Predrag Đorđević

Predrag Đorđević (Serbian Cyrillic: Предраг Ђорђевић; also transliterated Predrag Djordjević; Greek: Πρέντραγκ Τζόρτζεβιτς; born 4 August 1972) is a retired Serbian footballer.

Predrag Đorđević

Đorđević with Olympiacos in 2008
Personal information
Full name	Predrag Đorđević
Date of birth	(1972-08-04) 4 August 1972
Place of birth	Kragujevac, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.84 m (6 ft ^1⁄2 in)
Playing position(s)	Left Winger
Youth career
	Budućnost Resnik
	Radnički Kragujevac
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1991–1993	Red Star Belgrade	5	(0)
1991–1992	→ Spartak Subotica (loan)	25	(3)
1993–1996	Paniliakos	119	(33)
1996–2009	Olympiacos	343	(126)
Total		492	(162)
National team
1998–2006	Serbia and Montenegro	37	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Known for his set pieces, Đorđević played as a left midfielder for Greek club Olympiacos for 13 years, becoming Olympiacos' greatest foreign goalscorer, averaging a goal every three league matches, as well as becoming a symbol of Olympiacos' "Golden Age" of 12 championship trophies in 13 years. Đorđević is acknowledged as one of the greatest foreign players to have played in Greece. Đorđević also played for the national team of Serbia and Montenegro, amassing 37 caps and 1 goal. He featured for his country in the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Early career

Having started his career in the youth section of Radnički Kragujevac, his talent was spotted by Red Star Belgrade scouts who signed him and then loaned him to Spartak Subotica. Đorđević first moved to Greece to play for third division Paniliakos in 1993. He was an instrumental figure as the Pyrgos club achieved successive promotions. Đorđević made his debut in the Greek Championship on 27 August 1995.[1]

Olympiacos

He came to Olympiacos from Paniliakos together with Stelios Giannakopoulos in 1996. Dušan Bajević signed him for Olympiacos in the summer of 1996, leaving A.E.K. The Serbian established himself as the club's dead-ball specialist, penalty taker and leader. He formed, along with Grigoris Georgatos, an outstanding left wing for Olympiacos in 1998–99 and they were the catalytic factor for Olympiacos qualifying to the UEFA Champions League 1998–99 quarter-finals. He scored 50 goals in his first five seasons at Olympiacos, all of which brought titles. Another superlative season in red and white followed in 2002–03, Đorđević scoring 14 league goals and providing 15 assists. He also hit form in the UEFA Champions League, scoring four goals in six games which included a hat-trick against Bayer Leverkusen (6–2)]. In 2003–04, Đorđević recorded 10 goals and 22 assists and was voted the best foreign player in the Greek ever Alpha Ethniki.

In 2004–05, he missed his club's first three Champions League matches through injury, but returned to score the winning goal against Deportivo La Coruña. He captained his side in all four UEFA Cup matches, scoring against Newcastle United. He led his side to the domestic double, appearing in 25 league matches, scoring five goals and providing six assists, before signing a two-year contract extension.

Amazingly, 2005–06 was then 34-year-old Đorđević's most productive season, only missing one game in the Greek National A division, leading the club's scoring charts with 15 goals and reaching a total of 110 in the competition. The icing on the cake was his appearance that summer in 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Another important period for Đorđević, the 2006–07 season, would prove record breaking. Once again, scoring crucial goals for his club, Đorđević not only continued his goal streak against Olympiacos' rivals AEK Athens, but also added another League trophy to the club's vast collection. Along with Georgios Anatolakis, this would be the captain's 10th championship, making him the only foreign player in Greece to achieve such a feat.

The 2007–08 season proved once again to be successful for the Olympiacos captain as he led a very new looking squad out to UEFA Champions League glory. Defeating the likes of Werder Bremen and Lazio, Olympiacos finished with the same points as group leaders Real Madrid and recorded their first Champions League away win in history. Đorđević played a vital role in the Greek club's entry into the knockout rounds for the second time in their history, finishing the group stages with four assists, first in the tournament.[2] As a result of his excellent form in both Europe and the Greek Superleague, Đorđević who was set to retire at the end of the 2008 season, extended his contract for another year.

On 30 March 2009, Đorđević announced that he had decided to end his career as a football player by the end of the season 2008–09, having spent 13 years of his 20 years as a professional footballer playing for Olympiacos.[3]

International career

Đorđević made his international debut for the then SR Yugoslavia against Switzerland in a September 1998. He featured in qualifying for UEFA Euro 2000, but did not make the squad for the finals. Also appeared on the road to UEFA Euro 2004, although Serbia and Montenegro did not qualify for Portugal, and remained a key part of their 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying side. Đorđević played every minute in Serbia and Montenegro's failed World Cup campaign, losing each match in their Group C encounters with Argentina, Netherlands, and Ivory Coast.

Personal life

He is married to a woman of Greek descent from Pyrgos, the first town in Greece he has ever lived and played at.[4] He has both Serbian and Greek citizenship.

Career statistics

Club

Club	Season	League
		Division	Apps	Goals
Spartak Subotica (loan)	1991–92	Yugoslav First League	25	3
Red Star Belgrade	1992–93	First League of Serbia and Montenegro	5	0
Paniliakos[5]	1992–93	Gamma Ethniki	22	8
	1993–94	Gamma Ethniki	33	13
	1994–95	Gamma Ethniki	33	10
	1995–96	Gamma Ethniki	31	2
	Total		119	33
Olympiacos	1996–97	Superleague Greece	18	4
	1997–98	Superleague Greece	33	12
	1998–99	Superleague Greece	30	8
	1999–2000	Superleague Greece	30	12
	2000–01	Superleague Greece	25	14
	2001–02	Superleague Greece	23	13
	2002–03	Superleague Greece	29	14
	2003–04	Superleague Greece	25	10
	2004–05	Superleague Greece	25	5
	2005–06	Superleague Greece	29	15
	2006–07	Superleague Greece	25	7
	2007–08	Superleague Greece	27	10
	2008–09	Superleague Greece	24	2
	Total		343	126
Career total			492	162

International

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
FR Yugoslavia	1998	2	0
	1999	0	0
	2000	6	0
	2001	7	1
	2002	6	0
Serbia and Montenegro	2003	2	0
	2004	1	0
	2005	8	0
	2006	5	0
Total		37	1

Honours

Club

Paniliakos

• Beta Ethniki: 1994–95
• Gamma Ethniki: 1993–94

Olympiacos

• Superleague (12): 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09
• Greek Cup (5): 1998–99, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2008–09

Individual

• Greek Championship Foreign Footballer of the Year (3): 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03

References

1. "PREDRAG DJORDJEVIC profile". olympiakos.gr. Archived from the original on 23 February 2009. Retrieved 30 March 2009.
2. uefa.com – UEFA Champions League – Statistics Archived 6 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine
3. Δήλωση του Αρχηγού της ομάδας μας ΠΡΕΝΤΡΑΓΚ ΤΖΟΡΤΖΕΒΙΤΣ (in Greek). olympiakos.gr. 30 March 2009. Retrieved 30 March 2009.
4. Τζόρτζεβιτς: "Υπάρχει διαφορά, αλλά δεν είναι ασφαλείας" (in Greek). contra.gr. Retrieved 30 March 2009.
5. "Foreign Players in Greece 1999/00-2001/02". rsssf.com.

External links

• Predrag Đorđević at Soccerway
• Predrag Đorđević at WorldFootball.net
• Predrag Đorđević at FootballDatabase.eu
• Predrag Đorđević at Reprezentacija.rs (in Serbian)
• Predrag Đorđević at National-Football-Teams.com