Name: Aljoša Asanović
Nickname: "Vatreni Lakat"
Country:
CroatiaClub: HNK Hajduk Split - Derby County CF - Napoli SSC
Position: *AMF, CMF
Side: LF/BS
Age: 29-33 (14/12/1965)
Height: 186 cm
Weight: 82 kg
Attack: 82
Defence: 58
Balance: 88
Stamina: 81
Top Speed: 78
Acceleration: 79
Response: 77
Agility: 76
Dribble Accuracy: 86
Dribble Speed: 77
Short Pass Accuracy: 93
Short Pass Speed: 85
Long Pass Accuracy: 87
Long Pass Speed: 82
Shot Accuracy: 78
Shot Power: 84
Shot Technique: 77
Free Kick Accuracy: 82
Curling: 83
Header: 72
Jump: 71
Technique: 90
Aggression: 77
Mentality: 78
Keeper Skills: 50
Team Work: 85
Injury Tolerance: B
Condition: 5
Weak Foot Accuracy: 6
Weak Foot Frequency: 5
Consistency: 5
Growth Type: Early Lasting
CARDS:
P20: Talisman
S02: Passer
S05: 1-touch Play
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Playmaking - Passing - 1 Touch Pass
Attack / Defence Awareness Card: Balanced
INFO
Aljoša Asanović (born 14 December 1965) is a Croatian football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. Asanović is best known for his great performance in the mid-to-late 1990s for Croatia NT where he always played much better than for his clubs. He could do everything: short passes, long passes, dribbling and millimetric shots. Endowed with an extraordinary vision, the leader would thus light up the attack. He was best known for his outstanding abilities to make fantastic last pass. Asanović was nicknamed "vatreni lakat" or "fiery elbow", due to his peculiar 'elbow-out' running style. Therefore it was impossible to take the ball away from him. He missed out on a much better career, due to a lack of sufficient motivation. Ultimately this player remains a huge waste considering his talent. Asanović started to play in Hajduk's youth systems and in 1984 he was selected as the best player on "Trofej Marjan". He played for Hajduk until 1990 but came back also 3 more times later. In meantime he played for various European clubs like Metz, Cannes, Montpelier, Valladolid, Derby County, Napoli, Panathinaikos and Austria Vienna. With Hajduk he won Croatin league in 1994-1995 and Cup in the same season and Yugoslav Cup in 1986-1987. He won 3 caps for Yugoslavia NT and later he won 62 caps for Croatia and scored 4 goals, from which the most famous is surely the first historic goal of independent Croatian NT scored in the first game independent Croatia played in 1990 against USA. He was heart and soul of Croatian NT on historic bronze medal winning WC '98 in France. Asanović now works as an Assistent coach of Croatian selector Slaven Bilić.