Dejan Stanković

"Stankovic" redirects here. For the beach soccer player, see Dejan Stankovic (beach soccer). For other uses, see Stanković.
Dejan Stanković

Stanković with Internazionale in 2009
Personal information
Full nameDejan Stanković[1]
Date of birth11 September 1978
Place of birthBelgrade, SFR Yugoslavia
Height1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing positionMidfielder
Club information
Current team
Udinese (assistant)
Youth career
1985–1992Teleoptik
1992–1995Red Star Belgrade
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1995–1998Red Star Belgrade85(30)
1998–2004Lazio137(22)
2004–2013Internazionale231(29)
Total453(81)
National team
1998–2013Serbia103(15)
Teams managed
2014–Udinese (assistant)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Dejan Stanković (Serbian Cyrillic: Дејан Станковић, Serbian pronunciation: [dɛ̂jan stǎːŋkɔʋit͡ɕ], born 11 September 1978) is a former Serbian footballer who is currently the assistant coach of Udinese. He captained the Serbian national football team until 2011, when he announced his retirement from international football. He is an attacking midfielder who can also play out wide on the wings or track back in a defensive midfield role. "Deki", as he is nicknamed, is best known for his effective, accurate passing, versatility and creativity as well as his ability to score goals from long distance.[2]

On 13 June 2010 Stanković became the first player to have represented three different national teams in the FIFA World Cup: FR Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro and Serbia. Stanković grew up in Zemun, a municipality of Belgrade. Both of his parents, Borislav and Dragica, have strong football backgrounds.

Club career

Red Star Belgrade

Stanković began playing football for FK Teleoptik, based in his neighbourhood of Zemun. When spotted by Red Star cadet squad coach Branko Radović, however, 14-year-old Dejan transferred to Red Star Belgrade's youth system. Stanković then passed every age category at his hometown club.[3] In the youth teams, he was coached by Vladimir Petrović, playing alongside future professionals Nikola Lazetić and Nenad Lalatović.

During the 1994–95 season, Stanković's debut opportunity for first team action came under head coach Ljupko Petrović against crosstown rivals OFK Beograd on 11 February 1995. Fighting for a spot on the team led by, among others, Rambo Petković, Darko Kovačević, and Nebojša Krupniković, 16-year-old Dejan made seven league appearances that season as the team won league title. He scored his first goal against Budućnost Podgorica, soon becoming a first team regular and a fan favourite.

During the early '90s, Red Star was under an international ban because of a UN sanction imposed on FR Yugoslavia, meaning that the team could not compete in any European competition. The ban was lifted ahead of the 1996–97 season, and Stanković played a huge part in a memorable two-leg victory over Kaiserslautern in the Cup Winners' Cup.

Before the start of the 1997–98 season, he was made squad captain at the age of 19, the youngest ever in the club's history. Despite not winning the league he captained the team to two domestic cup victories.

Lazio

In the summer of 1998, he transferred for £7.5 million (DM24 million) to Lazio, where he scored on his Serie A debut versus Piacenza on 13 September 1998. In those years, Lazio had an all-star squad with world class players at almost every position, but Stanković quickly secured a regular first-team place despite competition from fellow midfielders Pavel Nedvěd, Juan Sebastián Verón, and Diego Simeone. He formed a formidable midfield combination with Nedvěd, Veron and Simeone and were an integral part of the successful Lazio side at the turn of the decade. His work rate and impressive performances earned him the nickname Il Dragone (The Dragon) from fans.[4] He had five-and-a-half successful seasons in the biancoceleste part of Rome, before earning a high profile move to Internazionale in February 2004.

