Anto Drobnjak (
Cyrillic
, bg, кирилица , mk, кирилица , russian: кириллица , sr, ћирилица, uk, кирилиця
, fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs
, fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic
, fam3 = Phoenician
, fam4 = G ...
: Анто Дробњак; born 21 September 1968) is a Montenegrin former professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who played as a
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
. He was one of two top scorers of the
First League of Yugoslavia in 1993 when he played for
Red Star Belgrade
Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional football club based in Bel ...
. Internationally, he played for
FR Yugoslavia national team in the
qualification for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, although he was not selected to the
country's squad for the
final tournament
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
.
Club career
Budućnost
Drobnjak joined
Budućnost ahead of the
1987–88 season. He made his professional debut under coach
Stanko "Špaco" Poklepović, during a time when Budućnost fielded their most accomplished generation at the time; Drobnjak's teammates at Budućnost included
Dragoje Leković
Dragoje Leković ( sr-Cyrl, Драгоје Лековић, ; born 21 November 1967) is a retired professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Club career
Leković was born in Sivac, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia. In Yugoslavia, he played ma ...
,
Branko Brnović
Branko Brnović (Cyrillic: Бранко Брновић; born 8 August 1967) is a Montenegrin manager and retired professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.
Club career
After making his professional debuts with local club Budu ...
,
Željko Petrović
Željko Petrović ( sr-cyr, Жељко Петровић; born 13 November 1965) is a Montenegrin football coach and former player. As a player, he represented the FR Yugoslavia national team at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
Club career Budućnost
P ...
,
Predrag Mijatović
Predrag "Peđa" Mijatović ( sr-Cyrl, Предраг Мијатовић, ; born 19 January 1969) is a Montenegrin retired professional footballer who played as a striker. At club level, Mijatović played for six clubs: Budućnost, Partizan, Val ...
, and
Dejan Savićević
Dejan Savićević ( cyrl, Дејан Савићевић, ; born 15 September 1966) is a Montenegrin former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Since 2004, he has been the president of the Montenegrin Football Association (FSCG), cu ...
. Drobnjak later attributed his early development to "Špaco" Poklepović:
Red Star Belgrade
Drobnjak joined
Red Star Belgrade
Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional football club based in Bel ...
ahead of the
1992–93 season, after which he was the league's top scorer along with
Vojvodina
Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...
's
Vesko Mihajlović
Vesko Mihajlović (Serbian Cyrillic: Веско Михајловић; born 17 March 1968) is a Serbian former football midfielder and manager. He is widely considered to be one of the best foreign players to have played in the Cypriot Championsh ...
.
On 15 May 1993, he scored the winning goal in the
final of the 1993 Yugoslav Cup, in which Red Star beat
Partizan Partizan may refer to:
Sport
* JSD Partizan, a sports society from Belgrade, Serbia, which includes the following clubs:
**AK Partizan, athletics
** Biciklistički Klub Partizan, cycling
** Džudo Klub Partizan, judo
**FK Partizan, association fo ...
1–0. He was Red Star's top scorer in the
1993–94 season along with teammate
Ilija Ivić
Ilija Ivić (Serbian Cyrillic: Илија Ивић; born 17 February 1971) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a striker. A skillful attacker who showed great technical ability, Ivić could often be found in a supporting ...
, and was fifth highest goal scorer in the league that season.
Bastia
Amidst
international sanctions against Yugoslavia, Drobnjak asked Red Star's sports director
Dragan Džajić
Dragan Džajić ( sr-Cyrl, Драган Џајић; born 30 May 1946) is a Yugoslav former footballer from Serbia.
Džajić is widely considered to be one of the best footballers to emerge from the former Yugoslavia, and one of the greatest lef ...
if there was any opportunity could leave both the club and country. Džajić got word of
Bastia
Bastia (, , , ; co, Bastìa ) is a commune in the department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest population of any commune on the is ...
's search for a classic center forward, and after negotiations through Džajić, Drobnjak signed a three-year contract with Bastia in 1994.
Under coach
Frédéric Antonetti
Frédéric Antonetti (born 19 August 1961) is a French professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of French club Metz. He previously managed Bastia, Gamba Osaka, Saint-Étienne, Nice, Rennes and Lille.
Earl ...
, he spent the following three seasons at the club, scoring 50 goals in 100 league games.
On 3 May 1995, Drobnjak scored a goal in the
1995 Coupe de la Ligue Final
The Coupe de la Ligue Final 1995 was a football match held at Parc des Princes, Paris on May 3, 1995, that saw Paris Saint-Germain defeat SC Bastia 2-0 thanks to goals by Alain Roche and Raí.
Match details
External linksReport on LFP officia ...
against
Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...
, although it was denied by the referee.
He signed a new three-year contract with Bastia in 1996.
At the end of the
1996–97 season, Drobnjak was the
sixth highest goal scorer in the league and Bastia finished in seventh overall. As a result, he received offers from
Olympique de Marseille
Olympique de Marseille (, ; oc, Olimpic de Marselha, ), also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional men's football club based in Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Founded in 1899, the club pl ...
and
Lens
A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements''), ...
