Dragan Ćirić

Dragan Ćirić

Ćirić pictured in 2015
Personal information
Full name Dragan Ćirić
Date of birth (1974-09-15) 15 September 1974
Place of birth Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position Attacking midfielder
Youth career
Srem Jakovo
Partizan
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1997 Partizan 143 (42)
1997–2000 Barcelona 26 (0)
1999–2000 → AEK Athens (loan) 26 (10)
2000–2004 Valladolid 51 (4)
2004–2005 Partizan 13 (3)
Total 259 (59)
National team
1995–1997 FR Yugoslavia 4 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Dragan Ćirić (Serbian Cyrillic: Драган Ћирић; born 15 September 1974) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.

Club career

After starting out at his local club Srem Jakovo,[1] Ćirić later switched to Partizan. He was a member of the youth setup alongside Savo Milošević and Albert Nađ, among others. Consequently, promising trio was promoted to the senior squad in the 1992–93 season, as the club won the league led by manager Ljubiša Tumbaković. They subsequently defended the title in the following 1993–94 season, as well as won the national cup, thus collecting the double. In the following seasons, Ćirić became one of the club's key players, winning back-to-back championships in 1996 and 1997, the latter as team captain.

In July 1997, Ćirić was transferred to Barcelona, on a four-year deal. He helped the Catalan side win both La Liga and Copa del Rey in his debut season at Camp Nou. After losing his spot in the lineup, Ćirić was loaned to Greek club AEK Athens in the 1999–2000 season. He had a respectable year there, scoring double-digit goals in the league, as well as helping the side win the domestic cup's edition. After returning to Barcelona, Ćirić was eventually sold to fellow La Liga club Valladolid in July 2000.[2]

In June 2004, Ćirić returned to his parent club Partizan, signing a three-year contract.[3] He helped the club win the national league with an unbeaten record in his comeback season.[4] However, Ćirić left the club during the summer, eventually retiring from the game.

International career

Ćirić was capped four times for FR Yugoslavia. He made his national team debut in a 4–1 friendly win against El Salvador on 12 November 1995, coming on as a substitute for Dejan Petković.

Post-playing career

In December 2014, Ćirić was named director of football at Partizan.[5] He left the position less than two months later, citing dissatisfaction with the state of Serbian football as the main reason for his decision.[6]

Statistics

National teamYearAppsGoals
FR Yugoslavia 199520
199600
199720
Total40

Honours

Partizan
Barcelona
AEK Athens

References

  1. ↑ "Radanović: Ćirić je rođen za fudbal" (in Serbian). politika.rs. 10 January 2015. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  2. ↑ "Barcelona sell Dehu and Ciric". espnfc.com. 4 July 2000. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  3. ↑ "Potpisali Ćirić i Marinković" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 24 June 2004. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  4. ↑ "Unbeaten Partizan take title". uefa.com. 17 May 2005. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  5. ↑ "Dragan Ćirić novi sportski direktor Partizana" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 26 December 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  6. ↑ "Izjava g. Dragana Ćirića povodom odlaska sa mesta sportskog direktora FK Partizan" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 23 February 2015. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/22/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.