Darko Lazović

Darko Lazović

Darko Lazović in 2012
Personal information
Date of birth	(1990-09-15) 15 September 1990
Place of birth	Čačak, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Winger
Club information
Current club	Red Star Belgrade
Number	8
Youth career
1996–2007	Borac Čačak
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2007–2009	Borac Čačak	42	(6)
2009–	Red Star Belgrade	75	(14)
National team‡
2011–2012	Serbia U21	11	(4)
2008–	Serbia	4	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 7 April 2013. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16 October 2012

Darko Lazović (Serbian Cyrillic: Дарко Лазовић; born 15 September 1990 in Čačak) is a Serbian footballer who plays as a winger for Serbian SuperLiga club Red Star Belgrade. In international competition he competes for Serbia.

At the age of 21, he was recognized as the best young player of the Serbian Superliga for 2011.^[1][2]

Club career

Borac Čačak

From the age of six, Lazović began to train in the youth academy of FK Borac Čačak. By the time he played for the junior team, he was attracting the attention of scouts from outside of Čačak. On 2 March 2008, he made his senior debut for Borac Čačak under head coach Milovan Rajevac in a league match against Hajduk Kula. He scored his first competitive goal for Borac Čačak on 22 March 2008 in a Serbian Superliga match against Vojvodina. In February 2009, Lazović trained with the first-team of Tottenham Hotspur F.C. for a couple of days, and by 10 February Borac coach Ljubiša Dmitrović told the press "For all I know, Lazović has been transferred to Tottenham".^[3] However, a contract was never signed, and domestic club Red Star Belgrade took the initiative.

Red Star Belgrade

2009–10 season

While at Borac, Tottenham Hotspur, Hertha BSC and Red Star Belgrade all showed interest for Lazović. Finally, in June 2009, Lazović signed a four-year contract with Red Star Belgrade. He missed the start of the season due to injury and made his debut in the third round of the championships, on 12 September 2009, against FK Metalac Gornji Milanovac. He came off the bench in the 65th minute to replace Nikola Vasiljević. He scored his first goal for Red Star on 23 September 2009, in the sixteenth Serbian Cup match against Mladost Apatin. Red Star went on to win 6–1 and Lazović scored a brace.

2010–11 season

Initially, however, he did not got much play time, but upon arrival of coach Robert Prosinečki he got the opportunity to show his skills. In December 2011, he was named as best young player in the Serbian Superliga. He played an important role in Red Star's 2011–12 UEFA Europa League qualifying campaign, as he played some great games which got his team to the play-off round of qualification, where Red Star lost to Stade Rennais.

2011–12 season

In the semi-final of the 2011-12 Serbian Cup, On 11 April 2012, he scored a goal after a dazzling dribble against eternal rivals Partizan Belgrade, in a game which Red Star won 2–0.^[4] That year, Red Star would go on to win the 2012 Serbian Cup Final. On 4 July 2012, Lazović extended his contract with Red Star by three years, to 2015, and ended speculation about his possible transfer to FC Dynamo Moscow or Paris Saint-Germain.^[5] Despite Red Star not winning the league, it was a memorable year as for the second year in a row that Red Star pushed to the play-off round of the UEFA Europa League qualifying phase, during which Lazović contributed with assists against FC Naftan Novopolotsk as well as playing solid matches against AC Omonia and FC Girondins de Bordeaux.

2012–13 season

In the 2012–13 season, Lazović remained in the starting eleven even after the departures of coaches Robert Prosinečki and Aleksandar Janković. Even with the arrival of Ricardo Sá Pinto, Lazović remained unchallenged in Red Star's starting lineup and scored a total of four goals through the regular season. On 18 May 2013 in a match against Partizan, he suffered a season-ending knee injury eight minutes into the game.^[6]

International career

After being called up by coach Radomir Antić, Lazović made his first appearance for Serbia on 14 December 2008, in a friendly match against Poland.^[7] He did not play for the national team until four years later when he came in as a substitute in the 76th minute against France during a friendly match on 31 May 2012.^[8] On 5 June 2012, during his third game for the senior team, he scored an impressive goal against Sweden which was disallowed by the referee.^[9]

Career statistics

As of 17 March 2013

Honours

Club

Red Star

• Serbian Cup (2): 2009–10, 2011–12

Individual

• Serbian SuperLiga Team of the Year (1): 2011–12

External links

• Career story at Reprezentacija.rs
• Darko Lazović Stats at Utakmica.rs

References