Nemanja Vidić

Personal information
Full name	Nemanja Vidić[1]
Date of birth	(1981-10-21) 21 October 1981 (age 30)
Place of birth	Titovo Užice, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)[2][3]
Playing position	Centre back
Club information
Current club	Manchester United
Number	15
Youth career
1989–1994	Jedinstvo Putevi
1994–1996	Sloboda Užice
1996–2000	Red Star Belgrade
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2000–2004	Red Star Belgrade	94	(18)
2004–2006	Spartak Moscow	39	(4)
2006–	Manchester United	167	(14)
National team‡
2002–2011	Serbia	56	(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:59, 3 December 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18:22, 11 October 2011 (UTC)

Nemanja Vidić (Serbian Cyrillic: Немања Видић, Serbian pronunciation: [ně̞maɲa v̞ǐːditɕ]) (born 21 October 1981) is a Serbian footballer who captains English Premier League club Manchester United. He was part of the Serbia national football team from 2002 to 2011.^[4]

After establishing himself at Red Star Belgrade during the early 2000s, Vidić moved to Spartak Moscow in the summer of 2004. He further increased his reputation when he was part of the "Famous Four" Serbian national team defence that conceded just one goal during the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign. He would later sign for Man United for around £7m in January 2006 before establishing a prominent defensive partnership with Rio Ferdinand the following season and earning a reputation for his no-nonsense defending.

He has collected a host of honours in his United career including 3 consecutive Premier League titles (4 titles in total), the UEFA Champions League, the FIFA World Club Cup, three League Cup medals, as well as being included in three consecutive (4 in total including 2010–11 season) PFA Team of the Year sides from 2007 to 2009. In the 2008–09 season, he helped United to a record-breaking run of 14 consecutive clean sheets and was awarded the Barclays Player of the Season. He also collected both the club's Fans' and Players' Player of the Year awards. At the start of the 2010–11 season Vidić was selected as the new team captain of Manchester United.^[5] He collected his second Barclays Player of the Season in 2010-11.^[6]

Club career[link]

Early years[link]

Nemanja Vidić was born to Dragoljub, a now-retired copper factory worker, and Zora, a bank clerk. Vidić took up football at six years of age, alongside his older brother Dušan, with local side Jedinstvo Putevi. He progressed quickly, and moved to Sloboda Užice at the age of 12.^[7][8] The Balkan conflict broke out during his early teenage years, during which his family lived under constant fear of being bombed.^[9]

Red Star and Spartak Moscow[link]

Two and a half years after signing for Sloboda Užice, before his 15th birthday, Red Star Belgrade signed Vidić to their youth system.^[9] He started his senior career on a season-long loan deal at Spartak Subotica in 2000. He moved back to Red Star Belgrade after the loan deal ended, playing regularly in the top-flight Yugoslav League with coach Zoran Filipović. He won the 2001–02 Yugoslav Cup with Red Star.^[10] Vidić quickly gained the captain's armband, and during his three years as captain, he scored 12 goals in 67 matches, and ended his Red Star Belgrade career on a high note by leading the club to a domestic double. He won the 2004 Serbia and Montenegro League and Serbia and Montenegro Cup trophies with Red Star Belgrade, and in July 2004, he joined Russian Premier League side Spartak Moscow. The details of the transfer were not revealed although it was reported that Vidić became the most expensive defender in the history of the Russian Premier League.^[11]

Manchester United[link]

2006–2008[link]

After playing two seasons for Spartak Moscow, Vidić signed for Manchester United for a fee of around £7 million on 25 December 2005,^[12] and joined the club on 5 January 2006 after his work permit was granted.^[13] This was two-and-a-half years after Manchester United's reported interest in him.^[14] On this occasion, United beat out stiff competition for Vidić's signature as his transfer to Fiorentina in Italy had already been agreed with the club's sporting director Pantaleo Corvino. Since Fiorentina had to wait in order to complete the signing due to not having any free non-EU spots on its roster at the moment, United stepped in and got Vidić in the meantime.^[15] He was assigned the number 15 shirt and on 25 January 2006, he made his debut for Manchester United as a substitute for Ruud van Nistelrooy in the dying minutes of a 2–1 win in the Carling Cup semi-final second leg against Blackburn Rovers.^[16] On 16 February 2006, Vidić won his first trophy with United, coming on in the 83rd minute for Wes Brown in the 2006 Carling Cup final win against Wigan Athletic.^[17]

During the 2006–07 Premier League season, Vidić formed a partnership with Rio Ferdinand in the centre of defence, which has since become one of the most prominent partnerships in European football, and has become an established first team player.^[18] In his first full season playing for Manchester United, he made 25 appearances in the Premier League and ended the season winning his first league medal.^[19][20]

