Andrija Delibašić

Andrija Delibašić

Delibašić in action for Rayo Vallecano
Personal information
Full nameAndrija Delibašić
Date of birth24 April 1981
Place of birthNikšić, SFR Yugoslavia
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing positionStriker
Club information
Current team
Sutjeska
Number30
Youth career
Sutjeska
1995–1999Partizan
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1999–2004Partizan100(48)
2004–2008Mallorca29(7)
2005→ Benfica (loan)3(0)
2005–2006→ Braga (loan)10(4)
2006→ AEK Athens (loan)10(1)
2007→ Beira-Mar (loan)11(1)
2007–2008→ Real Sociedad (loan)33(6)
2008–2010Hércules65(20)
2010–2013Rayo Vallecano81(14)
2014Ratchaburi7(0)
2015–Sutjeska2(0)
National team
2009–Montenegro20(6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14 June 2014.
† Appearances (Goals).

Andrija Delibašić (Cyrillic: Андрија Делибашић; born 24 April 1981) is a Montenegrin footballer retired football player. After starting out at Partizan he went on to spend most of his career in Spain, representing Mallorca, Real Sociedad, Hércules and Rayo Vallecano and amassing totals of 208 games and 47 the two major levels combined. He also competed professionally in Portugal and Greece.[1]

Club career

Born in Nikšić, Socialist Republic of Montenegro, Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia, Delibašić started his professional career at FK Partizan, where he played for three-and-a-half seasons. In January 2004 he transferred to RCD Mallorca, never establishing himself in the first team, his best output being his first season with four goals in 17 matches; in early 2005 he started a spell with S.L. Benfica[2] that proved to be short and unsuccessful as he saw only a few minutes of action.

For 2005–06 Delibašić was loaned again, still to a Portuguese first division outfit, S.C. Braga.[3] The following campaign, two more loan spells befell: starting off at AEK Athens F.C. in January 2007, he was released and returned to Portugal, appearing for lowly S.C. Beira-Mar; his first match for the latter was against U.D. Leiria on 4 February.[4]

In the 2007 pre-season, Delibašić came back to Mallorca and had some solid performances, scoring six goals in two matches –[5] however, that was not enough to remain with the team as they loaned him out again, this time to Real Sociedad of the Spanish second division.[6] On 5 August 2008 he was definitely released, joining Hércules CF (also second level) on a free transfer and penning a two-year contract.

After two seasons as first-choice with the Alicante club, achieving top flight promotion in 2010, Delibašić moved to another team in the second level, Rayo Vallecano,[7] contributing with seven goals in 30 games as the Madrid side also reached the main category.[8]

In the following two years Delibašić was used mainly as a substitute by Rayo, contributing with seven goals combined as the club managed to consecutively retain its league status. He left in June 2013.

On 13 February 2014, aged nearly 33, Delibašić joined Thai Premier League side Ratchaburi FC.[9]

International career

Delibašić played for the Serbia-Montenegro U21 team that finished runners-up at the 2004 European Football Championship in Germany.[10] A couple of months later he was also part of the Olympic team that exited in the first round.[11]

After a dramatic loss of form dropped him from international play, Delibašić's chances for a national team callup increased in mid-2006 as Montenegro separated from Serbia and became an independent country, with him now eligible to play for the newly formed national team due to his birthplace. However, even before Montenegro's inaugural match callup was announced, he voiced his dissatisfaction in the press about not being contacted by Montenegrin football officials at all and then said that he would never play for the national team in the future, if he was not included on the list of inaugural callups.[12]

In September 2009, Delibašić was summoned for Montenegro's match with Bulgaria, but did not play in the 1–4 defeat on the 5th. He finally made his debut on 10 October, scoring the 2–1 winner against Georgia;[13] both matches were 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

On 7 October 2011, Delibašić scored his second goal for the national team, a dramatic 2–2 home draw against England that led Montenegro to the UEFA Euro 2012 playoffs. He helped the hosts come from behind 0–2 with his last-minute header.[14]

International goals

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 10 October 2009 Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro  Georgia
2–1
2–1
 2010 World Cup qualiciation
2 7 October 2011 Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro  England
2–2
2–2
 Euro 2012 qualifying
3 11 September 2012 Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino  San Marino
0–5
0–6
 2014 World Cup qualification
4 11 September 2012 Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino  San Marino
0–6
0–6
 2014 World Cup qualification
5 14 November 2012 Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro  San Marino
1–0
3–0
 2014 World Cup qualification
6 14 November 2012 Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro  San Marino
2–0
3–0
 2014 World Cup qualification

Honours

Benfica

References

External links

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