Albert Nađ

Albert Nađ (Serbian Cyrillic: Алберт Нађ, pronounced [ǎlbert nâdʑ]; born 29 October 1974) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder and current manager of Teleoptik.

Albert Nađ

Nađ with Rostov in 2007
Personal information
Full name	Albert Nađ
Date of birth	(1974-10-29) 29 October 1974
Place of birth	Zemun, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team	Teleoptik (manager)
Youth career
	Teleoptik
	Partizan
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1992–1996	Partizan	111	(8)
1996–1999	Betis	55	(1)
1998–1999	→ Oviedo (loan)	27	(1)
1999–2002	Oviedo	43	(0)
2001	→ Elche (loan)	16	(1)
2002–2007	Partizan	91	(5)
2007	Rostov	7	(0)
2008–2009	Čukarički	33	(1)
Total		383	(17)
National team
1991	Yugoslavia U21[lower-alpha 1]	2	(0)
1994–2006	Serbia and Montenegro	45	(3)
Teams managed
2017–2019	Rakovica
2019	Partizan (assistant)
2019–	Teleoptik
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

At international level, Nađ represented his country under different names at two major tournaments, one European Championship (as FR Yugoslavia) and one World Cup (as Serbia and Montenegro).

Club career

Born in Zemun, Nađ started out at his local club Teleoptik.[1] He later joined the youth system of Partizan, making his senior debut in the title-winning 1992–93 campaign. Subsequently, Nađ was one of the team's most regular players in the 1993–94 season, as they won the double. He spent another two years in the country, collecting one more domestic league title in 1996, while captaining the side. In total, Nađ made 111 league appearances and scored eight goals for Partizan under manager Ljubiša Tumbaković between 1992 and 1996.

In July 1996, Nađ moved abroad to Spain and signed with Betis.[2] He made 30 league appearances in his debut season in La Liga, as the club finished in fourth place. Nađ stayed at Betis for one more season, before moving on loan to Oviedo in the summer of 1998. He was eventually acquired by Oviedo in July 1999.[3] However, Nađ made only 16 appearances in the 1999–2000 season. He was later loaned to Segunda División club Elche until the end of the 2000–01 campaign. After returning from loan, Nađ spent another season with Oviedo, before leaving the club due to unpaid wages in August 2002.[4]

In September 2002, Nađ officially returned to his parent club Partizan, penning a one-year deal.[5] He won the national league in his comeback season. In early 2004, Nađ signed an 18-month extension to his contract with the club.[6] He was also a member of the squad that won the title with an unbeaten record in 2005.[7] Shortly after, Nađ signed a three-year extension to his contract with Partizan.[8] He eventually left the club by mutual agreement in July 2007.[9]

In August 2007, Nađ went abroad again and joined Russian side Rostov, together with Ivica Kralj.[10][11] They failed to help the club avoid relegation from the Premier League, finishing bottom of the table. Eventually, Nađ left Rostov in December 2007, alongside Kralj and some other players.[12][13]

In January 2008, Nađ signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Čukarički.[14] He played his last career match for Čukarički in the final league fixture of the 2008–09 season, against his parent club Partizan on 30 May 2009.[15] After being cheered by the Grobari in the 68th minute, Nađ responded by lifting his Čukarički jersey to reveal Partizan's jersey underneath. He was substituted in the 76 minute, eventually ending his active playing career.[16]

International career

Nađ made his international debut for FR Yugoslavia in a 0–2 loss to Brazil on 23 December 1994. He scored his first national team goal in his second game, a 3–1 win over Hong Kong on 31 January 1995. After missing out on the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Nađ was named by Vujadin Boškov in the country's final UEFA Euro 2000 squad. He made two appearances in the group stage of the tournament, as they were eventually eliminated in the quarter-finals.[17]

Almost four years later, Nađ made a comeback to the national team, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 friendly draw against Northern Ireland on 28 April 2004. He was also selected by Ilija Petković to represent Serbia and Montenegro at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Subsequently, Nađ made two appearances in Group C, including his last game for the national team on 21 June 2006. He came off the bench early into the match and received two yellow cards by the end of the first half of an eventual 2–3 loss to Ivory Coast.[18]

Post-playing career

In December 2009, Nađ was named as the sports coordinator at his parent club Partizan.[19] He was also responsible for the club's transfer windows between 2010 and 2012. In May 2013, Nađ was officially appointed as sporting director of Partizan.[20] He left the position at the end of his contract in May 2014.[21]

In early 2017, Nađ became sporting director of Serbian League Belgrade side Rakovica while simultaneously taking over the managerial role at the club.[22]

In August 2019, Nađ returned to Partizan and joined Savo Milošević's staff as an assistant.[23] He performed the role for less than three months, before replacing Žarko Lazetić as manager of their affiliated club Teleoptik.[24]