Vidić scored his first ever goal for Manchester United on 14 October 2006 against Wigan Athletic; United won 3–1.^[21] He scored his second goal in a 3–0 win over Portsmouth on 4 November, his first goal at Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium.^[22] He scored his first Champions League goal for Manchester United against Benfica on 6 December in the group stages, a match which Manchester United won 3–1.^[23]

On 8 November 2007, Vidić signed a five-year contract extension, keeping him at Manchester United until 2012.^[24] At the end of the 2007–08 season, he earned his second consecutive Premier League medal.^[25] He was also a part of the squad which won the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final against Chelsea^[26], his first European medal. During United's 2007–08 season, he made 32 league appearances and scored one goal.^[27]

2008–2011[link]

During the 2008–09 season, Vidić was a pivotal part of the United defence in the absence of a number of other defenders during various parts of the season. He started every match in the domestic league, with United going on a record run of 14 consecutive clean sheets in Premier League matches.^[28][29] Towards the end of the 2008–09 season, Vidić was shortlisted for the PFA Player of the Year award, along with four other United players; he was considered the favourite to receive the accolade that was later awarded to his teammate Ryan Giggs.^[30] Vidić was later named as the Manchester United fans' player of the year and players' player of the year, taking over from Cristiano Ronaldo, who won both awards in 2007–08.^[31] During the Carling Cup final, Vidić had to play at right back when he replaced John O'Shea.

Praised for his aggressive no-nonsense defensive style by his Manchester United teammates, he is highly regarded for bravery.^[32][33] Because of this, he enjoys a cult status among United faithful^[34][35] and is often compared to former Manchester United defender Steve Bruce for having similar characteristics.

On 25 October 2009, Vidić was again sent off against Liverpool in a 2–0 defeat, marking the third consecutive game against their fiercest rivals in which he had been shown a red card. On 21 March 2010, however, he managed to play a full 90 minutes in a 2–1 win against Liverpool at Old Trafford and again on 19 September 2010, this time in a 3–2 victory.^[36]

On 23 July 2010, it was reported that Vidić had extended his contract with Manchester United by agreeing to a new long-term contract, ending long-running speculation of a move to Real Madrid.^[37] The new four-year contract was signed on 20 August.^[38] Vidić scored his first goal of the season on 11 September away to Everton to put his side 2–1 up, the game ending with a dramatic finish with the final score 3–3.^[39] After captaining Manchester United for the first five matches of the 2010–11 season, Sir Alex Ferguson later confirmed that Vidić had taken over from Gary Neville as team and club captain on a permanent basis. On 30 October, Vidić scored his first home goal of the season in a 2–0 league win against Tottenham Hotspur,^[40] his goal was the 1,000th to be scored at Old Trafford in the Premier League. On 13 November 2010, Vidić scored his third goal of the season in a 2–2 away draw against Aston Villa in the 85th minute to grab United a point from a 2–0 deficit.^[41]

2011[link]

On 1 February, Vidić scored against Aston Villa at Old Trafford with a powerful drive inside the penalty area, and United won 3–1.^[42] On 1 March 2011, Vidić was sent off in stoppage time in an intense match against Chelsea for a foul on Ramires. Chelsea won 2–1.^[43] Vidić got his revenge on 8 May 2011 when he scored against Chelsea to end their title aspirations in a 2–1 victory and propelled United toward a record breaking 19th Premier league title, a feat which was completed the following week at Blackburn Rovers.

