Dado Pršo

Early career

Born in Zadar, Pršo started training with the local clubs NK Bagat and NK Zadar before moving to HNK Hajduk Split, aged 12. He went through the ranks of Hajduk until, in 1991, a medical check allegedly revealed that he had an irregular heartbeat, prompting the team to release him, thinking he was therefore unfit for professional football. Pršo showed no traces of such a defect ever since though. When the Croatian league was formed he joined NK Pazinka, playing his only season at the top level of Croatian football at 18 years of age. In 1993 he moved to France to play for FC Rouen, and then moved to Saint Raphaël in 1995, where he worked as a car mechanic while he continued playing football.

Monaco

In 1996, then-AS Monaco manager Jean Tigana noticed Pršo and bought the striker, although he would spend that season in the reserve side (alongside David Trezeguet), he was sent on loan to AC Ajaccio. In 1999-2000, he helped AS Monaco win the national championship. Pršo also helped them to the UEFA Champions League final in 2004. He is perhaps best remembered for his four goals in the 8-3 win over Deportivo La Coruña (a game which was played on his birthday), which was the highest scoring Champions League scoreline. That night, he also equaled the competition record, joining Marco van Basten and Simone Inzaghi as the competition's top scorer in a single match; this has since been surpassed by Lionel Messi and Luiz Adriano.

Rangers

In May 2004, Pršo signed for Scottish side Rangers on a free transfer. In his first season at Rangers he played 34 league matches, scoring 18 league goals. In the process he helped the club win the League and League Cup. Departing Rangers manager Alex McLeish hailed Pršo as his "best Rangers signing," at the end of the 2005-06 season.

Pršo remained a member of the 2006-07 Rangers team, despite announcing his retirement from international football. He suggested he would retire from club football on the expiration of his contract in 2007. Despite this, Pršo's agent stated early in 2007 that he would like to continue playing for Rangers if his fitness allowed it, only to announce in February 2007 that his retirement was potentially imminent. Shortly afterwards, it was confirmed that Pršo could play on for a minimum of one season. But this comment proved to be premature as Pršo announced he would part company with Rangers at the end of the 2007 season due to his recurring knee problems. Pršo's agent also stated that he would seek a transfer to a league where physical fitness was not as much of a requirement, rather than end his footballing career completely, and suggested North America and Asia as possible destinations.

At Pršo's last game at Ibrox Stadium, he walked out after the final whistle wearing a brace on his leg due to damage to his ankle. He waved at the 50,000 fans who waited, and was then given the "Guard of Honour" by his teammates, led by Barry Ferguson before going back up the tunnel with tears in his eyes.

It was announced on 8 June 2007 that Rangers would release a DVD featuring highlights of Pršo's three seasons at Ibrox, with a large amount of proceeds donated to the Rangers Charity Foundation.

International career

Pršo received 32 international caps for Croatia, scoring nine times. Pršo was part of the Croatian team at UEFA Euro 2004 where he played in three games. Pršo is remembered in this tournament for the one goal he scored against France in Leiria on 17 June 2004. After scoring four goals during qualifying he was selected to represent his country at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. But he scored no goals during the tournament itself (where the team, as in 2004, was eliminated after the first round).

Club

Individual

Personal life

His father is a Serb of Croatia while his mother is Croatian. while his cousin Milan Pršo represented one of the most successful Serbian club Red Star Belgrade as well as Serbian national youth team. According to Milan, Dado's parents once lived in Bačka Topola, Serbia but moved back to Zadar, Croatia.