Dragan Stojkovic
Encyclopedia
Dragan Stojković also known under the nickname Piksi (Пикси) is a Serbian
former footballer
and current manager of J. League
side Nagoya Grampus
.
Stojković was long time captain of the Yugoslavia national football team
and Red Star Belgrade
, and is considered one of the best players in the history of Yugoslavian and Serbian football. He is one of the five players to be awarded the title Star of the Red Star. He is widely considered to have never shown his true potential in Europe as injury prevented him from establishing himself at Marseille and at European level despite being considered Red Star's greatest player of a squad that went on to great heights, such as winning the European Cup
, with some of their players becoming stars at AC Milan, Juventus and Real Madrid.
, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia, Stojković took to football very early while growing up in Pasi Poljana
community near Niš. He has been nicknamed Piksi after Pixie, one of the characters from the cartoon Pixie & Dixie and Mr. Jinks.
and occasional forward
, Stojković began his professional playing career with Yugoslav First League
and hometown side Radnički Niš
in 1981-82 when he made one first-team appearance. The next four seasons, Stojković appeared in 69 matches for Radnički and scored eight goals.
where he would spend the next four illustrious seasons, scoring 54 times in 120 appearances and developing into the best player in the league. He was the Yugoslav League MVP in 1988 and '89 season and on 3 May 1989 his stellar performances with Red Star earned him the title of Zvezdina Zvezda only given out to the very best players in the club's storied history.
for a transfer fee of £
5.5 million, joining the star-laden squad bankrolled by French businessman/politician Bernard Tapie
, featuring the likes of Jean-Pierre Papin
, Abédi Pelé
, and Chris Waddle
as well as newly arrived head coach Franz Beckenbauer
fresh off winning the 1990 FIFA World Cup with Germany.
Early into his debut season Stojković sustained a knee injury for which he had to have surgery in Germany, forcing him to the sidelines for months. In fact, the entire 1990-91 league season was injury riddled for the Serb and he ended up making only eleven league appearances. Beckenbauer left the coaching post during the winter break to be replaced by Raymond Goethals
. In the final
of the UEFA European Champions' Cup, Marseille played against Stojković's former team Red Star. Stojković, a penalty kick specialist, entered the game late during the extra-time as a substitute, but as the match eventually went to penalty shootout, he informed head coach Goethals that he doesn't want to take a penalty shot against his former team. Red Star won the European Cup in the shootout.
He would remain Marseille player for the next four seasons with a half-season loan move to Hellas Verona sandwiched in-between his stints in Marseille
.
ese J-League team Nagoya Grampus Eight
, then managed by Arsène Wenger
and featuring Gary Lineker
. He spent seven seasons with the Grampus Eight, retiring as a player in 2001. Stojković played 183 matches for the club, scoring 57 times. He was named J-League MVP for the 1995 season.
debut on 11 October 1983 versus Norway in Pančevo
as part of qualifying for the 1984 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
. Playing under head coach Ivan Toplak
, the youngster from Radnički Niš scored on his debut as Yugoslavia won 6-2.
and the FR Yugoslavia national team. He played for the former in Euro 84
and the 1990 FIFA World Cup
and for the latter in the 1998 FIFA World Cup
and Euro 2000
. He made his international debut on November 12, 1983 in a scoreless draw against France. His final international match was against the country he spent much of his playing career in, Japan, on July 4, 2001.
|1981-82||rowspan="5"|Radnički Niš||rowspan="4"|First League
||1||0||||||||||||
|-
|1982-83||17||1||||||||||||
|-
|1983-84||27||3||6||2||||||||
|-
|1984-85||0||0||||||||||||
|-
|1985-86||||25||4||||||||||||
|-
|1986-87||rowspan="4"|Red Star Belgrade
||rowspan="4"|First League
||32||17||6||0||||||||
|-
|1987-88
||28||15||3||1||||||||
|-
|1988-89
||29||12||4||3||||||||
|-
|1989-90
||31||10||6||0||||||||
|-
|1990-91
||Olympique Marseille
||Division 1
||11||0||4||0||||||||
|-
|1991-92
||Hellas Verona
||Serie A
||19||1||2||1||||||||
|-
|1992-93
||rowspan="2"|Olympique Marseille
||rowspan="2"|Division 1
||0||0||||||||||||
|-
|1993-94
||18||5||1||0||||||||
|-
|1994
||rowspan="8"|Nagoya Grampus Eight
||rowspan="8"|J. League Division 1
||14||3||2||1||1||0||17||4
|-
|1995
||40||15||5||2||colspan="2"|-||45||17
|-
|1996
||19||11||1||0||10||3||30||14
|-
|1997
||18||2||0||0||6||1||24||3
|-
|1998
||28||7||4||1||1||0||33||8
|-
|1999
||24||11||5||2||5||2||34||15
|-
|2000
||26||5||1||0||6||2||33||7
|-
|2001
||15||3||colspan="2"|-||2||1||17||4
190||62||||||||||||
29||5||||||||||||
19||1||2||1||||||||
184||57||18||6||31||9||233||72
422||125||||||||||||
|}
|-
|1983||1||0
|-
|1984||5||2
|-
|1985||2||0
|-
|1986||0||0
|-
|1987||5||2
|-
|1988||6||2
|-
|1989||11||1
|-
|1990||9||2
|-
|1991||1||0
|-
|1992||1||0
|-
!Total||41||9
|}
|-
|1994||2||0
|-
|1995||3||0
|-
|1996||8||3
|-
|1997||7||0
|-
|1998||10||1
|-
|1999||4||2
|-
|2000||7||0
|-
|2001||2||0
|-
!Total||43||6
|}
. Though Stojković's appointment initially received wide public approval, his 4-year tenure will be remembered for some of the worst results in the national team's history, culminating in June 2003 with a humiliating Euro 2004 qualifier
loss to minnows Azerbaijan
.
