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Goran Pandev
Personal information
Pandev with Inter Milan in 2010
Full name	Goran Pandev
Date of birth	(1983-07-27) 27 July 1983 (age 42)
Place of birth	Strumica, SR Macedonia, Yugoslavia
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
0000	Belasica
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1999–2001	Belasica	18	(6)
2001–2004	Inter Milan	0	(0)
2002–2003	→ Spezia (loan)	22	(4)
2003–2004	→ Ancona (loan)	20	(1)
2004–2009	Lazio	159	(48)
2009–2012	Inter Milan	47	(5)
2011–2012	→ Napoli (loan)	30	(6)
2012–2014	Napoli	62	(13)
2014–2015	Galatasaray	4	(0)
2015–2022	Genoa	254	(28)
2022	Parma	11	(1)
Total		549	(112)
International career
1999	Macedonia U16	2	(0)
2000–2001	Macedonia U19	3	(2)
2001–2002	Macedonia U21	7	(2)
2001–2021	North Macedonia	122	(38)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Goran Pandev is a famous former footballer from North Macedonia. He was born on July 27, 1983. He played as a forward and is known as one of the best Macedonian footballers ever.

Pandev played for many top clubs, including Lazio and Inter Milan. With Inter Milan, he won many important trophies in 2010. These included the Serie A (Italy's top league), the Coppa Italia (Italian Cup), and the UEFA Champions League. This amazing achievement is called a "treble." In 2021, he became the first Macedonian player to score 100 goals in one of Europe's top five football leagues. He was also the captain of the North Macedonia national team until he retired from international football in 2021. He is their all-time top scorer with 38 goals.

Playing for Clubs
Playing for His Country
How He Played
Personal Life
Career Statistics
- Club
- International
Trophies and Awards
See also

Playing for Clubs

Starting His Football Journey

Goran Pandev was born in Strumica, which was part of Yugoslavia at the time. He started playing football at a young age with FK Belasica. He only played one season in North Macedonia's top league before a big Italian club, Inter Milan, signed him in 2001 when he was just 18.

Inter Milan loaned Pandev to other clubs to gain experience. First, he played for Spezia in 2002. The next year, he was loaned to Ancona, a team that had a very tough season in Serie A.

Time at Lazio

In 2004, Pandev moved to Lazio as part of a player exchange deal. He quickly impressed everyone in his first year, scoring three goals in 29 games. One goal against Juventus was especially memorable. In 2006, Lazio fully bought his player rights.

Under manager Delio Rossi, Pandev formed a strong attacking partnership with Tommaso Rocchi. In 2009, he scored his first hat-trick (three goals in one game) in Serie A. He also received a special medal from the President of North Macedonia for his achievements in sports.

Leaving Lazio

In 2009, Pandev wanted to leave Lazio, but the club's chairman, Claudio Lotito, disagreed. Because of this, Pandev was not allowed to play or train with the team for four months. He felt this was unfair and took legal action. In December 2009, a court decided that Lazio had to let Pandev leave his contract.

Joining Inter Milan

On January 4, 2010, Pandev signed with Inter Milan. He quickly made an impact, helping his team win games. He scored his first goal for Inter in his third game. He also scored a fantastic free-kick against local rivals Milan.

Pandev was a key player in Inter Milan's historic "treble" season. They won the Serie A, the Coppa Italia, and the UEFA Champions League. On May 22, 2010, Inter won the Champions League final, and Pandev played for most of the game. He became only the third Macedonian player to win this prestigious championship.

He continued to win trophies with Inter, including the 2010 Supercoppa Italiana and the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup. In the Club World Cup final, Pandev scored a goal as Inter won 3-0. He also scored a very important goal in the Champions League against Bayern Munich, which he called the "most important" of his career.

Playing for Napoli

In August 2011, Pandev joined Napoli on loan. He quickly became an important player, scoring two goals in a thrilling 3-3 draw against Juventus. He helped Napoli win the Coppa Italia in 2012, setting up a goal in the final against Juventus. This meant he had won the Coppa Italia four years in a row!

