Aleksandar Panajotović (; born 28 January 1952) is a former Yugoslav and

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

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 ...

Club career

After growing up in

Kruševac Kruševac ( sr-cyr, Крушевац, , tr, Alacahisar or Kruşevca) is a city and the administrative center of the Rasina District in central Serbia. It is located in the valley of West Morava, on Rasina river. According to the 2011 census, t ...

, Panajotović moved to

Pirot Pirot ( sr-cyr, Пирот) is a city and the administrative center of the Pirot District in southeastern Serbia. According to 2011 census, the urban area of the city has a population of 38,785, while the population of the city administrative area ...

with his family when still a child. He initially played

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

but later switched to

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and joined the youth team of Radnički Pirot. Shortly after, Panajotović was promoted to the first team, helping them win promotion to the

Yugoslav Second League Yugoslav or Yugoslavian may refer to: * Yugoslavia, or any of the three historic states carrying that name: ** Kingdom of Yugoslavia, a European monarchy which existed 1918–1945 (officially called "Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes" 1918–1 ...

in 1969. A year later, Panajotović was transferred to Yugoslav champions

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 ...

, signing a four-year contract in June 1970. In the second half of the 1976–77 season, Panajotović moved to fellow

Yugoslav First League The Yugoslav First Federal Football League ( Serbian: Прва савезна лига у фудбалу / ''Prva savezna liga u fudbalu'', hr, Prva savezna liga u nogometu, sl, Prva zvezna nogometna liga, mk, Прва сојузна лига, ...

side Radnički Niš. He was a regular member of the team that reached the semi-finals of the 1981–82 UEFA Cup, scoring three goals in the process. During the following season, Panajotović left the club and spent the final years of his career with Yumco Vranje and Napredak Aleksinac, playing in the lower leagues.

International career

Panajotović represented Yugoslavia at the 1971 Mediterranean Games, winning the gold medal. He scored four goals in the tournament. He also played for

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

during the 1974 UEFA European Under-23 Championship.

Honours

;Red Star Belgrade *

: 1972–73 *

Yugoslav Cup The Yugoslav Cup ( hr, Pokal Jugoslavije; sr, Куп Југославије; sl, Pokal Jugoslavije, mk, Куп на Југославија), officially known between 1923 and 1940 as the King Alexander Cup ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Kup kralja Aleksandra, ...

: 1970–71

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Panajotovic, Aleksandar Association football defenders Association football forwards Competitors at the 1971 Mediterranean Games FK Radnički Niš players FK Radnički Pirot players Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Yugoslavia Mediterranean Games medalists in football Red Star Belgrade footballers Serbian footballers Yugoslav First League players Yugoslav footballers 1952 births Living people Sportspeople from Kruševac