Predrag Đorđević

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Predrag Đorđević
Personal information
Full name	Predrag Đorđević
Date of birth	August 4, 1972 (age 34)
Place of birth	Kragujevac, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	184 cm (6 ft)
Nickname	Djole
Position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Olympiakos CFP
Number	11
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1992-96 1996-present	Radnicki Kragujevac Red Star Belgrade Spartak Subotica Paniliakos Olympiakos CFP	119 (33) 267 (107)
National team2
1998-present	Serbia (Ser.-Mont. until June 28, 2006)	37 (1)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2006. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Predrag Đorđević or Predrag Djordjevic (Serbian: Предраг Ђорђевић; born 4 August 1972 in Kragujevac, Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia) is a Serbian footbal player.

He has been playing as left midfielder for Olympiakos for the last 10 years. He averages a goal nearly every three games in domestic football. He plays as a left side midfield for the Greek club Olympiacos and Serbia and Montenegro national football team. He is admittedly one of the best ever foreign footballers who have played in the Greek championship. The fact that he was never transferred to a big european club is largely due to his dedication and love for Olympiacos.

Đorđević – nicknamed "Đole" or "Djole" or "Petros" – is the captain of Olympiakos and has played many times with the national team of Serbia and Montenegro. He is very appreciated by Olympiakos fans and is considered to be the best non-Greek player ever played for the club.

Having started his career with spells at FK Crvena Zvezda and then FK Spartak Subotica, Djordjevic first moved to Greece to play for third division Paniliakos in 1993. He was an instrumental figure as the Pyrgos club achieved successive promotions.

He came to Olympiakos from Paniliakos with Stelios Giannakopoulos in 1996. They were the basis of the team that won the seven consecutive titles. Dusan Bajevic signed him for Olympiacos in the summer of 1996. The Serbian established himself as the club's dead-ball specialist, penalty taker and leader. 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, Djordjevic 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 04 Leverkusen. In 2003/04, Djordjevic recorded ten goals and 22 assists. Was voted the best foreign player in the Greek Alpha Ethniki even though his club were pipped to the title by Panathinaikos.

Djordjevic made his international debut for the then Yugoslavia against Switzerland in a September 1998. He featured in qualifying for UEFA EURO 2000™, but did not make thesquad 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.

In 2004/05 he missed his club's first three Champions League matches through injury, but returned to score the winning goal against RC Deportivo La Coruña. He captained his side in all four UEFA Cup matches, scoring against Newcastle United FC. 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, 2005-2006 was 34-year-old Djordjevic'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.

He is married to a Greek woman and has citizenship in the country.

[edit] External links

• Predrag Đorđević profile at JadranSport

	Serbia and Montenegro squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup
1 Jevrić | 2 Ergić | 3 Dragutinović | 4 Duljaj | 5 Vidić | 6 Gavrančić | 7 Koroman | 8 Kežman | 9 Milošević | 10 Stanković | 11 P. Đorđević | 12 Kovačević | 13 Basta | 14 N. Đorđević | 15 Dudić | 16 D. Petković | 17 Nađ | 18 Vukić | 19 Žigić | 20 Krstajić | 21 Ljuboja | 22 Ilić | 23 Stojković | Coach: I. Petković

Olympiacos - Current Squad
2 Patsatzoglou | 3 Domi | 6 Stoltidis | 7 Castillo | 8 Marić | 9 Okkas | 10 Rivaldo | 11 Đorđević | 14 Żewłakow | 16 Né | 17 Taralidis | 18 Borja | 21 Georgatos | 22 Bulut | 23 Konstantinou | 28 Mendrinos | 30 Pantos | 32 Anatolakis | 35 Torosidis | 36 Fakinos | 40 Babangida | 55 Correa | 71 Nikopolidis | 74 Butina | 77 Pappas | 87 Panagopoulos | Manager: Lemonis