former professional player who played as a striker. He served as the president of the Croatian Football Federation (HNS) from 2012 to 2021. Šuker is generally regarded as the greatest Croatian striker of all time with a record 45 goals in 68 matches. He has been Croatia's all-time top scorer since 1998. Under his leadership of the Croatian Football Federation, Croatia reached runner-up at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the nation's highest international achievement. Šuker began his footballing career in his hometown for local first division team NK Osijek at 16-year-old, later departing as the league's top goal scorer. He moved to Dinamo Zagreb in 1989 but the Croatian War of Independence eventually redirected Šuker to Spanish club Sevilla in 1991. In La Liga, Šuker was consecutively amongst the division's top goal scorers. He signed with Real Madrid five years later, again amongst the league's top scorers. While at the Santiago Bernabéu, he helped Madrid claim the Liga and UEFA Champions League titles. A move to Arsenal saw him support their run to the UEFA Cup final of 2000. He then had a spell with West Ham United, then closed his career playing for German side 1860 Munich. Following his debut for the Croatia national football team in 1990, he led the team to third-place at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, securing the nation's first bronze medal. He won the Golden Boot by scoring six goals in seven matches. He won the Silver Ball as the second-best player of the tournament, behind Ronaldo. Šuker was later named as Croatia's Golden Player at the UEFA Jubilee Awards in 2003 and finished third in the 1998 FIFA World Player of the Year award as well as second for the 1998 Ballon d'Or. He is the only Croatian included on the FIFA 100 list created by Pelé in 2004. He won Croatian Footballer of the Year a then-record six times in 1992 and from 1994 to 1998.