Mladen Krstajić

Mladen Krstajić (Serbian Cyrillic: Младен Крстајић, pronounced [mlǎden krstâjitɕ]; born 4 March 1974) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player who played as a centre-back.[1] He was most recently the head coach of the Serbia national team.

Mladen Krstajić
Krstajić as Serbia manager at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Chairman of the Board of FK Radnik Bijeljina
In office 23 January 2015 – 28 March 2020
Preceded by	Predrag Jović
Succeeded by	Predrag Perković
Personal details
Born	(1974-03-04) 4 March 1974 Zenica, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Association football career Playing position(s) Centre-back Youth career 1984–1992 Čelik Zenica Senior career* Years Team Apps (Gls) 1992–1993 Senta 15 (1) 1993–1996 Kikinda 55 (2) 1996–2000 Partizan 84 (7) 2000–2004 Werder Bremen 112 (11) 2004–2009 Schalke 04 131 (7) 2009–2011 Partizan 43 (3) Total 440 (31) National team 1999–2002 FR Yugoslavia 20 (2) 2002–2006 Serbia and Montenegro 27 (0) 2006–2008 Serbia 11 (0) Teams managed 2016–2017 Serbia (assistant) 2017–2019 Serbia * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He represented Serbia and Montenegro at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. From January 2015[2] until March 2020,[3] Krstajić served the role of chairman of the board of Bosnian Premier League club Radnik Bijeljina.

Early life

Krstajić was born in Zenica, SFR Yugoslavia, present day Bosnia and Herzegovina to a Bosnian Serb mother from Bijeljina and a Montenegrin father from Žabljak.[4] He grew up in Bosnia and played in the youth squads of Čelik Zenica (1984–1992). Due to the Bosnian War, he and his family moved to FR Yugoslavia, modern day Serbia.

Club career

Early career

After playing in the youth teams of Čelik Zenica, Krstajić moved to Kikinda, FR Yugoslavia, present day Serbia in April 1992, following the breakout of the Bosnian war. He started playing with Senta for six months. He then moved to OFK Kikinda, at that time a first league club. At some point of a successful career as a Serbian football player, there comes the time, to decide, whether one wants to play for Partizan or for Red Star Belgrade, and Krstajić decided to take the move to Partizan in 1996. According to Krstajić himself, Red Star was interested in him, but as he comes from a "Partizan" family, he decided to sign a contract with his favourite club. His four and a half years at Partizan were more than successful, winning the national championships three times (1996, 1997, 1999) and also the national cup in 1998.

Werder Bremen and Schalke

Krstajić with Schalke 04 in 2007.

In 2000, Krstajić, the defender with the "winner mentality" (Jupp Heynckes) joined German Bundesliga club Werder Bremen who paid a DM 1.8 million (about €950,000) transfer fee to Partizan.[5] At Werder Bremen he was initially deployed at left-back in his first season[6] but became one of the best central defenders in the Bundesliga,[5] winning the German championship and the cup with Werder in 2004.

In 2004 he joined Schalke 04, where he was named the new captain on 17 March 2009.

Partizan

On 5 June 2009, Krstajić signed a two-year contract with his former club Partizan.[7] In January 2010, after the departure of Nenad Đorđević, he was named the new Partizan captain.[8] After two very successful seasons, Krstajić played his last professional match on 21 May 2011.[9] Immediately after retiring, he was appointed as the new director of football of the club. After less than 6 months as director of football, he was sacked due to a media war against club president Dragan Đurić. Aleksandar Stanojević resigned as manager as a result.

The day before Krstajić was released, Partizan fans, Grobari, chanted his name as a sign of support during a basketball match against arch rivals Crvena Zvezda.[10]

International career

Krstajić was a part of the Serbia and Montenegro national team "Famous Four" defence, which conceded just one goal during the qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The other members of the famous four were Ivica Dragutinović, Goran Gavrančić and Nemanja Vidić.

Between 1999 and 2008 he made 58 international appearances scoring 2 goals. He represented three senior national sides: FR Yugoslavia (1992–2002; 20 appearances, 2 goals), Serbia and Montenegro (2002–2006; 27 appearances), and Serbia (2006–2008; 11 appearances).[11]

Managerial career

Serbia

In October 2017, Krstajić succeeded Slavoljub Muslin as head coach of the Serbia national team, initially as a caretaker. In December, it was announced he would take on the role permanently and at least until the end of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[12][13]

On 13 June 2019, Krstajić was sacked from the position after a dismal 5–0 loss in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier against Ukraine.[14][15]

Administrative career

Before becoming a manager, Krstajić became the new chairman of the board of Bosnian Premier League club Radnik Bijeljina on 23 January 2015.[16]

During his time as club chairman, Radnik became a stable Bosnian Premier League club, finishing almost always in the top five or six. It won its first ever national and major trophy, the Bosnian Cup in the 2015–16 season and thus qualified for its first ever UEFA competition, the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League qualifying rounds.[17][18][19]

In the 2018–19 Bosnian Premier League season, Radnik finished in fifth place, but as fourth placed Željezničar did not get an UEFA license to compete in the following season's UEFA Europa League, Radnik was qualified by default to the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League qualifying rounds for a second time in its history.[20]

On 27 December 2019, Krstajić unexpectedly decided to leave Radnik, stating that it was time for someone new to lead the club.[21] He officially left the club on 28 March 2020, with Predrag Perković succeeding him as chairman.[22]