Hiring freshly retired former teammate and good personal friend Dejan Savićević
to the position of national team head coach despite not having any coaching experience was amongst Stojković's first orders of business in 2001. Initially considered bold and daring, the move quickly turned sour as the squad began faltering in Euro 2004 qualifying
while Savićević feuded with many of the players.
Throughout the summer of 2003, in the wake of the Azerbaijan fiasco that prompted Savićević's resignation, Stojković unsuccessfully courted Bora Milutinović for the national team head coaching role, only to eventually hire Ilija Petković
.
. Similar to his FA appointment 4 years earlier, Stojković again became a successor to another long term, larger than life figure, Dragan Džajić
who occupied various leading positions within the club's administration during previous 26 years. This transfer of power was full of controversy with plenty of lobbying behind the scenes and at times open feuding in the press.
, and bringing Walter Zenga
who thus became the first foreigner ever to coach Red Star. Calling on his Japan connections, Stojković also got Toyota Motor Corporation to invest in the club through a shirt sponsorship deal. Additionally, he also opened the club's doors to various prominent Serbian companies like Delta Holding
and Telekom Srbija
thus creating a pool of sponsors.
On the player personnel front, Stojković initially more-or-less continued the existing "buy low sell high" policy that meant players were mostly recruited from Red Star's own youth system or smaller clubs throughout Serbia and Montenegro, and then sold abroad as soon as they gained some exposure on the European scene. Stojković's most prominent initial move was loaning out striker Marko Pantelić
to Hertha Berlin for €
250,000 on the last day of the summer 2005 transfer window (Pantelić was eventually sold to Hertha for additional €1.5 million in April 2006). On the other hand, 20-year-old striker Milan Purović
and 22-year-old keeper Vladimir Stojković
were brought to the club from Budućnost Podgorica
and FK Zemun
, respectively. Additionally, by bringing in Ghanaian midfielder Haminu Dramani, president Stojković indicated he was also interested in affordable foreign imports, which would soon become a staple of his transfer policy. All three new arrivals gelled well with the existing squad (featuring the likes of Nikola Žigić
, Boško Janković
, Milan Biševac
, Dušan Basta
, Nenad Kovačević, Aleksandar Luković
, and Milan Dudić
), as Red Star won the domestic double in impressive fashion. The club also played some impressive football in UEFA Cup
where on last group matchday only a late goal by RC Strasbourg
's Kevin Gameiro
prevented them from progressing to the eight-finals.
who reportedly at the time became a target of some high profile English Premiership clubs) in order to make a serious run at qualifying for the UEFA Champions League
. However, the first move came as a complete shock - president Stojković sold goalkeeper Vladimir Stojković
to FC Nantes, reportedly for €
3 million. Trying to deal with the angry fan reaction, he attempted to explain that the move had been necessary to cover the club debt that grew to alarming levels following years of mismanagement and unpaid commitments of some key sponsor pool members. The wholesale continued with Nenad Kovačević, Milan Dudić
, Haminu Dramani, Aleksandar Luković
, and Boško Janković
also leaving, but their departures caused comparatively less angry fan reaction. However most were still disappointed to see the winning team disassembled and sold-off so quickly.
On October 12, 2007 Stojković announced that he was stepping down as the president of Red Star Belgrade.
to take over as manager of his former club, Nagoya Grampus
, on 22 January 2008. On 15 March 2008 the former J.League MVP won his first game as manager as Nagoya Grampus stunned AFC Champions League 2007
Champions Urawa Reds 2-0 at Urawa's home, the Saitama Stadium. Despite his glorious playing career at Nagoya, some Nagoya fans were initially worried about his lack of experience as a coach; however, his team finished in 3rd place and he led the club to AFC Champions League
for the first time in his debut season.
In a 2009 J.League match between Yokohama F. Marinos
and Nagoya Grampus, Stojković amazed everyone by scoring a goal from his technical area
. One of the players had just been injured, so the goalkeeper kicked the ball out of play to stop the game. Stojković got out of his seat in the dugout and volleyed the ball, which went high into the air before dipping into goal. For this action he was sent off by the referee.
