Biography
Who is Ivica Olić?
Early life
Ivica Olić was born in Davor, Croatia, on September 14, 1979. He grew up near Slavonski Brod and started playing football for his local club, NK Marsonia, in 1996.
After spending two seasons at Marsonia, he was acquired by German club Hertha BSC in 1998. He returned to Marsonia the following year and helped his team win the Croatian Second League to earn promotion to the top flight.
Club career highlights
In the 2000 to 2001 season, Ivica Olić scored 17 goals in 29 games for Marsonia. He then moved on loan to NK Zagreb, scoring 21 goals in 28 appearances to help his team win the league.
He transferred to Dinamo Zagreb, where he scored 16 goals in 27 games and became the top striker in the Croatian First League. In 2003, he moved to CSKA Moscow, where he won the UEFA Cup in 2005 and several domestic titles.
Ivica Olić later played for Hamburger SV before signing with Bayern Munich in 2009. With Bayern Munich, he reached two UEFA Champions League finals in 2010 and 2012, scoring important goals along the way, including a memorable hat-trick against Lyon in the semi-finals.
Later career and retirement
Ivica Olić also played for VfL Wolfsburg, where he finished a successful season as first-choice striker with 15 goals and 6 assists. He later returned to Hamburger SV and played for 1860 Munich before announcing his retirement from professional playing in June 2017.
Following his playing career, Ivica Olić transitioned into coaching. He joined the coaching staff of the Croatia national team under Zlatko Dalić in 2017 and later became the coach of the Croatia U-21 team.
International career
Ivica Olić made over 100 appearances for the Croatia national team. He represented his country at three FIFA World Cups in 2002, 2006, and 2014, as well as two UEFA European Championships in 2004 and 2008.
He scored a well-known goal against Italy at the 2002 World Cup and later scored against Germany at Euro 2008. He retired from international football in 2015 after earning his century of caps for Croatia.
Birthday and age
Ivica Olić was born on September 14, 1979, which makes Ivica 47 years old today. That birthday falls under the Virgo sign. Ivica shares the date with 65 other famous people.
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