In the 2000 summer, he moved teams and countries again, signing with U.S. Lecce in Italy, his 11 successful strikes proving crucial as the Apulia outfit narrowly avoided relegation from Serie A; on 12 November 2000, he netted the game's only goal at the San Siro, in an historic win against F.C.
He suffered an injury in a home fixture against HNK Šibenik on 4 August, but managed to recover for the club's first-leg third-round Champions League clash against Arsenal four days later, only to be stretchered off 30 minutes into the game, missing the second match.
In March 2012, he terminated his contract with the team, ranking second best all-time goalscorer in the Croatian top division with a total of 124 goals scored.
[4][5] Vugrinec made his debut for Croatia on 10 April 1996, in a friendly match with Hungary played in Osijek, but had to wait two 1/2 years to win his second international cap, in the nation's second UEFA Euro 2000 qualifier away against Malta, on 10 October 1998; he entered the match as an early substitute after injury forced off Jurica Vučko in the 16th minute and went on to score two goals in the second half, as the national team came from behind to win it 4–1.
After the tournament in Japan and South Korea, Vugrinec only appeared in one friendly match and two Euro 2004 qualifiers before being uncapped for more than three years, until January 2006.