Alen Bokšić: The Man Who Played The Game He Wanted

Classy. Skilful. Unique.

Words: Tom Flight

During those lockdown days of Zoom quizzes and wearing football shirts at home, Christian Vieri hosted an Instagram Live interview with his former Juventus teammate Alessandro Del Piero. Vieri spent just one season with I Bianconeri in 1996-97 where they won a Serie A title and finished runners up in the Champions League. The conversation touched briefly on their strike partner who also played just a single season in Turin.

VIERI: Do you remember how huge Bokšić was?

DEL PIERO: He was physically inhumane, so big and strong, and so fast ...

VIERI: Yes, very fast. It was unseen, and that dribbling with the left, then the right foot ...

DEL PIERO: He dribbled everything, but if he had scored at least 20 percent of the goals out of the chances he had, he could have scored a total of 1,200.

The impression Bokšić left on his Juve teammates is possibly very similar to the impression he left on many Boro fans after three seasons. His talent was undeniable. But when you look at his goal-scoring record you can only scratch your head.

Bokšić was nicknamed the “Alien.” He was such a complete player that it did seem like he could have been brought to earth from some distant planet of perfect footballers, particularly in his younger days before injuries took their toll. He was tall, powerful, fast and, despite his size, elegant on the ball and possessed an explosiveness that could be devastating. 

When asked to compare him to his Croatian teammate Davor Suker, Slaven Bilic couldn’t decide who was better. “If you ask me as a centre-back, when you play against Bokšić, he would have slaughtered you. Running, dribbling, going left in the channel. He’d kick you, beat you, whatever. Maybe he wouldn’t score. But Suker? You’d have a good game against Suker, but then he’d score a couple.” 

Bokšić played in an era when strikers were still seen primarily as poachers and were judged purely on goals. Bokšić would drop deep and be all over the pitch running defenders ragged. Perhaps he was built for the modern era. If he played today the wealth of analytics and stats may show just how much Bokšić contributed beyond his goals.

Bokšić joined Juventus in the Summer of 1996, along with Vieri. They were brought in to replace Gianluca Vialli and Middlesbrough’s blockbuster signing that summer, Fabrizio Ravanelli. The comparison between Ravanelli and Bokšić is interesting. Over the course of about a decade the two strikers randomly took it in turns to play for the same four clubs in three different countries. 

Both had spells at Juventus, Lazio, Marseille, and Middlesbrough, and only crossed paths for a brief few months in early 2000 in Sven Goran Eriksson’s Serie A winning Lazio side. Both won the Champions League, Bokšić in 1992 with Marseille and Ravanelli with Juventus in 1996 (the last time either side won the trophy). 

In terms of playing style the two could not have been more different. Ravanelli roamed around the pitch in a frenzy like a man possessed. Every minute on the pitch he looked desperate to score, hollering at teammates and officials. Bokšić on the other hand would saunter around the final third, drifting in and out of games, at times appearing oddly detached from the drama around him. He could burst into life, but only, it seemed, when he felt like it.

Both players sent shock-waves around the footballing world when Bryan Robson persuaded each to bring pen to paper. And there wasn’t much debate as to the reason why either chose Middlesbrough. “We took some criticism from the media and punters over Alen,” recalled Robson in his autobiography. “He cost us £2.5m from Lazio and word went around that we were paying him £63,000 a week. That wasn’t true. He was on £40,000. That’s still a lot of money, but he was one of the best centre-forwards I ever saw.”

Ravanelli’s signing had proven to be a false-dawn, but there was renewed optimism with Bokšić’s arrival. “I honestly thought we’d cracked it that year,” Robson remembered. Christian Karembeau, Ugo Ehiogu, Paul Okon and a young Joseph-Desire Job were also added to the squad that summer.

Like Ravanelli four years before, Bokšić grabbed all the headlines on his debut. Away at Coventry he was superb. Providing the cross to Job to head home the opener, he grabbed two quick goals on the hour to cap off a 3-1 win, the second was a vintage Bokšić finish, latching onto a through ball from Pallister and delicately chipping the goalkeeper. Robson called it “very nearly a perfect performance.” 

It was a sparkling debut, but he was still not fully fit and didn’t feature in the next two games. He returned for a wild game at Pride Park which finished 3-3. Bokšić won and converted an early penalty, and his movement helped set-up goals for Job and Deane. He was substituted on the hour with his side 3-0 up, and from the bench watched an onslaught from Derby in a frenetic comeback in the final twenty minutes.

Bokšić finally made his home debut against Everton on 9th September. Seven minutes into the game he won the ball and powered down the left wing before crossing with the outside of his right foot into the path of Steve Watson who helplessly turned the ball into his own net. Everton ended up winning 2-1, but Bokšić was dominant again. A fortnight later, he scored twice in a 3-1 away win at Southampton. 

The first goal was another classic. Picking up a loose ball up on the right touchline, he drove past two defenders towards the edge of the box before whipping a fierce low shot into the bottom corner.

