Dejan Damjanović
Damjanović (left) with Montenegro in 2012
Personal information
Date of birth (1981-07-27) 27 July 1981
Place of birth Mostar, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
Dinamo Pančevo
Sinđelić Beograd
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998–2000 Sinđelić Beograd 21 (6)
2000–2003 Železnik 13 (0)
2001–2002 → Sremčica (loan) 21 (10)
2003 → Srem (loan) 8 (0)
2003 → Radnički Beograd (loan) 12 (4)
2004–2006 Bežanija 76 (37)
2004 → Radnički Beograd (loan) 6 (0)
2006 → Al-Ahli (loan) 10 (8)
2007 Incheon United 26 (14)
2008–2013 FC Seoul 181 (116)
2014 Jiangsu Sainty 11 (5)
2014–2015 Beijing Guoan 45 (26)
2016–2017 FC Seoul 73 (32)
2018–2019 Suwon Samsung Bluewings 54 (16)
2020 Daegu FC 23 (9)
2021–2023 Kitchee 33 (38)
Total 613 (321)
International career
2008–2015 Montenegro 30 (8)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Dejan Damjanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Дејан Дамјановић, pronounced [dějan dǎmjanoʋitɕ, - damjǎː-];[1][2] born 27 July 1981), also known mononymously as Dejan, is a former Montenegrin professional footballer who played as a forward. He is regarded as one of the greatest K League players of all time.[3]

Early life

Damjanović was born in the town of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina (then part of Yugoslavia) on 27 July 1981.[4] During the Yugoslav Wars, he moved to Serbia, initially to Pančevo, and then to Belgrade.

Club career

Early career

Damjanović made his senior debut for the third division team Sinđelić Beograd in 1998, scoring 6 goals in 21 matches in his first season. He moved to Železnik in 2000 and later also played with Sremčica, Srem, Radnički Beograd and Bežanija.[5] He experienced all the first, second, and third division of FR Yugoslavia/Serbia and Montenegro, and also became the best player and the top goalscorer of the third division while playing for Sremčica.[6]

FC Seoul

Damjanović in 2008

Damjanović signed a contract with FC Seoul on 7 December 2007.[7] He was the second highest scorer in 2007, 2008 and 2009 K League. With 23 goals for Seoul in 2011 season, he was crowned the league's top scorer. In July 2009, he managed to score two goals against Manchester United in United's Asian tour. However, FC Seoul lost 3–2, United's goals being scored by Wayne Rooney, Federico Macheda and Dimitar Berbatov.[8]

In January 2012, Chinese Super League club Guangzhou R&F offered $5 million to FC Seoul for Damjanović, but it was rejected by Seoul. In the first match of the 2012 K League, Damjanović was substituted out after 22 minutes against Daegu FC. It had been speculated that the FC Seoul manager, Choi Yong-soo, and Damjanović had a rift. Damjanović wanted to leave but FC Seoul would not let him. However, as time went on, FC Seoul issued an official statement by Choi saying there was no tension between the two. Damjanović scored his 100th career goal with FC Seoul from a penalty goal, along with the 101st in the same match over a 3–1 win against his former club Incheon United on 28 May 2012. On 25 July 2012, he became the top foreign goalscorer in the history of the K League by scoring his 105th goal in the match against Daejeon Citizen. The previous record holder is Saša Drakulić who made 104 goals in K League. Afterwards, he scored 31 goals in 40 appearances, thus breaking the record held by Kim Do-hoon in 2002. He finished the 2012 season with many accolades and records broken. He won the league with FC Seoul as well as becoming the Most Valuable Player, top goalscorer, and one of the Best XI. In January 2013, IFFHS ranked Damjanović seventh in the world for most goals in a top-division league during a year.[9]

In September 2013, Damjanović scored in both of two legs of the AFC Champions League quarter finals against his former team Al-Ahli. His scoring continued against the first leg of the semi-final against Esteghlal.[10] However, despite scoring in both legs of the 2013 AFC Champions League Final against Guangzhou Evergrande, FC Seoul lost on away goals and thus ending the competition as runners-up.

