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Rade Bogdanović
Personal information
Date of birth	(1970-05-21) 21 May 1970 (age 55)
Place of birth	Sarajevo, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
1982–1987	Željezničar
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1988–1992	Željezničar	75	(4)
1992–1996	Pohang Atoms	120	(45)
1997	JEF United Ichihara	16	(8)
1997–1998	Atlético Madrid	14	(6)
1998	→ NAC Breda (loan)	13	(5)
1998–2002	Werder Bremen	56	(15)
2002–2003	Arminia Bielefeld	19	(0)
2003–2004	Al Wahda	0	(0)
Total		313	(83)
International career
1997	FR Yugoslavia	3	(2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Rade Bogdanović (born on May 21, 1970) is a Serbian football expert and former professional player. He played as a striker, which is a player whose main job is to score goals.

Early Life and Youth Football

Rade Bogdanović was born in Sarajevo. His father worked as a driver, and his mother was a homemaker. He grew up in a village called Tilava near the city. As a child, he was a big fan of the football team Hajduk Split.

Starting Football at Željezničar

Rade began playing organized football when he was twelve years old. In June 1982, a scout from his hometown team, Željezničar, saw him play at a school tournament. Rade was invited to try out for the club's youth team.

He joined Željezničar's cadet (under-16) squad. He moved up through different age groups, learning from various coaches. In 1987, Rade was almost ready to play for the main team. However, he got a knee injury during a youth cup final. This injury needed surgery and kept him from playing for six months.

Professional Club Career

Playing for Željezničar's Main Team

After recovering from his knee injury, Rade joined Željezničar's main team in January 1988. He was seventeen years old. His first game was on March 27, 1988, against Budućnost. He came into the game in the 65th minute.

One week later, Rade started a game at home against Hajduk. He scored a great goal, helping his team win 3-0. Over the next few years, many older players left the team, which gave younger players like Rade more chances to play.

In 1990, Rade had to serve in the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA). He was part of a special unit for athletes in Belgrade. Because of this, he missed the entire 1990-91 football season.

Rade stayed with Željezničar until April 1992. When the Bosnian War started, he moved to Belgrade with several other players. They trained with FK Partizan while looking for new clubs.

Moving to South Korea

In June 1992, Rade moved to South Korea to play for POSCO Atoms. He first had a one-month trial, playing in eight games. The club was impressed and offered him a full contract, which he accepted.

When he arrived in Korea, Rade started playing as a striker. Before this, he had mostly played as a defensive midfielder in Yugoslavia. He quickly became one of the best players in the league. In 1992, POSCO Atoms won the 1992 K League title. In 1994, Rade was named one of the best forwards in the league. He left Pohang Steelers in late 1996.

Time in Japan and a Missed Opportunity

After playing in South Korea, Rade signed with the Japanese club JEF United Ichihara in November 1996. He wanted to play in a higher-level league and earn more money.

While waiting for the Japanese season to start, Rade received an amazing offer from Ajax, a famous Dutch club. Ajax was a very strong team at the time, having been in the UEFA Champions League final. Rade wanted to play for Ajax and even signed a first agreement with them. However, he had already signed a contract with JEF United. A football committee decided that Rade had to honor his contract with the Japanese team. So, he had to go back to Japan and play for JEF United for five months.

Return to Europe: Atlético Madrid and Breda

In the summer of 1997, Rade finally got his wish to return to Europe. He signed with the Spanish club Atlético Madrid. The team had many famous players. Rade's first game for Atlético was on September 6, 1997. He scored two goals, helping his team win 5-0.

Even with this great start, Rade didn't get to play much because of other star strikers on the team. He was loaned to the Dutch club NAC Breda for the rest of the season.

Playing for Werder Bremen

After his loan spell, Rade moved to Werder Bremen in Germany in 1998. He played his first game for Bremen on September 19, 1998, and scored a goal in a 4-2 win.

He stayed at Werder Bremen for four years. During his time there, he helped the team win the 1998–99 DFB-Pokal (German Cup) and the 1998 UEFA Intertoto Cup. In the 1999 German Cup final against Bayern Munich, Rade came on as a substitute and scored a penalty in the shootout, which helped Bremen win the cup.

Later Years and Retirement

After Werder Bremen, Rade played for Arminia Bielefeld in the 2002–03 season. Then, he moved to Al Wahda in the United Arab Emirates. After that, he decided to retire from professional football.

International Career

Rade Bogdanović played three times for the FR Yugoslavia national team and scored two goals. He was asked to play for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team, but he chose to play for FR Yugoslavia.

After Playing Football

After retiring from playing, Rade Bogdanović worked in football administration for a short time.

Since 2011, he has owned and managed a sports center in Belgrade, Serbia. It is named Posco Arena, after his former team in Korea.

Football Punditry

In the mid-2010s, Rade Bogdanović started appearing on Serbian television as a football expert. He became known for his honest and direct way of speaking about games and players.

Personal Life

Rade Bogdanović is married to Aleksandra, and they have three daughters: Kristina (born in 1994), Marija (born in 2000), and Sofija (born in 2007). Rade and his family live in Belgrade, but they also spend time in Mallorca, Spain, where he owns an apartment.

Rade's nephews, Vladimir Jovančić and Darko Jovančić, are also football players.

Career Statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Željezničar	1987–88	Yugoslav First League	13	2			—				13	2
	1988–89		20	1			—				20	1
	1989–90		10	1			—				10	1
	1990–91		19	0			—				19	0
	1991–92		18	0			—				18	0
	Total		80	4			—				80	4
Pohang Atoms	1992	K-League	12	2	—		5	1			17	3
	1993		25	8	—		2	1			27	9
	1994		27	18	—		6	4			33	22
	1995		24	6	—		7	2			31	8
	1996		32	11	—		7	2			39	13
	Total		120	45	—		27	10			147	55
JEF United Ichihara	1997	J1 League	16	8	0	0	6	8	—		22	16
Atlético Madrid	1997–98	La Liga	14	6	1	0	—		3	1	18	7
NAC Breda	1997–98	Eredivisie	13	5							13	5
Werder Bremen	1998–99	Bundesliga	23	8	4	0	—		—		27	8
	1999–2000		22	4	2	0	2	0	5	3	31	7
	2000–01		11	3	1	1	—		4	0	16	4
	2001–02		—		—		—		—		—
	Total		56	15	7	1	2	0	9	3	74	19
Arminia Bielefeld	2002–03	Bundesliga	19	0	2	1	—		—		21	1
Career total			318	83	10	2	35	18	12	4	375	107

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
FR Yugoslavia	1997	3	2
Total		3	2

Scores and results list FR Yugoslavia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bogdanović goal.

List of international goals scored by Rade Bogdanović
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	12 June 1997	Seoul, South Korea	Ghana	2–1	3–1	1997 Korea Cup
2	12 June 1997	Seoul, South Korea	Ghana	3–1	3–1	1997 Korea Cup

Honours and Awards

Player Achievements

Pohang Atoms

K League 1: 1992
Korean FA Cup: 1996
Korean League Cup: 1993

Werder Bremen

DFB-Pokal: 1998–99
UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1998 (Joint Winner)

Individual Awards

Awards

K League Top Assists Award: 1996
K League Best XI: 1994, 1996

Performance

Korean League Cup top scorer: 1994