Rodoljub "Rođa" Marjanović (; born 27 January 1988) is a

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also

* * * Old Serbian (disambiguat ...

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 ...

. He also holds Croatian citizenship. Despite his talent, Marjanović never managed to reach his full potential due to the lack of professionalism. He is, however, probably best known for being recognized by FIFPro's ''Black Book Eastern Europe'' after allegedly being threatened with death for asking the

Football Association of Serbia The Football Association of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски савез Србије, ФСС / ) is the governing body of football in Serbia, based in Belgrade. It organizes Serbian football leagues, namely the Serbian Superliga, the Serbia n ...

(FSS) to take action for unpaid salaries during a loan spell at

Hajduk Kula FK Hajduk Kula (Serbian Cyrillic: ФК Хајдук Кула) was a Serbian football club based in Kula. The club was named after a Hajduk, a much celebrated hero figure in the Serbian epic poetry. On 30 July 2013, just eleven days before start ...

Early life

Born in

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

(in present-day

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

), Marjanović spent the majority of his childhood in nearby

Beli Manastir Beli Manastir is a town in eastern Croatia. It is the principal town of the Croatian part of Baranja, located in the Osijek-Baranja County. Name The name means "white monastery" in Serbo-Croatian. Originally called Monoštor, the current name w ...

. He moved to Sombor (in present-day Vojvodina, an autonomous province of

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 ...

) with his family in 1997, subsequently joining the youth ranks of local club Radnički. He also played for Mladost Apatin and

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 ...

at youth level.

Club career

While completing his formation at

Rad RAD or Rad may refer to: People * Robert Anthony Rad Dougall (born 1951), South African former racing driver * Rad Hourani, Canadian fashion designer and artist * Nickname of Leonardus Rad Kortenhorst (1886–1963), Dutch politician * Radley R ...

, Marjanović made his senior debut in the second half of the 2004–05 Serbian Second League. He spent two more seasons with the ''Građevinari'', before transferring to

OFK Beograd OFK Beograd ( sr-Cyrl, ОФК Београд – Омладински фудбалски клуб Београд, English: ''Belgrade Youth Football Club'') is a Serbian professional football club based in Belgrade, more precisely in Karaburma, ...

in August 2007, signing a four-year contract. Subsequently, Marjanović played for the ''Romantičari'' over the next two seasons, before being loaned to Radnički Sombor (

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

) and

(

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 ...

). Despite skipping training sessions during the later part of his loan spell, Marjanović was signed by

on a permanent basis in the summer of 2010. He eventually gained wide media attention in early 2011, following disputes with the club's board. Later that year, Marjanović rejoined his former club Radnički Sombor. In March 2012, Marjanović moved abroad and joined Romanian club CSMS Iași. He played seven games and scored four goals in

Liga II The Liga 2, most often spelled as Liga II, is the second level of the Romanian football league system. The league changed its name from Divizia B just before the start of the 2006–07 Liga II, 2006–07. It is currently Sponsor (commercial), sp ...

, helping the club earn promotion to the

top flight Top Flight (April 15, 1929 – 1949) was an American U.S. Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. She was the leading American filly of her generation at two and three years of age. Background Bred in Kentucky by the very prominent horseman Harry ...

. After a brief third spell at Radnički Sombor in late 2012, Marjanović signed with Montenegrin First League club Čelik Nikšić in January 2013. In August 2013, Marjanović returned to Serbia and signed for

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 ...

side Inđija. He subsequently made another return to Radnički Sombor in the 2014 winter transfer window. In July 2015, Marjanović moved to Sweden and joined

FC Gute FC Gute, previously named ''Visby IF Gute'', is a Swedish football club located in Visby on the island of Gotland. They currently play in the fourth-tier league Division 2 Norra Svealand. Background The club was formed in 1904 as ''Visby IF Gut ...

on a short-term contract. He later signed with fellow Swedish side Dalhem IF in March 2016.

International career

A former Serbia and Montenegro U17 international, Marjanović represented

at the

2007 UEFA European Under-19 Championship The UEFA U-19 Championship 2007 Final Tournament was held in Austria with matches played from 16–27 July 2007. Players born after 1 January 1988 were eligible to participate in this competition. The draw was made on 13 June 2007. The venues were ...

Statistics

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marjanovic, Rodoljub Association football forwards Expatriate footballers in Montenegro Expatriate footballers in Romania Expatriate footballers in Sweden FC Gute players FC Politehnica Iași (2010) players First League of Serbia and Montenegro players FK Čelik Nikšić players FK Hajduk Kula players FK Inđija players FK Rad players FK Radnički Sombor players Liga II players Montenegrin First League players OFK Beograd players Serbia and Montenegro footballers Serbia youth international footballers Serbian expatriate footballers Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Montenegro Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Romania Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Serbian First League players Serbian footballers Serbian SuperLiga players Serbs of Croatia Sportspeople from Osijek 1988 births Living people