Bokšić had scored five goals in his opening five games. But things started to go rapidly down-hill. Boro lost six in a row, sinking deep in the relegation zone. The Croatian’s form was dismal, and it would be three months before he found the back of the net again. 

In late November, Middlesbrough hosted bottom of the league Bradford. A section of Boro fans held a banner aimed at Robson saying “You Are The Weakest Link, Goodbye”. With his job on the line Robson really needed a strong performance. Bokšić only managed to play the first half with his side 2-0 down, but Boro did manage a spirited comeback with a last-minute Paul Ince goal salvaging a point. 

Gibson and Robson agreed to bring in Terry Venables to take control of the team. Gibson told Eric Paylor of the Gazette that “demoting” Robbo was the toughest decision he ever had to make as Boro chairman. 

Things had grown stagnant at the club. With another relegation looming, it took a lot of character from Robson to admit that he was out of ideas and needed help. “Terry was that different voice I felt we needed, and the players responded.” Venables got no better reaction than from Bokšić.

In the business end of that season he produced his finest performances in a Boro shirt. “When we really needed him to turn it on, when we needed his goals to avoid relegation, he produced,” Robson said. “Alen and Paul Ince shone above everybody else because they were really up for the fight. Every game was like a cup final for them and their pride wouldn’t let them be relegated.” 

On 17th March Boro went to St. James Park. They were in 17^th place just two points above the relegation zone. On 28 minutes, Bokšić headed home a free-kick from Karembeu for the opener. Five minutes later, Boro won a free-kick 20 yards out. 

Standing over the ball it looked ominous for Newcastle and their keeper Shay Given. Bokšić curled a masterful free-kick into the top corner leaving Given flailing nowhere near the ball. Boro won 2-1 and the march towards safety was truly on. 

On 14th April, Boro beat Arsenal 3-0 at Highbury despite recording only one shot on target. Own goals from Edu and Sylvinho put Boro two up, and then Ricard smashed in a third after being set-up with a delightful back-heel from Boskic. Arsenal’s defeat effectively handed United the title, and put Boro one step closer to safety.

A week later, Bokšić produced one of the finest goals of his career in a 3-0 win at Filbert Street. Tussling for the ball in his own half, Bokšić broke free into midfield. Strutting down the field, Bokšić glanced from side-to-side looking for options. Approaching the box he side-stepped one defender and produced a sublime chip over the goalkeeper from the edge of the box. It was a moment of pure footballing beauty. 

Boro finished 14^th with Bokšić the club’s top scorer with 12 league goals. In seven seasons in the Serie A he had never finished a season with more than 10 league goals. His first season at Boro was his most prolific since the 1992-93 season with Marseille where he scored 23 goals in the league, won the Champions League, and finished fourth in the Ballon D’or rankings behind Roberto Baggio, Dennis Bergkamp and Eric Cantona. 

Robson was in no doubt how important Bokšić had been in ensuring there was no repeat of the 1996/97 season. “No one was more important to us in those last few weeks than Alen Bokšić. He stayed fit and his goals kept us up – no question about that.” 

Steve McClaren, who replaced Robson for the 2001-02 season, expressed a similar sentiment regarding his first campaign in the Boro dugout. “He was the only reason we survived that first season,” McClaren recalled in a recent interview with Dave Allan for Tees Life, along with Bill Beswick and Steve Harrison.

It was very much a new era under McClaren and Bokšić was an awkward fit.

“I sensed the lads didn’t like him and it was easy to understand why,” recalled Gareth Southgate, one of McClaren’s first signings. “In Steve McClaren’s vision for Boro, everyone worked together and no-one sought special treatment. But there were two sets of rules at Boro: rules for Alen and rules for the rest.”

Steve Harrison recalled an 8-aside training match in the pouring rain. Paul Ince was incensed, and couldn’t work out why his side was getting hammered. “That might be why,” said Steve Harrison, pointing at Bokšić who was walking inside to get out of the rain. Bokšić sat quietly in the dressing room as the Guv’nor erupted in a furious rage. Southgate remembered being flabbergasted how Bokšić possessed a “complete lack of embarrassment” regarding his lack of professionalism.

Some players complained to McClaren about the high maintenance striker. “Ok, he doesn’t warm up with the others, ok he doesn’t want to do the work, ok he’s lazy,” McClaren recalled telling his players. “But we’d win 1-0 and he’d almost always score! I used to say to the team, ‘look boys, if you want to win games and stay in this division, you don’t score. He scores, so we’ve got to deal with it.”

His goals were important, but he continued to show profligacy in front of goal (he was top scorer again, this time with just 8 league goals). But he did score some great goals. In a Carlos Marinelli-inspired 5-1 demolition of Derby County, Bokšić scored the goal of the day with an exquisite 20-yard chip over Mark Poom. 

At home to Fulham, loanee Benito Carbone sprung the offside trap to put Bokšić through one-on-one with Edwin Van Der Sar. Bokšić waited and waited for his former Juve teammate to commit, before deftly flicking the ball over his head.

His two best performances of the season both came at Old Trafford. 