Career statistics

Club

Club	Season	League		Cup		Continental		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Partizan	1992–93	25	1	3	0	—		28	1
	1993–94	30	2	9	2	—		39	4
	1994–95	30	3	4	1	—		34	4
	1995–96	26	2	8	0	—		34	2
	Total	111	8	24	3	—		135	11
Betis	1996–97	30	0	6	0	—		36	0
	1997–98	25	1	3	0	3	0	31	1
	Total	55	1	9	0	3	0	67	1
Oviedo (loan)	1998–99	27	1	2	0	—		29	1
Oviedo	1999–2000	16	0	0	0	—		16	0
	2000–01	3	0	0	0	—		3	0
Elche (loan)	2000–01	16	1	0	0	—		16	1
Oviedo	2001–02	24	0	0	0	—		24	0
	Total	70	1	2	0	—		72	1
Partizan	2002–03	10	0	1	0	0	0	11	0
	2003–04	24	0	3	0	8	0	35	0
	2004–05	20	2	2	0	8	0	30	2
	2005–06	28	2	0	0	6	0	34	2
	2006–07	9	1	3	0	1	0	13	1
	Total	91	5	9	0	23	0	123	5
Rostov	2007	7	0	0	0	—		7	0
Čukarički	2007–08	9	0	1	0	—		10	0
	2008–09	24	1	0	0	—		24	1
	Total	33	1	1	0	—		34	1
Career total		383	17	45	3	26	0	454	20

International

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
FR Yugoslavia	1994	1	0
	1995	7	1
	1996	7	0
	1997	6	0
	1998	4	0
	1999	5	2
	2000	5	0
	2001	0	0
	2002	0	0
Serbia and Montenegro	2003	0	0
	2004	1	0
	2005	4	0
	2006	5	0
Total		45	3

Honours

Partizan

• First League of FR Yugoslavia: 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 2002–03, 2004–05
• FR Yugoslavia Cup: 1993–94

Betis

• Copa del Rey: Runner-up 1996–97

Personal Life

Albert Nadj has been married two times. From his first marriage he has four kids. He was accused of domestic violence by his first wife. He also hasn't been paying alimony for his four kids and therefore has been sued multiple times by his first wife.

Notes

1. Only official UEFA matches included

References

1. "INTERVJU NEDELJOM - Albert Nađ: Pripremam novi projekat za Partizan, biznismeni ne mogu sami" (in Serbian). mozzartsport.com. 1 March 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
2. "El Betis ficha a Nadj y negocia con Ferreira" (in Spanish). elpais.com. 8 July 1996. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
3. "Ovijedo otkupio Nađa" (in Serbian). glas-javnosti.rs. 21 July 1999. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
4. "Nadj: "Me mintieron durante tres años"" (in Spanish). as.com. 23 August 2002. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
5. ""Adi" se vratio u "staro jato"" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 23 September 2002. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
6. "Nadj staying with Partizan". uefa.com. 10 January 2004. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
7. "Unbeaten Partizan take title". uefa.com. 17 May 2005. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
8. "Motorino produžio ugovor" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 17 June 2005. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
9. "Nađ sporazumno napustio Partizan!" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 23 July 2007. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
10. "Nađ uz Kralja u Rostovu" (in Serbian). b92.net. 8 August 2007. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
11. ""РОСТОВ" ПОДПИСАЛ НАДЯ" (in Russian). fc-rostov.ru. 9 August 2007. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
12. "Nađ i Kralj slobodni igrači" (in Serbian). b92.net. 28 November 2007. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
13. "БЮДЖЕТ "РОСТОВА" СВЕРСТАН ПОД ЗАДАЧУ" (in Russian). fc-rostov.ru. 10 December 2007. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
14. "Nađ novi član Čukaričkog" (in Serbian). b92.net. 18 January 2008. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
15. "Partizanovac Nađ u fotelji za ljuljanje" (in Serbian). mondo.rs. 30 May 2009. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
16. "To bi bilo to..." (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 30 May 2009. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
17. "Six of the best for Holland". bbc.co.uk. 26 June 2000. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
18. "Ivory Coast hit back for first win". cnn.com. 22 June 2006. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
19. "SAOPŠTENJE SA PRVE SEDNICE UPRAVNOG ODBORA" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 29 December 2009. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
20. "Saopštenje UO FK Partizan" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 30 May 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
21. "Kraj Partizanove sage: Nađ odlazi iz Humske" (in Serbian). svet.rs. 31 May 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
22. "Nađ: Svestan sam da sam još u trenerskim pelenama" (in Serbian). novosti.rs. 17 April 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
23. "Albert Nađ pomoćni trener u Partizanu" (in Serbian). rts.rs. 9 August 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
24. "BIVŠI IGRAČ SE VRAĆA U HUMSKU: Duljaj u stručnom štabu Partizana" (in Serbian). novosti.rs. 1 November 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.

External links

• Albert Nađ at BDFutbol
• Albert Nađ at FootballDatabase.eu
• Albert Nađ at Reprezentacija.rs (in Serbian)
• Albert Nađ – FIFA competition record
• Albert Nađ at National-Football-Teams.com