Jiangsu Sainty

In December 2013, Damjanović transferred to Chinese Super League side Jiangsu Sainty with transfer fee $4.2 million.[11]

Beijing Guoan

On 17 July 2014, Damjanović transferred to fellow Chinese Super League side Beijing Guoan.[12]

Return to FC Seoul

On 28 December 2015, Damjanović returned to FC Seoul, signing a two-year contract.[13]

On 3 August 2016, Damjanović scored his 150th goal in 254th appearance in the K League, setting a record for the quickest player to reach 150 goals in the K League history.[14]

Suwon Samsung Bluewings

On 4 January 2018, Damjanović signed for FC Seoul's biggest rivals Suwon Samsung Bluewings.[15][16][17] He was released in December 2019.[18]

Daegu FC

In late December 2019, Daegu FC announced the signing of Damjanović on a free transfer.[19] On June 14, he scored his first goal since moving against FC Seoul.[20]

Kitchee

On 9 January 2021, Kitchee announced the signing of Damjanović on a free transfer.[21] He made his debut for Kitchee on 27 February 2021, coming off the bench in the 67th minute in a 2–1 win against Southern.

On 4 March 2021, He scored his first goal in Hong Kong in just 1 minute after being substituted. In stoppage time, he scores his second to assist the team in a 2–0 victory over Pegasus. On 23 May, Kitchee SC successfully defended their Hong Kong Premier League title after beating Eastern Long Lions 2–0, courtesy of two goals by Dejan Damjanovic at the Hong Kong Stadium.[22]

On 24 June 2021, he scored the second goal in 2021 AFC Champions League group stage against Port F.C. and makes him joint-highest goal scorer along with Lee Dong-gook in ACL history with 37 goals. On 27 June 2021, he scored a goal against Cerezo Osaka to become the all-time ACL top scorer with 38 goals.[23] He later scored twice from the penalty spot, one each in two matches against Guangzhou, to reach his 40th goal in the AFC Champions League.[24]

On 1 May 2022, he scored his 42nd goal in the AFC Champions League in a 2–2 draw against Vissel Kobe in the 2022 edition, which helped Kitchee to reach the knockout stages of the competition for the first time in their history.[25]

International career

Damjanović's first international as a Montenegrin football player was against Italy on 16 October 2008. He scored two goals in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Cyprus.[26][27] He scored his third international goal in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Ukraine on 16 October 2012.

On 26 March 2013, during a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier against England, Damjanović came on, as a substitute, for Mitar Novaković in the 46th minute. Twenty minutes later he scored his fourth international goal to end the match in a 1–1 draw.

On 6 September 2013, during a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier, Damjanović provided the only goal for Montenegro as they tied 1–1 with Poland in Warsaw.

On 11 October 2013, Damjanović scored the only goal for Montenegro in their 4–1 defeat to England at Wembley Stadium in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. He has earned a total of 30 caps, scoring 8 goals.[28] His final international was a September 2015 European Championship qualification match against Moldova.[29]

