Dejan Damjanović ( sr-cyrl, Дејан Дамјановић, ; born 27 July 1981), also known

mononymously A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. In some cases, a mononym selected by an individual may have originally been from a polynym, a word which refers to one o ...

as Dejan, is a Montenegrin 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 plays 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 ...

for

Hong Kong Premier League The Hong Kong Premier League () is a Hong Kong professional football league organised by the Hong Kong Football Association. It is currently sponsored by BOC Life and officially known as BOC Life Hong Kong Premier League (). The inaugural seaso ...

club

Kitchee Kitchee Sports Club (; ; ) is a Hong Kong professional football club based in Kowloon. It was founded in 1931 and currently competes in the Hong Kong Premier League. The club has won championships in Hong Kong 11 times, including 6 Hong Kong ...

. He is regarded as one of the greatest

K League K League (Hangul: K리그) is South Korea's professional football league. It includes first division K League 1 and second division K League 2. History Until the 1970s, South Korean football operated two major football leagues, the National S ...

players of all time.

Early life

Damjanović was born in the town of

Mostar Mostar (, ; sr-Cyrl, Мостар, ) is a city and the administrative center of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is sit ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

(then part of

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

) on 27 July 1981. During the

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, SFR Yugoslavia from ...

, he moved to Serbia, initially to

Pančevo Pančevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Панчево, ; german: Pantschowa; hu, Pancsova; ro, Panciova; sk, Pánčevo) is a city and the administrative center of the South Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is located on ...

, and then to

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

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 Železnik ( sr-cyr, Железник, ) is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Čukarica. Location Železnik is located in the central part of the Čukarica municipality, southwest from down ...

in 2000 and later also played with

Sremčica Sremčica ( sr-cyr, Сремчица) is a suburban settlement within the municipality of Čukarica in the city of Belgrade, Serbia. Location Sremčica is located south of Belgrade and begins some 2 km south of the southernmost part of th ...

Srem Syrmia ( sh, Srem/Срем or sh, Srijem/Сријем, label=none) is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia and Croatia. Most of the region is flat, with the ex ...

, Radnički Beograd and

Bežanija Bežanija ( sr-cyr, Бежанија, ) is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Novi Beograd, in the Syrmia region. Location Bežanija is located west of the downtown Belgrade, across the Sav ...

. 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.

FC Seoul

Damjanović signed a contract with

FC Seoul FC Seoul ( ko, FC 서울) is a South Korean professional football club based in Seoul that competes in the K League 1, the top flight of South Korean football. The club is owned by GS Sports, a subsidiary of GS Group. They play their home games ...

on 7 December 2007. He was the second highest scorer in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and

2009 K League The 2009 K League was the 27th season of the K League. It was held from 7 March to 6 December 2009, and a total of 15 teams contested, including newly formed Gangwon FC. Teams General information Managerial changes Regular season League tab ...

. 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 Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

in United's Asian tour. However, FC Seoul lost 3–2, United's goals being scored by

Wayne Rooney Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional football manager and former player, who is the manager of Major League Soccer club D.C. United in the United States. He spent much of his playing career as a forward while als ...

Federico Macheda Federico Macheda (; born 22 August 1991) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Süper Lig club Ankaragücü. Born in Rome, Macheda began his career with local club Lazio, but joined Manchester United when he turned 1 ...

and

Dimitar Berbatov Dimitar Ivanov Berbatov ( bg, Димитър Иванов Бербатов; born 30 January 1981) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer. A striker, he captained the Bulgaria national team from 2006 to 2010, and is the country's all-ti ...

. In January 2012,

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...

club

Guangzhou R&F Guangzhou City Football Club (广州城) is a Chinese professional football club that competes in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Guangzhou, Guangdong, and their home venu ...

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 Daegu FC (Korean: 대구 FC) is a South Korean professional football club based in Daegu. The club was founded as a community club at the end of 2002, and made their K League 1 debut in 2003. Daegu has played mostly in the K League 1 but was re ...

. It had been speculated that the FC Seoul manager,

Choi Yong-soo Choi Yong-soo (born 10 September 1973) is a South Korean professional football manager and former player. Playing career Choi played as a striker for Anyang LG Cheetahs (currently FC Seoul) in South Korea's K League. In 2000, he led Anyang ...

, 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 Daejeon Hana Citizen Football Club (Korean 대전 하나 시티즌 축구단) is a South Korean professional football team based in Daejeon that competes in the K League 1, the top tier of South Korean football. At the time of its foundation in 19 ...