On November 20, 2010, Stojković led Grampus to the J. League title, the club's very first. Stojković has stated that he had learnt a lot about football from former manager Arsène Wenger
, who had led the club to their previous best showing in 1995 when they finished runners-up and Emperor's Cup champions, and had kept regular contact with him, with Wenger giving him advice and congratulating him on the club's success. Stojkovic has been named by Wenger as the person he would like to take over Arsenal when he has gone. Arsène Wenger
also mentioned that he would love Stojković to be his successor at Arsenal, stating "Our ideas are the same and we both strive for perfect football," After the successful 2010 season, Stojković was awarded the J. League Manager of the Year
.
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
former footballer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
and current manager of J. League
J. League
The or is the top division of and is the top professional association football league in Japan. It is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football and the only league given top class 'A' ranking by the AFC. Currently, J. League Division 1 is the first level of the Japanese...
side Nagoya Grampus
Nagoya Grampus
are a Japanese association football club that play in the J. League. Based in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture and originally founded as the company team of the Toyota Motor Corp...
.
Stojković was long time captain of the Yugoslavia national football team
Yugoslavia national football team
The Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed a modicum of success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international...
and Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is a part of the Red Star Sports Society.Red Star Belgrade is the most successful Serbian club, with a record of 25 national championships and 23 national cups in both Serbian and ex-Yugoslav competitions...
, and is considered one of the best players in the history of Yugoslavian and Serbian football. He is one of the five players to be awarded the title Star of the Red Star. He is widely considered to have never shown his true potential in Europe as injury prevented him from establishing himself at Marseille and at European level despite being considered Red Star's greatest player of a squad that went on to great heights, such as winning the European Cup
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
, with some of their players becoming stars at AC Milan, Juventus and Real Madrid.
Early life
Born to father Dobrivoje and mother Desanka in NišNiš
Niš is the largest city of southern Serbia and third-largest city in Serbia . According to the data from 2011, the city of Niš has a population of 177,972 inhabitants, while the city municipality has a population of 257,867. The city covers an area of about 597 km2, including the urban area,...
, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia, Stojković took to football very early while growing up in Pasi Poljana
Pasi Poljana
Pasi Poljana is a village situated in Niš municipality in Serbia....
community near Niš. He has been nicknamed Piksi after Pixie, one of the characters from the cartoon Pixie & Dixie and Mr. Jinks.
Radnički Niš
A 175 cm, 73 kg midfielderMidfielder
A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...
and occasional forward
Striker
Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...
, Stojković began his professional playing career with Yugoslav First League
Yugoslav First League
The Yugoslav First League was the premier football league in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and socialist Yugoslavia...
and hometown side Radnički Niš
Radnicki Niš
FK Radnički Niš is a football club based in the city of Niš in Serbia. The team is currently playing in the Serbian First League.-History:...
in 1981-82 when he made one first-team appearance. The next four seasons, Stojković appeared in 69 matches for Radnički and scored eight goals.
Red Star Belgrade
With top Yugoslav teams chasing his signature in the summer of 1986, twenty-one-year-old Stojković moved to Red Star BelgradeRed Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is a part of the Red Star Sports Society.Red Star Belgrade is the most successful Serbian club, with a record of 25 national championships and 23 national cups in both Serbian and ex-Yugoslav competitions...
where he would spend the next four illustrious seasons, scoring 54 times in 120 appearances and developing into the best player in the league. He was the Yugoslav League MVP in 1988 and '89 season and on 3 May 1989 his stellar performances with Red Star earned him the title of Zvezdina Zvezda only given out to the very best players in the club's storied history.
Olympique de Marseille
In the summer of 1990, twenty-five-year-old Stojković made the much publicized move to Olympique de MarseilleOlympique de Marseille
Olympique de Marseille is a French association football club based in Marseille. Founded in 1899, the club plays in Ligue 1 and have spent most of its history in the top tier of French football. Marseille have been French champions nine times and have won the Coupe de France a record ten times. In...
for a transfer fee of £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
5.5 million, joining the star-laden squad bankrolled by French businessman/politician Bernard Tapie
Bernard Tapie
Bernard Tapie is a French businessman, politician and occasional actor, singer, and TV host. He was Ministre de la Ville in the government of Pierre Bérégovoy, a businessman specializing in recovery for bankrupted companies, among which Adidas is the most famous ; and owner of sports teams...
, featuring the likes of Jean-Pierre Papin
Jean-Pierre Papin
Jean-Pierre Papin is a former French professional football player who was European Footballer of the Year in 1991.Papin achieved his greatest success while playing for Olympique Marseille between 1986 and 1992...
, Abédi Pelé
Abédi Pelé
Abedi Ayew, known professionally as Abedi Pele is a former Ghana International football player and captain. Having been given the nickname "Pelé" in recognition of his superior ability that evoked comparisons to Brazilian great Pelé, he found fame in France's Ligue 1 with Lille OSC and Olympique...
, and Chris Waddle
Chris Waddle
Christopher Roland "Chris" Waddle is a former footballer from England. He played for a number of clubs in the 1980s and 90s, including Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and Sheffield Wednesday in England, and Olympique de Marseille in France...
as well as newly arrived head coach Franz Beckenbauer
Franz Beckenbauer
Franz Anton Beckenbauer is a German football coach, manager, and former player, nicknamed Der Kaiser because of his elegant style, his leadership, his first name "Franz" , and his dominance on the football pitch...
fresh off winning the 1990 FIFA World Cup with Germany.