Personal life

His daughter and son were born in South Korea.[30]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[31][32][33]
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Sinđelić Beograd[34][35] 1998–99 Serbian League Belgrade 216——216
1999–2000 Serbian League Belgrade 00——00
Total216——216
Železnik 2000–01 First League (FRY) 30——30
2001–02 First League (FRY) 100——100
Total 130——130
Sremčica (loan) 2001–02 Serbian League Belgrade 2110——2110
Srem (loan) 2002–03 Second League (SCG) 80——80
Radnički Beograd (loan) 2003–04 Second League (SCG) 124——124
Bežanija 2003–04 Second League (SCG) 1813——1813
2004–05 Second League (SCG) 198——198
2005–06 Serbian First League 2411——2411
2006–07 Serbian SuperLiga 155——155
Total 7637——7637
Radnički Beograd (loan) 2004–05 First League (SCG) 60——60
Al-Ahli (loan) 2005–06 Saudi Premier League 108—108
Incheon United 2007 K League 261441105—4020
FC Seoul 2008 K League 29151040—3415
2009 K League 23142020953619
2010 K League 28131076—3619
2011 K League 30243300954232
2012 K League 423120——4431
2013 K League Classic 291921—1374427
Total 1811161141363117236143
Jiangsu Sainty 2014 Chinese Super League 11500——115
Beijing Guoan 2014 Chinese Super League 161021——1811
2015 Chinese Super League 291621—924019
Total 452642—925830
FC Seoul 2016 K League Classic 361341—1155119
2017 K League Classic 371920—434322
Total 733261—1589441
Suwon Samsung Bluewings 2018 K League 1 331344—13105027
2019 K League 1 21330——243
Total 541674—13107430
Daegu FC 2020 K League 1 23920——259
Kitchee 2020–21 Hong Kong Premier League 1417—00642021
2021–22 Hong Kong Premier League 44217[lower-alpha 1]8521815
2022–23 Hong Kong Premier League 1517117[lower-alpha 2]7002325
Total 33383214151166161
Career total 613321371437267943766404
  1. ↑ Appearance(s) in Sapling Cup
  2. ↑ Four appearances and four goals in the Hong Kong Senior Challenge Shield, three appearances and three goals in Sapling Cup

International

Scores and results list Montenegro's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Damjanović goal.
List of international goals scored by Dejan Damjanović
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
16 June 2009Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium, Larnaca Cyprus1–22–22010 FIFA World Cup qualification
22–2
316 October 2012Olympic Stadium, Kyiv Ukraine1–01–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification
426 March 2013Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica England1–11–12014 FIFA World Cup qualification
56 September 2013National Stadium, Warsaw, Warsaw Poland1–01–12014 FIFA World Cup qualification
611 October 2013Wembley Stadium, London England1–21–42014 FIFA World Cup qualification
75 March 2014Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica Ghana1–01–0Friendly
814 June 2015Friends Arena, Solna Sweden1–31–3UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying

