| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Adem Ljajić | ||
| Date of birth | 29 September 1991 | ||
| Place of birth | Novi Pazar, SFR Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Fiorentina | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Jošanica | |||
| 2005–2008 | Partizan | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2008–2010 | Partizan | 38 | (9) |
| 2010– | Fiorentina | 39 | (3) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2007–2008 | Serbia U-17 | 9 | (1) |
| 2008–2010 | Serbia U-19 | 13 | (6) |
| 2008– | Serbia U-21 | 10 | (1) |
| 2010– | Serbia | 6 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:56, 10 December 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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Adem Ljajić (Serbian Cyrillic: Адем Љајић, Serbian pronunciation: [aːdɛm ʎajitɕ]; born 29 September 1991) is a Serbian footballer who plays as an attacking or right-sided midfielder for Serie A club Fiorentina. He was set to join England's Manchester United from Partizan in January 2010,[1] but they withdrew their option to sign him in December 2009.[2] Instead, he joined Fiorentina for a reported fee of around €8 million in January 2010.[3]
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Born in Novi Pazar, Serbia, then SFR Yugoslavia, Ljajić joined Partizan as a 14-year-old in 2005, signing from a Serbian lower tier club Jošanica.[4] Ljajić was the first player to wear the number 22 for Partizan after Saša Ilić transferred out to Galatasaray in 2005.[5] He made an appearance for Partizan in the first leg of the second qualifying round of the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League on 29 July 2008, entering the match as a second-half substitute.[6] He made a second substitute appearance in the second leg and another substitute appearance in the second leg of the third qualifying round. He scored his first competitive goal for Partizan on 23 November 2008 in a league match against OFK Beograd.
In October 2008, Manchester United had given Ljajić a trial, although no information was given about the length of the trial initially.[7] The following day, Partizan general secretary Darko Grubor confirmed that "It is not true that Ljajić went to England without permission. We have been in contact with Manchester United for some time now and Ljajić was with the international team in Britain, participating in the UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifying round, at this moment so it was handy for him to go on trial now."[8]
On 2 January 2009, Manchester United announced the signings of both Ljajić and his Partizan team-mate, Zoran Tošić. Tošić would join the club immediately, while Ljajić would remain at Partizan for the remainder of 2009, joining United in January 2010.[9] Despite being unable to officially join the club until January 2010, Ljajić made regular trips to Manchester throughout 2009 to train with the United first team, and so that the club's coaches could monitor his progress.[10] However, despite the agreement the two clubs had in place, United decided not to take up their option to sign Ljajić due to issues surrounding the club's application for a work permit for Ljajić.[11][12] Following the collapse of the transfer, Partizan manager Goran Stevanović claimed that the situation had put Ljajić into "psychological shock", but that the player was "handling the situation well".[13] Partizan's Director of Football Ivan Tomić stated "I think that they will regret this decision in future."[13]
On 13 January 2010, Italian club Fiorentina announced the signing of Ljajić. After passing a medical, Ljajić signed a five-year contract,[14] with Partizan receiving a reported fee of €8 million for the player.[3] Ljajić made his debut in Fiorentina's 2–2 draw away to Cagliari on 31 January 2010, coming on as an 82nd-minute substitute for Manuel Pasqual.[15] However, his first half-season at the club under head coach Cesare Prandelli was spent settling into the new surroundings.
Summer 2010 arrival of compatriot Siniša Mihajlović in the head coaching spot saw increased first team opportunites for Ljajić. He scored his first Viola goal from the penalty spot against Lazio on 18 September 2010, which Fiorentina lost 1–2.
Ljajić made his international debut for the Serbia U21 squad in a European Championship qualification match against Hungary U21 on 7 September 2008. On 26 October 2010, it was announced by Serbia coach Vladimir Petrović that Ljajić would receive his first senior call-up against Bulgaria in a friendly match on 17 November 2010.
Ljajić had been already part of the Serbian Under-17 and Under-19 teams since 2007. He is still eligible for the U-21 side but most likely will not be called up as this conflicts with his senior side duty.
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other[16] | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Partizan | 2008–09 | 24 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 6 |
| 2009–10 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 6 | |
| Total | 38 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 57 | 12 | |
| Fiorentina | 2009–10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 2010–11 | 26 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 3 | |
| 2011–12 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Total | 39 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 3 | |
| Career total | 77 | 12 | 12 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 101 | 15 | |
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