Mateja Kežman

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Mateja Kežman
Personal information
Full name	Mateja Kežman
Date of birth	April 12, 1979 (1979-04-12) (age 29)
Place of birth	Zemun, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Fenerbahçe SK
Number	9
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1995-1996 1996-1997 1997-1998 1998-2000 2000-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-	FK Zemun FK Loznica Sartid Smederevo FK Partizan PSV Eindhoven Chelsea Atlético Madrid Fenerbahçe	012 0(12) 017 00(9) 017 00(9) 060 0(34) 122 (105) 025 00(4) 028 00(8) 044 0(20)
National team2
2000-2006	Serbia	049 0(17)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of June 9, 2006. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of June 21, 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Mateja Kežman (Serbian Cyrillic: Матеја Кежман) (born 12 April 1979 in Zemun, Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia) is a Serbian footballer, playing predominantly as a striker. Kežman is currently playing for the Turkish side Fenerbahçe SK.

A highly skillful but enigmatic striker, Kežman is well known for pace, finishing and most of all, his instincts.

Contents 1 Club career 2 International career 3 Career stats 4 Honours 4.1 Club 5 Personal honours 6 External links

[edit] Club career

Kežman made his name at FK Partizan in his homeland before moving to Netherlands/Dutch side PSV Eindhoven for €14 million later that year and was the top scorer in the Dutch Eredivisie, scoring 24 goals in 33 games. He also picked up a nickname of 'Batman; the famous theme song was played at the Philips Stadion every time he scored, a play on his name also ending in '-man'. Kezman and Arjen Robben together became 'Batman and Robben', a play on 'Batman and Robin'.

Kežman proceeded to score 81 goals over the following three seasons with PSV, whilst achieving the record of the first Dutch league player to score more league goals than games played in consecutive seasons, before finally moving for £5 million to English side Chelsea in the summer of 2004. He also scored the winning goal in the Carling Cup final against Liverpool when Chelsea had won 3-2 after extra time.

He failed to make an impact with the London club, after claiming that he could do better than Thierry Henry and Ruud van Nistelrooy in the Premiership, and only started 14 games for Chelsea, leaving for Atlético de Madrid after just one season. Despite his disappointing year, Chelsea made a transfer profit on the player.

After a short spell in Madrid, he was transferred to Fenerbahçe SK who signed him to a three year contract in August 2006 for $11m. He won the Turkish Super League with Fenerbahçe in their centenary year, and at Fenerbahçe produced some of the form he was capable of while at PSV.

[edit] International career

Kežman's national team career has been the ultimate roller coaster with frequently alternating highs and lows. Self proclaimed man of "animal instinct", when fit he is, as he states, among top five danger men in Europe.

He marked his international debut for FR Yugoslavia with a goal against China in a March 2000 friendly as part of the preparations for Euro 2000. Couple of months later, head coach Vujadin Boškov included him in the final 23-man roster that he took to Belgium and Holland. Despite being the fourth attacking option behind Savo Milošević, Darko Kovačević and Predrag Mijatović, 21-year-old Kežman got his chance as substitute late in the group match versus Norway. However, after being on the pitch for about 90 seconds, he was sent off following a rash tackle on Erik Mykland.

Kežman led Serbia and Montenegro's scoring during the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifications with 5 goals, including the only goal in the final game against Bosnia and Herzegovina which in turn allowed Serbia and Montenegro to qualify directly, having come first in their group. During the competition, he was sent off in a group match against Argentina by referee Roberto Rosetti.

Despite being such a prolific striker for PSV he never reached the same heights for Serbia. He has managed 16 goals in 45 caps for Serbia and Montenegro, as of December 2005.

Since his sending off against Argentina in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he has not been called up to any of Serbia's friendlies nor has he participated in any of the qualification games for the Euro 2008.

