Marko Pantelić
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Marko Pantelić | ||
| Date of birth | 15 September 1978 | ||
| Place of birth | Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1986–1992 | Red Star Belgrade | ||
| 1992–1993 | Kilkisiakos F.C. | ||
| 1993–1996 | Iraklis | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1996–1997 | Iraklis | 8 | (4) |
| 1997 | Paris Saint-Germain B | 20 | (12) |
| 1998–1999 | Paris Saint-Germain | 3 | (0) |
| 1998–1999 | → Lausanne-Sport (loan) | 21 | (14) |
| 1999–2000 | Celta | 0 | (0) |
| 1999 | → Sturm Graz (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2000 | → Yverdon-Sport (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | Obilić | 5 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | Sartid Smederevo | 31 | (13) |
| 2004–2005 | Red Star Belgrade | 44 | (26) |
| 2005–2009 | Hertha BSC | 114 | (45) |
| 2009–2010 | Ajax | 25 | (16) |
| 2010–2013 | Olympiacos | 38 | (20) |
| Total | 315 | (150) | |
| National team | |||
| 2003–2011 | Serbia | 43 | (10) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Marko Pantelić (Serbian Cyrillic: Марко Пантелић; born 15 September 1978 in Belgrade) is a retired Serbian footballer who played as a striker. He represented Serbia at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Club career
Early years
As Pantelić was coming up through the Red Star Belgrade youth system, his father got a job in Thessaloniki and took the family to Greece. Pantelić was still only 14 years old when he signed a professional contract with Iraklis Thessaloniki, where he spent two and a half years. At 17, he accepted an offer in France to play for Paris Saint-Germain and soon found himself training and playing alongside stars like Raí, Marco Simone and Leonardo. Finding playing time at PSG in short supply, he moved on to Lausanne for a season, scoring 14 goals in 21 Swiss league matches.
Next stop was an unsuccessful spell in Spain at Celta Vigo. During this time, he was sent out on loan to Sturm Graz in Austria.
Obilić, Smederevo and Red Star
In the summer of 2002, after a two-year absence from professional football, Pantelić returned home to Serbia, and signed with FK Obilić. Barely 24 years of age, he was essentially starting over as many were quick to write him off as yet another prospect whose career was derailed by going abroad too soon. In January 2003 he moved to FK Sartid Smederevo.
After settling in, he quickly established himself as the team's leader, spearheading them to the Serbia and Montenegro Cup title in 2003. Glowing performances in Smederevo did not go unnoticed by Red Star, and in January 2004, Pantelić became their biggest mid-season signing.
Hertha BSC
After securing a loan move to Hertha for €250,000 on 31 August 2005, the last day of the transfer window, he went on to score 11 goals in 28 league matches during the 2005–06 season. In April 2006, he permanently moved to Hertha for an additional €1.5 million fee and soon established himself as one of the most formidable strikers in the Hertha squad.
Right after getting signed permanently, he responded with an even better season with 14 goals from 32 matches in the 2006–07 season. The 2007–08 season brought more steady play with 13 goals from 28 league matches. The next season, Pantelic was often benched in favor of Andriy Voronin as Hertha contended for the Bundesliga title. Hertha fell short, finishing in 4th place.
On 17 March 2009, Pantelić denied that he had held talks with any other clubs and coupled with his refusal to sign a new contract with the club,[1] he became a free agent during the summer 2009.[2]
Ajax
On 1 September 2009, after completing several medical tests, Pantelić signed a one-year contract with Dutch side Ajax, and was given the number 9 shirt.[3] During the season, Pantelić scored 16 goals and delivered 9 assists in 25 league matches. Following the season, Pantelić expressed his desire to sign a new contract with Ajax, preferably a multi-year deal, however Ajax has preferred a one-year deal. Pantelić did not accept the Ajax offer of a one-year deal with an option of another, because he wanted a sure future for his family.[4] Ajax signed Mounir El Hamdaoui as his successor.
Olympiacos
On 21 August 2010, Pantelić joined Olympiacos on a free transfer. He signed a two-year contract worth €1.6 million per year.[5] He scored his first goal against Panserraikos. On 11 December 2011, Pantelić managed to score four goals and to secure a victory against Kerkyra.