Internazionale

2004–2008

As Stanković began the 2003–04 season at Lazio, the Biancoceleste struggled with financial problems and were forced to sell many of their best players. Big name teams in European football knew that the club would have to sell the midfielder in the nearest future, so there was fierce competition for his services during the 2003–04 winter transfer window. Juventus were favorites in the chase for the Serb's signature with even some preliminary paperwork reportedly signed between the two parties in early January 2004,[5] but the player eventually chose Internazionale. He was signed as part of a deal worth €4 million that also sent Macedonian international Goran Pandev (plus 50% of Pandev's contract) in the opposite direction.[6][7]

The fact that old friend, former teammate, and head coach from Lazio Roberto Mancini was already rumoured to be soon taking over the head coaching duties at Inter may have influenced Stanković's decision. In early February 2004, Stanković played his debut match for Inter under head coach Alberto Zaccheroni, a Serie A clash at home against Siena that ended 4–0. On 21 February 2004, he scored a spectacular goal directly from a corner kick to put Inter 1–0 up in Derby della Madonnina versus fierce rivals Milan. Inter finished the league season in fourth place thus qualifying for Champions League. Still, president Massimo Moratti was not convinced with Zaccheroni and at the end of the season, just like rumoured, brought Mancini from the financial shipwreck at Lazio.

The head coaching change suited Stanković just fine and he got reunited with another familiar face from Lazio – Siniša Mihajlović. On 7 May 2006, Stanković played his 100th match for Inter. Coming off the summer appearance at the 2006 World Cup, Stanković carried excellent form right from the start of the 2006–07 Serie A campaign, scoring some decisive goals. His strike against Catania and his memorable goal against city rivals Milan only further enhanced his already glowing reputation with Internazionale fans. According to the official ratings of the La Gazzetta dello Sport, Stanković was selected as the man of the match five times throughout the 2006–07 Serie A campaign. He renewed his contract on 2 February 2007, with Inter securing his services until at least 2010.

2008–09 season

With the June 2008 arrival of José Mourinho to the position of Inter's head coach, there was a lot of press speculation about Stanković's exit from the Nerazzuri (along with Adriano, Hernán Crespo, David Suazo, and Nicolás Burdisso) being imminent due to reportedly not being held in high regard by the newly arrived Portuguese coach.[8] A lot of the press' focus was also placed on Stanković's friendship with previous head coach Mancini and assistant coach Mihajlović with veiled suggestions that it was this friendly relationship with the coaching duo that kept the Serb midfielder in the club even when his performances were less than stellar throughout the 2007–08 season. Then in late June after reports that Stanković was told by Mourinho he would not be allowed to show up for pre-season training in South Tyrol[9] and more reports that Stanković and Juve have agreed personal terms, it seemed he's definitely on the way out. The press reports of Stanković's pending arrival to Juve sparked the club's fans into protests and online petitions as they would neither forgive his turning down the club back in January 2004 nor his exuberant public celebrations after the 2005–06 Serie A title was stripped from Juve and handed to Inter following the Calciopoli scandal.[10] The Juve deal fell through within days for a variety of other reasons,[11] and Stanković was suddenly reported to be happy to stay at Inter.[12] However, the transfer talk got reignited again by Mourinho's suggestion in mid July 2008 that "Stanković is not the same player he was at Lazio",[13][14] which some took again as a sign that the player's Inter days are numbered.

However, Stanković still decided to stay and fight for a spot on Mourinho's team and soon after the season started he managed to do achieve his aim. On 19 October 2008, Stanković scored a superb goal in Inter's 4–0 hammering of Luciano Spalletti's Roma away at Stadio Olimpico. After receiving a pass from Sulley Muntari, he drove the ball past the Roma goalkeeper into the net, his 24th goal in all competitions for the Nerazzuri, thus ending a year-long goal drought.[15] The relief and vindication after everything he had gone through during the summer was evident in his goal celebration[16] and in interviews after the match Stanković talked of his joy to be fully back on form following the injury-prone previous season. He also thanked Mourinho for giving him an opportunity even after the two did not get off on the right foot during summer offseason.[17]