, but he ultimately chose Lens due to Bastia's bitter rivalry with Marseille.
Lens
In 1997, Drobnjak switched to fellow French club
Lens
A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements''), ...
, helping them win
the league
''The League'' is an American sitcom that aired on FX and later FXX from October 29, 2009, to December 9, 2015, for a total of seven seasons. The series, set in Chicago, Illinois, is a semi-improvised comedy show about a fantasy football league ...
in his
debut season under coach
Daniel Leclercq
Daniel Leclercq (4 September 1949 – 22 November 2019) was a French football defender and manager. He played 440 matches from 1967 to 1984 for US Valenciennes, Olympique de Marseille and RC Lens. He later managed clubs from 1986 to 2017. He ...
. On 22 August 1997, Leclercq gave Drobnjak the green light to start against Olympique de Marseille in spite of a lingering back injury; Drobnjak went on to score a
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...
in a 2–3 away win for Lens.
On 15 November 1997, he scored a hat-trick in a 5–4 win against
AS Cannes
Association Sportive de Cannes Football (; commonly referred to as AS Cannes or simply Cannes) is a French association football club based in Cannes. The club was formed 1902 as a sports club and currently plays in the Championnat National 3, ...
.
He was the
fourth highest goal scorer in the league that season.
Later career
He subsequently moved to Japan and played for
Gamba Osaka
is a Japanese professional football club based in Suita, Osaka Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's name ''Gamba'' comes from the Japanese , meaning "to do your best" or "to st ...
. After a year, Drobnjak returned to France and joined
Sochaux
Sochaux () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France.
Geography
Sochaux lies east of Montbéliard, and southeast of Paris.
Population
Inhabitants are known as ''Sochaliens''.
Economy
Soc ...
. He also spent one season at
Martigues
Martigues ( in classical norm, ''Lou Martegue'' in Mistralian norm) is a commune northwest of Marseille. It is part of the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the eastern end of the Canal de Caronte.
A dir ...
, before retiring in 2002.
International career
Between 1996 and 1998, Drobnjak earned seven caps and scored three times for
FR Yugoslavia
Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup
A relationship breakup, breakup, or ...
. He made his debut on 6 October 1996 in a 8–1 away win against
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
under coach
Slobodan Santrač
Slobodan Santrač (, ; 1 July 1946 – 13 February 2016) was a Serbian football manager and player. He is the all-time top scorer of the Yugoslav First League with a total of 218 goals, as well as the top scorer in the history of OFK Beograd. As m ...
during the
1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
. On 24 February 1998, Drobnjak scored a goal in a 3–1 friendly loss against
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
at
Estadio José María Minella
The Estadio José María Minella is a stadium in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina. It is owned and administrated by the Municipality of General Pueyrredón Partido, General Pueyrredón. Inaugurated for the 1978 FIFA World Cup hosted by Argentin ...
.
However, he was not selected to Yugoslavia's final squad for the
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the ...
. Multiple newspapers at the time expressed surprise at Drobnjak's absence in Yugoslavia's squad at the 1998 World Cup.
His final international was an April 1998
friendly match
An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
against
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
.
Post-playing career
Drobnjak served as assistant manager to
Branko Brnović
Branko Brnović (Cyrillic: Бранко Брновић; born 8 August 1967) is a Montenegrin manager and retired professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.
Club career
After making his professional debuts with local club Budu ...
at
Montenegro
)
, image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, official_languages = M ...
from 2011 to 2015.
Career statistics
Honours
Red Star Belgrade
*
FR Yugoslavia Cup
The Serbia and Montenegro Cup was an association football knockout cup tournament of Serbia and Montenegro played between 1992 and 2006, after which Serbia and Montenegro became separate nations. The competition was the continuation of the old M ...
:
1992–93
Lens
*
Championnat de France The French Rugby League Championship is the major rugby league tournament for French professional and semi-professional clubs.
French Championships or French Championship may also refer to:
French national championships
* Division 1 Féminine ...
:
1997–98
Individual
*
First League of FR Yugoslavia
The First League of Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Прва савезна лига / Prva savezna liga) was the top football league of Serbia and Montenegro, before the country's dissolution in 2006. The league was formed following the breakup of Yu ...
top scorer:
1992–93
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drobnjak, Anto
1968 births
Living people
People from Bijelo Polje
Association football forwards
Yugoslav footballers
Serbia and Montenegro footballers
Serbia and Montenegro international footballers
FK Jedinstvo Bijelo Polje players
FK Budućnost Podgorica players
Montenegrin footballers
Red Star Belgrade footballers
SC Bastia players
RC Lens players
Gamba Osaka players
FC Sochaux-Montbéliard players
FC Martigues players
Yugoslav First League players
First League of Serbia and Montenegro players
Ligue 1 players
J1 League players
Ligue 2 players
Serbia and Montenegro expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in France
Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in France
Expatriate footballers in Japan
Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Japan