Zlatko Zahovič

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Zlatko Zahovič
Personal information
Full name	Zlatko Zahovič
Date of birth	February 1, 1971 (1971-02-01) (age 37)
Place of birth	Maribor, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Attacking midfielder
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1989-1993 1990-1991 1993-1996 1996-1999 1999-2000 2000-2001 2001-2005	FK Partizan →Proleter Zrenjanin Vitória de Guimarães FC Porto Olympiacos Valencia Benfica Total	37 (6) 25 (0) 73 (13) 74 (27) 14 (7) 20 (3) 80 (14) 323 (70)
National team
1992-2004	Slovenia	80 (35)
Teams managed
2008-	NK Maribor
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Zlatko Zahovič (listen (help·info) ; born February 1, 1971) is a former Slovenian football player and current sport director of NK Maribor.

Arguably the most illustrious Slovenian football player ever, Zahovič was born in Maribor, Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia to Serbian parents. He started his career at the youth team of Kovinar Maribor. In 1989 he was noticed by a well known Yugoslav football player Milko Đurovski (who at that time was doing military service in Maribor). He then played for Partizan Belgrade, (1989-1993), including a loan at Proleter Zrenjanin (1990-1991); Vitória Guimarães (1993-1996), FC Porto (1996-1999), Olympiacos (1999-2000), Valencia (2000-2001) and Benfica (2001-2005).

In 2001 his team Valencia were very strong and reached the Champions League final, but lost after a penalty shootout against the German champions Bayern Munich. Zahovič was one of the unfortunate penalty takers to miss; to be more precise, Oliver Kahn superbly saved his very well aimed shot.

His first match for the Slovenian national team was on November 7, 1992 at a friendly match against Cyprus. The Slovenian national team qualified for the 2000 European Championship in Belgium and the Netherlands, where Zahovič played very well, scoring three of Slovenia's four goals. He was the subject of an eighteen million pound bid from Fulham, but declined to join the Premiership side.

Slovenia also managed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan but Zahovič had a very serious argument with the Slovenian national coach Srečko Katanec and he was sent home immediately after the first match against Spain. Katanec resigned immediately after the World Cup, so Zahovič returned to the national team. He played what was probably his last national team match on April 28, 2004 against Switzerland. Altogether he played 80 matches (a record) for the national team and scored 35 goals (also a record), thus making him the most successful Slovenian football player since their independence in 1991 and the inception of the country's football association into FIFA in 1992.

Zahovič is infamous for his numerous public arguments and rows with coaches and management, the one with Srečko Katanec being the most prominent. Soon after at Olympiacos he had an argument with the management and he left the club before the season was over. He also had an argument with Valencia coach Héctor Cúper, believing that he was not being given enough opportunities. Nevertheless, he played for Valencia till the end of the 2001 season when he moved to S.L. Benfica, who he left in the middle of the 2004/2005 season, retiring shortly afterwards.

Currently, he is a sport director of NK Maribor from Slovenia.

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] Honours

FK Partizan:

• Serbian Liga 1992-93

FC Porto:

• Portuguese Liga 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99
• Portuguese Cup 1997-98
• SuperCup Cândido de Oliveira 1997-98, 1998-99

Olympiacos:

• Greek Championship 1999-2000

SL Benfica:

• Portuguese Liga 2004-05
• Portuguese Cup 2003-04

Valencia CF:

• UEFA Champions League Losing finalist 2000-01

v • d • e Slovenia squad - UEFA Euro 2000 1 Simeunovič • 2 Bulajič • 3 Milinovič • 4 Milanič • 5 Galič • 6 Knavs • 7 Novak • 8 A. Čeh • 9 Udovič • 10 Zahovič • 11 Pavlin • 12 Dabanovič • 13 Rudonja • 14 Gajser • 15 Istenič • 16 Žlogar • 17 Šiljak • 18 Ačimovič • 19 Karič • 20 Osterc • 21 Pavlovič • 22 Nemec • Coach: Katanec

v • d • e Slovenia squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup 1 Simeunovič • 2 Sankovič • 3 Milinovič • 4 Vugdalič • 5 Galič • 6 Knavs • 7 Novak • 8 A. Čeh • 9 Osterc • 10 Zahovič • 11 Pavlin • 12 Dabanovič • 13 Rudonja • 14 Gajser • 15 Tavčar • 16 Tiganj • 17 Pavlovič • 18 Ačimovič • 19 Karič • 20 N. Čeh • 21 Cimirotič • 22 Nemec • 23 Bulajič • Coach: Katanec