In December 2008, Stanković, by now an irreplaceable part of Mourinho's midfield, gave another display of his rediscovered form versus ChievoVerona at home: first with a through-pass to Maxwell for the game's opening goal, followed by a goal of his own for 2–0 with a first time shot from the edge of the penalty area, and finally an assist from the right wing to Zlatan Ibrahimović as Inter recorded a 4–2 win.[18][19]

On 7 February 2009, Stanković celebrated his 200th appearance for Inter in all competitions at the away game versus Lecce. Inter hammered the newly promoted team 3–0 with Stanković heading in the third goal following a slick free-kick cross from Maicon.[20] Stanković's season-long good form continued as he scored Internazionale's second goal against Milan in the 270th Milan Derby on 15 February. This turned out to be the winning goal after Alexandre Pato had pulled one back. Inter went on to win a fourth consecutive title, his fifth Serie A trophy.

In the Champions League, Inter limped into the second round after losing its final two group stage matches against Panathinaikos and Werder Bremen. In the first elimination round (eight-final) they lost to Manchester United in a hardfought tie. Stanković played the full ninety minutes in the first leg at San Siro, putting in a very lively and active display.[21] In the return at Old Trafford, Stanković started the match and had a great first half 37th minute effort after playing a one-two with Ibrahimović and striking the ball with the outside of his boot from some 25 meteres out, only to see it go centimeters wide of Edwin van der Sar's right post. Two minutes later Stanković had another glorious opportunity when he got in behind Patrice Evra on the right as Ibrahimović picked him out with a cross from the left, but the Serb did not make good enough contact with the ball in one-on-one situation with van der Sar and the shot went over the bar. In the 57th minute with United leading 2–0 and Inter forced to chase the result, Mourinho took Stanković off and inserted striker Adriano. The match marked Stanković's 63rd Champions League appearance thus overtaking Predrag Đorđević at the top of the list of Serbian players' with most appearances in the competition[22]

2009–10: Tripletta season

Stanković in action for Inter in 2009

The 2009–10 season began well for Stanković. In the Milan derby on 29 August, he played in a deeper role to replace the injured Esteban Cambiasso. Nevertheless, he scored Inter's fourth goal and his second in consecutive Milan derbies in a 4–0 thrashing, a spectacular 30-yard strike after quickly collecting Sulley Muntari's pass.[23] He subsequently scored against Rubin Kazan and Udinese to continue his rich vein of form under the Portuguese José Mourinho.

He also scored a wonder-goal from 54 metres out in a 5–0 thrashing against Genoa, volleying the ball straight in from Marco Amelia's clearance.[24]

2010–11 season

Playing under new head coach Rafa Benítez, Stanković continued his usual midfield role. On 28 November 2010, Stanković netted a hat-trick in an emphatic 5–2 victory over Parma at the San Siro.

At the FIFA Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi in mid December, Stanković played an excellent semi-final versus Seongnam, scoring the opening goal and turning in an all around midfield performance.[25] However, despite this, Benítez decided to bench the midfielder for the final versus TP Mazembe, only bringing him on for Christian Chivu in the 54th minute. Soon Benítez got sacked despite winning the trophy, and couple of weeks later Stanković expressed his dismay at Spaniard's decision to leave him on the bench for the final.[26] On the same occasion, despite publicly backing the beleguerd coach months earlier,[27] Stanković stated that Benítez simply "didn't work" at Inter.[28] He says that strong personalities crashed to each others,Internazionale players after winning Champions League and strong personality of Rafael Benitez so at the end as a result was departure of Rafa after 6 months at the bench.

Under newly arrived head coach Leonardo Araújo, Stanković continued to be the automatic midfield choice, displaying his versatility (at times filling in for injured Wesley Sneijder in the midfield organizational role). Stanković scored his first goal under new coach at home versus Bologna in mid-January, and then continued with the same form away at Udinese, scoring the opening goal followed by hitting the post in a match that Inter lost 3–1. In Coppa Italia quarterfinal at Napoli on 26 January, Stanković injured his thigh muscle that initially ruled him out for a month. However, he came back ahead of schedule for a Serie A match at Fiorentina on 16 February, putting in a lively performance with surging runs and two good scoring opportunities as Inter won 2–1 to come within five points of league leaders AC Milan.[29] Inter made good recovery chasing the league-leaders AC Milan, getting within three points of them ahead of Milan derby, but lost disastrously 0–3.

