Igor Prostran (, born March 29, 1979) is a Serbian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager and former player. As player, he played in the

Second League of Serbia and Montenegro The Second League of Serbia and Montenegro was the second tier of the football league system in Serbia and Montenegro, one level below the First League of Serbia and Montenegro. History Formed in 1992 after the breakup of Yugoslavia, it consiste ...

USL A-League The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second Di ...

, and the Canadian Professional Soccer League.

Playing career

Born in

Zadar Zadar ( , ), historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian, ; see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ...

SR Croatia The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), commonly abbreviated as SR Croatia and referred to as simply Croatia, was a ...

, then within

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

, he spent his childhood in the neighbouring village of

Smoković Smoković is a village in Croatia, in the municipality of Zemunik Donji, Zadar County. Demographics According to the 2011 census, the village of Smoković has 110 inhabitants. This represents 10.69% of its pre-war population according to the 199 ...

which had a

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...

majority and family Prostran made about one quarter of the total population. His father Branko was a footballer and later became coach at local club ONK Smoković and later

NK Zadar Nogometni klub Zadar (), commonly referred to as NK Zadar or simply Zadar, was a Croatian football club based in Zadar, a city on the Adriatic coast, best known for playing in the top flight of Croatian football for almost twenty years. Histor ...

. Igor's younger brother Nikša also plays football and he became a goalkeeper having played in Ontario.IGRAĆU DOK ME NOGE NOSE!
at vesti.rs, 21-3-2014, retrieved 10-11-2019 Igor started playing at local ONK Smoković in 1989 when he was 10. However, in 1991

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...

against federal Yugoslav forces and local Serb population started, and, in January 1993, Croatian Army took the town in the

Operation Maslenica Operation Maslenica was a Croatian Army offensive launched in January 1993 to retake territory in northern Dalmatia and Lika from Krajina Serb forces, with the stated military objective of pushing the Serbs back from approaches to Zadar, Masl ...

and destroyed and burned the village. Prostran family left their home and belongings and had to escape, leaving for Serbia where they became refugees. Upon their arrival to Belgrade, Prostran joined the youth team of Serbian giants

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

where he played in an extraordinary generation along players such as

Dejan Stanković Dejan Stanković ( sr-Cyrl, Дејан Станковић, , born 11 September 1978) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player. He captained the Serbia national team from 2007 until 2011, when he announced his retirement from ...

Marko Pantelić Marko Pantelić ( sr-Cyrl, Марко Пантелић, ; born 15 September 1978) is a Serbian retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He represented Serbia at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Club career Early years As Pantelić was ...

Zoran Urumov Zoran Urumov (; born 30 August 1977) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Early career Urumov began his career on the books of Red Star Belgrade, making his first-team debut in the 1995–96 seaso ...

Nenad Lalatović Nenad Lalatović (, ; born 22 December 1977) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player. Club career Lalatović came through the youth system of hometown club Red Star Belgrade. He also spent a few seasons on loan at OFK Beogr ...

Ivan Gvozdenović Ivan Gvozdenović (Serbian Cyrillic: Иван Гвозденовић; born 19 August 1978) is a Serbian retired football defender, who is the current head coach of Elbasani in the Kategoria Superiore. Club career Gvozdenović started his care ...

Pavle Delibašić Pavle Delibašić (; born 30 November 1978) is a Serbian retired footballer. Delibašić played for Spartak Subotica, Bosnian FK Leotar, FK Čukarički, Chinese Chongqing Lifan and Greek Kallithea F.C., back in Serbia with FK Zemun and with Bu ...

Ognjen Koroman Ognjen Koroman (, ; born 19 September 1978) is a Serbian Manager (association football), football manager and current professional football player, player for FK Ježevica in Serbian lower league Zona Drina. As a player, he represented Serbia an ...

and coach Toma Milićević. However, less than a year after, in November 1994, he and his family moved to Canada. Immediately after their arrival, Prostran began to play for the youth team of

Oakville SC Oakville Soccer Club is a semi-professional soccer club based in Oakville, Ontario. The senior men's and women's teams currently compete in League1 Ontario men's and women's divisions. In late 2024, Oakville SC merged with Blue Devils FC to be ...

