Jozo Izaija Matovac (born 22 May 1970) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as defender. He represented BK Häcken, Örgryte IS, Aalborg BK, and Helsingborgs IF during a career that spanned between 1992 and 2002. A full international between 1997 and 2001, he won nine caps for the Sweden national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jozo Izaija Matovac | ||
| Date of birth | 22 May 1970 | ||
| Place of birth | Sweden | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Gunnilse IS | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1992–1994 | BK Häcken | ||
| 1995–1998 | Örgryte IS | ||
| 1998–2000 | Aalborg BK | ||
| 2000–2002 | Helsingborgs IF | ||
| International career | |||
| 1991 | Sweden U21 | 1 | (0) |
| 1996–1997 | Sweden B | 2 | (0) |
| 1997–2001 | Sweden | 9 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
editMatovac played youth football for Gunnilse IS before signing with BK Häcken.[1] In 1995 he signed with Örgryte IS where he was considered one of Allsvenskan's best centre backs.[1] He signed with the Danish Superliga club Aalborg BK in 1998, before returning to Swedish football in 2000 as a replacement at Helsingborgs IF for the departed Andreas Jakobsson.[2] In 2000, Matovac helped the team qualify for the 2000–2001 UEFA Champions League in which he participated in all six group stage games.[1][3] In 2002, he retired from professional football following a hip injury.[4]
International career
editMatovac made his full international debut for Sweden on 9 February 1997 in a King's Cup game against Romania in which he also scored his first international goal as Sweden won 2–0.[5] He made his competitive international debut for Sweden in a 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Estonia, playing the full 90 minutes as centre back alongside Patrik Andersson as Sweden won 1–0.[6] He won his ninth and final cap in a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Moldova, again playing alongside Patrik Andersson at centre back.[7]
Personal life
editMatovac was born in Sweden to Croatian parents.[8]
Career statistics
editInternational
edit| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden | 1997 | 3 | 1 |
| 1998 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1999 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2001 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 9 | 1 | |
- Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Matovac goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 February 1997 | National Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand |  Romania
|
2–0 | 2–0 | 1997 King's Cup | [9] |
Honours
editAalborg BK
Sweden
References
edit- ^ a b c Klinteberg, Martin (24 May 2020). "AOH gratulerar Jozo Matovac…". Allt Om HIF (in Swedish). Retrieved 10 December 2020.
- ^ "SvenskaFans". www.svenskafans.com. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
- ^ "Jozo Matovac". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
- ^ "Matovac tvingas sluta spela fotboll". DN.SE (in Swedish). 2 September 2002. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
- ^ a b "Jozo Matovac - Spelarstatistik - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se. (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 27 October 2022. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
- ^ "Sverige - Estland - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 10 December 2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Moldavien - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 10 December 2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Radio, Sveriges. ""En fantastisk prestation av Kroatien" - P4 Väst". sverigesradio.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 10 December 2020.
- ^ "Rumänien - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 10 December 2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "King's Cup 1997". RSSSF. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
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