Predrag Mijatović

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search

<templatestyles src="Module:Infobox/styles.css"></templatestyles>

Predrag Mijatović
Predrag Mijatović 2007 b.jpg
Mijatović in 2007
Personal information
Full name Predrag Mijatović
Date of birth (1969-01-19) 19 January 1969 (age 55)
Place of birth Titograd, SFR Yugoslavia
Height Script error: No such module "person height".
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
Kom
OFK Titograd
Budućnost Titograd
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1987–1989 Budućnost Titograd 72 (10)
1989–1993 Partizan 104 (45)
1993–1996 Valencia 104 (56)
1996–1999 Real Madrid 90 (29)
1999–2002 Fiorentina 42 (4)
2002–2004 Levante 21 (3)
Total 433 (147)
International career
1989–2003 Yugoslavia 73 (26)
Managerial career
2006–2009 Real Madrid (Director of Football)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Predrag "Peđa" Mijatović (Serbian Cyrillic: Предраг "Пеђа" Мијатовић, pronounced [prêdraɡ mijǎtoʋit͡ɕ]; born 19 January 1969) is a former Montenegrin footballer and former sports director of Real Madrid. He was acclaimed as the best athlete of Yugoslavia in 1997.

On the club level, Mijatović played for 6 different clubs: Budućnost Podgorica, Partizan, Valencia, Real Madrid, Fiorentina, and Levante. Internationally, Mijatović has been capped 73 times, scoring 26 goals. He played in the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000.[citation needed]

He scored 28 goals in the 1995–96 Primera División season for Valencia, which in turn led him to move to Real Madrid, where he scored a goal in the 1998 UEFA Champions League Final that brought the biggest European title back to Madrid after 32 years. In 1997, Mijatović was runner-up for the Ballon d'Or, behind Ronaldo and ahead of Zinedine Zidane.[1]

Club career

Budućnost

After spending a few years in the FK Budućnost Titograd youth system, 18-year-old Mijatović made his debut for the full squad in 1987 during last part of the 1986–87 league season under head coach Milan Živadinović.[citation needed]

It was in the following 1987–88 season that he became a team regular under the newly arrived head coach Špaco Poklepović. In October 1987, as part of the Yugoslav youth squad that competed in and won the 1987 World Youth Championship in Chile, Mijatović had a notable tournament. Playing in Chile meant that he was away from the club for the entire month of October. Coming back to the club as a hero, young Mijatović's spot on the squad was now cemented alongside Dejan Savićević, Dragoljub Brnović, and fellow 'Chilean' Branko Brnović. The youngster made 31 league appearances and contributed 4 goals as Budućnost finished the season in 9th spot.[2]

During the winter of 1989–90, the talented 20-year-old was close to signing with Hajduk Split after negotiating with Hajduk's sporting director Jurica Jerković with even a DM50,000 pre-contract payment given to the player,[3][4] before Partizan's president Mirko Marjanović stepped in and convinced him to come to Belgrade. Partizan ended up paying a DM1 million transfer fee to Budućnost for Mijatović in December 1989. In later interviews Mijatović said that deteriorating political and security situation in Yugoslavia was a factor in his decision not to go to the Croatian club.[3]

Partizan

Though he scored on his Partizan debut against his former club FK Budućnost, Mijatović's debut half season in the new club under head coach Ivan Golac was mostly spent settling into the new surroundings as he failed to add to his scoring tally in the following 14 league appearances until the end of the 1989–90 league season.[2]

The next league campaign (Mijatović's first full season at Partizan) he scored 14 goals in 33 league appearances under new head coach Miloš Milutinović.[citation needed]

For his part, Mijatović continued improving, becoming the squad's undisputed leader during 1991–92 season under head coach Ivica Osim, and leading Partizan to the 1992 Yugoslav Cup title over reigning European Cup champions Red Star. He also picked up the Yugoslav Footballer of the Year award along the way.[5]

Before the start of the 1992–93 season SFR Yugoslavia disintegrated meaning that the new Yugoslav League consisted of teams from Serbia and Montenegro only. Mijatović put in another impressive season, helping Partizan finally overcome their Red Star jinx, and leading them to the Yugoslav title.