Stanković scored a spectacular volley from the halfway line vs Schalke in the Champions League quarterfinal first leg on 5 April 2011 as keeper Manuel Neuer ran out of the box to make a daring header clearance that made it up to the halfway line leaving an open goal as a target for Stanković's firm first time volley. Inter would go on to lose that match 2–5 at home.[30] On 19 April, in the Coppa Italia semi-final first leg, Stanković scored the winning goal with another spectacular long-range effort, hitting a sweet outside foot volley past the despairing dive of the goalkeeper.

International career

Stanković made his international debut for the FR Yugoslavia team against South Korea on 22 April 1998, scoring two goals in a 3–1 victory.[31] He played at the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 when the Serbian national team was still called Yugoslavia and soon established himself as an important player.

The Yugoslav team was renamed Serbia and Montenegro by the time 2006 World Cup qualifying started, and Stanković started in all games and scored two goals, but missed the last qualifier through injury. At the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he was given the number 10 shirt and Savo Milošević captained the new Serbia and Montenegro team in their first World Cup, but they failed to progress to the knock-out rounds after losing all their group matches to Côte d'Ivoire, Argentina, and the Netherlands. After Milošević retired, the midfielder took over as captain of the re-formed Serbian national team, following the breakup of Serbia and Montenegro.

In the 2010 World Cup qualifying, Stanković has started in and captained all but two of Serbia's matches. They qualified for their first World Cup as an independent nation. He was instrumental in their shock 1–0 win over favorites Germany but they were not able to progress to the next round due to narrow losses against Ghana and Australia.

After captaining the team in a 1:0 loss in the final game of the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying phase against Slovenia, Stanković announced his retirement from international football after 13 years since his debut against South Korea in 1998. After a few years of speculation as to whether or not he'll play a testimonial match, he ended up doing so on 11 October 2013. Appearing in 103 matches, he is the most capped player in the Serbia national football team, playing a single international match more than Savo Milošević. His testimonial match was played against Japan, in which he played till the 10th minute, matching the number on his shirt, making room for Ivan Radovanović. He received a standing ovation as he said his final goodbye to football. Serbia went on to win that match 2–0.

Career statistics

Club

As of end of 2012/2013 season
Club Season League Cup Europe Other[32] Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Red Star Belgrade 1994–95 71??000071
1995–96 244??2000264
1996–97 2610??52003112
1997–98 2815??43003218
Total 8530??115009635
Lazio 1998–99 294517410429
1999–00 1634011210325
2000–01 210219010331
2001–02 277405100368
2002–03 296207000386
2003–04 152428000274
Total 13722 214 477 3020833
Internazionale 2003–04 144200000164
2004–05 3136010300476
2005–06 232728200386
2006–07 346307010456
2007–08 211306010311
2008–09 315105010385
2009–10 2931012210435
2010–11 265317241409
2011–12 190005010250
2012–13 3000000030
Total 23129 263 609 9132642
Career Total 45381 477 11821 121 630110

International

Serbian national team
YearAppsGoals
1998103
199973
200080
200162
200280
200341
200462
200570
2006112
200750
200860
200970
2010102
201170
201200
201310
Total10315

