Mateja Kežman ( sr-Cyrl, Матеја Кежман, ; born 12 April 1979) is a Serbian 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 striker. Upon playing in his homeland, Kežman went on to play top-flight football in the Netherlands, England, Spain, Turkey, France, Russia, Hong Kong and Belarus. He is arguably best known for his career at PSV, earning numerous awards and worldwide recognition as having the potential to be one of the greatest strikers of his generation, being named

Dutch Footballer of the Year The title Dutch Footballer of the Year (Dutch: ''Voetballer van het Jaar'') has been awarded in the Netherlands since 1984. The award is determined by a poll of Dutch professional footballers playing in the First (Eredivisie) and Second (Eerste Divi ...

in 2003. Kežman was subsequently labeled as a flop after his spell at

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, as there were extremely high expectations of him. By the end of his illustrious career, he had amassed a record number of championship medals in the top-tier competitions of five different countries. Internationally, Kežman represented FR Yugoslavia / Serbia and Montenegro in one European Championship and one

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

. After finishing his professional playing career, Kežman became a sports agent, currently representing

Sergej Milinković-Savić Sergej Milinković-Savić ( sr-Cyrl, Сергеј Милинковић-Савић, ; born 27 February 1995), also known mononymously as Sergej, is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Lazio and the Serbia ...

among other players. He also served as a

director of football 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 ...

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 ...

in 2013.

Early and personal life

Kežman's father Zlatko was also a

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

, spending the majority of his career with

Zemun Zemun ( sr-cyrl, Земун, ; hu, Zimony) is a municipality in the city of Belgrade. Zemun was a separate town that was absorbed into Belgrade in 1934. It lies on the right bank of the Danube river, upstream from downtown Belgrade. The developme ...

. His early career at Partizan was disrupted by

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

's airstrikes on Belgrade in 1999. In 2003, he took protection when a Yugoslav criminal threatened to kidnap him and hold PSV to ransom. Kežman is a devout member of the

Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...

. During his time in the Netherlands, he prayed in the German city of

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

to retain his privacy. Although he considers his addiction to tattoos to be a vice, his tattoos are of a religious theme, and while playing he wore an undershirt with a printed

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

of Jesus; this drew media attention during his spell in Turkey. He pledged to become a monk in the church.

Club career

Partizan

In the summer of 1998. At the age of 19, Kežman joined

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 ...

whose coach at the time was

Ljubiša Tumbaković Ljubiša Tumbaković (, ; born 2 September 1952) is a Serbian professional football manager. He is the most successful coach in the history of Serbian powerhouse Partizan which he led to six national championship titles and three national cup w ...

. In the 1998/99 season. He scored six goals in 22 championship matches, and won the championship title. In that season, he drew attention to himself when, in the 111-th Eternal derby against

Red Star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. I ...

, he scored a goal in the last minute, which gave Partizan a 2–1 victory. In the 1999/00 season. Coach

Miodrag Ješić Miodrag Ješić ( sr-Cyrl, Миодраг Јешић, ; 30 November 1958 – 8 December 2022) was a Serbian football manager and player. Playing career Born in Osečenica, Ješić played for Partizan between 1974 and 1985, taking part in 342 m ...

takes the helm on the Partizan bench and then Kežman plays even better games. He scored 27 goals in 32 league games. However, the black and white team ended that season without a trophy. In his two seasons at the club, Kežman made a name for himself as a prolific striker and became a favourite among the fans of the club. He scored a total of 33 league goals in 54 appearances and was the top scorer of the national championship in the 1999–2000 season. He was especially good in the eternal derbies with Red Star, because he scored the same number of goals in 5 games he played.

PSV

In the summer of 2000, Kežman completed his move to Dutch club PSV. In his debut season, he was the league's top scorer, achieving 24 goals in 33 games as PSV won the title. He also picked up the nickname 'Batman', because the famous theme song was played at

Philips Stadion The Philips Stadion () is a football stadium in Eindhoven, Netherlands. As the home of PSV Eindhoven (Philips Sport Vereniging), it is therefore also known as PSV Stadion. With a capacity of 36,500, it is the third-largest football stadium in th ...

every time he scored. He formed a successful partnership with

Arjen Robben Arjen Robben (; born 23 January 1984) is a Dutch former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Winger (football), winger. He was known for his Dribbling#Association football, dribbling skills, speed, ball control and long ...