In August 2011, Vidić started the season opening game, the 2011 FA Community Shield at Wembley Stadium. He was taken off at half time, however, along with partner Rio Ferdinand as United trailed 2-0 to Manchester City. In the second half, United turned the game around and won 3-2. Vidić went on to lift the Shield as the captain, claiming his fourth Community Shield medal of his career. A week later, Vidić started in Manchester United's opening Premier League fixture of the season at West Bromwich Albion, but was taken off during the second half with a calf injury. After the match, it was initially thought that Vidić would only miss a couple of weeks. A further diagnosis, however, found the injury to be worse than first feared sidelining him for five weeks. He missed the wins against Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Bolton Wanderers, Chelsea, and the 1–1 draw against Stoke City.^[44] He also missed the first two UEFA Champions League games of the season against Benfica and FC Basel, both ending in draws. After additionally missing the 2–0 home win against Norwich City on 1 October 2011, Sir Alex Ferguson indicated that he hoped Vidić would be back for the match against Liverpool at Anfield on 15 October 2011. He did not make the match at Anfield, but returned in the following game in the Champions League against Oțelul Galați. United won the game 2–0. Vidić, however, was sent off midway through the second half for a high challenge, in what was arguably a harsh decision.^[45] After the match, Ferguson said he could see why the referee gave the decision and that the club would not appeal, meaning Vidić now serves a European suspension.^[46] After missing the Manchester Derby the following weekend which Manchester United heavily lost 6–1 to Manchester City, Vidić played his first full 90 minutes of the season against Aldershot Town in a fourth round Carling Cup tie, which United won 3–0. He made his return to Premier League action at Goodison Park in a 1-0 win against Everton. In the next four Premier League matches, Vidić played a big part in winning and keeping clean sheets against Sunderland (1-0) at Old Trafford and Swansea City (1–0) at the Liberty Stadium. There was nothing to be done, however, for conceding a goal from a penalty kick caused by a Rio Ferdinand controversial tackle at home against Newcastle United in a 1–1 draw. Nevertheless, skipper took his side to another clean sheet at Villa Park in a 1–0 win against Aston Villa with Phil Jones scoring the only goal. Alex Ferguson rested Vidić at Old Trafford in a shocking 2–1 Carling Cup quarter-final defeat against Crystal Palace.

On 7 December 2011, Vidić twisted his knee during United's Champions League clash at Basel and left the field on a stretcher.^[47] Ferguson later confirmed that he would miss the rest of the season.^[48]

International career[link]

Vidić on international duty in November 2010

A Yugoslavian youth international, he made his senior debut on 12 October 2002 against Italy in UEFA Euro 2004 qualification.^[7][49] Vidić was part of Serbia and Montenegro's "Famous Four" defence,^[50] alongside Mladen Krstajić, Ivica Dragutinović, and Goran Gavrančić, that conceded just one goal during the ten 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification matches, setting a new record for the fewest goals conceded. Vidić played a major part in the last qualification game, against Bosnia and Herzegovina, in which Serbia and Montenegro won 1–0 and secured qualification; Vidić was given a red card five minutes before the end.^[7] Vidić missed out on Serbia andMontenegro's opening group stage match against the Netherlands through suspension from his previous red card,^[51] and on 12 June 2006, he injured his left knee ligaments during training and he did not play any games at the 2006 World Cup.^[52] After the 2006 World Cup, Vidić went on to represent the national team, now independent as the Serbian national team. He was a regular during 2010 World Cup qualifying when fit and was instrumental as Serbia finished top of their group ahead of the likes of France and Romania with the best defensive record. Serbia had less luck at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and came in last place in Group D. In a match against Germany in the group stages of the 2010 World Cup, Vidić gave away a penalty in the second half while Serbia were leading 1–0. Luckily, Lukas Podolski's penalty was successfully blocked by goalkeeper Vladimir Stojković. On 11 October, Vidić missed a decisive penalty against Slovenia. On 24 October 2011, Vidić announced his retirement from international football of the Serbian national team because of negative comments from fans about his performinces.^[4][53] However, with Siniša Mihajlović as the new Serbian coach it is rumored that he will reconsider returning to the national team duties for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

International goals[link]

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	15 August 2005	Lobanovsky Dynamo Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine	Poland	3–2	3–2	Valeri Lobanovsky Cup
2	15 November 2006	Stadium Crvena Zvezda, Beograd, Serbia	Norway	1–0	1–1	Friendly

Career statistics[link]

Club[link]

Statistics accurate as of match played 7 December 2011^[54]

International[link]

