Igor Prostran

Igor Prostran (Serbian Cyrillic: Игор Простран, born March 29, 1979) is a Canadian-Serbian football manager and former player. As player, he played in the Second League of Serbia and Montenegro, USL A-League, and the Canadian Professional Soccer League.

Born in Zadar, SR Croatia, he sent his childhood in neighbouring town of Smoković which had a Serb majority and family Prostran made about one quarter of the total population. His father Branko waas footballer and later became coach at locl club ONK Smoković and later NK Zadar. Igor younger brother Nikša also plays football and he became goalkeeper having played in Ontario.

Igor started playing at local ONK Smoković in 1989 when he was 10. However, in 1991 Croatian War of Independence against federal Yugoslav forces and local Serb population started, and, in January 1993, Croatian Army took the town in the Operation Maslenica 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 where he played in an extraordinary generation along players such as Dejan Stanković, Marko Pantelić, Zoran Urumov, Nenad Lalatović, Ivan Gvozdenović, Pavle Delibašić, Ognjen Koroman and coach Toma Milićević. However, less then 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 FC Oakville. 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 Wynona Serbs. In autumn 1998 he entered McMaster University in Ontario. Prostran played for the university soccer team and became rookie of the year in 1999.

Prostran began his career at the youth level when he immigrated to Canada from Yugoslavia. His family settled in Burlington, Ontario, and played with the Oakville Blue Devils at the youth level winning two Ontario Cups. In 2001, he returned to Serbia and played with FK Remont Čačak of the Second League of Serbia and Montenegro. The following season he signed with rivals FK Borac Čačak, where he helped the club clinch its division, and win promotion to the First League of Serbia and Montenegro. On March 18, 2004 the Toronto Lynx of the USL A-League signed him to a contract. He made his debut for the club on May 1, 2004 in a match against Rochester Rhinos. 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 by a score of 2-1. In 2006, he signed with the Hamilton Serbians of the Ontario Soccer League.