Cometh the moment, cometh the man

The year of 2003 was a very good one indeed for Monaco striker Dado Prso, who, against considerable odds, shot to international notoriety by scoring four times in a Champions League match and grabbed the vital goals for Croatia to qualify for Euro 2004.

He had spent his early career in Croatia with Hajduk Split and Pazinha but left to flee the war. In France he almost quit the game weighing around 100kilos and smoking two packs of cigarettes a day.

Croatia's Dado Prso (L) vies for the ball with Stiliyan Petrov of Bulgaria during their Euro 2004 qualifier match in Zagreb, 11 October 2003.

AS Monaco's coach Didier Deschamps (L) congratulates his forward Dado Prso, 05 November 2003, at the Louis II stadium in Monaco during their UEFA Champions League, group C match against Deportivo La Coruna. Monaco won 8-3. AFP PHOTO JACQUES MUNCH

But a break at AS Monaco set him back on track and a loan to Ajaccio in the French third division got him back in shape before re-joining Monaco in 1999. With constant stiff competition amongst strikers at Monaco Prso is yet to claim an automatic first team place, featuring in 20 to 30 games a season.

After a ten month absence due to a tibia operation he scored on his league comeback in December 2002, and scored 12 goals in all as well as six assists, as Didier Deschamps' side clinched second place in France and a Champions League spot for 2003-04.

He also made his international debut in that period, at 28, scoring Croatia's second in a 4-0 win over Belgium in a Euro 2004 qualifier.

In exulted company

In the 2003-04 season he was given a rare nod to start, and on his 29th birthday, in a European Champions league match against Deportivo la Coruna that was to make him famous throughout the continent.

That night he equalled the competion record with four goals in the French side's spectacular 8-3 win over the Spaniards, joining Marco van Basten (AC Milan 4 Gothenburg 0, 1992) and Simone Inzahgi (Lazio 5 Marseille 1, 2000) as the competition's top scorer in a single match.

les auteurs des deux buts de Monaco, Ludovic Giuly (G) et Dado Prso, laissent éclater leurs joies, le 26 mars 2000 au stade Louis 2 à Monaco, lors du match Monaco/Nantes comptant pour la 29e journée du Championnat de France de football de D1. Monaco bat Nantes 2 à 0.

"With (Fernando) Morientes and (Ludovic) Giuly up front it's a bit crowded, but I hope my goals have now changed some people's poor opinion of me," he said at the time.

Glasgow Rangers took notice and signed him on a free transfer for a lucrative three year deal starting August 2004.

Croatia had ended second in their Euro 2004 qualifying group and were drawn against neighbouring Slovenia in the play-offs as the last places for Portugal went up for grabs in November 2003.

Dado Prso of Croatia (R) tries to score a goal in front of Slovenia's goalkeeper Mladen Dabanovic in a Euro 2004 qualifier match between Croatia and Slovenia in Zagreb 15 November 2003.

Prso rose to the challenge again, first scoring the opener in a 1-1 draw in the first leg and then the winner three days later in Slovenia to hand Croatia their ticket to Portugal.

Croatia's first round rivals England, France and Switzerland will be hoping 2004 is less fruitful for the powerful, pony-tailed Prso.