. The previous record holder is

Saša Drakulić Saša Drakulić (Serbian Cyrillic: Саша Дракулић; born 28 August 1972) is a retired Serbian footballer. The striker went to South Korea in 1995 and during his nine seasons in the K League made a name for himself as one of the most su ...

who made 104 goals in K League. Afterwards, he scored 31 goals in 40 appearances, thus breaking the record held by

Kim Do-hoon Kim Do-hoon (; born 21 July 1970) is a South Korean professional football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Singaporean club Lion City Sailors before his 11 August 2022 resignation. Playing career Kim during h ...

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 The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...

ranked Damjanović seventh in the world for most goals in a top-division league during a year. In September 2013, Damjanović scored in both of two legs of the

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

quarter finals against his former team Al-Ahli. His scoring continued against the first leg of the semi-final against Esteghlal. However, despite scoring in both legs of the 2013 AFC Champions League Final against

Guangzhou Evergrande Guangzhou Football Club, formerly known as Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club, is a professional Chinese football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under the license of the Chinese Football Association. The team is based ...

, FC Seoul lost on

away goals The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...

and thus ending the competition as runners-up.

Jiangsu Sainty

In December 2013, Damjanović transferred to

side Jiangsu Sainty with transfer fee $4.2 million.

Beijing Guoan

On 17 July 2014, Damjanović transferred to fellow Chinese Super League side

Beijing Guoan Beijing Guoan Football Club () is a professional football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in the Chaoyang District in Beijing and their ho ...

Return to FC Seoul

On 28 December 2015, Damjanović returned to

, signing a two-year contract. 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.

Suwon Samsung Bluewings

On 4 January 2018, Damjanović signed for FC Seoul's biggest rivals

Suwon Samsung Bluewings ''(The Blue, White and Reds)''Tricolor'' , short name = SSB , image = , caption = , founded = , ground = Suwon World Cup Stadium , capacity = 44,031 , owner = Cheil Worldwide(Samsung's subsidiary) , chairma ...

. He was released in December 2019.

Daegu FC

In late December 2019,

announced the signing of Damjanović on a free transfer. On June 14, he scored his first goal since moving against FC Seoul.

Kitchee

On 9 January 2021,

announced the signing of Damjanović on a free transfer. 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 Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

. 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 Pegasus ( grc-gre, Πήγασος, Pḗgasos; la, Pegasus, Pegasos) is one of the best known creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine stallion usually depicted as pure white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as hor ...

. On 23 May, Kitchee SC successfully defended their

title after beating Eastern Long Lions 2–0, courtesy of two goals by Dejan Damjanovic at the

Hong Kong Stadium Hong Kong Stadium is the main sports venue of Hong Kong. Redeveloped from the old Government Stadium, it reopened as Hong Kong Stadium in March 1994. It has a maximum seating capacity of 40,000, including 18,260 at the main level, 3,173 at exec ...

. On 24 June 2021, he scored the second goal in

2021 AFC Champions League The 2021 AFC Champions League was the 40th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 19th under the current AFC Champions League title. Al-Hilal won their fourth title by def ...

group stage against

Port F.C. Port Football Club ( th, สโมสรฟุตบอลการท่าเรือ), formerly known as Port Authority of Thailand F.C. or Thai Port F.C., is a Thai professional football club based in Khlong Toei district of central Bangko ...

and makes him joint-highest goal scorer along with

Lee Dong-gook Lee Dong-gook (, ; born 29 April 1979) is a South Korean former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is a record scorer in the K League 1, and had brief spells in Europe with Werder Bremen and Middlesbrough. He also played for ...

in ACL history with 37 goals. On 27 June 2021, he scored a goal against

Cerezo Osaka is a Japanese professional football club based in Osaka. The club currently plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's name ''Cerezo'' (Spanish for cherry blossom) is also the flower of the city of Osaka. ...

to become the all-time ACL top scorer with 38 goals. He later scored twice from the penalty spot, one each in two matches against

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

, to reach his 40th goal in the AFC Champions League. On 1 May 2022, he scored his 42nd goal in the AFC Champions League in a 2–2 draw against

Vissel Kobe is a Japanese professional football club based in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The team's home stadium is Noevir Stadium Kobe, in Hyōgo-ku, though some home match ...

in the 2022 edition, which helped Kitchee to reach the knockout stages of the competition for the first time in their history.