As of 11 October 2011

International appearances and goals
#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Final Score	Goal	Result	Competition
2002
1.	12 October 2002	Stadio San Paolo, Naples, Italy	Italy	1–1	0	Draw	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
2.	16 October 2002	Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro	Finland	2–0	0	Win	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
3.	20 November 2002	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	France	0–3	0	Loss	Friendly
2003
4.	30 April 2003	Weserstadion, Bremen, Germany	Germany	0-1	0	Loss	Friendly
5.	3 June 2003	Walkers Stadium, Leicester, England	England	1–2	0	Loss	Friendly
6.	7 June 2003	Olympiastadion, Helsinki, Finland	Finland	0-3	0	Loss	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
2004
7.	18 August 2004	Bežigrad Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia	Slovenia	1-1	0	Draw	Friendly
8.	4 September 2004	Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino	San Marino	3-0	0	Win	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
9.	17 November 2004	Stade du Roi Baudouin, Brussels, Belgium	Belgium	2-0	0	Win	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
2005
10.	9 February 2005	Vasil Levski Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	Bulgaria	0–0	0	Draw	Friendly
11.	30 March 2005	Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro	Spain	0-0	0	Draw	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
12.	4 June 2005	Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro	Belgium	0-0	0	Draw	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
13.	15 August 2005	Lobanovsky Dynamo Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine	Poland	2-3	1	Loss	Valeri Lobanovsky Memorial Tournament
14.	17 August 2005	Lobanovsky Dynamo Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine	Ukraine	1-2	0	Loss	Valeri Lobanovsky Memorial Tournament
15.	3 September 2005	Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro	Lithuania	2–0	0	Win	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
16.	7 September 2005	Vicente Calderón, Madrid, Spain	Spain	1–1	0	Draw	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
17.	8 October 2005	Vetra Stadium, Vilnius, Lithuania	Lithuania	2–0	0	Win	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
18.	12 October 2005	Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1-0	0	Win	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
2006
19.	1 March 2006	Stade 7 November, Radès, Tunisia	Tunisia	1–0	0	Win	Friendly
20.	27 May 2006	Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro	Uruguay	1–1	0	Draw	Friendly
21.	7 October 2006	Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, Serbia	Belgium	1-0	0	Win	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
22.	15 November 2006	Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, Serbia	Norway	1-1	1	Draw	Friendly
2007
23.	24 March 2007	Tcentralny, Almaty, Kazakhstan	Kazakhstan	1–2	0	Loss	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
24.	28 March 2007	Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, Serbia	Portugal	1–1	0	Draw	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
25.	2 June 2007	Olympiastadion, Helsinki, Finland	Finland	2-0	0	Win	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
26.	22 August 2007	Stade du Roi Baudouin, Brussels, Belgium	Belgium	2-3	0	Loss	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
27.	12 September 2007	Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal	Portugal	1–1	0	Draw	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
2008
28.	6 February 2008	Gradski stadion, Skopje, Macedonia	Macedonia	1–1	0	Draw	Friendly
29.	26 March 2008	Lobanovsky Dynamo Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine	Ukraine	0-2	0	Loss	Friendly
30.	28 May 2008	Wacker Sportpark, Burghausen, Germany	Russia	1-2	0	Loss	Friendly
31.	31 May 2008	Veltins Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany	Germany	1-2	0	Loss	Friendly
32.	6 September 2008	Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, Serbia	Faroe Islands	2-0	0	Win	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
33.	10 September 2008	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	France	1-2	0	Loss	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
34.	11 October 2008	Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, Serbia	Lithuania	3-0	0	Win	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
35.	11 October 2008	Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria	Austria	3-1	0	Win	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
36.	19 November 2008	Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, Serbia	Bulgaria	6-1	0	Win	Friendly
2009
37.	10 February 2009	Neo GSP, Nicosia, Cyprus	Cyprus	2-0	0	Win	Cyprus Tournament 2009
38.	28 March 2009	Stadionul Farul, Constanța, Romania	Romania	3-2	0	Win	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
39.	1 April 2009	Partizan, Belgrade, Serbia	Sweden	2-0	0	Win	Friendly
40.	6 June 2009	Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, Serbia	Austria	1–0	0	Win	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
41.	9 September 2009	Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, Serbia	France	1-1	0	Draw	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
42.	10 October 2009	Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, Serbia	Romania	5-0	0	Win	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
43.	14 November 2009	Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland	Northern Ireland	1–0	0	Win	Friendly
44.	26 March 2009	Craven Cottage, London, England	South Korea	1-0	0	Win	Friendly
2010
45.	29 May 2010	Hypo-Arena, Klagenfurt, Austria	New Zealand	0-1	0	Loss	Friendly
46.	13 June 2010	Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria, South Africa	Ghana	0-1	0	Loss	2010 FIFA World Cup
47.	18 June 2010	Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth, South Africa	Germany	1-0	0	Win	2010 FIFA World Cup
48.	23 June 2010	Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit, South Africa	Australia	1–2	0	Loss	2010 FIFA World Cup
49.	11 August 2010	Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, Serbia	Greece	0-1	0	Loss	Friendly
50.	3 September 2010	Torsvollur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands	Faroe Islands	3-0	0	Win	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
51.	7 September 2010	Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, Serbia	Slovenia	1–1	0	Draw	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
52.	8 October 2010	Partizan, Belgrade, Serbia	Estonia	1-3	0	Loss	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
53.	17 November 2010	Vasil Levski Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	Bulgaria	1–0	0	Win	Friendly
2011
54.	29 March 2011	A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia	Estonia	1-1	0	Draw	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
55.	10 August 2011	Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia	Russia	0-1	0	Loss	Friendly
56.	11 October 2011	Ljudski vrt Stadium, Maribor, Slovenia	Slovenia	0-1	0	Loss	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying

