Club Career
Runje began his professional career at Hajduk Split in 1996, but was unable to become a regular at the firstly team with first Tonči Gabrić, the Croatian national team's back-up goalkeeper at the time, and eventually young prospect Stipe Pletikosa being selected ahead of him. He eventually left the club in 1998 and joined Belgian side Standard Liège.
Runje played for Standard Liège until 2001, being named Belgian Goalkeeper of the Year in 1999 and 2001. He went on to join French club Olympique Marseille, where he was the first-choice goalkeeper over the following two and a half seasons. He helped Marseille qualify for the UEFA Champions League in 2003 and appeared in 5 of the club's 6 matches in the group stage of the competition in 2003–04. He was the club's first-choice goalkeeper until December 2003, losing his place following the arrival of Fabien Barthez in January 2004 and making no further appearances in the Ligue 1 and European competition until the end of the season.
Runje returned to Standard Liège in the summer of 2004. During his second spell with Standard, he won another Belgian Goalkeeper of the Year award in 2006. During the summer of the same year, he moved to Turkish side Beşiktaş. He was the first-choice goalkeeper at Beşiktaş during the 2006–07 season, making 32 Süper Lig appearances and also appearing in all of the club's 6 UEFA Cup matches during the season.
In the summer of 2007, Runje left Beşiktaş and returned to the French Ligue 1 after being signed by RC Lens. He appeared in all of the club's 38 matches in the Ligue 1 during the 2007–08 season, but was unable to prevent them from being relegated to the Ligue 2 after finishing 18th in the top flight. He also appeared in all of the club's 6 European matches during the season.
Despite rumours that he might be leaving the club following their relegation from the top flight, Runje decided to stay at Lens and eventually helped the club return to the Ligue 1 after only one season in the second division. Runje made 31 appearances in the Ligue 2 during the 2008–09 season as Lens finished top of the league. He kept his place as a regular for the club in the Ligue 1 and went on to make 32 league appearances during the 2009–10 season, only missing the final 6 league matches of the season due to an injury.
Read more about this topic: Vedran Runje
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