Early into his debut season Stojković sustained a knee injury for which he had to have surgery in Germany, forcing him to the sidelines for months. In fact, the entire 1990-91 league season was injury riddled for the Serb and he ended up making only eleven league appearances. Beckenbauer left the coaching post during the winter break to be replaced by Raymond Goethals
Raymond Goethals
Raymond Goethals was a Belgian football coach who notably led Marseille to victory in the UEFA Champions League final in 1993, becoming the first coach to win a European trophy with a French club....
. In the final
1991 European Cup Final
The 1991 European Cup Final was a football match held at the Stadio San Nicola in Bari, Italy, on 29 May 1991, that saw Red Star Belgrade of Yugoslavia defeat Olympique Marseille of France in a penalty shootout. After normal time and extra time could not separate the two sides, the match was to be...
of the UEFA European Champions' Cup, Marseille played against Stojković's former team Red Star. Stojković, a penalty kick specialist, entered the game late during the extra-time as a substitute, but as the match eventually went to penalty shootout, he informed head coach Goethals that he doesn't want to take a penalty shot against his former team. Red Star won the European Cup in the shootout.
He would remain Marseille player for the next four seasons with a half-season loan move to Hellas Verona sandwiched in-between his stints in Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
.
Nagoya Grampus Eight
In the spring of 1994 Stojković signed with JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese J-League team Nagoya Grampus Eight
Nagoya Grampus Eight
are a Japanese association football club that play in the J. League. Based in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture and originally founded as the company team of the Toyota Motor Corp...
, then managed by Arsène Wenger
Arsène Wenger
Arsène Wenger, OBE is a French association football manager and former player, who has managed English Premier League side Arsenal since 1996...
and featuring Gary Lineker
Gary Lineker
Gary Winston Lineker, OBE , is a former English footballer, who played as a striker. He is a sports broadcaster for the BBC, Al Jazeera Sports and Eredivisie Live...
. He spent seven seasons with the Grampus Eight, retiring as a player in 2001. Stojković played 183 matches for the club, scoring 57 times. He was named J-League MVP for the 1995 season.
Youth level
Stojković made his under-21Yugoslavia national under-21 football team
The Yugoslavia national under-21 football team existed in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. After the state's dissolution in 1992, the following teams were formed:*Bosnia and Herzegovina national under-21 football team...
debut on 11 October 1983 versus Norway in Pančevo
Pancevo
Pančevo is a city and municipality located in the southern part of Serbian province of Vojvodina, 15 km northeast from Belgrade. In 2002, the city had a total population of 77,087, while municipality of Pančevo had 127,162 inhabitants. It is the administrative center of the South Banat...
as part of qualifying for the 1984 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
1984 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
The UEFA U-21 Championship 1984, which spanned two years , had 30 entrants. Albania, Iceland and Wales competed in the competition for the first time. England U-21s won the competition for the second time running....
. Playing under head coach Ivan Toplak
Ivan Toplak
Ivan Toplak is a former Serbian football player and manager. He got 1 cap for Yugoslavia.-External links:*...
, the youngster from Radnički Niš scored on his debut as Yugoslavia won 6-2.
Full squad
Stojković made 84 career international appearances, scoring 15 times, those split between the SFR Yugoslavia national teamYugoslavia national football team
The Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed a modicum of success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international...
and the FR Yugoslavia national team. He played for the former in Euro 84
1984 UEFA European Football Championship
The 1984 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in France. West Germany also bid for the hosting of this event. It was the seventh European Football Championship, held every four years and endorsed by UEFA...
and the 1990 FIFA World Cup
1990 FIFA World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...
and for the latter in the 1998 FIFA World Cup
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...
and Euro 2000
2000 UEFA European Football Championship
The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, or Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Football Championship, which is held every four years and organized by UEFA, association football's governing body in Europe....
. He made his international debut on November 12, 1983 in a scoreless draw against France. His final international match was against the country he spent much of his playing career in, Japan, on July 4, 2001.
Career statistics
|-|1981-82||rowspan="5"|Radnički Niš||rowspan="4"|First League
Yugoslav First League
The Yugoslav First League was the premier football league in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and socialist Yugoslavia...
||1||0||||||||||||
|-
|1982-83||17||1||||||||||||
|-
|1983-84||27||3||6||2||||||||
|-
|1984-85||0||0||||||||||||
|-
|1985-86||||25||4||||||||||||
|-
|1986-87||rowspan="4"|Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is a part of the Red Star Sports Society.Red Star Belgrade is the most successful Serbian club, with a record of 25 national championships and 23 national cups in both Serbian and ex-Yugoslav competitions...
||rowspan="4"|First League
Yugoslav First League
The Yugoslav First League was the premier football league in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and socialist Yugoslavia...