Honours[link]

Club[link]

Red Star Belgrade

• First League of Serbia and Montenegro (1): 2003–04
• Yugoslav Cup (1): 2001–02
• Serbia and Montenegro Cup (1): 2003–04

Manchester United

• Premier League (4): 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11
• Football League Cup (3): 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10
• FA Community Shield (4): 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011
• UEFA Champions League (1): 2007–08
• FIFA Club World Cup (1): 2008

Individual[link]

• Serbia's Overseas Player of the Year (4): 2005 (with Spartak Moscow), 2007, 2008, 2010 (with Manchester United)
• Serbian Footballer of the Year (2): 2005 (with Spartak Moscow), 2008 (with Manchester United)
• PFA Premier League Team of the Year (4): 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11
• Premier League Player of the Month (1): January 2009
• Barclays Player of the Year (2): 2008–09, 2010–11
• Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year (1): 2008–09
• Players' Player of the Year Award (1): 2008–09
• ESM Team of the Year (3): 2006–07, 2008–09, 2010–11
• FIFA FIFPro World XI (2): 2008–09, 2010–11
• Serbia's sport association "May award" : 2011 (this honor is awarded only once in a lifetime)
• UEFA Best Player in Europe Award: 2010-11 nominee (7th overall)

Individual honours[link]

Vidić won Serbia's "Overseas Player of the Year" award for 2005, playing for Spartak Moscow, a poll of the captains of the 16 clubs in the Serbian Superliga that is organized annually by daily newspaper Večernje Novosti. He was once again the recipient of the award in 2007, 2008, and 2010, playing for Manchester United.^[55][56][57] The executive committee of the Serbian Football Association named him Player of the Year for 2005 and 2008.^[58][59][60] He was named in the 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, and 2010–11 PFA Premier League Team of the Season.^[61][62][63] In addition, he was shortlisted for the 2006–07, 2007–08 and 2008–09 UEFA European Club Defender of the Year^[64][65][66] and was also shortlisted for the 2006–07 and 2007–08 FIFPro World XI player award^[67][68] and also for the 2008 and 2009 Ballon d'Or award.^[69][70] Vidić was named Premier League Player of the Month for January 2009.^[71] He was also named Barclays Player of the Season for 2008–09 and 2010–11,^[72] and espnstar.com's Barclays Premier League Player of the Season and Defender of the Season for 2010-11.^[73] In December 2011, FourFourTwo football magazine voted Vidic as their Top 10 defender in 2011.^[74]

Personal life[link]

On 17 July 2006, Vidić married Ana Ivanović, an economics student at the University of Belgrade (no relation to the Serbian tennis star of the same name). Together, they have three sons named Luka, Stefan, and Petar.^[75][76]

Notes[link]

1. ^ Includes other competitive competitions, including the FA Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nemanja Vidić

• Official website
• Manchester United Official Player Statistics
• Player profile on Serbian National Team page
• Manchester United profile
• UEFA profile
• Nemanja Vidic career stats at Soccerbase

Sporting positions
Preceded by Gary Neville	Manchester United captain 2011–	Succeeded by Incumbent

v t e Serbia and Montenegro squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Jevrić 2 Ergić 3 Dragutinović 4 Duljaj 5 Vidić 6 Gavrančić 7 Koroman 8 Kežman 9 Milošević (c) 10 Stanković 11 P. Đorđević 12 Kovačević 13 Basta 14 N. Đorđević 15 Dudić 16 D. Petković 17 Nađ 18 Vukić 19 Žigić 20 Krstajić 21 Ljuboja 22 Ilić 23 Stojković Coach: I. Petković

v t e Serbia squad – 2010 FIFA World Cup 1 Stojković 2 Rukavina 3 Kolarov 4 Kačar 5 Vidić 6 Ivanović 7 Tošić 8 Lazović 9 Pantelić 10 Stanković (c) 11 Milijaš 12 Isailović 13 Luković 14 Jovanović 15 Žigić 16 Obradović 17 Krasić 18 Ninković 19 Petrović 20 Subotić 21 Mrđa 22 Kuzmanović 23 Đuričić Coach: Antić

Micah Richards

Richards playing for Manchester City in November 2010
Personal information
Full name	Micah Lincoln Richards[1]
Date of birth	(1988-06-24) 24 June 1988 (age 24)[1]
Place of birth	Birmingham, England
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2]
Playing position	Right Back
Club information
Current club	Manchester City
Number	2
Youth career
2000–2001	Oldham Athletic
2001–2005	Manchester City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2005–	Manchester City	170	(7)
National team‡
2003–2004	England U16	2	(0)
2005–2006	England U19	3	(0)
2006–2010	England U21	14	(3)
2006–	England	13	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:00, 21 May 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22:00, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

Micah Lincoln Richards (born 24 June 1988) is an English footballer who plays and is vice-captain of Manchester City. A powerful right back, he can also play at centre back. On making his full England debut in November 2006, he was the youngest defender ever to be called up to the England squad. Richards has also won 13 England caps.

