Rade Stanislav Prica (born 30 June 1980) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the only player who has won league championships in the three Scandinavian countries – Sweden, Denmark and Norway. He also played in the Bundesliga, the Premier League, and the Israeli Premier League during a career that spanned between 1995 and 2016. A full international between 2001 and 2008, he won 14 caps and scored two goals for the Sweden national team.
Club career
Early career Prica started his footballing career as a youth player for Ljungby, he then made his way into the first team, making 37 appearances and scoring 14 goals, over a period of three seasons.
After leaving Ljungby, Prica signed for renowned Swedish club Helsingborg in 1998, he then went on to play for them for five seasons playing 73 times scoring 27 goals, Prica then moved to German team Hansa Rostock.
Prica signed for Aalborg BK in 2006 after being released by Hansa Rostock, During the 2006–07 season, he was topscorer in the Danish Superliga scoring 19 goals.
Sunderland Sunderland completed the signing of Prica on 23 January 2008 for a fee of more than £2 million on a three-and-a-half-year contract.
He scored on his debut for at Sunderland against Birmingham City on 29 January 2008, and missed out in scoring a second with referee Mark Halsey ruling it out for handball.
Prica came on as a substitute for Kieran Richardson in a League game against Liverpool at Anfield after just 7 minutes, but was then substituted himself after 56 minutes.
Prica was rarely featured in the Sunderland squad. In January 2009, official sources with the club acknowledged that he was sought by two unnamed British clubs and a European club, rumored to be his previous Danish club Aalborg BK.
Prica was given limited opportunities by Sunderland and did not start a game. It was reported on Sky Sports that Prica had been made available for loan.
Rosenborg On 9 March 2009, Prica signed a four-year deal with Rosenborg for £2.3 million. He became the top scorer in the Norwegian top division in the 2009 season, scoring 17 goals in 27 appearances. On 10 April 2011, round three of the 2011 Tippeligaen, Prica scored all four goals for Rosenborg in a 4–4 draw with Lillestrøm SK.
Later career On 9 January 2013, it was reported Prica had agreed terms with Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Israeli Premier League. Prica signed in January 2013. Since his arrival to the club he has been very appreciated by either the Israeli fans and media, and had an instant impact for Maccabi Tel Aviv, scoring 8 goals in his first 18 appearances.
On 11 August 2015, he returned to Helsingborg.
International career Having represented the Sweden U17, U19, and U21 teams, Prica made his full international debut for the Sweden national team on 10 February 2001 in a friendly 4–1 win against Thailand when he played for 66 minutes before being replaced by Martin Åslund. He scored his first goal for Sweden on 18 January 2007 in a friendly 1–2 loss against Ecuador. He made his first and only competitive appearance for Sweden on 8 September 2007 in a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier against Denmark, coming on a substitute for Zlatan Ibrahimović in the 88th minute of a 0–0 draw. In total, Prica won 14 caps and scored two goals during an international career that spanned between 2001 and 2008.
Personal life Prica's father is a Serb and his mother is a Croat. Prica's son, Tim Prica, is also a professional footballer. His nephew, Pierre Engvall is a professional hockey player currently employed by the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League.
Career statistics
Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueCupEuropeTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsLjungby IF1995Division 3610000611996Division 220500002051997Division 31180000118Total371400003714Helsingborg1998Allsvenskan100000101999Allsvenskan18600001862000Allsvenskan2411005129122001Allsvenskan25700302872002Allsvenskan63000063Total742700818228Hansa Rostock2002–03Bundesliga27730003072003–04Bundesliga28300002832004–05Bundesliga29641003372005–062. Bundesliga2942100315Total11320920012222Aalborg2006–07Superliga3219000032192007–08Superliga16900522111Total482800525330Sunderland2007–08Premier League610000612008–09Premier League00000000Total61000061Rosenborg2009Tippeligaen2817302033172010Tippeligaen23133011337162011Tippeligaen2716526238202012Tippeligaen2611321214114Total1045714431614967Maccabi Tel Aviv2012–13Ligat Winner18820002082013–14Ligat Winner30120010040122014–15Ligat Winner17524522411Total6525441528431Helsingborg2015Allsvenskan921200104Maccabi Petah Tikva2015–16Ligat Winner1031000113Landskrona BoIS2016Division 194000094Career total47518129125911563204
International +Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsSweden200120200210200320200410200500200600200762200820Total142 Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Prica goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Rade PricaNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetitionRef.1 18 January 2007 Estadio Alejandro Serrano Aguilar, Cuenca, Ecuador 1–2 1–2 Friendly2 12 September 2007 Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro 2–1 2–1 Friendly
Honours Helsingborgs IF Allsvenskan: 1999
Aalborg Danish Superliga: 2007–08
Rosenborg Tippeligaen: 2009, 2010
Maccabi Tel Aviv Israeli Premier League: 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15 Israel State Cup: 2014–15 Toto Cup: 2014–15
Maccabi Petah Tikva Toto Cup: 2015–16 Individual Danish Superliga top scorer: 2006–07 Tippeligaen top scorer: 2009 Kniksen award: 2009
References
External links