Zlatko Zahovič facts for kids

Zlatko Zahovič (born on 1 February 1971) is a famous Slovenian former footballer. He played as an attacking midfielder, which means he helped both defend and score goals.

Zahovič became well-known in Portugal, especially playing for Porto and Benfica. He played over 240 matches and scored more than 50 goals in Portugal's top league. He also had short times playing in Spain and Greece. People knew him for his amazing dribbling skills and his ability to score goals. Even though he was a midfielder, he scored 11 goals in the UEFA Champions League and 35 goals for the Slovenian national team.

He holds the record for the most goals scored for Slovenia. Zahovič was a key player when Slovenia's national team qualified for their first-ever European Championship and World Cup in the early 2000s.

Playing for Clubs

Early Career with Partizan

Zlatko Zahovič was born in Maribor, which was part of Yugoslavia at the time. In 1989, when he was 18, a player from Partizan noticed him. This led to Zahovič joining the famous Belgrade team.

He played for Partizan for three seasons. During this time, he also played on loan for two other teams, Mladost Petrinja and Proleter Zrenjanin. In the 1992–93 season, he played 15 games and scored three goals, helping Partizan win the national championship.

Success in Portugal

In the summer of 1993, at age 22, Zahovič moved to Portugal. He joined Vitória de Guimarães. He played well there for three years. In his last season, he scored a winning goal against FC Porto, which impressed them a lot.

Porto signed him that summer. Zahovič became a very important player for Porto. He worked well with other great players like Capucho and Mário Jardel. Together, they helped Porto win the league title three times in a row! In his final year at Porto, he scored 14 league goals and 22 goals in all competitions. He also scored seven goals in the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League, making him one of the top scorers in that competition.

Time in Greece and Spain

In 1999, Zahovič moved to Olympiacos F.C. in Greece. This was a very big transfer fee for a Slovenian player at the time, costing €13.5 million. However, his time in Greece was difficult. He had disagreements with the team's coaches and faced some problems with the club.

After just one season, Zahovič moved to Spain to play for Valencia CF. In the 2000–01 season, his team reached the final of the 2000–01 UEFA Champions League. They played against FC Bayern Munich and lost in a penalty shootout. Zahovič took a penalty kick, but the opposing goalkeeper, Oliver Kahn, saved it. Again, Zahovič had some disagreements with his coach at Valencia.

Return to Portugal with Benfica

In June 2001, Zahovič went back to Portugal and joined S.L. Benfica. He was a key player for Benfica in his first three seasons. However, when a new manager, Giovanni Trapattoni, arrived, Zahovič played less often. In January 2005, his contract with Benfica ended early.

Playing for Slovenia

Zlatko Zahovič played his first game for Slovenia on 7 November 1992. It was a friendly match against Cyprus. He was a huge part of Slovenia's national team history.

He helped Slovenia qualify for the UEFA Euro 2000 tournament. He scored nine goals during the qualification games. In the tournament itself, he continued to shine, scoring three of Slovenia's four goals. His great performances even led to comparisons with famous players like David Beckham.

Slovenia also qualified for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan, which was another first for the country. However, during the first group game against Spain, Zahovič had a disagreement with the manager, Srečko Katanec. Because of this, he was sent home from the tournament.

Zahovič decided to retire from the national team in December 2003, but he changed his mind two months later. His last game for Slovenia was on 28 April 2004 against Switzerland. He played a total of 80 games and scored 35 goals for his country. At that time, both were records for Slovenia. He was considered the most successful Slovenian footballer since the country became independent in 1991. His record for international appearances was later broken by Boštjan Cesar in 2014.

Life After Playing Football

After retiring from playing football in June 2005, at the age of 34, Zahovič decided to return to Slovenia. In 2007, he became the director of football at NK Maribor, his hometown club. He stayed in this important role until March 2020.

Under his leadership, NK Maribor achieved great success. The club won the Slovenian PrvaLiga title eight times! They also reached the group stages of the UEFA Champions League twice (in 2014–15 and 2017–18). This was a huge achievement for a Slovenian club. They also made it to the knockout phase of the UEFA Europa League in 2013–14.

Family and Hobbies

Zlatko Zahovič's son, Luka, is also a professional footballer. Luka plays as a striker and has also played for the Slovenian national team. In 2014, Luka scored a late goal in a Champions League match between Maribor and Sporting CP. This made Zlatko and Luka only the second father-son pair (and the first among Europeans) to have both scored in the Champions League since it started in its current form in 1992.

When he was younger, Zlatko Zahovič enjoyed playing chess and practicing ski jumping.

Honours and Achievements

Zlatko Zahovič won many trophies during his football career:

Partizan

• First League of FR Yugoslavia: 1992–93
• Yugoslav Cup: 1991–92

Porto

• Primeira Divisão: 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99
• Taça de Portugal: 1997–98
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 1996, 1998, 1999

Olympiacos

• Alpha Ethniki: 1999–2000

Valencia

• UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2000–01

Benfica

• Primeira Liga: 2004–05
• Taça de Portugal: 2003–04
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira runner-up: 2004

Limbuš-Pekre

• 1. MNZ Maribor: 2009–10

See also

In Spanish: Zlatko Zahovič para niños