22 Facts About Tomislav Butina

Tomislav Butina was capped 28 times for the Croatia national team in the period from 2001 to 2006, and was member of Croatian squads at the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups, as well as UEFA Euro 2004.

Tomislav Butina began his professional career with Dinamo Zagreb, debuting for the first team on 23 May 1993, when the club was known as "Croatia Zagreb".

In July 2003, Tomislav Butina joined Belgian First Division club Club Brugge, where he spent three seasons before moving on to Greek powerhouse Olympiacos in 2006.

Internationally, Tomislav Butina represented Croatia at the under-20 and under-21 levels in 1994 and 1995, making a total of twelve appearances at youth levels.

Tomislav Butina went on to appear in all of Croatia's three matches at the Euro 2004 finals, and kept his place as the national team's first-choice goalkeeper over the following 18 months.

Tomislav Butina was part of Croatia's 23-man squads for the 2002 and 2006 World Cup finals, but did not feature in any of the team's six matches during the two tournaments.

Tomislav Butina became a member of Dinamo Zagreb senior squad in the inaugural season of the Prva HNL.

Tomislav Butina marked his debut for the club on 23 May 1993.

Tomislav Butina then had season-long loan spells with Karlovac, Samobor and Slaven Belupo.

On 26 February 2002, Tomislav Butina was stripped of his capitancy after breaking media silence about the existing financial problems in the club.

Tomislav Butina appeared only in two league matches in his two seasons with the club, conceding four goals.

In first season following his return, Tomislav Butina made 24 league appearances, conceding 18 goals.

Tomislav Butina helped the club defend the league title the next season, featuring in 25 league matches.

Tomislav Butina made a total of 50 league appearances for Dinamo Zagreb following his return, winning four domestic trophies.

Tomislav Butina made his debut for the Croatia under-21 team on 19 April 1994, playing the full 90 minutes in a friendly match against Slovakia which finished by a goalless draw.

Tomislav Butina won a total of 11 international caps for the under-21 team between April 1994 and October 1995.

Tomislav Butina played for under-20 team on one occasion, in an exhibition match against Styria.

Tomislav Butina won a total of 28 international caps in almost five years of playing for the Croatia national football team.

Tomislav Butina was called to take part in a 23-man squad at the 2002 FIFA World Cup final tournament by then manager Mirko Jozic and was issued the number 12 shirt.

Tomislav Butina was able to keep his place as Croatia's first-choice goalkeeper during the 2006 World Cup qualifying and started eight out of ten matches, only being replaced by Pletikosa for the two matches that the team played in September 2005.

Tomislav Butina announced his retirement from the national team a few weeks after the tournament, citing his desire to concentrate on club career and to spend more time with his family.

Tomislav Butina is interested mainly in modern Croatian art and owns a large collection of paintings, as well as an art gallery.