Ivan Klasnić is Indestructible

By: Daryl | October 27th, 2009

klasnic indestructible Liverpool’s win over Man Utd got all the Premier League attention this weekend, so Ivan Klasnić giving us yet more proof of his indestructibility went a little more under the radar than perhaps it deserved to.

You probably remember Klasnić as the Croatian striker who suffered kidney failure while playing for Werder Bremen in 2007, and underwent a double kidney transplant (his body rejected the first) but still returned to football in time to be selected for Croatia’s Euro 2008 squad, and score two goals in Swissaustria. Top man.

His post-op club career was less glorious though. Klasnić left Bremen after Euro 2008 and signed for Nantes in Ligue 1, where he scored just six goals as Nantes were relegated. This season he’s on loan at Bolton Wanderers, and this Sunday he scored Bolton’s winner against Everton just four minutes after being knocked out cold by Lucas Neill. Video after the jump…

You can see the action unfold from just after the 4:30 mark in the video. It’s the 82nd minute, and Lucas Neill’s high foot appears to knock Klasnić into unconsciousness. I’m not 100% sure that he’s out cold, but the Croat definitely doesn’t move and the referee looks extremely worried.

Four minutes later Klasnić is on his feet and scoring an 86th minute winner. So either Klasnić has an extreme talent for faking injury, or… he’s the toughest son of a gun in professional football.

(Also, side note: Have a look at the 5:30 mark on the video. Is it just me or does Phil Neville look like a manager waiting to happen?)

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Category: English Premier League, World Football

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Matilda

He's the only footballer to perform for his country who has had a kidney transplant (let alone two). I did a brief bio of him back when Bolton first signed him if you're interested: http://bolton.theoffside.com/t...

What amazing resolve! I do have high hopes for him.
Also several publications called him a goal flop last week, which I think is really unfair considering he's only been with Bolton two months and came from Ligue 2. I'm glad he decided to prove them wrong last weekend.
Daryl

I listened to the Guardian Football Weekly podcast today, and someone was complaining about how everyone always mentions Klasnic's surgery.

Seems unfair to me. It's such a huge thing, and Klasnic deserves all the praise he gets for continuing to play.
V

They called him Killer in Bundesliga for his superb goal instinct. He'll never be as good as he was before the surgery, but just to see him being fit enough to pass the medical for a top flight club, let alone actually play and score, is simply fascinating. He's an amazing guy, a real fighter. And he still has the instinct.
Ben

good call Daryl, Neville does look like a manager in waiting....this game totally slipped me by this weekend, good to catch up on it. Cheers. How good is Louis Saha's finishing, all his goals are blinders.