Milko Djurovski facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Milko Gjurovski

Personal information
Date of birth	(1963-01-26) 26 January 1963 (age 62)
Place of birth	Tetovo, SR Macedonia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
	Teteks
1977–1979	Red Star Belgrade
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1979–1986	Red Star Belgrade	115	(54)
1979–1980	→ Čukarički (loan)
1986–1990	Partizan	70	(38)
1990–1993	Groningen	71	(28)
1993	→ Cambuur (loan)	7	(0)
1994	Maribor	19	(8)
1994	Nîmes	4	(0)
1995–1996	Železničar Maribor
1998	Kansas City Attack (indoor)	1	(0)
2001	Rogoza
2002	Bistrica	11	(16)
2002	Malečnik	1	(1)
2003	Rudar Prijedor
2003	Bistrica	3	(2)
2004	Ljubljana	2	(0)
2005	Malečnik
2005	Bežigrad
Total		304	(147)
International career
1984	Yugoslavia Olympic	2	(0)
1984–1985	Yugoslavia	6	(2)
1994	Macedonia	3	(0)
Managerial career
1998	Železničar Maribor
2003	Rudar Prijedor (player-manager)
2005	Malečnik (player-manager)
2005–2006	Drava Ptuj
2006–2007	Nafta Lendava
2007	Maribor
2008–2009	Vardar
2009	Belasica
2010	Drava Ptuj
2010–2011	Jedinstvo Brčko
2012	Pöllau
2015	Zlaté Moravce
2015	Zavrč
2016	Slavija Sarajevo
2019–2020	Veržej
Medal record Representing  Yugoslavia Bronze Olympic Games 1984
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Milko Gjurovski (born January 26, 1963) is a former professional footballer and manager from Macedonia. Many people thought he was one of the most talented players from Yugoslavia during his time.

Milko started his career at Red Star Belgrade in 1979 when he was just 16 years old. He played for their main team for seven seasons. During this time, he helped them win two national championships in 1981 and 1984. He also won two national cups in 1982 and 1985. In 1986, Milko made a big move to Partizan, who were Red Star's main rivals. He played there for four years. Later in his career, Milko also played for several clubs in Slovenia.

Milko Gjurovski played for two different national teams. He represented Yugoslavia and later Macedonia. He played six games for Yugoslavia between 1984 and 1985, scoring two goals. After Yugoslavia broke up, he played three games for his home country, Macedonia, in 1994. He also won a bronze medal with Yugoslavia at the 1984 Summer Olympics.

Milko's older brother is Boško Djurovski, who was also a footballer. His younger son, Mario Gjurovski, is also a professional footballer.

Milko's Football Journey

Milko Gjurovski was born in Tetovo. He started playing football in the youth teams of his local club, Teteks. In 1977, he moved to Red Star Belgrade. Even though he was still a junior player, Milko played his first senior game for Red Star on April 11, 1979. This was in a UEFA Cup semi-final match.

Playing for Red Star Belgrade

In the 1979–80 season, Milko played on loan for Čukarički. He was their top scorer with 15 goals. After returning to Red Star, he helped them win the Yugoslav First League in the 1980–81 season, scoring five goals. He became a very important player for the team and a favorite among the fans. He helped them win another league title in 1984.

Moving to Partizan

In the summer of 1986, Milko made a surprising move to Partizan. This was a big deal because Partizan was Red Star's biggest rival. He quickly became a key player for Partizan. He was their top scorer in the 1986–87 season, and Partizan won the league title that year. He stayed with Partizan for three more seasons. One of those years, he was away for military service.

Playing in the Netherlands

In 1990, Milko moved to the Netherlands and joined Groningen. In his first season (1990–91), he was the club's top scorer in the league with 14 goals. He helped Groningen finish in third place, which was a great achievement. In the next season (1991–92), he again helped the club qualify for the UEFA Cup. In 1993, he was loaned to another Dutch club, Cambuur. He left Groningen in early 1994.

Later Career in Slovenia and Beyond

After leaving Groningen, Milko moved to Slovenia and joined Maribor in 1994. He then played a few games for French club Nîmes before returning to Slovenia in 1995 to play for Železničar Maribor. In 1998, he briefly played indoor soccer in the United States for the Kansas City Attack.

In the early 2000s, Milko came out of retirement. He played for several smaller clubs in Slovenia, including Rogoza, Bistrica, and Malečnik. In 2003, he was a player-manager for Bosnian club Rudar Prijedor. He also played a couple of games for Ljubljana before finally retiring from playing football at the age of 42.

International Games

Milko Gjurovski played his first full international game for Yugoslavia on March 31, 1984. He came on as a substitute and scored the first goal in a friendly match against Hungary, which Yugoslavia won 2–1.

Olympic Medal Winner

He represented Yugoslavia at the 1984 Summer Olympics. The team won the bronze medal by beating Italy in the third-place match. In 1985, Milko played five more games for Yugoslavia and scored one more goal.

Playing for Macedonia

In 1994, Milko decided to play for his birth country, Macedonia. He made his first appearance for Macedonia in October 1994 in a European Championship qualification match against Spain. He played a total of three games for Macedonia but did not score any goals. His last international game was in December 1994 against Cyprus.

Milko's Coaching Career

After his playing career, Milko Gjurovski became a football manager.

Early Coaching Roles

In October 2005, Milko became the manager of Drava Ptuj in Slovenia. He left that club in July 2006. Soon after, he became the manager of Nafta Lendava, leaving in August 2007. Two weeks later, he took over as manager of his former club, Maribor, signing a two-year contract. However, he left Maribor in November 2007.

Coaching in Macedonia and Beyond

In October 2008, Milko returned to his home country to manage Vardar. He left Vardar in January 2009. Later that year, he also managed another Macedonian club, Belasica.

Milko then returned to Slovenia to manage Drava Ptuj for a second time, leaving in April 2010. He also managed an Austrian club called Pöllau in 2012. In June 2015, Milko was appointed manager of Slovakian club Zlaté Moravce. He then went back to Slovenia to manage Zavrč in October 2015. In March 2016, Milko became the manager of Bosnian club Slavija Sarajevo. He left that club two months later. In 2019, he started coaching Veržej until 2020.

Family Life

Milko Gjurovski has two sons. One of them, Mario Djurovski, is also a professional footballer. Milko is the younger brother of Boško Djurovski. Both Milko and Boško played football together for the same clubs and also for their national teams.

Career Statistics

Club

International

Awards and Achievements

As a Player

Red Star Belgrade

• Yugoslav First League: 1980–81, 1983–84
• Yugoslav Cup: 1981–82, 1984–85

Partizan

• Yugoslav First League: 1986–87
• Yugoslav Cup: 1988–89
• Yugoslav Super Cup: 1989

Yugoslavia National Team

• Olympic Games: Bronze Medal in 1984