[edit] Career stats

SEASON	TEAM	COUNTRY	LEAGUE GAMES	LEAGUE GOALS	CUPS GAMES	CUPS GOALS	TOTAL GAMES	TOTAL GOALS
1995/1996	FK Zemun	Serbia	12	12	--	--	12	12
1996/1997	FK Loznica	Serbia	17	09	--	--	17	09
1997/1998	Sartid	Serbia	17	09	--	--	17	09
1998/1999	FK Partizan	Serbia	22	06	--	--	22	06
1999/2000	FK Partizan	Serbia	38	28	--	--	38	28
2000/2001	PSV Eindhoven	Netherlands	33	24	15	07	48	31
2001/2002	PSV Eindhoven	Netherlands	27	15	13	04	40	19
2002/2003	PSV Eindhoven	Netherlands	33	35	09	04	42	39
2003/2004	PSV Eindhoven	Netherlands	29	31	13	06	42	37
2004/2005	Chelsea FC	England	25	04	12	03	37	07
2005/2006	At. Madrid	Spain	30	08	03	02	33	10
2006/2007	Fenerbahçe	Turkey	24	09	12	03	36	12
2007/2008	Fenerbahçe	Turkey	20	11	13	09	31	20
TOTAL			324	201	88	38	410	239

[edit] Honours

[edit] Club

• Partizan
  • Serbia-Montenegro First League: 1 (1998-99)
• PSV Eindhoven
  • Dutch Eredivisie: 2 (2000-01, 2002-03)
  • Dutch Supercup: 1 (2002-03)
• Chelsea
  • Premier League: 1 (2004-05)
  • Football League Cup: 1 (2005)
• Fenerbahçe
  • Turkish Super League: 1 (2006-07)
  • Turkish Super Cup: 1 (2007)
  • UEFA champions league: Quarter finals 2008

[edit] Personal honours

• 2000 Yugoslav Prva Liga Top Scorer with FK Partizan
• 2000 Yugoslav Footballer of the Year with FK Partizan
• 2001 Dutch Eredivisie Top Scorer with PSV Eindhoven
• 2003 Dutch Eredivisie Top Scorer with PSV Eindhoven
• 2004 Dutch Eredivisie Top Scorer with PSV Eindhoven
• 2004 UEFA Cup Top Scorer with PSV Eindhoven

[edit] External links

• Profile @ reprezentacija.co.yu
• Profile at fenerbahce.org
• Profile at TFF.org
• Player Fan Page
• Unofficial Website of Mateja Kezman (Spanish/English)
• Profile on transfermarkt.de
• Profile on footballdatabase.com
• Mateja Kežman Career Notes and Information
• Mateja Kežman's profile on Atléticopedia
• Profile at Fenerbahce news and information
• When football's final whistle blows

Awards
Preceded by Pierre van Hooijdonk	Dutch Footballer of the Year 2002 – 2003	Succeeded by Maxwell
Sporting positions
Preceded by Ruud van Nistelrooij	Dutch Eredivisie Topscorer 2000 – 2001	Succeeded by Pierre van Hooijdonk
Preceded by Pierre van Hooijdonk	Dutch Eredivisie Topscorer 2002 – 2003 2003 – 2004	Succeeded by Dirk Kuijt

v • d • e Fenerbahçe S.K. – current squad 1 Volkan D. • 2 Lugano • 3 Roberto Carlos • 4 Appiah • 5 Yasin • 6 Wederson • 7 Kemal • 8 Kâzım Kâzım • 9 Kežman • 15 M. Aurélio • 17 C. Arat • 18 A. Bilgin • 19 Önder • 20 Alex • 21 Selçuk • 22 Serdar • 23 Semih • 24 Deniz • 25 U. Boral • 32 Gürhan • 33 Maldonado • 36 Edu Dracena • 38 I. Parlak • 77 Gökhan • 88 Volkan B. • 89 Mert • 99 Deivid • -- Emre B. • Manager: Zico

v • d • e Yugoslavia squad - UEFA Euro 2000 1 Korać • 2 Dudić • 3 Đorović • 4 Jokanović • 5 Đukić • 6 D. Stanković • 7 Jugović • 8 Mijatović • 9 Milošević • 10 Stojković • 11 Mihajlović • 12 Cicović • 13 Komljenović • 14 Saveljić • 15 Bunjevčević • 16 Govedarica • 17 Drulović • 18 Kovačević • 19 J. Stanković  • 20 Kežman • 21 Nađ • 22 Kralj • Coach: Boškov

v • d • e 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