Retro Football: Tennis Behemoth Goran Ivanisevic Scores Impressively Dainty Goal For Croatia, 2007 (Video)

Chris Wright

15th, March 2019

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As you may recall, Goran Ivanisevic was a bit of a dab hand at tennis in his day, during the late 1990s and early 00s.

The 6ft 4in Croatian helped pioneer the aggro power-serve style long before it became the norm in the men’s game and become the first and only person to win Wimbledon as a wild card entrant in 2001.

He also had a more-than-middling penchant for football, and regularly took part in exhibition matches whenever his schedule allowed.

Ivanisevic even turned out for his hometown side Hajduk Split on one occasion after earning an honorary inclusion in their first-team squad for the 2001/02 season, wherein he was issued with the No.213 shirt in reference to the phenomenal amount of aces he served on his way to glory at Wimbledon.

Here’s the big man in action, during a charity game in Croatia in 2007, during which Ivanisevic finds the net with a decent angled finish…

The less said about the standard of goalkeeping involved, the better…

As well as being a lifelong fan of Hadjuk Split, Ivanisevic is also a West Brom convert these days after being suitably impressed by the pluck demonstrated by the club during their fabled “great escape” from Premier League relegation in 2005.

Indeed, he’s shown up at the Hawthorns several times since and has even been bestowed with the unofficial title of being “Croatia’s No.1 Albion Fan”.

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Of course, there’s a good chance he’s Croatia’s *only* Albion fan (no, we’re not counting Adrian Chiles), but still…

Posted in Retro, Videos

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