Career statistics

Club

Club	Season	League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Partizan	1995–96	6	1			–				6	1
	1996–97	11	0			–				11	0
	1997–98	21	4			–				21	4
	1998–99	17	0			–				17	0
	1999–00	29	2	2	0	–		6	2	37	4
	Total	84	7	2	0	–		6	2	92	9
Werder Bremen	2000–01	25	2	2	0	0	0	5	0	32	2
	2001–02	26	2	2	0	0	0	2	0	30	2
	2002–03	31	4	5	0	1	0	4	1	41	5
	2003–04	30	3	5	0	0	0	4	0	39	3
	Total	112	11	14	0	1	0	15	1	142	12
Schalke 04	2004–05	28	1	5	1	0	0	12	1	45	3
	2005–06	29	2	1	0	2	0	12	0	44	2
	2006–07	27	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	29	1
	2007–08	23	2	2	0	3	0	6	0	34	2
	2008–09	24	1	3	0	–		4	0	31	1
	Total	131	7	13	1	5	0	34	1	183	9
Partizan	2009–10	22	2	1	0	–		9	2	32	4
	2010–11	21	1	4	0	–		12	0	37	1
	Total	43	3	5	0	–		21	2	69	5
Career total		370	28	34	1	6	0	76	6	486	35

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[11]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
FR Yugoslavia	1999	2	0
	2000	5	0
	2001	5	1
	2002	8	1
Serbia and Montenegro	2002	3	0
	2003	7	0
	2004	5	0
	2005	7	0
	2006	5	0
Serbia	2006	5	0
	2007	4	0
	2008	2	0
Total		58	2

Managerial statistics

As of 10 June 2019

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	From	To	Record
			G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Serbia	21 October 2017	13 June 2019	19	9	5	5	30	21	+9	047.37
Total			19	9	5	5	30	21	+9	047.37

Honours

Player

Partizan

• Serbian SuperLiga: 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 2009–10,[23] 2010–11[23]
• Serbian Cup: 1997–98, 2010–11[23]

Werder Bremen[23]

• Bundesliga: 2003–04
• DFB-Pokal: 2003–04

Schalke 04[23]

• DFB-Ligapokal: 2005
• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2004[24]

References

1. "Player Profile". www.paktribune.com. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
2. "Mladen Krstajić na čelu Radnika iz Bijeljine" (in Bosnian). Mondo.ba. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
3. S. Mlaćo (28 March 2020). "Krstajić i zvanično bivši, Radnik ima novog predsjednika" (in Bosnian). sportsport.ba. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
4. Mondo (21 March 2018). "Krstajić za MONDO: Zvezdaši, neću vas zapostaviti" (in Serbian). Retrieved 31 March 2018.
5. Lampert, Andreas (30 April 2003). "Der Kellner mit der linken Klebe". Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 31 March 2018.
6. Heike, Frank (29 April 2003). "Länderspiel: Heimatgefühle im Weserstadion". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 27 March 2020.
7. "Mladen Krstajić ponovo u Partizanu" (in Serbian). b92.net. 5 June 2009. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
8. "Krstajić kapiten, Ilić zamenik (VIDEO)" (in Serbian). mondo.rs. 22 January 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
9. "Partizan – Cukaricki 4:0 (0:0)". partizan.rs. 21 May 2011. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
10. "Krstajic new FK Partizan Sporting Director, Stanojevic extended his contract". partizan.rs. 1 June 2011. Archived from the original on 6 September 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
11. Mladen Krstajić at National-Football-Teams.com
12. "Football: Serbia appoint Mladen Krstajic as World Cup coach". The Straits Times. 30 December 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
13. "WM-Experiment Krstajic: Serbiens Wagnis nach der Posse". kicker Online (in German). 29 December 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
14. The Washington Post (1 July 2019). "Ljubisa Tumbakovic named new Serbia coach". Retrieved 2 July 2019.
15. E.B. (13 June 2019). "Mladen Krstajić smijenjen sa pozicije selektora nogometne reprezentacije Srbije" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
16. M. Šljivak (23 January 2015). "Mladen Krstajić predsjednik Radnika" (in Bosnian). sportsport.ba. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
17. E.B. (18 May 2016). "Historijski dan za Bijeljinu: Fudbaleri Radnika savladali Slobodu 3:0 i osvojili Kup BiH" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
18. O.T. (30 June 2016). "Radnik izvukao remi u gostima protiv Beroea u 1. pretkolu Evropske lige" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
19. O.T. (7 July 2016). "Beroe u finišu meča srušio Radnik i eliminisao ga iz Evropske lige" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
20. "Željezničar ostao bez licence, Radnik iz Bijeljine naredne sezone igra Evropsku ligu" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
21. R. Pašić (27 December 2019). "Mladen Krstajić podnio ostavku!" (in Bosnian). sportsport.ba. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
22. S. Mlaćo (28 March 2020). "Krstajić i zvanično bivši, Radnik ima novog predsjednika" (in Bosnian). sportsport.ba. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
23. "M. Krstajić". Soccerway. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
24. "Liberec 0-1 Schalke (Aggregate: 1 - 3)". uefa.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.

External links

• Mladen Krstajić at fussballdaten.de (in German)
• Mladen Krstajić at reprezentacija.rs (in Serbian)
• Mladen Krstajić – FIFA competition record
• Mladen Krstajić – UEFA competition record