Club career[link]

Early career[link]

Though his parents lived in Leeds, Richards was born in Birmingham as his parents were visiting relatives in the area at the time.^[3] Richards grew up in the Chapeltown district of Leeds, where he attended Archbishop Cranmer CofE Primary School and later Wetherby High School. He was an Arsenal supporter growing up.

Richards played for the Leeds United youth system as a striker, but he was released when he was around eight years old.^[4] He also represented Leeds Schools FA (Leeds City Boys) at a young age. He later played for the Oldham Athletic youth system, moving to Manchester City as a 14-year old,^[5] with Oldham reputedly having a 20% sell on clause. In July 2001 Manchester City reportedly tried to buy out the clause, but Oldham refused.^[6] He also attended the Brazilian Soccer Schools scheme and retains strong links with the programme, with his father Lincoln actually running a Brazilian Soccer School in Chapeltown, Leeds.

Manchester City[link]

He made his first team debut on 22 October 2005 against Arsenal, coming on as a substitute^[7] and was given his full debut on 12 February 2006 against Charlton Athletic. Since making his first start he has played in the majority of Manchester City's matches, and was named as the club's Young Player of the Year for the 2005–06 season.^{[citation needed]}

Richards came to national prominence when his 94th minute headed goal from a Joey Barton corner in a televised FA Cup fixture against Aston Villa at Villa Park subsequently gained City a replay.

During the 2005–06 season, Richards captained the Manchester City youth team which reached the final of the FA Youth Cup. Richards missed the first leg of the final as he was on first team duty, but returned for the second leg. He helped his side to a 2–0 win over Liverpool, but Liverpool youth won the trophy 3–2 on aggregate.

In July 2006, Manchester City rejected a bid of £5 million for Richards from Tottenham Hotspur.^[8] On 25 July 2006 he signed a new four-year contract, quashing rumours of a move away from the City of Manchester Stadium.^[9] Throughout 2007, Richards was linked with a move away from City, Stuart Pearce said "I am not actively looking to sell Micah because he has a great future here. Whatever offers come in for him, it is going to take a ridiculously big offer to get him out of this football club. I would love to see Micah stay here, captain the club, and maybe be here for 10 years and carry the club on his back if he can. He is good enough to do it. I have not worked with anyone so good and so young.".^[10] He was rewarded with the number 2 shirt for the 2006–07 season, a traditional first team number, rather than the number 45 he wore previously.

Richards lost his temper with manager Stuart Pearce in front of Sky TV cameras after he was substituted during the Blues' 1–0 defeat at the Madejski Stadium against Reading on 11 September 2006. The teenage defender had to be calmed down by Paul Dickov after hurling his shirt out of the dug-out and following it up with a volley of abuse.^{[citation needed]}

Richards' second City goal was also an injury time equalizer, this time in a 1–1 draw with Everton at Goodison Park on 30 September 2006. He started the 2007–08 season playing at centre-back. He put in a man of the match performance against Manchester United on the 19 August 2007. This prompted extremely high praise not only from the English media, but more importantly from his boss, former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson. He was named Premier League Player of the Month for August.

He captained the team for the first time on 16 September 2007 against Aston Villa in the absence of teammate Richard Dunne, making Richards the youngest ever City first team captain, beating the 21-year-old Steve Redmond.^{[citation needed]} In February 2008, he signed an improved contract to last until June 2013.^[11] At the end of February, he damaged cartilage in his right knee, putting him out for the rest of the season.

Richards during Manchester City's Premier League victory parade, May 2012.

On 17 July 2008, Richards played his first full match back from injury in the 2–0^[12] win against EB/Streymur in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Cup. On 24 August 2008, he was knocked unconscious after a clash of heads with teammate Tal Ben Haim. The match was stopped for eight minutes while he received treatment on the pitch. He was later given the all clear after a scan and he left hospital on the same day as the incident. He returned for the second-round UEFA Qualifying clash against FC Midtjylland on 28 August 2008, playing in a new holding midfield role.

