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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 41)
Place of birth	Strumica, SR Macedonia, Yugoslavia
Height	1.84 m
Playing position	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	176	(28)
2022	Parma	11	(1)
Total		549	(112)
National team
1999	Macedonia U16	2	(0)
2000–2001	Macedonia U19	3	(2)
2001–2002	Macedonia U21	7	(2)
2001–2021	North Macedonia	122	(38)
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Goran Pandev (born 27 July 1983) is a Macedonian former professional footballer. He played as a forward, which means he was an attacking player who scored goals.

Goran Pandev is famous for his time at Inter Milan in Italy. In 2010, he helped Inter win three major trophies: the Serie A (Italian league), the Coppa Italia (Italian cup), and the UEFA Champions League (Europe's biggest club competition). This amazing achievement is called a "treble."

He was also the captain of the North Macedonia national team. He is their all-time top scorer with 38 goals. Goran retired from playing for his country in 2021, after UEFA Euro 2020. On 22 April 2021, he made history by becoming the first Macedonian player to score 100 goals in one of Europe's top five football leagues.

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

Club Career Highlights

Starting His Journey

Goran Pandev was born in Strumica, which was part of Yugoslavia at the time. He started his football journey at FK Belasica, a local club. He played there for just one season before a big Italian club, Inter Milan, signed him in 2001 when he was only 18 years old.

Inter Milan then loaned Pandev to other clubs so he could get more playing experience. First, he went to Spezia in 2002. The next year, he was loaned to Ancona, a team in Italy's top league, Serie A.

Playing for Lazio

In 2004, Pandev moved to Lazio as part of a player exchange deal. He quickly impressed everyone in his first year. He played 29 games and scored three goals. One memorable goal was against Juventus, where he dribbled past several defenders before scoring.

In 2005, Lazio bought all of his player rights. Goran Pandev became a key player for Lazio, forming a strong attacking partnership with Tommaso Rocchi. In 2009, he scored his first three goals in a single Serie A game, which is called a "hat-trick."

In 2009, there was a disagreement between Pandev and Lazio's chairman, Claudio Lotito. Pandev wanted to leave the club, but the chairman didn't agree. This led to a legal case. In December 2009, the court decided that Pandev could leave Lazio.

Winning Big with Inter Milan

On 4 January 2010, Goran Pandev joined Inter Milan again, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract. He quickly made an impact, helping his teammates score goals in his first two games. In his third game, he scored his first goal for Inter.

Pandev was a very important player when Inter Milan won the historic "treble" in 2010. They won the Serie A league title, the Coppa Italia cup, and the UEFA Champions League. In the Champions League final, Pandev played for 79 minutes. He became only the third Macedonian player to win this important championship.

He continued to win trophies with Inter. In August 2010, they won the 2010 Supercoppa Italiana, another Italian cup. In December 2010, Inter also won the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup, where Pandev scored a goal in the final. In March 2011, he scored a crucial goal against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, which he called the "most important" goal of his career.

Time at Napoli

In August 2011, Pandev joined Napoli on a one-year loan. He made his debut in September. In November, he scored two goals in a thrilling 3–3 draw against Juventus. He continued to score important goals for Napoli.

In May 2012, Pandev won another Coppa Italia with Napoli, beating Juventus. This meant he had won the Coppa Italia for four years in a row with different clubs. In June 2012, he officially joined Napoli permanently. He even took a pay cut to show how committed he was to the club. In September 2013, he scored two goals against Genoa, helping Napoli reach the top of the league.

Short Stays and Return to Italy

On 1 September 2014, Pandev signed a contract with the Turkish club Galatasaray. He didn't play much there and was mostly used in cup games.

In 2015, Pandev returned to Italy and signed with Genoa. He played there for many years. He had planned to retire in 2020, but he extended his contract. On 21 April 2021, he scored two goals against Benevento. This made him the first Macedonian player to reach 100 goals in Italy's Serie A.

His final move was to Parma in January 2022. He played there for a few months before officially retiring from football at the end of the 2021-22 season.

Playing for His Country

Pandev playing for North Macedonia in 2017

Goran Pandev first played for the Macedonian national team in June 2001. On 12 August 2009, he scored two goals against Spain. This made him the national team's all-time leading scorer, a record he still holds.

He reached 100 games for his country in March 2019. In November 2020, he scored the only goal in a play-off game against Georgia. This goal was historic because it helped North Macedonia qualify for a major international tournament, UEFA Euro 2020, for the very first time!

In Euro 2020, Goran Pandev scored North Macedonia's first-ever goal in a major tournament. He scored against Austria. This also made him the second-oldest scorer in the history of the European Championship finals. On 21 June 2021, he played his last game for his national team against the Netherlands.

How He Played

Goran Pandev was known as one of the most skilled Macedonian forwards ever. 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. This was because he was good at finding opportunities and had accurate shots. He also had good vision and could pass the ball well.

He could play in many attacking positions. He often played as a supporting forward, a winger (on the side of the field), or an attacking midfielder. Sometimes, he also played as a main striker.

Personal Life

Goran Pandev is married to Nada Pandeva. They have three children named Filippo, Ana, and Sofia. His younger brother, Sashko, is also a football player. In 2019, Goran became an Italian citizen.

In 2010, he started a football academy in his home country, Macedonia, called Akademija Pandev. This academy helps young players develop their skills. Their senior team now plays in the Macedonian First League and has even won a cup.

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
6	9 October 2004	Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia	Netherlands	1–1	3–0	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