. The club won the youth championship every year until 1998, and won two Ontario Cups, while only losing in the final in the other seasons. In 1998, besides the Ontario Cup, they won the Canadian U-19 championship with Prostran being honored as the MVP of the season and was also the league top-scorer. That same year he won the '' Srbijada'', competition between Serbian clubs in Canada, by playing with the Winona Serbs in Winona. In autumn 1998 he entered

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

in Ontario. Prostran played for the university soccer team and became rookie of the year in 1999. In 1999, he returned to Serbia and played with IM Rakovica, Spartak Ljig (on loan from

FK Rad FK Rad () is a football club based in Banjica, Belgrade, Serbia. They compete in the Belgrade Zone League, the fourth tier of the national league system. Founded in 1958, the club spent a total of 30 seasons in the top flight between 1987 and 2 ...

), and FK Beograd. In 2001 joins Remont Čačak and next moved to city rivals

Borac Čačak Borac may refer to: * FK Borac Banja Luka, a football club from Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina ** RK Borac Banja Luka, an affiliated team handball club ** OK Borac, an affiliated volleyball club * FK Borac Čačak, a football club from Čač ...

of the

. The following season, he signed with rivals

FK Borac Čačak Fudbalski klub Borac 1926 (), commonly known as Borac Čačak, is a professional football club based in Čačak, Serbia. The home ground is Čačak Stadium, which has seating capacity of 8,000. As of 2024–25 season, the club competes in secon ...

, where he helped the club clinch its division, and win promotion to the

First League of Serbia and Montenegro The First League of Serbia and Montenegro () was the top Association football, football league of Serbia and Montenegro, before the country's dissolution in 2006. The league was formed as the First League of FR Yugoslavia following the breakup of ...

. On March 18, 2004, the

Toronto Lynx Toronto Lynx was a Canadian soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1997, the team last played in the 2014 season of the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes D ...

of the

signed him to a contract. He made his debut for the club on May 1, 2004, in a match against

Rochester Rhinos Rochester Rhinos, formerly known as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, was an American soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. The club won the 1999 U.S. Open Cup, marking the only time a non-MLS team has won the U.S. Open Cup sinc ...

. In total he featured in 15 matches for the club. On March 30, 2005, he signed with Oakville Blue Devils of the Canadian Professional Soccer League. During the regular season he helped the club clinch a postseason berth by finishing second in the Western Conference. In the postseason he won the CPSL Championship by defeating the

Vaughan Shooters Vaughan ( ) (2022 population 344,412) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increa ...

by a score of 2–1. In 2006, he signed with the Hamilton Serbians of the

Ontario Soccer League The Ontario Soccer League (OSL) is a competitive amateur soccer league in Ontario, Canada. The OSL is affiliated with and governed by the Ontario Soccer Association Ontario Soccer is a Canadian soccer organization. Established in 1901, Ontario ...

. In his late stage of his career he helps to establish FK Obilić from Hamilton.

Coaching career

By the time

celebrated its 40th birthday, Igor Prostran has already been working for some time coaching the youth levels of the club. On that same ceremony he got awarded as one of the 40 most influential personalities in club history. He has been also selected as coaching instructor in the Ontario Soccer Association and has been assistant in the coaching academy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prostran, Igor 1979 births Living people Footballers from Zadar Serbs of Croatia Yugoslav emigrants to Canada Canadian people of Serbian descent Men's association football midfielders Serbia and Montenegro men's footballers FK Rad players FK Beograd (Serbia) players FK Remont Čačak players FK Borac Čačak players Toronto Lynx players Brampton City United FC players Oakville SC players A-League (1995–2004) players Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) players Serbia and Montenegro expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Canada Yugoslav Wars refugees McMaster University alumni