In June 2012, Pandev permanently moved to Napoli. He continued to score important goals, helping Napoli reach the top of the league table in 2013. He also won another Coppa Italia with Napoli in 2014.

Time at Galatasaray and Genoa

In 2014, Pandev signed with Turkish club Galatasaray. He didn't play as much as he wanted there, mostly appearing in cup games.

In 2015, he moved back to Italy to play for Genoa. He planned to retire in 2020 but decided to keep playing when the Euro 2020 tournament was postponed. On April 21, 2021, Pandev scored two goals against Benevento, reaching 100 goals in his Serie A career. This made him the first Macedonian to achieve this in one of Europe's top five leagues. He signed another contract with Genoa in August 2021.

Parma and Retirement

In January 2022, Pandev moved to Parma in Italy's second division, Serie B. On September 22, 2022, at 39 years old, Goran Pandev officially retired from professional football. He ended his 22-year career with over 600 games played and 120 goals for his clubs and country.

Playing for His Country

Pandev playing for Macedonia in 2017

Goran Pandev first played for the North Macedonia senior team in June 2001. In 2009, he scored two goals against Spain, making him the national team's all-time leading scorer.

He planned to retire from international football in 2015, but his national team manager convinced him to keep playing. In March 2019, Pandev played his 100th game for North Macedonia. In November 2020, he scored the only goal in a play-off game against Georgia. This goal helped North Macedonia qualify for a major international tournament, Euro 2020, for the very first time!

At Euro 2020, he scored North Macedonia's first-ever goal in a major tournament. He was the second-oldest scorer in the history of the European Championship finals. On June 21, 2021, he played his last game for his national team against the Netherlands at Euro 2020.

How He Played

Goran Pandev was known as one of the most skilled Macedonian forwards. He was quick, creative, and worked very hard. He was left-footed and had great technique. He was good at both creating chances for others and scoring goals himself. He could play in different attacking positions, like on the wing or as a second striker, which made him very versatile.

Personal Life

Goran Pandev's younger brother, Sashko, is also a footballer. In 2019, Goran became an Italian citizen. A year later, he auctioned off the jersey he wore when he earned his 100th cap for North Macedonia. The money went to a hospital fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2010, Pandev started his own football academy in North Macedonia, called Akademija Pandev.

Career Statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National cup		Europe		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Belasica	2000–01	Macedonian First League	18	6	—		—		—		18	6
Inter Milan	2001–02	Serie A	—		—		—		—		0	0
Spezia (loan)	2002–03	Serie C1	22	4	—		—		—		22	4
Ancona (loan)	2003–04	Serie A	20	1	1	0	—		—		21	1
Lazio	2004–05	Serie A	25	3	1	0	4	1	0	0	30	4
	2005–06	Serie A	35	11	3	1	—		—		38	12
	2006–07	Serie A	36	11	3	3	—		—		39	14
	2007–08	Serie A	32	14	5	0	8	5	—		45	19
	2008–09	Serie A	31	9	6	6	—		—		37	15
	Total		159	48	18	10	12	6	—		189	64
Inter Milan	2009–10	Serie A	19	3	2	0	6	0	—		27	3
	2010–11	Serie A	27	2	4	0	7	1	4	2	42	5
	2011–12	Serie A	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	Total		47	5	6	0	13	1	4	2	70	8
Napoli (loan)	2011–12	Serie A	30	6	5	1	7	0	—		42	7
Napoli	2012–13	Serie A	33	6	1	0	6	0	1	1	41	7
	2013–14	Serie A	29	7	3	0	9	1	—		41	8
	Total		92	19	9	1	22	1	1	1	124	22
Galatasaray	2014–15	Süper Lig	4	0	10	7	3	0	0	0	17	7
Genoa	2015–16	Serie A	15	0	1	0	—		—		16	0
	2016–17	Serie A	20	3	3	4	—		—		23	7
	2017–18	Serie A	32	5	1	0	—		—		33	5
	2018–19	Serie A	26	4	2	0	—		—		28	4
	2019–20	Serie A	34	9	1	0	—		—		35	9
	2020–21	Serie A	29	7	1	0	—		—		30	7
	2021–22	Serie A	20	0	2	0	—		—		22	0
	Total		176	28	11	4	—		—		187	32
Parma	2021–22	Serie B	11	1	—		—		—		11	1
Career total			549	112	55	22	50	8	5	3	659	145

