Veljko Paunović facts for kids

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Veljko Paunović

Paunović managing Chicago Fire in 2017
Personal information
Full name	Veljko Paunović
Date of birth	(1977-08-21) 21 August 1977 (age 47)
Place of birth	Strumica, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder, striker
Team information
Current team	Oviedo (manager)
Youth career
1983–1994	Partizan
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1994–1995	Partizan	13	(1)
1995–2002	Atlético Madrid	52	(9)
1995–1996	→ Marbella (loan)	20	(2)
1996–1998	Atlético Madrid B	22	(11)
1998–1999	→ Mallorca (loan)	24	(5)
2001	→ Oviedo (loan)	22	(4)
2001–2002	→ Mallorca (loan)	33	(3)
2002–2003	Tenerife	38	(18)
2003–2005	Atlético Madrid	35	(6)
2005	Hannover 96	6	(0)
2005–2007	Getafe	44	(10)
2007	Rubin Kazan	16	(1)
2008	Almería	7	(2)
2008	Partizan	9	(1)
2011	Philadelphia Union	17	(3)
Total		358	(76)
International career
2002–2004	Serbia and Montenegro	2	(1)
Managerial career
2012–2014	Serbia U18
2013–2014	Serbia U19
2014–2015	Serbia U20
2015–2019	Chicago Fire
2020–2022	Reading
2022–2023	Guadalajara
2024–2025	Tigres UANL
2025–	Oviedo
Medal record Men's football Representing  Serbia (as manager) FIFA U-20 World Cup Winner 2015
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Veljko Paunović is a football manager and a former player from Serbia. He was born on August 21, 1977. He is currently the head coach for the La Liga club Real Oviedo.

Veljko was a very flexible attacking player. He could play as an attacking midfielder or a striker. He spent most of his career playing in Spain. There, he played for eight different clubs. He played 212 matches and scored 38 goals in La Liga over 11 seasons. He also played for Atlético Madrid several times. Besides his home country, he also played football in Germany, Russia, and the United States.

Paunović started his coaching career in 2012. He first coached Serbia's youth teams. Later, he managed teams like Chicago Fire, Reading, Guadalajara, Tigres UANL, and now Oviedo.

Playing Career Highlights

Veljko Paunović was born in Strumica, which was part of Yugoslavia at the time. He started his professional football career at age 17 with Partizan.

Early Years in Spain

The next summer, he moved to Spain. He stayed there for most of the next ten years. He played for many clubs. He started with Marbella in the 1995–96 season. He even reached the final of the 1998–99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup with Mallorca. He scored five goals in the league that season, helping Mallorca finish third. He also played for Atlético Madrid three different times.

Success with Tenerife and Getafe

Paunović had his best year in the 2002–03 season with Tenerife. He scored 18 goals in 38 games. After returning to Atlético and a short time in Germany with Hannover 96, he joined Getafe. This was for the 2005–06 top league season. He had his best season in La Liga then, scoring ten goals in 30 league matches. He helped Getafe finish ninth. Because he spent so many years in Spain, he received a Spanish passport in 2006.

Later Career and Retirement

In March 2007, Paunović joined Rubin Kazan in Russia. The next year, in January, he signed a deal with Almería in Spain. His first game was tough; he was sent off after getting two yellow cards quickly. He scored two goals later that season.

On July 12, 2008, Paunović signed a two-year deal with his old club, Partizan. He scored a goal in a UEFA Champions League qualifying match. However, he decided to retire from playing football before the end of that year.

In June 2011, after almost three years away from football, Paunović signed with an American club, Philadelphia Union. He scored his first goal for them later that month. Paunović officially announced his retirement for the second time on January 19, 2012.

International Games

Paunović played his first game for Serbia and Montenegro on February 13, 2002. It was a friendly match against Mexico, which they won 2–1. His only other international game was two years later against Northern Ireland. He scored a goal in that friendly match, which ended in a 1–1 draw.

Coaching Career

Veljko Paunović earned a special coaching license called a UEFA Pro Licence. He also got a degree in being a sporting director from the Spanish Football Federation. For nine months, he worked as an analyst for UEFA Champions League games on Spanish TV.

Coaching Serbia's Youth Teams

Paunović started his coaching career with the Serbia national team. He coached their under-18, under-19, and under-20 teams. While coaching the under-20 team, he led them to win the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup!

Managing Chicago Fire

Paunović at a U.S. Open Cup match for Chicago Fire in 2017

On November 24, 2015, Paunović became the head coach of Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer. He helped the team reach the playoffs in 2017. This was the first time they had made the playoffs in five years. In the same year, he coached in the 2017 MLS All-Star Game against Real Madrid. He also led the Fire to the semi-finals of the U.S. Open Cup in 2016 and 2018. He left the Chicago Fire on November 13, 2019.

Coaching Reading F.C.

Paunović took over as manager of Reading on August 29, 2020. In his first game, his team won 2–0. He was even named the EFL Championship Manager of the Month for September because his team won all three games. They just missed out on a playoff spot that season.

In November 2021, during his second season, Reading had six points taken away. This was because they broke some financial rules. In January 2022, Reading was knocked out of the FA Cup by a lower-league team. Paunović left Reading on February 19, 2022.

Time in Mexico: Guadalajara and Tigres

On October 31, 2022, Paunović was named manager of Guadalajara, a club in Mexico's top league, Liga MX. He won his first game with them on January 7, 2023. He left Guadalajara in December 2023.

On June 9, 2024, Paunović became the head coach of Tigres UANL, another team in Mexico. He was dismissed from this role on March 2, 2025.

Return to Spain: Real Oviedo

Paunović returned to Spain on March 26, 2025. He was appointed manager of Real Oviedo, a team in the second division. In his first game, four days later, Oviedo won 2–1 at home. He successfully guided Oviedo to finish third in the league. He then helped them get promoted to the top league, La Liga, for the first time in 24 years! They won their promotion play-off final with a 3–1 victory.

About Veljko Paunović

Veljko Paunović faced challenges when he was training for football. He sometimes had to walk for hours to practice and even went without food. His father, Blagoje, was also a famous footballer. He was a defender who played for Partizan and for Yugoslavia in a big European tournament. Veljko's father later became a manager too, inspiring him.

Paunović is married and has four children. He is very good with languages! He can speak six different languages: English, Spanish, Serbian, Macedonian, Russian, and German.

Career Statistics

Club Appearances

International Goals

Veljko Paunović scored one goal for his country.

List of international goals scored by Veljko Paunović

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	28 April 2004	Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland	Northern Ireland	1–0	1–1	Friendly

Managerial Statistics

Awards and Honours

As a Manager

Serbia

• FIFA U-20 World Cup: 2015

Individual Awards

• EFL Championship Manager of the Month: September 2020

See also

In Spanish: Veljko Paunović para niños