On 22 March 2009, Richards netted his first of the 2008–09 season with a header in a man of the match performance giving a 1–0 victory over Sunderland at the City of Manchester Stadium. On 11 July 2009 Eurosport reported he had been diagnosed with swine flu while on holiday in Cyprus.^[13] He was kept in isolation after his trip to Ayia Napa,^[14] but has now made a full recovery. In the 09–10 season, Micah Richards had two disallowed goals against Portsmouth and Fulham respectively. In Manchester City's 4–2 win over Arsenal, Micah Richards headed in a goal from a Craig Bellamy free-kick. The ball hit the post, then went in off Gunners goalkeeper Manuel Almunia and into the net. The goal was initially given as an own goal, however the goal was later given to Richards. He then found the net once again with Manchester City's 3–3 draw with Bolton Wanderers. In the 4–1 Victory over Blackburn Rovers at the City of Manchester Stadium, Richards stormed past 5 Rovers players before laying to striker Benjani, who hit the post, only for Richards to follow up and score. On 11 September 2010, he started at right-back in the Barclays Premier League against Blackburn Rovers at the City of Manchester Stadium and completed the full 90 minutes in a 1-1 draw. Richards made a star-studded performance in the F.A. cup against Notts County, he set up their only goal in a 1-1 draw were he crossed the ball across the 6 yard box for Edin Dzeko to blast it into the net.

On 20 February 2011, Richards scored an impressive volley in a 5-0 thrashing against Notts County, which carried city to the last 16 of The FA Cup. Also on the 13 March 2011 he got Manchester City a place in the semi-finals of the FA cup, scoring a 74th minute header against Reading at the City of Manchester Stadium in the quarter-finals to bring the tight game to 1-0, which was also the final result. At the end of the 2010-11 season, Richards made a total of 31 appearances and scored 3 goals in all competitions for City, including playing in 18 Barclays Premier League games, scoring 1 goal. On Saturday 27 August 2011, he signed a new four-year deal with Manchester City running until summer 2015. A day later, City beat Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 at White Hart Lane in a Barclays Premier League fixture, in which Richards played for thirty minutes after coming on as a substitute. At the end of the 2011-2012 season, Richards was celebrating a title victory over rivals Manchester United, despite being an unused substitute as City won 3-2 against Queens Park Rangers at the Etihad Stadium thanks to a stoppage time winner from Argentina striker Sergio Aguero on the final day of the Barclays Premier League campaign.

International career[link]

In November 2006, Richards received a call-up to the England squad for a friendly against the Netherlands after playing only 28 professional club matches. He had previously won three caps for the England under-21 team, and was chosen to start the game on 15 November 2006 against the Netherlands after regular right back Gary Neville withdrew through injury. It made him England's youngest-ever defender, breaking the record previously held by Rio Ferdinand. He scored his first international goal in the Euro 2008 qualifier against Israel on 8 September 2007 at Wembley Stadium. Richards played regularly during Steve McClaren's time as England manager, making 11 appearances.^[15] However, following McClaren's sacking in November 2007, Richards fell out of favour. In Fabio Capello's four years in charge of the England team, Richards played only once, as a substitute against France in November 2010.^[16] Upon Capello's resignation in February 2012, Richards spoke of his frustration: "To be frozen out of your international side is hard to take sometimes. Everyone wants to play for their international team, especially when you’re playing in a team that’s doing so well. I didn’t get a chance under Capello. I don’t know why. I always asked the question, but I never got an answer."^[16]

For most of his exile from the senior team, Richards was still young enough to be eligible for the under-21s, and played regularly. He was called-up for the UEFA Under-21 Championship held in Sweden, where he scored the winning goal against Finland as England went through the group stages undefeated.^[17] England reached the final of the competition, but lost 4–0 to Germany.^[18] Richards played in four of England's five matches, including the final. During qualifying for the 2011 tournament, Richards captained the side.^[19] However, he had to withdraw from the squad for the finals due to injury.^[20]

Following Capello's resignation in February 2012, Richards gained an immediate recall to the England team. Caretaker coach Stuart Pearce had coached Richards at both Manchester City and for the under-21s, and selected him to play against the Netherlands.^[21] However, when new coach Roy Hodgson named his squad for Euro 2012, Richards was omitted. Hodgson explained his decision by saying "It was going to be one of Phil Jones or Micah Richards and I chose Jones."^[22]

International goals[link]

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	8 September 2007	Wembley Stadium, London, England	Israel	2 – 0	3–0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying

Club statistics[link]

As of 23:00, 21 May 2012 (UTC)

Honours[link]

Manchester City

• FA Cup: 2010–11
• Premier League: 2011-12

References[link]

External links[link]

