Milivoje Novaković

Milivoje Novaković (Slovene pronunciation: [ˈmiːliʋɔjɛ nɔˈʋaːkɔʋitʃ]; born 18 May 1979) is a Slovenian footballer. A free agent, he last played wih Japanese side Nagoya Grampus. He's still a part of the Slovenia national football team.

Club career

Novaković spent his youth career at Olimpija where he remained until the age of 19, when he was forced to leave and look for the opportunity to play professional football elsewhere as he was written off by the club officials who considered him unpromising and to skinny for a forward. He then went to play football for lower tier Austrian clubs where he rose to prominence, eventually signing with professional sides Mattersburg and LASK Linz. In 2005 he signed with the Bulgarian top division side Litex Lovech and immediately established himself as one of their top players scoring 16 goals in 24 appearances during the 2005–06 season, earning the title of the league's top goalscorer. During the same season Litex Lovech qualified to the group stage of the 2005–06 UEFA Cup, where Novaković scored two of the clubs's four goals, helping the Bulgarian side in reaching the Round of 32 where they were eliminated by the French side Strasbourg with the score 0–2 on aggregate.