, and they gained the epithet 'Batman and Robben', a pun on Batman and Robin. Kežman went to score 81 goals over the following three seasons with PSV. His best season in terms of both goals and appearances was 2002–03 when he played 33 out of 34 of PSV's matches and scored 35 goals to help them win the title.

Chelsea

Kežman spent the 2004–05 season at

and scored seven goals in 40 appearances in all competitions. He was signed for the club on 13 July 2004 for £5.3 million by

José Mourinho José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix GOIH (; born 26 January 1963), is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Italian Serie A club Roma. Once dubbed "The Special One" by the British ...

. He wore the number 9 shirt left vacant by

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink Jerrel Floyd "Jimmy" Hasselbaink ( ; born 27 March 1972) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of League One club Burton Albion. Born in Suriname, he and his family would later move to t ...

's transfer to

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

. He played 24 league games and scored four goals. The first goal came on 4 December 2004 in a 4–0 victory over

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

at home, with an injury time penalty after coming on as a substitute in the 61st minute. He did not score again until 11 March 2005 in a 3–1 away victory over

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

, who were relegated at the end of the season. Eight days later he scored twice at home against another team that would be relegated,

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

, as Chelsea won 4–1. At the end of the season Chelsea won their first league title since 1954–55. His first ever goal for Chelsea was in

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

third round at home to

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

on 27 October 2004. It was the only goal of the game. He scored a goal in extra time (112th minute) of the 2005 League Cup Final against

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. Chelsea won 3–2 after it finished 1–1 after 90 minutes. Kežman scored a goal in the 3rd round of that season's FA Cup against Scunthorpe United as Chelsea won 3–1 at home. His attack down the right wing set up Chelsea's first goal in the 4-2 win against

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

in the Champions League Round of 16, in a "brilliant" play with the scorer

Eiður Guðjohnsen Eiður Smári Guðjohnsen (transliterated as Eidur Smari Gudjohnsen; born 15 September 1978) is an Icelandic professional football coach and former player who played as a forward. Eiður saw his greatest success in England and Spain with Chelsea ...

. In 2011, Kežman revealed to

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

that his time at Chelsea was the best he has ever had in football, despite failing to make an impact for the club: ''"Chelsea was the best thing in my career. That was the climax of my career, for sure. Living and playing in London was something that I will never forget. I don't know if I made a mistake because I moved away so quickly. Maybe I do and maybe I don't regret it, but I always believe in my decisions. But the transfer to Chelsea made my dreams come true. That was the best thing that ever happened to me. Maybe I could achieve more and I could have been more successful at

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in L ...

, but I don't regret anything."''

Atlético Madrid

Kežman left Chelsea for

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

of Spain's Primera División on 29 June 2005 for £5.3 million, the same price as he had joined Chelsea. He soon suffered a knee injury, which he did not recover from until after New Year's in 2006. Initially, the appointment of

José Murcia José 'Pepe' Murcia González (born 3 December 1964) is a Spanish association football, football manager (association football), manager who manages Qatari Second Division side Muaither SC. Career Born in Córdoba, Andalusia, Murcia never playe ...

as coach allegedly boosted Kežman's confidence, but by the end of his spell in Madrid, Kežman actually scored more goals (six) under

Carlos Bianchi Carlos Arcesio Bianchi (born 26 April 1949), nicknamed ''El Virrey'' (''The Viceroy''), is an Argentine former football player and manager. A prolific goalscorer, although he had a bright career as a forward in Argentina and France, Bianchi is b ...

than with Murcia (with whom he scored a total of two goals in the remainder of the season). Atlético ended the season in 10th and were knocked out by

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. Zaragoza holds its home games at La ...

in the

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...

round of 16. Kežman scored a total of eight goals in 30 league matches, often in a strike partnership with

Fernando Torres Fernando José Torres Sanz (; born 20 March 1984) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the current manager of Atlético Madrid Juvenil A. Due to his consistent goalscoring rate as a young player, ...

Fenerbahçe

In the summer of 2006, Kežman was transferred to Fenerbahçe on a four-year contract. He played a central role in Fenerbahçe winning the 2006–07 Süper Lig in their centennial year. In the

2007–08 UEFA Champions League The 2007–08 UEFA Champions League was the 16th season of UEFA's premier European club football tournament, the UEFA Champions League, since it was rebranded in 1992, and the 53rd tournament overall. The final was played on 21 May 2008 at the L ...