Then Real president Ramón Mendoza later admitted that Robert Prosinečki's failure to live up to expectations in Madrid made his club wary of young Yugoslavs.[5]

Valencia

Mijatović made his La Liga debut with Valencia on 5 September 1993 against Real Oviedo. He would go on to make 35 league appearances and score 16 goals in his debut season.[citation needed]

He won the Spanish Footballer of the Year award in the 1995–96 season in which he led Valencia to second place in La Liga with 28 goals in 40 league matches.[citation needed]

Real Madrid

Mijatović joined Real from Valencia and won the La Liga title in his first season, as well as the 1997 Supercopa de España.[6]

Fiorentina

He arrived at the Florence club in the summer of 1999; Fiorentina had finished the previous Serie A season in third place (thus qualifying for the 1999-2000 UEFA Champions League).[citation needed]

In the 1999–2000 Serie A season Mijatović's injury problems returned, forcing him to the sidelines. During the 2000-01 Serie A season, the team finished in ninth place in the league, but winning the 2000-01 Coppa Italia trophy over Parma in the final. Mijatović made only 13 league appearances (some of them as substitute), scoring 1 goal.[citation needed] They were defeated in the 2001 Supercoppa Italiana final by 2001 Serie A champions Roma. During the 2001-02 Serie A season, however, Fiorentina were relegated to Serie B.

International career

Mijatović began his career in the youth categories of the former Yugoslavia team. He was included in the squad for the 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship with Croatian Davor Šuker and fellow Montenegrin Branko Brnović. "Pedja" scored 2 goals as Yugoslavia won the title.[citation needed] Overall, Mijatović has scored 28 goals for Yugoslavia in 73 international appearances.

World Cup 1998

During the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, he scored one goal in 4 matches, helping his country to the second round, where they were eliminated by the Netherlands.[citation needed]

Euro 2000

He played at Euro 2000 for Yugoslavia.[7]

Personal life

Born in Titograd, SR Montenegro, SFR Yugoslavia, Mijatović grew up in the Masline neighbourhood on the town outskirts. He is of Cuce clan ancestry.[8]

Mijatović's personal life has been well-publicized due to his turbulent relationship with Belgrade socialite Elena Karaman Karić. They were married for 1½ years during the early 1990s, and had two sons before divorcing. During the divorce proceedings, he often wore a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball cap with the initials "L.A.", dedicated to their sons Luka and Andreja. On 3 June 2009, the official website of Real Madrid stated that Andreja, aged 15, died after a long illness, and offered its "deepest sympathies on behalf of the entire club and its members".[9]

Career statistics

International

Yugoslavia national team
Year Apps Goals
1989 3 0
1990 5 0
1991 1 0
1992 1 0
1993 0 0
1994 2 0
1995 1 0
1996 6 3
1997 8 10
1998 11 3
1999 7 2
2000 12 4
2001 6 2
2002 6 1
2003 5 1
Total 73 26

Post-playing

After retiring in 2004, Mijatović continued living in Valencia and soon became a player agent.

Real Madrid director of football

In June 2006, Mijatović hooked up with Ramón Calderón as part of the lawyer's candidate bid for the position of Real Madrid president. When Calderón won the closely contested club election on 2 July 2006, Mijatović became Real's new Director of Football.[citation needed]

On 16 January 2009, Calderón resigned his post and by mid February reports appeared that Mijatović's is on his way out as well.[10]

On 20 May 2009, Real Madrid announced Mijatović's departure by mutual consent.[11]

After Real Madrid

In May 2011, Mijatović was linked with the sporting director position at Chelsea following the departure of Frank Arnesen,[12] however nothing came of it since in July 2011 the club promoted assistant first team coach Michael Emenalo to the position.

Through his friendship with FC Anzhi general manager German Chistyakov, Mijatović was reportedly part of the three-man delegation (the other two were Anzhi's transfer man German Tkachenko and Serbian player agent Vlado Lemić) the Russian club deployed to Milan on 9 August 2011 for initial negotiations with Inter (represented by sporting director Marco Branca and vice-president Rinaldo Ghelfi) over the transfer of Samuel Eto'o.[13][14]

Honours

Club

Partizan Belgrade[15]
Real Madrid[6]
Fiorentina[16]

Individual

  • Yugoslavian player of the year: 1992, 1993, 1998

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ http://www.srpskadijaspora.info/vest.asp?id=9312
  9. ↑ http://www.realmadrid.com/cs/Satellite/en/1202773280340/noticia/Noticia/Sincere_condolences.htm Archived 12 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ Sporting Director Predrag Mijatovic Ready To Leave Real Madrid – Reports, Goal.com, 14 February 2009 Archived 16 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Real Madrid legend Mijatovic could step into Arnesen's shoes;Daily Mail, 6 May 2011
  13. ↑ Predrag Mijatovic represented Anzhi at negotiations with Inter;sports.ru, 10 August 2011
  14. ↑ Eto'o to leave
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Awards
Preceded by Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Best Athlete of Yugoslavia
1997		 Succeeded by
Dejan Bodiroga
Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Predrag_Mijatović&oldid=3699856"