Mladen Rudonja

Mladen Rudonja

Personal information
Date of birth	26 July 1971 (1971-07-26) (age 40)
Place of birth	Koper, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Striker
Youth career
1978–1991	Bonifika
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1991–1992	NK Koper	32	(8)
1992–1993	NK Izola	46	(16)
1994	NK Zagreb	6	(0)
1994	NK Koper	15	(3)
1994–1995	NK Olimpija	26	(2)
1995	NK Marsonia	14	(1)
1996–1997	ND Gorica	16	(4)
1997	NK Primorje	9	(4)
1998–2000	Sint-Truidense VV	74	(21)
2000–2002	Portsmouth FC	14	(0)
2002–2004	NK Olimpija	48	(5)
2004–2005	Apollon Limassol	11	(2)
2005	Anorthosis Famagusta	3	(0)
2005–2007	Koper	14	(1)
2007–2009	NK Olimpija	28	(15)
National team‡
1994–2004	Slovenia	65	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 8 May 2009. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18 April 2009

Mladen Rudonja ( listen (help·info)) (born 26 July 1971 in Koper) is a retired Slovenian footballer who represented his country at two major tournaments - Euro 2000 and the 2002 World Cup.

He most often played as a forward or a winger (usually on the left). Despite this, he did not score a goal for the Slovenian national side until his 53rd cap - in the second leg of a playoff for the 2002 World Cup against Romania in Bucharest. The match finished 1-1, a result that was enough to secure Slovenia's qualification, having won the first leg 2-1 in Ljubljana. He has always been very popular with the fans (who nicknamed him "Turbo Rudi") and after this match he gained almost national hero status. All in all, he accumulated 65 caps for the national side, which makes him the 6th most capped player in Slovenia's history. He was voted 3rd best national team player in a TV competition.^{[citation needed]}

His main assets were speed and seemingly endless stamina. His performance against Spain in Korea saw Joe Royle (British commentator) note that he never stopped for 90 minutes. As a result, he gained a position that was possibly unique in world football: a purely defensive centre forward. Some observers thought his success in this position may lead to more players adopting his style in international games, as part of the global shift to more defensive tactics, however this proved unfounded. His club career never really caught on in the same way, after a good spell with K. Sint-Truidense V.V. he left for Portsmouth where he achieved little. After the 2002 World Cup, he left for NK Olimpija Ljubljana to wind down his career, playing alongside Croatian legend and former Portsmouth teammate Robert Prosinečki as Olimpija sought to recapture former glories. He has now retired from professional football, although he occasionally plays in charity games and amateur friendlies.

External links

• Player profile - PrvaLiga
• Player profile - NZS

References

• Mladen Rudonja career stats at Soccerbase
• Mladen Rudonja at National-Football-Teams.com

Persondata
Name	Rudonja, Mladen
Alternative names
Short description	footballer
Date of birth	26 July 1971
Place of birth	Koper, SFR Yugoslavia
Date of death
Place of death