, he appeared in over half of Fenerbahçe's group stage matches against the likes of his former club PSV,

Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is t ...

and

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was a central piece ...

. Ironically, he even played against

over both legs of the 2008 Champions League quarter-finals; the first of which he started and showed off with a close

bicycle kick In association football, a bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick, scissors kick, is an acrobatic strike where a player kicks an airborne ball rearward in midair. It is achieved by throwing the body backward up into the air and, before d ...

in a 2–1 win, while in the second leg he was subbed in during the dying minutes of his team's 2–0 loss at

, where Fenerbahçe was eliminated in the longest-lasting Champions League campaign in the club's history. As a result of this and the preceding regular season, in which Kežman scored almost a goal every other game by statistical average, Fenerbahçe S.K. supporters revered him even in the years after he left

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

in his journeyman years.

Paris Saint-Germain

On 19 August 2008, Kežman signed for

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 ...

, a one-year loan with a buyout clause. He appeared in 21 league matches, mostly as substitute, and scored three goals. On 30 August 2009, it was announced that Kežman would be joining

Zenit Saint Petersburg Football Club Zenit (russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб «Зенит» ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, acco ...

from Paris Saint-Germain on a season-long loan, with a purchase option for an undisclosed fee. The next day, the transfer had been officially confirmed when the player passed medical examinations. He scored two goals for Zenit helping the team to finish 3rd in the

Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 ...

, but the Russian side decided not to retain his services, and he returned to Paris in January 2010. On 3 November 2010, Kežman's contract with PSG was terminated by mutual consent.

South China

On 20 January 2011, it was announced that Kežman had signed to play for

South China South China () is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is that most of its citizens are not n ...

for the rest of the 2010–11 Hong Kong First Division League. Kežman made his debut on 29 January 2011 versus NT Realty Wofoo Tai Po which lost 1–0; he was substituted by

Leung Chun Pong Leung Chun Pong (, born 1 October 1986 in Hong Kong) is a Hong Kong professional footballer who currently plays as a defensive midfielder for Hong Kong Premier League club Eastern. Biography Childhood He was graduated from CCC Hoh Fok Tong C ...

in the 64th minute. On 13 February 2011, in the

semi-final against league leader

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 ...

, Kežman scored his first goal for the club in the 32nd minute and his second goal seven minutes before the end. South China beat Kitchee by 4–2 and entered the finals. On 13 April 2011, in the 2011 AFC Cup group H match against Kingfisher East Bengal, Kežman scored his first AFC Cup goal in the 69th minute with a header, assisted by Au Yeung Yiu Chung. His goal helped South China gain victory and moved up to 3rd position in the group, but he also received a yellow card in the match, his second yellow card in the tournament and he missed the away game to East Bengal. In May 2011, after his team failed to progress into the 2011 AFC Cup knockout stage, following 2–4 loss to Indonesian outfit

Persipura Jayapura Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Jayapura, or Persipura, is an Indonesian football club based in Jayapura, Papua. The club was founded in 1963 and currently competes in the Liga 2. Persipura used to always use the Mandala Stadium as their ...

, Kežman said to the media that the

AFC Cup The AFC Cup is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Under its current rules, the competition is played primarily between clubs from nations that did not receive direct qualifying s ...

is a strange competition and kind of stupid. He blamed the hot weather and long travel to go to

Jayapura Jayapura (formerly Dutch: ''Hollandia'') is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of Papua. It is situated on the northern coast of New Guinea island and covers an area of . The city borders the Pacific Ocean and Yos Sudarso ...

as one of the factors why his team could not progress further. In the final match of the 2010–11 Hong Kong FA Cup, Kežman managed to take advantage of an opponent's defensive error and scored an outstanding goal in extra time to give his team a 2–1 win over NT Realty Wofoo Tai Po on 29 May 2011. The next day, Kežman finished his stint with South China after his four-month contract expired.

BATE

On 31 August 2011, Kežman joined Belarusian side BATE Borisov as a free agent until the end of the year. He was seen as a reinforcement for upcoming

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 competit ...

group stage games and as a potential replacement for seriously injured striker

Vitali Rodionov Vital Viktaravich Radzivonaw ( be, Віталь Віктаравіч Радзівонаў; russian: Виталий Родионов; born 11 December 1983) is a Belarusian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He spent most o ...

