Papac, Sasa
From RangersPedia
| Saša Papac
|
Early career
Papac started his career with NK Široki Brijeg in the Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2000. He made fourteen appearances, scoring once for the club.
He moved to Austria with FC Kärnten a year later. Papac spent three years with Kärnten, making 100 appearances and scoring on three occasions. When Kärnten were relegated from the Austrian Bundesliga in 2004 he joined Austria Vienna. Whilst in Vienna he would make 76 appearances (with three goals) and win the league in 2006. He was also part of the side which won successive Austrian Cups in 2005 and 2006.
Move to Rangers
He signed for Rangers on 31 August 2006 for £450,000. He became Rangers' third signing from Austria Vienna in the 2006 summer transfer window, after Libor Sionko and Filip Šebo. Papac made his debut for Rangers on September 17, 2006, coming on as a half time substitute for Steven Smith in a Scottish Premier League game against Hibernian. The side went on to lose the match 2-1.
With the arrival of Walter Smith in January 2007, Papac lost his place in the first team. He struggled to get into the side, making only one appearance in over two months, but returned towards the end of the season on the left side of defence. He was linked with a move to Saint-Etienne in the summer but rejected it in order to claim a first-team spot.
In the 2007-08 season Papac was a regular at left-back and played in the Scottish Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup finals. He made 46 appearances and produced consistently reliable performances. Papac netted his first goal for Rangers on his 83rd appearance for the club, during a league match against Dundee United on November 4, 2008. He signed a two-year contract extension in November 2008 that will keep him at the club unitl the summer of 2011.
International career
Papac made his debut on 7 September 2002, against Romania but quit in March 2007, citing problems with the staff at the Bosnian FA. In January 2008, he decided to return to the international set under new boss Meho Kodro. Shortly after Kodro's dismissal, he was called up by new coach Miroslav Blažević but refused to come and retired from international football claiming it was to give space to new young players.
Rangers Career Statistics
| Season | League | Cup | League Cup | European | Friendlies | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |
| 2006/07 | 21 | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | 23 | 0 |
| 2007/08 | 23 | - | 3 | - | 3 | - | 17 | - | 6 | - | 52 | 0 |
| 2008/09 | 29 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | - | 2 | - | 7 | 1 | 46 | 3 |
| 2009/10 | 34 | 2 | 4 | - | 3 | - | 6 | - | 7 | - | 54 | 2 |
| 2010/11 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 107 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 21 | 1 | 176 | 5 |
Honours
Austria Vienna
- Austrian Bundesliga 2006
- Austrian Cup 2005, 2006
Rangers
- Scottish Premier League - 2008/09, 2009/10
- Scottish Cup - 2007/08. 2008/09
- Scottish League Cup - 2007/08, 2009/10
- 25 International caps for Bosnia & Herzegovina
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