||32||17||6||0||||||||
|-
|1987-88
Yugoslav First League 1987-88
The 1987–88 Yugoslav First League season was the 42nd season of the First Federal League , the top level association football competition of SFR Yugoslavia, since its establishment in 1946. The season began on 2 August 1987 and ended on 12 June 1988...
||28||15||3||1||||||||
|-
|1988-89
Yugoslav First League 1988-89
The 1988–89 Yugoslav First League season was the 43rd season of the First Federal League , the top level association football competition of SFR Yugoslavia, since its establishment in 1946....
||29||12||4||3||||||||
|-
|1989-90
Yugoslav First League 1989-90
The 1989–90 Yugoslav First League season was the 44th season of the First Federal League , the top level association football competition of SFR Yugoslavia, since its establishment in 1946....
||31||10||6||0||||||||
|-
|1990-91
French football Division 1 1990-91
Olympique de Marseille won Division 1 season 1990/1991 of the French Association Football League with 55 points.-Participating teams:- Final table :...
||Olympique Marseille
Olympique de Marseille
Olympique de Marseille is a French association football club based in Marseille. Founded in 1899, the club plays in Ligue 1 and have spent most of its history in the top tier of French football. Marseille have been French champions nine times and have won the Coupe de France a record ten times. In...
||Division 1
Ligue 1
Ligue 1 , is the French professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division of the French football league system. Ligue 1 is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Professionnel, the other being Ligue 2....
||11||0||4||0||||||||
|-
|1991-92
Serie A 1991-92
During this season, under the guidance of Fabio Capello, AC Milan completed a remarkable unbeaten season, a run that eventually totalled 58 games.- Final classification :- Results :-Top scorers:25 goals* Marco van Basten 18 goals...
||Hellas Verona
Hellas Verona F.C.
Hellas Verona Football Club is a professional Italian association football team, based in Verona, Veneto. The team's colours are yellow and blue and gialloblu is the team's most widely used nickname...
||Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
||19||1||2||1||||||||
|-
|1992-93
French football Division 1 1992-93
Olympique de Marseille won Division 1 season 1992/1993 of the French Association Football League with 55 points but lost its title due to a bribery scandal. The second, Paris SG refused it, making it still unattributed.-Affaire VA-OM:...
||rowspan="2"|Olympique Marseille
Olympique de Marseille
Olympique de Marseille is a French association football club based in Marseille. Founded in 1899, the club plays in Ligue 1 and have spent most of its history in the top tier of French football. Marseille have been French champions nine times and have won the Coupe de France a record ten times. In...
||rowspan="2"|Division 1
Ligue 1
Ligue 1 , is the French professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division of the French football league system. Ligue 1 is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Professionnel, the other being Ligue 2....
||0||0||||||||||||
|-
|1993-94
Division 1 season 1993-94
The 1993–94 Division 1 season was the 56th since its establishment. Paris Saint-Germain became champions for the second time in their history with 59 points.-Promotion and relegation:Teams promoted from 1992–93 Division 2* Champions: Martigues...
||18||5||1||0||||||||
|-
|1994
J. League 1994
The J. League 1994 season is the second season of the J. League Division 1. The league fixture began on March 12, 1994 and ended on November 19, 1994. The Suntory Championship '94 took place on November 26 and December 2, 1994.-Honours:...
||rowspan="8"|Nagoya Grampus Eight
Nagoya Grampus
are a Japanese association football club that play in the J. League. Based in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture and originally founded as the company team of the Toyota Motor Corp...
||rowspan="8"|J. League Division 1
J. League
The or is the top division of and is the top professional association football league in Japan. It is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football and the only league given top class 'A' ranking by the AFC. Currently, J. League Division 1 is the first level of the Japanese...
||14||3||2||1||1||0||17||4
|-
|1995
J. League 1995
The J. League 1995 season is the third season of the J. League Division 1. The league fixture began on March 18, 1995 and ended on November , 1995. The Suntory Championship '95 took place on November 30 and December 6, 1995.-Honours:...
||40||15||5||2||colspan="2"|-||45||17
|-
|1996
J. League 1996
The 1996 J. League season was the fourth season since the establishment of the J. League Division 1. The season began on March 16, 1996 and ended on November 9, 1996.- Clubs :The following sixteen clubs participated in J. League during the 1996 season...
||19||11||1||0||10||3||30||14
|-
|1997
J. League 1997
-First stage:-Second stage:- Suntory Championship :----- Golden Boots Ranking :-Individual Awards:-Best Eleven:...
||18||2||0||0||6||1||24||3
|-
|1998
J. League 1998
Statistics of J. League in the 1998 season.-First stage:-Second stage:- Suntory Championship :-----Relegation playoffs:On the aggregate table, JEF United Ichihara, Avispa Fukuoka, and Vissel Kobe had earned within the 15th-18th places in the tables for both 1997 and 1998, while Consadole Sapporo...
||28||7||4||1||1||0||33||8
|-
|1999
J. League 1999
The 1999 season was the 7th season of the J-League Division 1. The league began in March and ended in November.For this year, the division was contested by 16 teams following the folding of Yokohama Flügels and the relegation of Consadole Sapporo to the newly formed Division 2...