. Ultimately, Kežman played six games in the Belarusian League and 5 games in the Champions League without scoring any goals. He parted ways with BATE after the last Champions League game against

Return to Hong Kong and retirement

In January 2012, Kežman returned to South China to play at the Asian Challenge Cup. He played his last professional match on 26 January 2012, missing the last penalty in the shoot-out series against

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 ...

, in the third-place match.

International career

Kežman marked his

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

international debut 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 ...

during March 2000 with a goal against

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

in a friendly match as part of the preparations for

UEFA Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

. Head coach

Vujadin Boškov Vujadin Boškov ( sr-cyr, Вујадин Бошков, ; 16 May 1931 – 27 April 2014) was a Serbian footballer and manager. A midfielder, he played 57 matches for the Yugoslav national team. He experienced his greatest success as a coach in 1 ...

included him in the final 23-man roster that he took to Belgium and the Netherlands. Despite being the fourth attacking option behind

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 ...

Savo Milošević Savo Milošević ( sr-Cyrl, Саво Милошевић, ; born 2 September 1973) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player. A former forward, he signed for English club Aston Villa after making a name for himself at Partizan. ...

and

Darko Kovačević Darko Kovačević ( sr-Cyrl, Дарко Ковачевић) (born 18 November 1973) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He began his career in Serbia with Proleter Zrenjanin and subsequently played for Red Star ...

, 21-year-old Kežman got his chance as substitute late in the group match versus

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. However, after being on the pitch for about 90 seconds, he was sent off following a rash tackle on

Erik Mykland Erik Mykland (born 21 July 1971) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He was nicknamed ''Myggen'' (mosquito) during his career, as he used to flap his arms and hands like one when celebrating his goals. A ra ...

. In February 2003, after embarrassing performances of the team during

UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying Qualification for the 2004 UEFA European Championship took place between September 2002 and November 2003. Fifty teams were divided into ten groups, with each team playing the others in their group twice, once at home and once away. The top te ...

, Kežman announced that he retired from the national jersey. However, Kežman returned to the team few months later, after

Ilija Petković Ilija Petković ( sr-Cyrl, Илија Петковић, ; 22 September 1945 – 27 June 2020) was a Serbian footballer and manager. Petković was capped 43 times for Yugoslavia, participating in the 1968 European Football Championship, and in ...

was appointed as the new coach. Kežman led

Serbia and Montenegro 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 Yu ...

's scoring during the

2006 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification competition was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation – the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South Americ ...

s with five goals, including the only goal in the final game against

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 ...

which in turn allowed Serbia and Montenegro to qualify directly, having come first in their group. During the competition, he was sent off in a group match 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 ...

by referee

Roberto Rosetti Roberto Rosetti (born 18 September 1967) is an Italian former football referee. He is fluent in Italian (native), English and French. He started refereeing in 1983, and took charge of his first match in the Italian Serie A in 1996. He received hi ...

. After his sending off against

at the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

, Kežman did not receive any call up for his country's national team. During his six-year career in the national team, Kežman scored 17 goals in 49 appearances.

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

Partizan *

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 ...

: 1998–99 PSV *

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

: 2000–01, 2002–03 *

Johan Cruyff Shield The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national footbal ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

Chelsea *

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

: 2004–05 *

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

: 2004–05 Fenerbahçe *

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

: 2006–07 *

Turkish Super Cup The Turkish Super Cup ( Turkish: ''TFF Süper Kupa''), as it is currently known, is the annual super cup football match contested between the previous season's Süper Lig champions and the Turkish Cup winners in Turkey. It was originally known a ...

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 ...

Paris Saint-Germain *

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...

: 2009–10 South China *

Hong Kong FA Cup Hong Kong FA Cup () is a knockout cup competition in Hong Kong football, run by and named after The Hong Kong Football Association. The first edition of the competition was held in 1975, before then the cup was known as the Golden Jubilee Cup. Th ...

: 2010–11 BATE Borisov *

Belarusian Premier League The Belarusian Premier League or the Vyšejšaja Liha or the Vysheyshaya Liga ( be, Вышэйшая ліга, russian: Высшая лига, "Top League") is the top division of professional football in Belarus, and is organized by the Belarusi ...

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 ...

Individual *First League of FR Yugoslavia top scorer: 1999–2000 *Eredivisie top scorer: 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04 *

: 2002–03 * ESM Team of the Year: 2002–03

Notes

References

External links