International career

Damjanović's first international as a Montenegrin football player was against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

on 16 October 2008. He scored two goals in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. He scored his third international goal in a

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA#Structure, FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil national football team, Bra ...

match against

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

on 16 October 2012. On 26 March 2013, during a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, Damjanović came on, as a substitute, for

Mitar Novaković Mitar Novaković ( Cyrillic: Митар Новаковић; born 27 September 1981) is a Montenegrin retired footballer who played as a central midfielder. Internationally, Novaković represented Montenegro, making 25 appearances between 2007 and ...

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 Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. On 11 October 2013, Damjanović scored the only goal for Montenegro in their 4–1 defeat to England at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. He has earned a total of 30 caps, scoring 8 goals. His final international was a September 2015 European Championship qualification match against

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

Personal life

His daughter and son were born in South Korea.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

:''Scores and results list Montenegro's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Damjanović goal.''

Honours

Radnički Beograd *

Second League of Serbia and Montenegro The Second League of Serbia and Montenegro was the second tier of the football league system in Serbia and Montenegro, one level below the First League of Serbia and Montenegro. History Formed in 1992 after the breakup of Yugoslavia, it consisted ...

: 2003–04 Bežanija *

Serbian First League The Serbian First League ( sr, Прва лига Србије / Prva liga Srbije), referred to as the Mozzart Bet First League ( sr, Моцарт Бет Прва лига / Mozzart Bet Prva liga) for sponsorship reasons, is the name for the second ...

: 2005–06 Al-Ahli *

Saudi Crown Prince Cup The Saudi Crown Prince's Cup ( ar, كأس ولي العهد) was the Saudi Arabian annual cup competition. It was the oldest domestic football competition in Saudi Arabia, its first edition was held in 1956–57, but was not crowned from 1975 unti ...

runner-up:

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

FC Seoul *

K League 1 The K League 1 (Hangul: K리그1) is the men's top professional football division of the South Korean football league system. The league is contested by twelve clubs. History The South Korean professional football league was founded in 1 ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Korean FA Cup The Korean FA Cup is a national football cup knockout competition of South Korea, held annually by the Korea Football Association (KFA). Before the FA Cup was established in 1996, two predecessor competitions named All Joseon Football Tournament ...

runner-up:

Korean League Cup The Korean League Cup was a professional football competition in South Korean football. It was held by the K League Federation from 1986 to 2012. Sponsorship Champions List of finals Titles by club K League's principle of official stati ...

runner-up:

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

Suwon Samsung Bluewings *

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Kitchee *

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

Individual *

Serbian League Belgrade Serbian League Belgrade ( Serbian: Српска лига Београд / Srpska liga Beograd) is one of four sections of the Serbian League, the third national tier. The other three sections are Serbian League East, Serbian League Vojvodina and ...

Player of the Season: 2001–02 *Serbian League Belgrade top goalscorer: 2001–02 *

K League Players' Player of the Year The K League Players' Player of the Year is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the year in South Korea. The award has been presented since 2007 and the winner is chosen by a vote amongst the members of the ...

top goalscorer:

* K League 1 Best XI:

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

* K League 1 top goalscorer:

* K League 1 Most Valuable Player:

K League FANtastic Player The K League 'FAN'tastic Player is an annual award given to the player who is judged to have been the best of the year in South Korea. The word 'Fan'tastic means that a fanstasic player is chosen by fans. The award has been presented since the 2009 ...

Dream Team:

*AFC Champions League All-Star Squad:

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Hong Kong Footballer of the Year The Hong Kong Top Footballers Awards (), established by the Hong Kong Football Association in 1978, recognizes the top performers for each season's Hong Kong Premier League. The prizes are decided according to the votes from mass media and the ge ...

* Hong Kong Premier League top goalscorer:

* Hong Kong Premier League Team of the Year:

Records * AFC Champions League all-time top goalscorer: 42 goals

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Damjanovic, Dejan 1981 births Living people Sportspeople from Mostar Association football forwards Montenegrin footballers Montenegro international footballers Bosnia and Herzegovina footballers FK Sinđelić Beograd players FK Železnik players FK Srem players FK Bežanija players FK Radnički Beograd players Al-Ahli Saudi FC players Incheon United FC players FC Seoul players Jiangsu F.C. players Beijing Guoan F.C. players Suwon Samsung Bluewings players Daegu FC players Kitchee SC players First League of Serbia and Montenegro players Second League of Serbia and Montenegro players Saudi Professional League players Serbian SuperLiga players K League 1 players K League 1 Most Valuable Player Award winners Chinese Super League players Hong Kong Premier League players Montenegrin expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Saudi Arabia Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Expatriate footballers in Serbia Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Serbia Expatriate footballers in South Korea Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in South Korea Expatriate footballers in China Montenegrin expatriate footballers in China Expatriate footballers in Hong Kong