||24||11||5||2||5||2||34||15
|-
|2000
J. League 2000
The 2000 season was the 8th season of the J-League Division 1. The league began on March 11 and ended on November 26.At the end of the season the second stage winner Kashima Antlers won the Suntory Championship against Yokohama F-Marinos who won the first stage....
||26||5||1||0||6||2||33||7
|-
|2001
J. League 2001
The 2001 season was the 9th season since the establishment of the J-League. The league began on March 10 and ended on November 24.At the end of the season the second stage winner Kashima Antlers won the Suntory Championship against Jubilo Iwata who won the first stage.-Clubs:Following sixteen clubs...
||15||3||colspan="2"|-||2||1||17||4
190||62||||||||||||
29||5||||||||||||
19||1||2||1||||||||
184||57||18||6||31||9||233||72
422||125||||||||||||
|}
|-
|1983||1||0
|-
|1984||5||2
|-
|1985||2||0
|-
|1986||0||0
|-
|1987||5||2
|-
|1988||6||2
|-
|1989||11||1
|-
|1990||9||2
|-
|1991||1||0
|-
|1992||1||0
|-
!Total||41||9
|}
|-
|1994||2||0
|-
|1995||3||0
|-
|1996||8||3
|-
|1997||7||0
|-
|1998||10||1
|-
|1999||4||2
|-
|2000||7||0
|-
|2001||2||0
|-
!Total||43||6
|}
FA president
Upon retiring in 2001, 36-year-old Stojković immediately became the Yugoslav Football Association president, succeeding Miljan MiljanićMiljan Miljanic
Miljan Miljanić is a retired Yugoslav football player, coach and administrator....
. Though Stojković's appointment initially received wide public approval, his 4-year tenure will be remembered for some of the worst results in the national team's history, culminating in June 2003 with a humiliating Euro 2004 qualifier
UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying Group 9
Standings and results for Group 9 of the 2004 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying tournament.Group 9 consisted of Azerbaijan, Finland, Italy, Serbia and Montenegro and Wales. Serbia and Montenegro began the campaign as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, but officially changed their name...
loss to minnows Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan national football team
The Azerbaijan national football team is the national football team of Azerbaijan and is controlled by Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan...
.
Hiring freshly retired former teammate and good personal friend Dejan Savićević
Dejan Savicevic
Dejan Savićević , is a Montenegrin former football player and is the president of the Montenegrin FA....
to the position of national team head coach despite not having any coaching experience was amongst Stojković's first orders of business in 2001. Initially considered bold and daring, the move quickly turned sour as the squad began faltering in Euro 2004 qualifying
2004 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying
Qualification for the 2004 UEFA European Football Championship took place between September 2002 and November 2003.Fifty teams were divided into ten groups, with each team playing the others in their group twice, once at home and once away...
while Savićević feuded with many of the players.
Throughout the summer of 2003, in the wake of the Azerbaijan fiasco that prompted Savićević's resignation, Stojković unsuccessfully courted Bora Milutinović for the national team head coaching role, only to eventually hire Ilija Petković
Ilija Petkovic
Ilija Petković is a retired Serbian footballer. Since the early 1990s he's been a football manager, his most notable appointment being with the Serbia and Montenegro national football team.-Playing career:He started playing football for Dinara Knin...
.
Red Star Belgrade president
In July 2005, Stojković became the president of Red Star BelgradeRed Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is a part of the Red Star Sports Society.Red Star Belgrade is the most successful Serbian club, with a record of 25 national championships and 23 national cups in both Serbian and ex-Yugoslav competitions...
. Similar to his FA appointment 4 years earlier, Stojković again became a successor to another long term, larger than life figure, Dragan Džajić
Dragan Džajic
Dragan Džajić is widely considered to have been one of the best Serbian football players to emerge from former Yugoslavia. Regarded as a preeminent and very proficient left winger, he is strongly reputed to have been one of the finest European players of his generation...
who occupied various leading positions within the club's administration during previous 26 years. This transfer of power was full of controversy with plenty of lobbying behind the scenes and at times open feuding in the press.
2005-06 season
One of Stojković's first orders of business ahead of the 2005-06 season was firing the head coach he inherited, Ratko DostanićRatko Dostanic
Ratko Dostanić is a Serbian football coach and former player.-Playing career:Ratko Dostanić started his youth career as a member of FK Partizan....
, and bringing Walter Zenga
Walter Zenga
Walter Zenga is a retired Italian footballer and current manager. He is a long-time goalkeeper for the Italian national team and Internazionale. He also holds Romanian citizenship...
who thus became the first foreigner ever to coach Red Star. Calling on his Japan connections, Stojković also got Toyota Motor Corporation to invest in the club through a shirt sponsorship deal. Additionally, he also opened the club's doors to various prominent Serbian companies like Delta Holding
Delta Holding
Delta Holding is the third largest company in Serbia. The company was founded in Belgrade. Delta Holding performs a variety of services, such as import-export,real-estate , banking, insurance, retail, wholesale, etc. The president is Miroslav Mišković...
and Telekom Srbija
Telekom Srbija
Telekom Srbija is a telecommunications company based in Serbia, with its headquarters in Belgrade...
thus creating a pool of sponsors.
