A forward who spent most of his career in France and Italy, he was renowned for his technique and power, and is regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the Croatia national football team.

[1][2] With Marseille, Bokšić won the 1992–93 UEFA Champions League, and was voted fourth in the 1993 European Footballer of the Year poll.

[3] Although selected for Yugoslavia squad at the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, the 20-year-old Bokšić did not play in the tournament, with coach Ivica Osim preferring more experienced forwards in the lineup.

He played for Croatia at the 1996 European Championship but was not included in the squad for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France due to an injury he suffered only weeks before the tournament.

Bokšić was the club's joint top goalscorer in the competition alongside teammate Rudi Völler, as he scored six goals in the 1992–93 UEFA Champions League.

In 1994, due to financial irregularities and a match fixing scandal involving then president Bernard Tapie, they suffered enforced relegation to the second division.

After joining Lazio in Italy in 1993, Bokšić was voted fourth for the 1993 European Footballer of the Year, behind winner Roberto Baggio, Dennis Bergkamp and Eric Cantona.

In the 1994–95 season, Lazio were managed by Zdeněk Zeman, and Bokšić played an important part in the club's best Serie A position since 1974, finishing second.

Bokšić played as a forward until the 88th minute of the match, alongside Christian Vieri, and provided the assist for Alessandro Del Piero's goal.

[5] Following his spell at Lazio, Bokšić surprised the footballing world by joining English Premier League club Middlesbrough for a transfer fee of £2.5 million.

His last match for Middlesbrough was on 11 January 2003, in a 2–2 draw with Southampton,[10] while His final goal for the club had come in a memorable 3–1 win over Manchester United on Boxing Day 2002.

[11] Twenty-year-old Bokšić was a member of the Yugoslavia national squad during 1990 World Cup, but coach Ivica Osim did not give him a single minute of action, preferring the more experienced Zlatko Vujović and Darko Pančev for places upfront.

Bokšić was a dynamic, well-rounded, physically strong, and prolific forward, who was renowned for his technique, skill, creativity, movement, power, stamina and pace on the ball, which enabled him to open up defences and create space for his teammates and provide depth to his team with his attacking runs; despite his ability and consistent goalscoring rate throughout his career, he drew criticism at times in the Italian media for his occasional lack of accuracy in front of goal during his time in Serie A.