He previously played four seasons for Croatian First League side Dinamo Zagreb, who signed him to his first professional contract from his youth club NK Samobor in 1997.

[2] During his time with the Lisbon side he played up front alongside Norwegian striker Azar Karadas for two seasons.

On 25 January 2004, he played in a 1–0 away win against Vitória de Guimarães, a game overshadowed by the tragic death of his teammate Miklós Fehér.

In June 2005, after his contract with Benfica finally expired, he joined rivals FC Porto on a free transfer.

[7][8] Following UEFA Euro 2004, he was called up to be a part of the Croatian squad to play at the 2006 FIFA World Cup but due to a very serious injury he had to miss the tournament.