Honours

Radnički Beograd

Bežanija

Al-Ahli

FC Seoul

Suwon Samsung Bluewings

Kitchee

Individual

Records

Notes

References

  1. ↑ "Dèjan". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 17 March 2018. Dèjan
  2. ↑ "Dàmjan". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 17 March 2018. Dàmjanović (Damjánović)
  3. ↑ K리그 역대 최고의 선수 Top 20. Goal.com (in Korean). 11 February 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  4. ↑ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Dejan Damjanović". nationalfootballteams.com. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  5. ↑ 2003/04 winter transfer window in the Second League of Serbia and Montenegro Group North
  6. 1 2 3 DSL Sport (in Serbian). National Library of Serbia: DSL Sport. 18 June 2002. p. 6.
  7. ↑ ‘세르비아 슈퍼 특급’데얀, 귀네슈호 합류! (in Korean). FC Seoul. 7 December 2007. Archived from the original on 12 January 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  8. ↑ FC서울 데얀의 발 '맨유 문' 뚫었다 (in Korean). Munhwa Ilbo. 25 July 2009.
  9. ↑ "IFFHS (International Federation of Football History & Statistics)". IFFHS. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  10. ↑ "Al-Ahli 1–1 FC Seoul (AFC Champions League quarter-finals)". FIFA. 21 August 2013. Archived from the original on 24 August 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  11. ↑ 舜天宣布签约首尔FC锋霸德扬 亚冠决赛破恒大城门(in Chinese)
  12. ↑ 国安官方宣布外援德扬正式加盟 将身披27号战袍 at sina.com 17 July 2014 Retrieved 17 July 2014
  13. ↑ englishnews@chosun.com (29 December 2015). "Dejan Damjanovic to Return to K-League". english.chosun.com. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  14. ↑ 데얀, 멀티골로 역전극...최소 경기 150골 달성 (in Korean). Yonhap Television News Ilbo. 4 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  15. ↑ "S. Korean football club Suwon sign Montenegrin striker Dejan Damjanovic". Yonhap. 4 January 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  16. ↑ "K League star Damjanovic leaves Seoul for rivals Suwon". FOX Sports Asia. 4 January 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  17. ↑ "[오피셜] 수원삼성, K리그 레전드 공격수 데얀 영입확정!". www.bluewings.kr (in Korean). Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  18. ↑ John Duerden (1 December 2019). "End nears for Dejan, K League's best ever import". Korea Times. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  19. ↑ Neat, Paul (27 December 2019). "Breaking: Dejan Damjanović Signs for Daegu FC". K League United. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  20. ↑ "대구, 서울 6-0 대파...세징야-김대원-데얀 골". sports.news.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  21. ↑ "Dejan Damjanović Signs for Kitchee". Kitchee. 9 January 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  22. ↑ "Damjanovic stars as Kitchee clinch fifth Hong Kong Premier League title". Asian Football Confederation. 23 May 2021.
  23. ↑ "All-time AFC Champions League Top Scorer: Damjanovic's legacy of goals". AFC. 27 June 2021.
  24. ↑ "Group J: Damjanovic strikes again as Kitchee SC beat Guangzhou FC to stay within reach of AFC Champions League knockout stage". AFC. 3 July 2021.
  25. 1 2 "Hong Kong's Kitchee march on to AFC Champions League knockout round for first time with dramatic injury-time equaliser". ESPN. 1 May 2022.
  26. ↑ FIFA.com. "2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ - Matches - Cyprus-Montenegro – FIFA.com". fifa.com. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  27. ↑ 서울 데얀, 월드컵 유럽 예선전서 2골 터뜨리며 맹활약 (in Korean)
  28. ↑ Montenegro - Record International Players - RSSSF
  29. ↑ "Player Database". eu-football.info. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  30. ↑ "Dejan Damjanović - od kralja beogradskih liga do najveće legende Južne Koreje" [Dejan Damjanovic - from the king of Beograd leagues to the biggest legend of South Korea] (in Serbian). sportal.rs. 13 June 2013. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014.
  31. ↑ Dejan Damjanović at National-Football-Teams.com
  32. ↑ "Montenegro – D. Damjanović". Soccerway. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  33. ↑ #10 데얀 (in Korean). K League. Archived from the original on 22 July 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  34. ↑ Miladinovich, Misha; Krsmanovic, Dragan (2 August 1999). "Yugoslavia 1998/99". RSSSF. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  35. ↑ Miladinovich, Misha; Krsmanovic, Dragan (28 June 2017). "Yugoslavia 1999/2000". RSSSF. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  36. ↑ 데얀, K리거 선정 '2010 최고의 K리거' (in Korean). Sportalkorea. 29 July 2010.
  37. ↑ [사진]데얀, '득점왕은 내 차지' (in Korean). Osen. 25 August 2010.
  38. ↑ 김은중, K-리그 MVP..감독상은 박경훈 '제주 독식' (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. 20 December 2010.
  39. ↑ 2011 K리그, 이동국-데얀 천하 (in Korean). Sports Kyunghyang. 1 November 2011.
  40. ↑ [K리그]전북 이동국 2년 만에 MVP…신인왕은 이승기 (in Korean). Newsis. 6 December 2011.
  41. ↑ 데얀, K리그 MVP..감독상은 최용수 '서울 천하' (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. 3 December 2012.
  42. ↑ (종합) 김신욱, MVP 포함 3관왕...감독상엔 '더블' 이룬 황선홍 (in Korean). Sportalkorea. 3 December 2013.
  43. ↑ "AFC Champions League 2013 Dream Team". Facebook.com. AFC Champions League. 15 November 2013.
  44. ↑ "TSG Report: AFC Champions League 2016 - Part 3". AFC. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  45. ↑ "AFC Champions League 2018 Technical Report". AFC. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  46. ↑ "2020/21香港足球明星選舉網上頒獎典禮及結果公佈" (in Chinese). HKFA. 19 June 2021.
  47. ↑ "HKPL Top scorer 2020–2021". hkfa.com. Football Association of Hong Kong, China. 19 June 2021. Archived from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  48. ↑ "中國香港足球總會". hkfa.com. Football Association of Hong Kong, China. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  49. ↑ "[2020/21香港足球明星選舉網上頒獎典禮及結果公佈" (in Chinese). HKFA. 19 June 2021.
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