International goals

Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 22 April 1998 Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, Yugoslavia  South Korea 1–1 3–1 Friendly
2. 22 April 1998 Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, Yugoslavia  South Korea 2–1 3–1 Friendly
3. 2 September 1998 Čair Stadium, Niš, Yugoslavia   Switzerland 1–0 1–1 Friendly
4. 1 September 1999 Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland  Republic of Ireland 1–1 2–1 UEFA Euro 2000 qual.
5. 8 September 1999 Philip II Arena, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia  Macedonia 0–3 2–4 UEFA Euro 2000 qual.
6. 9 October 1999 Maksimir Stadium, Zagreb, Croatia  Croatia 1–2 2–2 UEFA Euro 2000 qual.
7. 6 June 2001 Svangaskard, Toftir, Faroe Islands  Faroe Islands 0–1 0–6 2002 FIFA World Cup qual.
8. 6 June 2001 Svangaskard, Toftir, Faroe Islands  Faroe Islands 0–3 0–6 2002 FIFA World Cup qual.
9. 16 November 2003 Kazimierz Górski Stadium, Plock, Poland  Poland 2–1 4–3 Friendly
10. 13 October 2004 Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro  San Marino 2–0 5–0 2006 FIFA World Cup qual.
11. 13 October 2004 Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro  San Marino 3–0 5–0 2006 FIFA World Cup qual.
12. 27 May 2006 Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, Serbia  Uruguay 1–0 1–1 Friendly
13. 11 October 2006 Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, Serbia  Armenia 1–0 3–0 UEFA Euro 2008 qual.
14. 5 June 2010 Stadion FK Partizan, Belgrade, Serbia  Cameroon 2–2 4–3 Friendly
15. 3 September 2010 Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands  Faroe Islands 0–2 0–3 Euro 2012 qual.

Honours

Club

Red Star Belgrade
Lazio
Internazionale

Individual

Personal

Stanković was born in Belgrade, present day Serbia, to Bora and Dragica and has a brother Siniša.[36][37] He is married to Ana Ačimovič whom he has met at the age of 19 and who is a sister of former professional footballer Milenko Ačimovič, Stanković's former teammate at Red Star.[36][37] The pair has three sons; Stefan (b. 2000), Filip (b. 2002) and Aleksandar (b. 2005), and the family resides in Milan, Italy.[36][37] All of his three sons are members of Inter Milan football academy.[36][37]

Stanković and his family spend a lot of their free time in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana, the birthplace of his wife and residence of his brother in law Milenko,[36][37] and since February 2014 Stanković began playing amateur football for veteran's club KMN Olimpija Ljubljana where he is playing alongside his brother in law and a number of former professional footballers (e.g. Sebastjan Cimirotič, Ermin Rakovič, Igor Lazič etc.).[38]

Stanković is close friends with Argentine basketball player Hugo Sconochini.