On the player personnel front, Stojković initially more-or-less continued the existing "buy low sell high" policy that meant players were mostly recruited from Red Star's own youth system or smaller clubs throughout Serbia and Montenegro, and then sold abroad as soon as they gained some exposure on the European scene. Stojković's most prominent initial move was loaning out striker Marko Pantelić
Marko Pantelic
Marko Pantelić is a Serbian footballer, who plays for Olympiacos.-Early years:...
to Hertha Berlin for €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
250,000 on the last day of the summer 2005 transfer window (Pantelić was eventually sold to Hertha for additional €1.5 million in April 2006). On the other hand, 20-year-old striker Milan Purović
Milan Purovic
Milan Purović is a Montenegrin professional footballer who plays for OFK Beograd in Serbia, as a centre forward.-Club career:...
and 22-year-old keeper Vladimir Stojković
Vladimir Stojkovic
Vladimir Stojković is a Serbian football goalkeeper who plays for FK Partizan and for the Serbian national team.-Family:Stojković was born into a sporting family...
were brought to the club from Budućnost Podgorica
FK Buducnost Podgorica
FK Budućnost is a football club from Podgorica, Montenegro, currently competing in the First League of Montenegro. Its colours are blue and white. FK Buducnost is a part of the Budućnost sport society.-History:...
and FK Zemun
FK Zemun
FK Zemun is a football club located in Zemun, a municipality of Belgrade, in Serbia.- History :Immediately after the end of the Second World War the sports activities in Zemun are restored...
, respectively. Additionally, by bringing in Ghanaian midfielder Haminu Dramani, president Stojković indicated he was also interested in affordable foreign imports, which would soon become a staple of his transfer policy. All three new arrivals gelled well with the existing squad (featuring the likes of Nikola Žigić
Nikola Žigic
Nikola Žigić is a Serbian footballer who plays for English club Birmingham City as a centre forward.At , Žigić is among the tallest professional players in the world...
, Boško Janković
Boško Jankovic
Boško Janković is a Serbian football player currently a free agent playing for the Serbia national football team. He is at his best going forward and is equally at home playing in the centre or either wing...
, Milan Biševac
Milan Biševac
Milan Biševac is a Serbian footballer who plays for French side Paris Saint-Germain.- Career :...
, Dušan Basta
Dušan Basta
Dušan Basta is a Serbian footballer who plays for Udinese.He has been in the under 21's selection of Serbia and has been named captain...
, Nenad Kovačević, Aleksandar Luković
Aleksandar Lukovic
Aleksandar Luković is a Serbian footballer who plays as a left back or centre back for Zenit St. Petersburg and the Serbian national team. He is known for his aggressive style of play.-Biography:...
, and Milan Dudić
Milan Dudic
Milan Dudić is a Serbian football defender who currently plays for SK Sturm Graz in Austria.-International career:...
), as Red Star won the domestic double in impressive fashion. The club also played some impressive football in UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup 2005-06
The UEFA Cup 2005–06 season was won by Sevilla FC, beating Middlesbrough FC in the final. It was the first victory for Sevilla in a European competition, and the first appearance by Middlesbrough in a European final. The final took place at Philips Stadion, in Eindhoven, Netherlands. The match was...
where on last group matchday only a late goal by RC Strasbourg
RC Strasbourg
Racing Club de Strasbourg is a French association football club founded in 1906 and professional since 1933, based in the city of Strasbourg, in Alsace...
's Kevin Gameiro
Kevin Gameiro
Kévin Gameiro is a French international footballer who plays for French club Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1. He plays as a striker whose influence can extend out on the wings and in the hole...
prevented them from progressing to the eight-finals.
2006-07 season
Winning the double combined with some fine European outings during previous season raised the fans' expectations considerably as they now wanted the existing Red Star squad to be kept intact (especially Nikola ŽigićNikola Žigic
Nikola Žigić is a Serbian footballer who plays for English club Birmingham City as a centre forward.At , Žigić is among the tallest professional players in the world...
who reportedly at the time became a target of some high profile English Premiership clubs) in order to make a serious run at qualifying for the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
. However, the first move came as a complete shock - president Stojković sold goalkeeper Vladimir Stojković
Vladimir Stojkovic
Vladimir Stojković is a Serbian football goalkeeper who plays for FK Partizan and for the Serbian national team.-Family:Stojković was born into a sporting family...
to FC Nantes, reportedly for €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
3 million. Trying to deal with the angry fan reaction, he attempted to explain that the move had been necessary to cover the club debt that grew to alarming levels following years of mismanagement and unpaid commitments of some key sponsor pool members. The wholesale continued with Nenad Kovačević, Milan Dudić
Milan Dudic
Milan Dudić is a Serbian football defender who currently plays for SK Sturm Graz in Austria.-International career:...
, Haminu Dramani, Aleksandar Luković
Aleksandar Lukovic
Aleksandar Luković is a Serbian footballer who plays as a left back or centre back for Zenit St. Petersburg and the Serbian national team. He is known for his aggressive style of play.-Biography:...
