What happened to Peternac? The Croatian who scored five goals in one game

Appointing Alen Peternac (January 16, 1972) is mentioning a player with a goal in his head, always aware of beating the opposing goalkeeper and who developed the most brilliant years of his career in Spain and, especially, in Valladolid where he scored 55 points. He was a hero at the end of the 20th century, especially in that match in May 1996 in Oviedo, when he scored five goals, converting four penalties, in a duel that ended with a scandalous result (3-8). Far, however, from the seven that Kubala achieved, with Barça, in 1952, against Sporting (9-0), and Bata, from Athletic, who in 1931 scored his seven goals against Barcelona in a historic (12- 1).

The young Alen Peternac began his career as a goalscorer in his country, in the lower categories of the Dinamo de Zagreb and on loan to Segesta Sisak. In the summer of 1995 he came to trial at Real Valladolid, a club that took over the striker with a transfer equivalent to 240,000 euros.. In his first season, the Croatian went out facing the opposite goal getting 23 goals, seven penalties, in 39 games in the First Division. However, the striker entered the history of the blanquivioleta club by scoring five goals in the match against Oviedo (3-8). Four of them were obtained from penalties, awarded by Japan Sevilla who, just yesterday, acknowledged in AS that “years later, when Alen played for Murcia, they went to introduce us and he said: I have a photo of this man on my bedside table at night after having given me four penalties”. That game was undoubtedly the best of his career, the most representative, for which he has remained in the collective memory of the blanquivioleta fans. And it is that in that team he coincided with players like César Sánchez, Rubén Baraja or Juan Carlos Rodríguez.

None of his subsequent seasons was like that first one in Zorrilla, 1995-96, at an individual level, although he was key to qualifying for UEFA in the 1996-97 season under Cantatore. The Croatian played four more seasons for blanquivioleta in which his performance went from more to less. After the 23 goals of his debut, he added six, 13, 13 and was left blank in the last one, where he was dragging an injury. And despite this, in 1999, in his last year of contract with the Pucelano team, he made his debut with the Croatian team under the command of Miroslav Blazevic, against Denmark. And he would still play three more games with his national team without luck in front of goal.

In the summer of 2000, Peternac signed for Real Zaragoza, where he played that season, although he did not have much participation. He only played nine games, one of them as a starter and failed to score a single goal. Despite this, he achieved his only title with the Whites, by taking the Copa del Rey after defeating Celta de Vigo (1-3). The few minutes he had at La Romareda made him go down a step and the following season he signed for the Murciawhere the anecdote took place with Japan, Sevilla, who was the referee’s informant, and scored two goals in 21 games, failing to be promoted, a goal that he would achieve, however, the following season, in 2002-03, on his return to Zaragoza with which he closed his football career with a promotion at the age of 30.

After leaving football, Peternac entered the company of his representative and friend Zoran Vekic and worked with him for several years until returned to Dinamo Zagreb and he was appointed second coach with several technicians. In fact, the former striker took on the role of first coach, substituting for Krznar in last year’s Europa League match against Villarreal, because the main coach was suspended. It was his first experience as head coach, one day, and It is the objective that Peternac has in the medium term, while in Valladolid he continues to be a blanquivioleta hero.