Perica Ognjenović

Perica Ognjenović (Serbian Cyrillic: Перица Огњеновић; born 24 February 1977) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player.

Perica Ognjenović
Personal information
Full name Perica Ognjenović
Date of birth (1977-02-24) 24 February 1977
Place of birth Smederevska Palanka, SR Serbia, Yugoslavia
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Forward, Right winger
Youth career
0000–1993 Mladost Smederevska Palanka
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–1994 Mladost Smederevska Palanka 28 (9)
1994–1998 Red Star Belgrade 78 (19)
1999–2001 Real Madrid 12 (1)
2002 1. FC Kaiserslautern 2 (0)
2003 Dalian Shide 2 (0)
2003–2004 Dynamo Kyiv 2 (0)
2003–2004 → Dynamo-2 Kyiv 21 (9)
2005 Angers 7 (0)
2006 Selangor 16 (2)
2006–2008 Ergotelis 26 (3)
2008–2009 Kallithea 9 (1)
2009–2011 Jagodina 43 (3)
Total 246 (46)
International career
1999 FR Yugoslavia U21 1 (0)
1995–1998 FR Yugoslavia 8 (0)
Managerial career
2017 Serbia U17
2017–2018 Serbia U18
2020 Zvijezda 09
2023– Metalist Kharkiv (interim)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

He played as a forward or right winger. At one point considered to be among Serbia's brightest footballing talents, Ognjenović signed with European giants Real Madrid in his early 20s, but never became a regular there, despite winning major titles, eventually going on to have an irregular career in six other countries.

He represented FR Yugoslavia at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Early career

Born in Smederevska Palanka, Serbia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Ognjenović's first football steps were taken with modest hometown club Mladost Smederevska Palanka where he went through all age levels before breaking through to the senior squad just short of his 16th birthday, during the 1992–93 season. At the time, the team competed in the third division, and it soon became apparent the player's skill and talent far surpassed that level of competition.

Ognjenović caught the eye of country powerhouse Red Star Belgrade, which signed the promising youngster in the 1994 summer.

Real Madrid

A series of solid performances for Red Star earned Ognjenović a move to Real Madrid on 12 January 1999 for a transfer fee of DM5 million (€2.5 million), and a reported annual salary of DM1.2 million.[1] The contract negotiations between the player's agent Zoran Vekić and Real president Lorenzo Sanz ran very long,[2] as the team had a surplus of forwards on its roster and had to offload 17-year-old Samuel Eto'o on a loan spell to RCD Espanyol before signing any new ones; everything was finally concluded just hours before the Spanish winter transfer window closed, and the player joined compatriot Predrag Mijatović at his new club.[3]

Ognjenović's time in the Spanish capital was not a happy one overall: only after manager Guus Hiddink was replaced by John Toshack late into the 1998–99 season did he make his official debut with the Merengues, appearing as a second-half substitute in the Copa del Rey semifinal clash against Valencia CF (2–1 home win after a 0–6 away loss).[4] He spent two and-a-half seasons with Real Madrid, amassing only around 30 appearances all competitions comprised – mostly from the bench – before being finally released during the summer of 2001; his only official goal came against Real Zaragoza in the 1999–2000 edition of the domestic cup (2–0 home win and on aggregate).[5][6]

Journeyman years

For the following six months after leaving Real, Ognjenović could not find a team. He trained alone with a private coach until 1. FC Kaiserslautern arranged a tryout and brought him in for free on 17 January 2002, in a deal until the end of the campaign with a two-year extension option;[7] they finished seventh in the Bundesliga and qualified for the UEFA Intertoto Cup, but the player only appeared twice.

After failing to settle in Germany, Ognjenović's next stop was China with Dalian Shide FC, where he was brought to in January 2003 by the club's coach Milorad Kosanović, who had already managed him at Red Star. He then moved on to FC Dynamo Kyiv in late November 2003,[8] but could not earn playing time there either; the next stop was in France, as he signed in January 2005 with Angers SCO in Ligue 2.

In May 2006, Ognjenović joined Malaysian Super League side Selangor FA, signing a six-month contract[9]– the team was sitting in last place at the time of his signing. His career settled relatively from 2006 to 2008 as he played with Greece's Ergotelis F.C. in the Superleague, although he only appeared 26 times in the league combined; the following year was spent also in the country, with lowly Kallithea FC.

Ognjenović joined FK Jagodina on 29 July 2009,[10][11] returning to his homeland after more than a decade.

International career

Ognjenović made his debut for the Yugoslavia national team at only 18, in a friendly with El Salvador on 12 November 1995. The nation was suspended for the UEFA Euro 1996 qualifiers.

Subsequently, he was picked for the squad at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, appearing as a substitute in all three group stage matches as Yugoslavia exited in the Round-of-16.[12]

Honours

Player

Red Star Belgrade

Real Madrid

Dynamo Kiev

References
  1. "Vraćam se u ponedeljak" [I'll be back on Monday]. Glas Javnosti (in Serbian). 14 January 1999. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  2. "El Estrella Roja anuncia oficialmente el traspaso de Ognjenovic al Madrid" [Red Star officially announce transfer of Ognjenovic to Madrid]. El País (in Spanish). 30 December 1998. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  3. "El fichaje estrellado: Ognjenovic" [The crashed signing: Ognjenovic] (in Spanish). Merca Fútbol. 1 February 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  4. "El peor once de la historia del Real Madrid" [Real Madrid's worst-ever starting XI] (in Spanish). Fútbol de Primera. 29 November 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  5. "Sanz saca su ironía" [Sanz brings irony on]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 4 February 2000. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  6. "Perica Ognjenovic – gol za Real" [Perica Ognjenovic – goal with Real] (in Serbian). YouTube. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  7. "Oprostiću Realu svaki dolar" [Real forgive every dollar]. Blic (in Serbian). 21 January 2002. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  8. "Ognjenovic back in the big time". UEFA. 21 November 2003. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  9. "Perica Ognjenović u Maleziji" [Perica Ognjenović in Malaysia] (in Serbian). B92. 5 May 2006. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  10. "Ognjenović u Jagodini" [Ognjenović to Jagodina] (in Serbian). B92. 29 July 2009. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  11. "Perica Ognjenović novi igrač FK Jagodina" [Perica Ognjenović new FK Jagodina player] (in Serbian). FK Jagodina. 29 July 2009. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  12. Perica Ognjenović – FIFA competition record (archived)
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