Damir Čakar ( Cyrillic: Дамир Чакар; born 28 June 1973) 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 ...

who played as either a striker or an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He is mostly known for his powerful shots and set pieces.

Club career

Čakar started out at his local club Rudar Pljevlja, before joining Budućnost Titograd, aged 15. He made his senior debut for the side in the final 1991–92 edition of the

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, ...

. Afterwards, Čakar returned to Rudar Pljevlja for the

1992–93 Second League of FR Yugoslavia Statistics of Second League of FR Yugoslavia ( sr, Дpугa савезна лига, Druga savezna liga) for the 1992–93 season. Overview The league was composed of clubs from Serbia and Montenegro after the other former Yugoslav republics beca ...

, helping them win promotion to the

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 ...

. He subsequently moved to Borac Čačak, spending the following year and a half at the club. In the 1995 winter transfer window, Čakar was transferred to

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 ...

. He was the team's top scorer in 1995–96 and 1996–97, helping them win back-to-back championships. In the summer of 1997, Čakar was sold to French side

Châteauroux Châteauroux (; ; oc, Chasteurós) is the capital city of the French department of Indre, central France and the second-largest town in the province of Berry, after Bourges. Its residents are called ''Castelroussins'' () in French. Climate ...

. He scored three league goals in his debut season at the club, as they suffered relegation from the top flight. In the following 1998–99 campaign, Čakar appeared in only five league games, before eventually leaving Châteauroux. After two years abroad, Čakar returned to FR Yugoslavia and joined ambitious Sartid Smederevo. He however failed to make an impact there due to an injury, before terminating his contract by mutual agreement with the club's chairman. Subsequently, Čakar signed with Sutjeska Nikšić. He scored 19 league goals in 23 appearances in the

2000–01 First League of FR Yugoslavia The 2000–01 First League of FR Yugoslavia was the ninth season of the FR Yugoslavia's top-level football league since its establishment. It was contested by 18 teams, and Red Star Belgrade won the championship. Incidents Eternal derby abandoned ...

, securing him a return to his former club Partizan. In the following two seasons, Čakar added two more championship titles to his collection. He also helped Partizan reach the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

group stage in the 2003–04 campaign. In February 2005, Čakar was loaned to his parent club Rudar Pljevlja. In the summer of 2005, Čakar extended his contract with Rudar Pljevlja, helping the side win the

Montenegrin Cup The Montenegrin Cup (Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and Serbian language, Serbian: ''Kup Crne Gore'') is the national football cup played in Montenegro, established in 2006. The winner of the cup is awarded a spot in the second qualifying rou ...

in its first edition. He subsequently moved to fellow

Montenegrin First League The First League of Montenegro ( Montenegrin: ''Prva crnogorska fudbalska liga'' — ''Prva CFL'' — ''1. CFL''; ) is the top football league in Montenegro. Founded in 2006, competition is headed by the Football Association of Montenegro. 10 te ...

club Mogren, winning his second national cup, before eventually retiring from the game.

International career

At international level, Čakar earned three caps 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 of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yug ...

. He made his national team debut on 31 March 1995, coming on as a substitute for

Dejan Stefanović Dejan Stefanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Дејан Стефановић; born 28 October 1974) is a Serbian retired professional footballer. Early life While growing up, Stefanović supported Milan and idolized defender Franco Baresi, which inspire ...

in a 1–0 friendly win over

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. Six years later, Čakar received a call-up to the squad for the 2001

Kirin Cup The is an association football tournament organised in Japan by the Kirin Brewery Company. The host, Japan, is a participant in every edition. The tournament was founded in 1978 then known as Japan Cup (International competition which nationa ...

. His final international was during that tournament in July 2001 against hosts Japan.

Post-playing career

In October 2015, Čakar was hired as a scout for Partizan under the newly appointed

sporting director A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...

Ivica Iliev Ivica Iliev (, ; born 27 October 1979) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Club career After starting out as a youngster at Rad, Iliev joined the youth system of Partizan in January 1996. He made his first-te ...

Personal life

Born in Pljevlja, Čakar grew up in a footballing family. His father, Rasim, and his uncle, Safet, both played for Rudar Pljevlja. They are considered among the greatest players in the club's history.

Honours

Club

;Partizan *

: 1995–96, 1996–97, 2001–02, 2002–03 ;Rudar Pljevlja *

: 2006–07 ;Mogren *

: 2007–08

Individual

Top Scorer: 2006–07

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cakar, Damir 1973 births Living people Sportspeople from Pljevlja Association football forwards Association football midfielders Association football utility players Yugoslav footballers Serbia and Montenegro footballers Serbia and Montenegro international footballers Montenegrin footballers FK Budućnost Podgorica players FK Rudar Pljevlja players FK Borac Čačak players FK Partizan players LB Châteauroux players FK Smederevo players FK Sutjeska Nikšić players FK Mogren players Yugoslav First League players First League of Serbia and Montenegro players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Second League of Serbia and Montenegro players Montenegrin First League players Serbia and Montenegro expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in France Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in France FK Partizan non-playing staff Bosniaks of Montenegro