Dragutin Stević-Ranković
Dragutin Stevic-Ranković (born 19 December 1979) is a former professional footballer. Born in Serbia, he began his career there and later moved to Hong Kong where he lives with his wife and two boys.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dragutin Stević-Ranković | ||
| Date of birth | 19 December 1979 | ||
| Place of birth | Lazarevac, Serbia | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
| Playing position(s) | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1996–1999 | FK Polet Mirosaljci | 130 | (70) |
| 2000–2002 | FK Kolubara Lazarevac | 30 | (7) |
| 2002–2003 | FK Loznica | 18 | (5) |
| 2003–2004 | FK Čukarički | 8 | (2) |
| 2004–2005 | FK BSK Borča | 15 | (6) |
| 2004-2005 | FK Mladenovac | 5 | (1) |
| 2005–2006 | Kitchee SC | 16 | (4) |
| 2006–2007 | Rangers (HKG) | 8 | (4) |
| Total | 230 | (99) | |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2018 | Global Makati | ||
| 2019 | United Makati | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
As of 2020, he is a senior football coach for Tekkerz HK, based in Discovery Bay, Hong Kong who specialise in maximum touch training.
Playing career
As a youth, Dragutin Stević-Ranković played with FK Kolubara in his hometown of Lazarevac, Serbia. He then worked his way up the ladder in Serbian professional football, making stops at FK Polet Mirosaljci, FK Loznica, FK Čukarički Stankom, FK BSK Borča and OFK Mladenovac.[1]
In 2005, Stević-Ranković signed a contract with Kitchee SC of the Hong Kong First Division. The club won the Hong Kong League Cup that season. He memorably scored in the 30th minute of a 1:0 win in the cup semi-final.[2]
In 2006, Dragutin moved to Rangers (HKG). While there, he had perhaps his finest match as a professional footballer in Hong Kong, scoring three goals against Citizen AA on 11 May 2006.[3] Unfortunately, his time with the club was cut short by a left knee injury sustained in a game on 15 October 2006.
The injury was serious. Despite two operations, he had to retire from playing professional football.
Dragutin Stević-Ranković completed his UEFA 'A' Licence in Serbia in 2015.
Coaching career
As a UEFA 'A' Licence Dragutin Stević-Ranković signed with Global Makati in 2018. He took over a club who had not won a game all season, they had the lowest scoring ratio and highest goals conceded of any Philippines Premier League team and were sitting rock bottom of the table. After Dragutin Stević-Ranković became the head coach, fortunes began to change as he started to implement changes and the positive impact was recognized immediately, they started to score more and concede less and results were improving drastically. They also had some positive results in the domestic cup (Copa Paulino Alcantara) which was recognised by the Phillipino media outlets and this was attributed to the positive impact of Dragutin Stević-Ranković becoming the head coach.
Come the end of the season a new contract was offered, however even though he maintains a great relationship with the club and staff, due to the club's financial issues Dragutin Stević-Ranković declined the offer and moved back to Hong Kong where he is a highly sought after coach. He has coached the YMCA of Hong Kong Christian College football team since 2009 winning numerous accolades along the way.
Honours
- Hong Kong League Cup: 2005-2006
References
- The list of Serbian teams in this profile was provided by the player himself in an email on 8 June 2011.
- "Match Results". Hong Kong Football Association. 3 December 2005. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
- "Match Results". Hong Kong Football Association. 11 May 2006. Retrieved 13 June 2011.