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
North Macedonia	2001	1	0
	2002	3	1
	2003	5	1
	2004	8	4
	2005	7	3
	2006	5	1
	2007	5	1
	2008	8	3
	2009	10	8
	2010	4	1
	2011	5	1
	2012	7	1
	2013	7	1
	2014	0	0
	2015	0	0
	2016	8	1
	2017	9	4
	2018	7	2
	2019	9	1
	2020	6	2
	2021	8	2
Total		122	38

Scores and results list North Macedonia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Pandev goal

List of international goals scored by Goran Pandev
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	21 August 2002	Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia	Malta	5–0	5–0	Friendly
2	20 August 2003	Stadion Goce Delčev, Prilep, Macedonia	Albania	2–1	3–1
3	18 February 2004	Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1–0	1–0
4	11 June 2004	A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia	Estonia	3–0	4–2
5	18 August 2004	Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia	Armenia	1–0	3–0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
6	9 October 2004	Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia	Netherlands	1–1	2–2
7	4 June 2005	Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia	Armenia	1–0	2–1
8	4 June 2005	Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia	Armenia	2–0	2–1
9	8 June 2005	Na Stínadlech, Teplice, Czech Republic	Czech Republic	1–0	1–6
10	11 October 2006	Camp d’Esports d’Aixovall, Andorra La Vella, Andorra	Andorra	1–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
11	17 October 2007	Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia	Andorra	3–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
12	20 August 2008	Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg	Luxembourg	1–0	4–1	Friendly
13	20 August 2008	Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg	Luxembourg	3–0	4–1	Friendly
14	10 September 2008	Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia	Netherlands	1–2	1–2	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
15	11 February 2009	Mardan Sports Complex, Antalya, Turkey	Moldova	1–0	1–1	Friendly
16	12 August 2009	Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia	Spain	1–0	2–3
17	12 August 2009		Spain	2–0	2–3
18	11 October 2009		Qatar	1–1	2–1
19	11 October 2009		Qatar	2–1	2–1
20	14 November 2009	Stadion Mladost, Strumica, Macedonia	Canada	2–0	3–0
21	14 November 2009	Stadion Mladost, Strumica, Macedonia	Canada	3–0	3–0
22	18 November 2009	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Iran	1–1	1–1
23	3 March 2010	Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia	Montenegro	2–0	2–1
24	10 August 2011	Dalga Arena, Baku, Azerbaijan	Azerbaijan	1–0	1–0
25	15 August 2012	Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia	Lithuania	1–0	1–0
26	6 February 2013	Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia	Denmark	1–0	3–0
27	29 May 2016	Sportplatz Bad Erlach, Bad Erlach, Austria	Azerbaijan	2–0	3–1
28	28 March 2017	Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia	Belarus	2–0	3–0
29	28 March 2017	Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia	Belarus	3–0	3–0
30	2 September 2017	Sammy Ofer Stadium, Haifa, Israel	Israel	1–0	1–0	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
31	11 November 2017	Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia	Norway	1–0	2–0	Friendly
32	9 September 2018		Armenia	2–0	2–0	2018–19 UEFA Nations League D
33	13 October 2018		Liechtenstein	3–0	4–1	2018–19 UEFA Nations League D
34	9 September 2019	Daugava Stadium, Riga, Latvia	Latvia	1–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying
35	11 October 2020	A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia	Estonia	2–3	3–3	2020–21 UEFA Nations League C
36	12 November 2020	Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena, Tbilisi, Georgia	Georgia	1–0	1–0	UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying play-offs
37	31 March 2021	MSV-Arena, Duisburg, Germany	Germany	1–0	2–1	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
38	13 June 2021	Arena Națională, Bucharest, Romania	Austria	1–1	1–3	UEFA Euro 2020