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Marko Pantelić
Marko Pantelić.jpg
Pantelić in 2009
Personal information
Full name Marko Pantelić
Date of birth (1978-09-15) 15 September 1978 (age 46)
Place of birth Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Striker
Youth career
Red Star Belgrade
Iraklis Thessaloniki
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–1996 Iraklis Thessaloniki 8 (4)
1997–1999 Paris Saint-Germain 3 (0)
1998–1999 → Lausanne (loan) 21 (8)
1999–2000 Celta 0 (0)
1999 Sturm Graz (loan) 3 (0)
2000 → Yverdon (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 295 (132)
National team
1996–1997 FR Yugoslavia U18 5 (4)
1996–1999 FR Yugoslavia U21 7 (2)
2003–2011 Serbia 43 (10)
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Marko Pantelić (Serbian Cyrillic: Марко Пантелић, pronounced [mâːrko pǎnːtelitɕ]; born 15 September 1978) is a Serbian retired professional 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, he was offered a job Thessaloniki and went there alone in Greece. Pantelić was still only 16 years old when he signed a professional contract with Iraklis Thessaloniki. At 18, 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. After shining in PSG he moved on to Lausanne for a season, scoring 8 goals in 21 Swiss league matches.

Next stop was 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 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 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

Marko Pantelic
Pantelić with Hertha

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, he became a free agent during the summer 2009.

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. 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 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. 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. 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.

In June 2010, he was selected in Serbia's squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, where he appeared in group stage matches against Ghana and Australia. He 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

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. The phenomenon became so popular that anonymous fans created profiles on Twitter and Facebook to mimic Pantelić's humorous personality. 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

Source:

Club Season League Cup Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Iraklis Thessaloniki 1995–96 Alpha Ethniki 8 4 2 0 10 4
Paris Saint-Germain 1997–98 French Division 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 4 0
Lausanne 1998–99 Swiss Super League 21 8 21 8
Sturm Graz 1999–2000 Austrian Bundesliga 3 0 2 0 5 0
Yverdon 2000–01 Swiss Super League 3 0 3 0
Obilić 2002–03 First League of Serbia and Montenegro 5 0 1 0 0 0 6 0
Sartid Smederevo 2002–03 First League of Serbia and Montenegro 16 5 2 1 0 0 18 6
2003–04 First League of Serbia and Montenegro 15 8 2 0 4 1 21 9
Total 31 13 4 1 4 1 39 15
Red Star Belgrade 2003–04 First League of Serbia and Montenegro 12 5 3 1 0 0 15 6
2004–05 First League of Serbia and Montenegro 29 21 5 1 6 2 40 24
2005–06 First League of Serbia and Montenegro 3 0 0 0 2 3 5 3
Total 44 26 8 2 8 5 60 33
Hertha BSC 2005–06 Bundesliga 28 11 2 1 0 0 30 12
2006–07 Bundesliga 32 14 4 0 6 2 42 16
2007–08 Bundesliga 28 13 1 1 0 0 29 14
2008–09 Bundesliga 26 7 2 2 9 4 37 13
Total 114 45 9 4 15 6 138 55
Ajax 2009–10 Eredivisie 25 16 7 3 7 2 39 21
Olympiacos 2010–11 Super League Greece 20 9 4 1 0 0 24 10
2011–12 Super League Greece 12 10 3 6 3 0 18 16
2012–13 Super League Greece 6 1 2 0 1 0 9 1
Total 38 20 9 7 4 0 51 27
Career total 295 132 39 17 42 14 376 163

International

National team Year Apps Goals
Serbia and Montenegro 2003 1 0
2004 2 0
2005 0 0
Serbia 2006 5 1
2007 7 0
2008 7 2
2009 6 1
2010 7 3
2011 8 3
Total 43 10
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 16 August 2006 Městský fotbalový stadion Miroslava Valenty, Uherské Hradiště, Czech Republic  Czech Republic 1–2 1–3 Friendly
2 24 May 2008 Croke Park, Dublin, Republic of Ireland  Republic of Ireland 0–1 1–1 Friendly
3 28 May 2008 Wacker Arena, Burghausen, Altötting, Germany  Russia 1–1 1–2 Friendly
4 10 October 2009 Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia  Romania 2–0 5–0 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying
5 3 March 2010 Stade 5 Juillet 1962, Algiers, Algeria  Algeria 0–1 0–3 Friendly
6 5 June 2010 Partizan Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia  Cameroon 4–2 4–3 Friendly
7 23 June 2010 Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit, South Africa  Australia 1–2 1–2 2010 FIFA World Cup
8 25 March 2011 Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia  Northern Ireland 1–1 2–1 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
9 29 March 2011 A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia  Estonia 0–1 1–1 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
10 2 September 2011 Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland  Northern Ireland 0–1 0–1 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying

Honours

Club

Lausanne

  • Swiss Cup: 1998–99

Sartid Smederevo

  • Serbia and Montenegro Cup: 2002–03

Red Star Belgrade

  • First League of Serbia and Montenegro: 2003–04
  • Serbia and Montenegro Cup: 2003–04

Hertha BSC

  • UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2006

Ajax

Olympiacos

Individual

  • Best Sportsman of SD Crvena Zvezda: 2004
  • First League of Serbia and Montenegro Top Scorer: 2004–05
  • Greek Cup Top Goalscorer: 2011–12 (6 goals)

See also

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