Croatia is becoming well known for its late bloomers. Dado Prso, Tomislav Maric, Ivan Juric and Tomislav Dujmovic were all relative unknowns until experiencing a upturn in fortunes during their mid to late 20's. Add to that list Asteras Tripolis striker Daniel Cesarec. It is likely few Croats would have heard of this 1.84m centre forward who currently leads the Greek Superleague's national scoring charts with 8 goals in 10 matches.Cesarec first arrived in Greece back in 2005 from Sparta Prague on loan at Akratitos. He eventually signed for Egaleo, but endured two lean years there scoring just 5 goals. He moved across to Asteras in 2007 and has performed significantly better netting 16 times during his first two seasons. This season his eight goal haul in the league, nine in all competitions is his best tally to date. Aged 26 and born in Slavonski Brod, Cesarec is a native of Croatia and began his career with Marsonia. With Slaven Bilic on the hunt for new players to add competition in the Croatia national team, Cesarec has every chance of putting on the red and white checks before the end of the season should he remain prolific. The forward has a number of attributes being physical strong as well as mobile. He is also blessed with a powerful shot and is also dangerous in the air.
Cesarec is also eligible to play for the Czech Republic having spent three unsuccessful years in the country playing with Sparta Prague and Pribram. Despite his disappointing form at Sparta, the player could still be courted by the Czech Republic who are looking to revamp their side after a poor showing in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. However as the player has already play three times for Croatia Under 21's its more likely Cesarec will play for Croatia.