International career
Though he debuted for the national team in 2003, Pantelić started getting more frequent call-ups only in 2006 when he was almost 28 years of age. He represented Serbia at the 2010 FIFA World Cup and scored his first World Cup goal against Australia in a 2–1 loss. Pantelić also scored three goals in the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifiers. He has not featured for his country since the failed UEFA Euro 2012 campaign.
Outside football
"Pantelić is a miracle of a man. He's the kind of legend that I would rarely ever meet."
Josip Šimunić, March 2013[6]
Pantelić is widely known in his home country for his alter ego "Pantela", which was created when an anonymous editor of Kurir allegedly began writing columns under the nickname "Pantela" to reflect the real Pantelić's wit and charisma.[7] The phenomenon became so popular that anonymous fans created profiles on Twitter and Facebook to mimic Pantelić's humorous personality.[8] Pantelić himself confirmed that he is not the owner of either profiles, but admitted to Kurir that he found his alter egos funny and claimed that he would even want to meet the people behind his social networking profiles.
Career statistics
| Club performance | League | Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Serbia and Montenegro | League | Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
| 2002–03 | Obilić | First League | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Sartid Smederevo | 16 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 6 | ||
| 2003–04 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 21 | 9 | ||
| Red Star Belgrade | 12 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 6 | ||
| 2004–05 | 29 | 21 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 40 | 24 | ||
| 2005–06 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | ||
| Germany | League | DFB-Pokal | Europe | Total | ||||||
| 2005–06 | Hertha BSC | Bundesliga | 28 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 12 |
| 2006–07 | 32 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 42 | 16 | ||
| 2007–08 | 28 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 14 | ||
| 2008–09 | 26 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 37 | 13 | ||
| Netherlands | League | KNVB Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
| 2009–10 | Ajax | Eredivisie | 25 | 16 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 39 | 21 |
| Greece | League | Greek Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
| 2010–11 | Olympiacos | Superleague | 20 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 10 |
| 2011–12 | 12 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 16 | ||
| 2012–13 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | ||
| Total | Serbia and Montenegro | 80 | 39 | 13 | 3 | 12 | 6 | 105 | 48 | |
| Germany | 114 | 45 | 9 | 4 | 15 | 6 | 138 | 55 | ||
| Netherlands | 25 | 16 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 39 | 21 | ||
| Greece | 38 | 20 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 51 | 27 | ||
| Career total | 257 | 120 | 38 | 17 | 38 | 14 | 333 | 151 | ||
International statistics
| Serbian national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2003 | 1 | 0 |
| 2004 | 2 | 0 |
| 2005 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | 5 | 1 |
| 2007 | 7 | 0 |
| 2008 | 7 | 2 |
| 2009 | 6 | 1 |
| 2010 | 7 | 3 |
| 2011 | 8 | 3 |
| Total | 43 | 10 |
International goals
Honours
Club
- Swiss Cup: 1998–99
- Austrian Supercup: 1999
Individual
- Best Sportsman of SD Crvena Zvezda: 2004
- Serbia and Montenegro League Top Scorer: 2004–05
References
- ↑ "Pantelic yet to discuss future". skysports.com. 17 March 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2009.
- ↑ "Abschied von zwei alternden Stars" (in German). Welt Hertha Linke. 28 May 2009. Retrieved 28 May 2009.
- ↑ "Ajax contracteert Pantelic" (in Dutch). ajax.nl. 1 September 2009. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
- ↑ "Pantelic moet 'goodbye' zeggen tegen Ajax" (in Dutch). voetbalprimeur.nl. 3 June 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
- ↑ "Olympiakos snap up Pantelic". sportingreece.com. 20 August 2010. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
- ↑ "Šimunić: Marko Pantelić je čudo od čoveka" (in Serbian). Sportski Zurnal. 16 March 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
- ↑ "Pantelić: Hoću da upoznam Pantelu!" (in Serbian). Kurir. 4 July 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
- ↑ "FENOMEN GODINE: Brat Pantela" (in Serbian). Mozzart Sport. 1 January 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Marko Pantelić. |
- Profile on Serbian national football team website (Serbian) (English)
 | ||