, and Boško Janković
Boško Jankovic
Boško Janković is a Serbian football player currently a free agent playing for the Serbia national football team. He is at his best going forward and is equally at home playing in the centre or either wing...
also leaving, but their departures caused comparatively less angry fan reaction. However most were still disappointed to see the winning team disassembled and sold-off so quickly.
On October 12, 2007 Stojković announced that he was stepping down as the president of Red Star Belgrade.
Coaching career
Stojković returned to JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
to take over as manager of his former club, Nagoya Grampus
Nagoya Grampus
are a Japanese association football club that play in the J. League. Based in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture and originally founded as the company team of the Toyota Motor Corp...
, on 22 January 2008. On 15 March 2008 the former J.League MVP won his first game as manager as Nagoya Grampus stunned AFC Champions League 2007
AFC Champions League 2007
The 2007 AFC Champions League was the 26th edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament and the 5th edition under the current AFC Champions League title....
Champions Urawa Reds 2-0 at Urawa's home, the Saitama Stadium. Despite his glorious playing career at Nagoya, some Nagoya fans were initially worried about his lack of experience as a coach; however, his team finished in 3rd place and he led the club to AFC Champions League
AFC Champions League
The AFC Champions League is the premier Asian club football competition hosted annually by Asian Football Confederation . The tournament is contested among the top thirty-two clubs from the top 10 Asian leagues, two of which must qualify through the playoffs...
for the first time in his debut season.
In a 2009 J.League match between Yokohama F. Marinos
Yokohama F. Marinos
is a Japanese association football team that participates in the fully professional J. League Division 1; the top Japanese professional football league. Having won the J-League title three times and finished second twice, they are one of the most successful J-League clubs. The team are based in...
and Nagoya Grampus, Stojković amazed everyone by scoring a goal from his technical area
Technical area
A technical area in association football, is where a manager, other coaching personnel and substitutes are allowed to occupy during a match.The area, where people may stand or sit, includes the dugout, bench and a marked zone adjacent to the pitch....
. One of the players had just been injured, so the goalkeeper kicked the ball out of play to stop the game. Stojković got out of his seat in the dugout and volleyed the ball, which went high into the air before dipping into goal. For this action he was sent off by the referee.
On November 20, 2010, Stojković led Grampus to the J. League title, the club's very first. Stojković has stated that he had learnt a lot about football from former manager Arsène Wenger
Arsène Wenger
Arsène Wenger, OBE is a French association football manager and former player, who has managed English Premier League side Arsenal since 1996...
, who had led the club to their previous best showing in 1995 when they finished runners-up and Emperor's Cup champions, and had kept regular contact with him, with Wenger giving him advice and congratulating him on the club's success. Stojkovic has been named by Wenger as the person he would like to take over Arsenal when he has gone. Arsène Wenger
Arsène Wenger
Arsène Wenger, OBE is a French association football manager and former player, who has managed English Premier League side Arsenal since 1996...
also mentioned that he would love Stojković to be his successor at Arsenal, stating "Our ideas are the same and we both strive for perfect football," After the successful 2010 season, Stojković was awarded the J. League Manager of the Year
J. League Manager of the Year
J. League Manager of the Year is an annual award given to one manager by the J. League based on their performance during the season. The award does not necessarily go to the manager of the champions, although for the last seven years that has been the case....
.
Player
- UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
: 1993 - Yugoslav LeagueYugoslav First LeagueThe Yugoslav First League was the premier football league in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and socialist Yugoslavia...
MVP: 1988, 1989 - Emperor's CupEmperor's Cup, commonly known as or , is a Japanese association football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football tournament in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formation of the J. League, Japan Football League and their predecessor, Japan Soccer League...
: 1995, 1999 - J. League MVPJ. League Most Valuable PlayerThe J-League Player of the Year is awarded by the J.League.-Wins By Club:...
: 1995 - J. League Best Eleven: 1995, 1996, 1999
- Japanese Footballer of the Year: 1995
TV ad
- Toyota Corolla Touring Wagon (1995)
- Transportation Bureau City of NagoyaTransportation Bureau City of Nagoyais a public organization of transportation in Nagoya, Japan. The organization operates subways and buses. It was founded in 1922, as an operator of Nagoya City Tram bought from Nagoya Electric Railroad, the current Nagoya Railroad...
Stored-value cardStored-value cardA stored-value card refers to monetary value on a card not in an externally recorded account and differs from prepaid cards where money is on deposit with the issuer similar to a debit card...
:ja:ユリカ (1998) - Circle KCircle K Sunkus' is a chain of company-operated and franchised convenience stores in Japan. The company is a division of UNY Co., Ltd., which licensed the Circle K name from Alimentation Couche-Tard, a Canadian convenience store company that owns the Circle K brand....
SobaSobais the Japanese name for buckwheat. It is synonymous with a type of thin noodle made from buckwheat flour, and in Japan can refer to any thin noodle . Soba noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or in hot broth as a noodle soup...
(2001)