Saša Viciknez

Aleksandar “Saša” Viciknez (Serbian Cyrillic: Александар Саша Вицикнез; born 30 May 1974) is a retired Serbian footballer who played mostly as a left winger.[1]

Saša Viciknez
Viciknez in 2006
Personal information
Full name Aleksandar Viciknez
Date of birth (1974-05-30) 30 May 1974
Place of birth Vršac, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Position(s) Left wing, Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–1997 Dinamo Pančevo
1997–2001 Obilić 32 (9)
2000 → Shanghai Shenhua (loan) 3 (1)
2001–2002 Hajduk Kula 11 (1)
2002–2004 Naftex Burgas 24 (5)
2004–2005 Crvena Zvezda Pavliš
2005–2006 ČSK Čelarevo
2006–2013 Serbian White Eagles 116 (64)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Viciknez debuted in the Second League of FR Yugoslavia in 1995 with FK Dinamo Pančevo, and ultimately reached the highest tier in 1997 with FK Obilić. During his tenure in Belgrade he won the 1997-98 Yugoslav Championship, and featured in the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League. Following an early successful domestic career and a brief stint with FK Hajduk Kula he ventured abroad to play in the Chinese Jia-A League, and Bulgarian A PFG. He returned home in 2004 to spent time with Crvena Zvezda Pavliš, and FK ČSK Čelarevo.

In 2006, he went abroad for the third time to play in the Canadian Soccer League with the Serbian White Eagles FC. The acquisition of Viciknez played a prominent role in the procession of European professional players to the CSL, which ushered in an era of a large volume of import players to the league.[2] Throughout his time in Toronto he served numerous times as the club's team captain, and won several accolades such as the CSL Championship, International Division title, and the CSL MVP award.

Playing career

Viciknez began his career in 1995 with FK Dinamo Pančevo in the Second League of FR Yugoslavia.[3][4] In 1997, he signed with FK Obilić of the First League of FR Yugoslavia. In his debut season he was part of the famed Obilić squad that won the 1997–98 Yugoslav Championship.[5] As a result, participated in the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League, where he played against FC Bayern Munich.[6] In 2000, he went abroad to China to play with Shanghai Shenhua in the Chinese Jia-A League.[7][8] While playing in China, he was sometimes mistakenly referred to as Sasa Racha (his name was confused with his teammate Saša Raca).[9][10]

His stay in China was short-lived[11] and he returned to Europe to briefly play with FK Hajduk Kula, before heading abroad once more to Bulgaria.[12] During his time in Bulgaria he played with PFC Naftex Burgas in the Bulgarian A PFG.[13][14] After two seasons abroad he returned to Serbia to play in the Serbian League Vojvodina, and the Serbian First League with Crvena Zvezda Pavliš, and FK ČSK Čelarevo.

In 2006, he went overseas to play with the Serbian White Eagles in the Canadian Soccer League.[15] He made his debut on 19 May 2006 against Italia Shooters, where he also recorded a goal in a 3-2 victory.[16] In his debut season he was named to the CSL All-Star roster against Clyde F.C., where he scored the lone goal in a 2-1 defeat.[17] He finished as the club's second highest goal scorer, and clinched the International Division title.[18] In the postseason he scored both goals in a 3-0 victory over Toronto Supra Portuguese to advance Serbia to the semi-finals.[19] He featured in the CSL Championship final against Italia Shooters where Italia managed to upset Serbia with a 1-0 defeat.[20] At the conclusion of the season he received the MVP award.[21]

During the 2007 season he contributed to Serbia's second International Division title, and reached the championship final for the second straight season. He also was named to the all-star squad for the second year in a row.[22] Viciknez added the championship to his resume in the 2008 season, where in the finals Serbia faced Trois-Rivières Attak and won the title after a 2-1 victory in a penalty shootout.[23] The following season, Serbia added their third International Division title to their trophy cabinet. During the preliminary round of the postseason he contributed significantly by recording several goals in their series against TFC Academy.[24][25] He featured in his fourth championship appearance in a rematch against Trois-Rivières, where the Attak denied Serbia their championship after a 3-2 defeat in a penalty shootout.[26] The league recognized his efforts by awarding him with his second CSL MVP award.[27]

Honours

Obilić

Serbian White Eagles

References
  1. "Former European Champions League player Viciknez wins MVP". 2009-10-27. Retrieved 2009-11-01.
  2. Adamson, Stan. "IMPORT PLAYERS FOR A BRIGHTER CANADIAN SOCCER LEAGUE – Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
  3. "Fudbaleri Obilica". fcobilic.tripod.com. Retrieved 2017-04-29.
  4. "Sasa Viciknez - Retired". www.footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
  5. "OBILIĆA VIŠE NEMA! Prvak Jugoslavije iz 1998. više ne igra ni u beton ligi". INFORMER. Retrieved 2017-04-29.
  6. uefa.com. "UEFA Champions League 1998/99 - History - FK Obilic-Bayern – UEFA.com". Uefa.com. Retrieved 2017-04-29.
  7. "Srpska Madonna u kolopletu nogometne mafije". tportal.hr. Retrieved 2017-04-29.
  8. Woile, Dennis Grebasch, Michael. "FK Obilic 2001-02". en.eufo.de. Retrieved 2017-04-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. "Foreign players of Shenhua in 2000". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-05-30.
  10. Spanish People (2001-04-04). "El equipo Shide de Dalian empata pero aún mantiene el liderazgo" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2018-10-13.
  11. "Velika seoba Srba iz Kine" (in Serbian). glas-javnosti.rs. 12 April 2000. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  12. "FK CSK Celarevo". archive.is. 2013-02-22. Archived from the original on 2013-02-22. Retrieved 2017-04-29.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  13. uefa.com. "Bulgaria round-up: CSKA up and running – UEFA.com". www.uefa.com. Retrieved 2017-04-29.
  14. Woile, Dennis Grebasch, Michael. "Nafteks Burgas 2003-04". en.eufo.de. Retrieved 2018-11-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. Adamson, Stan. "PROCESSION OF INCOMING TALENT KEY TO SUCCESS OF 2016 CHAMPIONS….never ending arrivals keep Serbian White Eagles on top – Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
  16. "May 19, 2006 CSL game reports (from CSL media release)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2017-04-29.
  17. Glover, Robin. "May 7, 2006 CPSL All Stars vs Clyde FC (Scotland) friendly (by Rocket Robin)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2017-04-29.
  18. "Canadian Soccer League - League Stats". 2007-02-03. Archived from the original on 2007-02-03. Retrieved 2017-04-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  19. "October 2, 2006 Serbian White Eagles vs Toronto Supra Portuguese (from CSL website)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2017-04-29.
  20. Glover, Robin. "October 15, 2006 CSL Playoff Final Serbian White Eagles vs Italia Shooters". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2017-04-29.
  21. "Sports Briefs - Soccer Awards". Windsor Star. October 24, 2006. p. D5.
  22. "National all-stars blanked". Windsor Star. July 30, 2007. p. D5.
  23. "Serbian White Eagles CSL Champions". Alaska Highway News. October 27, 2008. p. A5.
  24. "September 27, 2009 CSL Serbian White Eagles vs TFC Academy (from Toronto FC.ca)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2017-04-29.
  25. "October 3, 2009 CSL Saturday Quarter-Final results (from CSL media release)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2017-04-29.
  26. "October 24, 2009 CSL Final Trois-Rivieres Attak vs Serbian White Eagles (from CSL media release)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2017-04-29.
  27. "October 27, 2009 CSL Award Winners (from CSL media release)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2017-04-29.
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