• Micah Richards official website
• Micah Richards profile at Manchester City F.C.
• Micah Richards career stats at Soccerbase
• Micah Richards at National-Football-Teams.com
• Micah Richards England profile at Englandstats

v t e England squad – 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship 1 Hart 2 Cranie 3 Taylor 4 Cattermole 5 Stearman 6 Onuoha 7 Milner 8 Gardner 9 Agbonlahor 10 Noble 11 Johnson 12 Muamba 13 Lewis 14 Walcott 15 Rodwell 16 Tomkins 17 Richards 18 Mancienne 19 Gibbs 20 Driver 21 Campbell 22 Loach 23 Rose Coach: Pearce

Dejan Stanković
Дејан Станковић

Personal information
Full name	Dejan Stanković
Date of birth	(1978-09-11) 11 September 1978 (age 33)
Place of birth	Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Internazionale
Number	5
Youth career
1992–1994	Red Star Belgrade
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1994–1998	Red Star Belgrade	85	(30)
1998–2004	Lazio	137	(22)
2004–	Internazionale	228	(29)
National team‡
1998–2011	Serbia	102	(15)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13:07, 2 May 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18:24, 11 October 2011 (UTC)

Dejan Stanković (Serbian Cyrillic: Дејан Станковић, Serbian pronunciation: [dɛ̂jan stǎːŋkɔʋitɕ], born 11 September 1978) is a Serbian association football player who plays for Internazionale. 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.^[1]

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.

Early life[link]

Stanković grew up in Zemun, a municipality of Belgrade. Both of his parents, Borislav and Dragica, have strong football backgrounds.

Club career[link]

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.

Red Star Belgrade[link]

Stanković then passed every age category at his hometown club.^[2] In the youth teams, he was coached by Pižon 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[link]

In the summer of 1998, he transferred for £7.5 million (DM24 million) to Lazio,^{[citation needed]} 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 Roberto Mancini. He formed a formidable midfield combination with Nedvěd and Mancini 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.^[3] 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[link]

2004–2008[link]

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,^[4] 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.^[5][6]

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[link]

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.^[7] 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^[8] 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.^[9] The Juve deal fell through within days for a variety of other reasons,^[10] and Stanković was suddenly reported to be happy to stay at Inter.^[11] 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",^[12][13] 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.^[14] The relief and vindication after everything he had gone through during the summer was evident in his goal celebration^[15] 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.^[16]

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.^[17][18]

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.^[19] 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.^[20] 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^[21]

2009–10: Tripletta season[link]

Stanković in action for Inter in 2009

The 2009–10 season began well for Stanković. In the 29 August Milan derby, 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.^[22] 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.^[23]

2010–11 season[link]

Playing under new head coach Rafa Benítez, Stanković continued his usual midfield role. On the 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 semifinal versus Seongnam, scoring the opening goal and turning in an all around midfield performance.^[24] 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.^[25] On the same occasion, despite publicly backing the beleguerd coach months earlier,^[26] Stanković stated that Benítez simply "didn't work" at Inter.^[27] 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.^[28] Inter made good recovery chasing the league-leaders AC Milan, getting within three points of them ahead of Milan derby, but lost disasterosly 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.^[29] On 19 April, in the Coppa Italia semifinal first leg, Stankovic 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[link]

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.^[30] 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 became 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. Appearing in 102 matches, he is tied with Savo Milošević as the most capped player in the Serbia national football team. (There is still a possibility of Stanković playing a farewell game which would break the record.)

International goals[link]

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	22 April 1998	Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Beograd, Serbia	South Korea	1–1	3–1	Friendly
2.	22 April 1998	Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Beograd, Serbia	South Korea	2–1	3–1	Friendly
3.	2 September 1998	Čair Stadium, Niš, Serbia	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 Jun 2001	Svangaskard, Toftir, Faroe Islands	Faroe Islands	0–1	0–6	2002 FIFA World Cup qual.
8.	6 Jun 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, Beograd, Serbia	San Marino	2–0	5–0	2006 FIFA World Cup qual.
11.	13 October 2004	Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Beograd, Serbia	San Marino	3–0	5–0	2006 FIFA World Cup qual.
12.	27 May 2006	Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Beograd, Serbia	Uruguay	1–0	1–1	Friendly
13.	11 October 2006	Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Beograd, Serbia	Armenia	1–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 2008 qual.
14.	5 Jun 2010	Stadion FK Partizan, Beograd, Serbia	Cameroon	2–2	4–3	Friendly
15.	3 September 2010	Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands	Faroe Islands	0–2	0–3	Euro 2012 qual.

Career statistics[link]

As of 2 May 2012