References

  1. ↑ Sky Sport Italia – I Signori del Calcio: Dejan Stanković
  2. ↑ "2006 World Cup – Serbia & Montenegro". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 March 2014.
  3. ↑ "Stankovic split by Zvezda". UEFA. 30 October 2002. Archived from the original on 6 November 2002.
  4. ↑ "Ambition fuelling Stankovic's flame". FIFA. 12 January 2009. Archived from the original on 12 January 2009.
  5. ↑ "Juve no longer keen on Stankovic". CNN. 5 January 2004. Archived from the original on 27 August 2006.
  6. ↑ "Pandev returns to Inter Milan". FIFA. 4 January 2010. Archived from the original on 7 January 2010.
  7. ↑ "2004 Bilancio al 30 giugno 2004 – approvato al 30 novembre 2004" (PDF). SS Lazio (in Italian) (Borsa Italiana archive). Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "Deki na transfer listi, Juventus zainteresovan" (in Serbian). SrbijaSport. 4 June 2008. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011.
  9. ↑ "Stankovic nears Juve switch". footballitaliano.org. 28 June 2008. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011.
  10. ↑ "Nedved backs Stankovic move". FilGoal. 6 July 2008. Archived from the original on 19 March 2014.
  11. ↑ "Getting back to business". ESPN FC. 29 August 2008. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012.
  12. ↑ "Stankovic set to stay at Inter". Sky Sports. 6 July 2008. Archived from the original on 26 September 2008.
  13. ↑ "Mourinho: Stankovic No Longer The Same Player". Goal.com. 16 July 2008. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012.
  14. ↑ "Murinjo: Stanković više nije isti". Blic (in Serbian). 16 July 2008. Archived from the original on 23 September 2012.
  15. ↑ "Serie A: Roma 0–4 Inter" (in Italian). inter.it. 19 October 2008. Archived from the original on 14 September 2011.
  16. ↑ Roma-Inter 0:4, October 2008
  17. ↑ "Stanković: "Murinjo, hvala"];Gazzetta dello Sport" (in Slovenian). 21 October 2008. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012.
  18. ↑ Inter-Chievo 4:2; Serie A, 13 December 2008
  19. ↑ "Srbi u Evropi: Stanković sjajan, golovi Jovanovića i Lovrea". Blic (in Serbian). 15 December 2008. Archived from the original on 8 March 2010.
  20. ↑ Lecce-Inter 0:3;Serie A, 7 February 2009
  21. ↑ Inter-Manchester Utd. 0:0;UEFA Champions League, February 2009
  22. ↑ Manchester Utd.-Inter 2:0;UEFA Champions League, March 2009
  23. ↑ "Inter Milan thrash ten-man AC Milan in one-sided derby". The Guardian (London). 29 August 2009. Archived from the original on 6 January 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  24. ↑ "Christmas 2009: what a year for Dejan Stankovic". inter.it. 23 December 2009.
  25. ↑ Seongnam-Inter 0:3;FIFA World Club Cup, 15 December 2010
  26. ↑ "Dejan Stankovic: I Can't Forgive Former Inter Boss Rafael Benitez". Goal.com. 3 January 2011. Archived from the original on 6 January 2011.
  27. ↑ "Dejan Stankovic: Rafael Benitez Is The Right Person For Inter". Goal.com. 18 November 2010. Archived from the original on 20 November 2010.
  28. ↑ "Stankovic: Benitez didn’t work at Inter". soccer-magazine.com. 4 January 2011. Archived from the original on 13 March 2011.
  29. ↑ Fiorentina-Inter 1:2;Serie A, 16 February 2011
  30. ↑ ; 4 April 2011
  31. ↑ "BBC Sport Euro 2000 profiles: Dejan Stankovic". BBC Sport. 14 May 2000. Archived from the original on 18 August 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  32. ↑ Includes other competitions, including the Supercoppa Italiana, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup
  33. ↑ National Football Teams. "Dejan Stanković".
  34. ↑ "FSS: Stanković igrač godine". www.b92.net (in Serbian). 15 December 2006.
  35. ↑ "Rajevcu i Stankoviću 'Zlatna lopta'". www.b92.net (in Serbian). 28 December 2010.
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 36.2 36.3 36.4 Nadežda Jokić (24 February 2014). "Dejan i Ana Stanković: Naša porodična idila u Milanu" [Dejan and Ana Stankovic: Our family idyll is in Milan] (in Serbian). Hello!. Archived from the original on 12 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 37.2 37.3 37.4 Nadežda Jokić (24 February 2014). "Dejan i Ana Stanković: Deca nas stalno podsećaju na ono najlepše u braku!" [Dejan and Ana Stankovic: Our kids always reminds us on the best things in our marriage!] (in Serbian). svet.rs. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  38. ↑ Dario Dotto (20 February 2014). "Zvezdnik na slovenskih igriščih: Dejan Stanković soigralec Ačimovića, Rakovića in Cimerotića" [A star on Slovenian pitches: Dejan Stankovic teammate of Acimovic, Rakovic and Cimerotic] (in Slovenian). Siol. Archived from the original on 12 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dejan Stanković.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Savo Milošević		 Serbia captain
2006–2011 		Succeeded by
Nikola Žigić
Awards
Preceded by
Nemanja Vidić
Miloš Krasić		 Serbian Footballer of the Year
2006
2010 		Succeeded by
Nikola Žigić
Aleksandar Kolarov