On 23rd March, Boro went to face Manchester United who were top of the league, although Arsenal were one point behind with a game in hand. The season before, Boro’s 3-0 win at Highbury had all but ended Arsenal’s title hopes. On this day Boro returned the favour to the Gunners. 

There was a question mark as to whether Bokšić would be available as he was due to play for the Croatian national team midweek. McClaren got him to play, and on 9 minutes Carbone crossed and Bokšić slid the ball past Barthez for 1-0. Bokšić harassed and pressed the United defence all match, and could easily have had a hat-trick. But it was a typical afternoon for Bokšić, both brilliant and frustrating in equal measure. But his goal was enough. After the match an elated Bokšić said to McClaren, “Thank you Mister. That’s one of the best days of my life.”

A month later, Boro returned to Old Trafford to face Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-final, in only the second time Boro had reached the final four. The array of talent in that double-winning Arsenal team was staggering, while Middlesbrough were without suspended Paul Ince, cup-tied Carbone, or an injured Keith O’Neill. 

Middlesbrough put on a magnificently courageous performance with Bokšić shredding the Arsenal backline all game. At one point he turned both Sol Campbell and Martin Keown inside out, leaving both in a twisted heap on the floor, before laying the ball off to Luke Wilshere who blasted his shot wide from close range. 

A dreadfully unlucky own goal from Gianluca Festa put Arsenal ahead, but still Boro attacked. In the second-half he fed Allan Johnston through on goal. Johnston went a little too wide but he clipped in a cross back to Bokšić at a nice height six yards out. The angle was tight, and rather than go for power, he tried to guide the ball into the corner. Richard Wright read the direction of the header and made the save with ease. Bokšić turned away in disgust with himself, surely wishing he had gone for power instead. It was a classic example of Bokšić going for an artful finish instead of the clinical finish so often displayed by his peers. Boro lost but deserved to win, and their brave performance earned plaudits from the media.

It was the last game Bokšić played that season. Boro lost their final four games without him, but his goals had done enough for Middlesbrough to finish a comfortable 12th.

That summer Bokšić travelled to Japan with the Croatian national team for the World Cup. At Italia 90 he was in the Yugoslavia squad but never made it on the pitch. In 1998, he scored the decisive goal in qualifying against Ukraine to take Croatia to the finals, but injury meant he watched his nation’s famous third place finish from home. Qualification for Japan/Korea 2002 came down to a winner-takes-all showdown in Zagreb against Belgium, and Bokšić was the hero again scoring the only goal. He would finally be playing in a world cup. 

However, that classic side from four years earlier was now very much past their best. "I wish we had five players who were younger, faster and better than Robert Prosinecki, but we don't,” remarked coach Mirko Jozic. Croatia beat Italy 2-1 but lost 1-0 to Mexico and Ecuador and didn’t make it out of the group. Bokšić played all three games without making the scoresheet or much of an impression.

Steve McClaren was also at the World Cup as Sven Goran Eriksson’s no.2, but it was a busy summer at home for the Boro boss too. There would be a new focal point in Boro’s attack as Middlesbrough smashed their transfer record to bring in Massimo Maccarone. Big money was also spent on George Boateng, and fresh from winning the World Cup, Juninho returned for his third spell at the Riverside. Geremi completed the signings when he arrived on loan. Bokšić issues with fitness worsened and only made it through the full 90 minutes on four occasions in the league that season.

His impact was limited, but he did occasionally turn in an impressive performance, including a thrilling Boxing Day win against Manchester United. He scored the last beauty of this career, breaking the offside trap to chip Barthez with his left foot. 

The sporadic display of brilliance wasn’t enough for McClaren. The writing was on the wall for Boskic when two new strikers, Malcolm Christie and Michael Ricketts, arrived in January. In his final game in a Boro shirt in January at home to Southampton, Boro were 2-0 down when Bokšić was substituted on 70 minutes. Two substitutes, Noel Whelan and Maccarone, scored to bring it back to 2-2. 

Bokšić knew he was now surplus to requirements. “I am 33-years-old and I announced three years ago I would quit in 2003,” Bokšić remarked. He made an agreement with the club to have his contract paid off.

And with that he was gone. 18 years later it is still difficult to define Bokšić’s legacy at Boro. Where does he rank in the list of great strikers to put on a Boro shirt? For Bokšić himself there is no doubt how he feels about his time at Middlesbrough. McClaren met him a few years ago and received a warm hug. He showed his former manager a picture of a yacht saying, “Thank you Mister, for letting me go. You helped me buy this yacht.” 

It’s not really a surprise that Bokšić has decided to spend his retirement on his own island off the Dalmatian Coast, sailing and waterskiing, rather than on the touchline in coaching. He never seemed to have a burning love for the game. 

Robson said there was passion in him, which did seem to come out when the club faced relegation in 2001. McClaren would agree. “He loved football but he loved it at his own pace and in his own way.” And perhaps that’s why he remains so enigmatic. The “Alien” played the game unlike any player before or since, a true non-conformist. He never seemed to have a bad game, and his class would shine through with every touch; yet he so often left you wanting more. But when he did decide to deliver there was no chance of you ever forgetting it.