Simon Vukčević (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet ( sr, / , ) is a variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language, updated in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two alphabets used to write standard modern Serbian, th ...

: Симон Вукчевић, ; born 29 January 1986) is a Montenegrin former

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 an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, 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 #Cent ...

. After starting his senior career at the age of 17 with

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 ...

, winning two

national championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

during his tenure, he went on to play professionally in Russia, Portugal – playing 135 competitive matches while scoring 28 goals for

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...

and conquering the 2008 Taça de Portugal – England, Ukraine, Greece and Cyprus. Internationally, Vukčević represented both

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 ...

and

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

Club career

Partizan

Born in

Titograd Podgorica (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; Literal translation, lit. 'under the hill') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd ...

Socialist Republic of Montenegro The Socialist Republic of Montenegro ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Crna Gora, Социјалистичка Република Црна Гора), commonly referred to as Socialist Montenegro or simply Montenegro, was ...

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...

, Vukčević started playing football at the

FK Zabjelo Fudbalski klub Zabjelo (English: Football Club Zabjelo) is a Montenegrin football club based in Zabjelo, a suburb of Podgorica. They currently compete in the Montenegrin Third League. History Period 1963-1999 The team was founded in 1963 as ...

youth academy, signing with

FK Partizan Fudbalski klub Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Партизан, ; en, Partizan Football Club), sometimes known as Partizan Belgrade in English, is a Serbia, Serbian professional football club (association football), football ...

at age 13. He was promoted to the first team of the latter ahead of the 2003–04 season. The 18-year-old Vukčević scored a career-best ten goals in the 2004–05 campaign, helping his team win the eighth

First League of Serbia and Montenegro 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 ...

in their history and 19th overall. He was eventually awarded the number 1 shirt in recognition of his popularity among supporters but, during 2005–06, faced criticism over his excessive individual play and poor shot selection, as well as overall declining form.

Saturn

In January 2006, Vukčević joined

FC Saturn Ramenskoye FC Saturn Ramenskoye (russian: Фк Сатурн Ра́менское) is a Russian football club, based in the town of Ramenskoye in Moscow Oblast. It is also sometimes referred to as FC Saturn Moscow Region (russian: Фк Сатурн Моск ...

for a reported fee of €7 million. In late July, however, he was demoted to the reserve squad with coach Vladimír Weiss publicly blasting him in the press for displaying bad attitude in training and having a lack of manners. Subsequently, Vukčević expressed frustration at his manager playing him out of position. He also said that coming to 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 ...

club was a mistake, and that he would have preferred a more ambitious project. Vukčević's fate did not change for the better even though Weiss was dismissed early into the 2007 season, being replaced by Gadzhi Gadzhiev,

Sporting

On 25 June 2007, Saturn reportedly agreed a €4 million transfer fee with

, but the deal stalled when the former also demanded 20% of any subsequent transfer fees involving Vukčević. Three days later, both clubs agreed a €2 million fee in addition to an agreement about splitting his future transfer fee 50–50. He made his

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

debut on 17 August, playing 71 minutes in a 4–1 home win over Académica de Coimbra. Vukčević also found the net in home fixtures against

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portu ...

(2–0) and

S.L. Benfica Sport Lisboa e Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional association football, football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football league system, Portuguese footba ...

(1–1) in his first year. He ranked second in the team in goals scored at seven, only behind

Liédson Liédson da Silva Muniz (born 17 December 1977), known simply as Liédson, is a former footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed ''Levezinho'' ("Slender one") due to his light frame (63 kg),

. During the 2008 summer transfer window,

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

and

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

were at the top of the list of clubs reportedly interested in signing Vukčević; nonetheless, Sporting reiterated their desire to keep the player. Shortly after, he got involved in a controversial dispute with manager

Paulo Bento Paulo Jorge Gomes Bento (; born 20 June 1969) is a Portuguese football manager and former player. A defensive midfielder with tackling ability and workrate as his main assets, he played for two of the major three teams in his country, amassin ...

over losing his place in the starting XI; after playing 45 minutes as a substitute in the 2–0 home defeat of

C.F. Os Belenenses Clube de Futebol Os Belenenses, commonly known as Os Belenenses (), is a Portuguese sports club best known for its football team. Founded in 1919, it is one of the oldest Portuguese sports clubs. It is based in the 25,000-seat Estádio do Rest ...

, he declared his intention to leave the ''

Estádio José Alvalade Estádio José Alvalade is a football stadium in Lisbon, Portugal, home of Sporting Clube de Portugal. It was built adjacent to the site of the older stadium. The stadium is named after José Alvalade (1885–1918), the founder and first club mem ...

''. On 21 November 2008, without any warning, Vukčević missed training to join his national team one day before expected, being fined €5,000 and placed on individual training until further notice. On 29 November, after holding a press conference stating his wish to remain in Sporting and apologising for his behaviour, he was allowed to train with the rest of the team. On 5 December, after coming on for

Hélder Postiga Hélder Manuel Marques Postiga (; born 2 August 1982) is a Portuguese retired professional footballer who played as a striker. After beginning at Porto, where he won eight items of silverware along the way, he amassed Primeira Liga totals o ...

in the 75th minute of the league game at C.F. Estrela da Amadora, he scored shortly after in a 3–1 victory. Sporting bought the remaining 50% rights on a future transfer from Saturn in January 2010, for another £2 million.

Blackburn Rovers

Vukčević agreed to a three-year contract with Blackburn Rovers on 26 August 2011, after a successful medical. His maiden

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 ...

appearance took place on 17 September when he played 25 minutes in a 4–3 home win against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

Ewood Park Ewood Park () is a football stadium in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, and the home of Blackburn Rovers F.C., founding members of the Football League and Premier League, who have played there since 1890. It is an all seater multi-sports facili ...

, and he scored his first goal three days later in a 3–2 victory over

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...

in the third round of the

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 ...

, also at home. His first league goal came on 11 December, in a 2–1 loss away to

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

; he made little impact during his first season, and his team was relegated. With the Rovers back in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

, Vukčević made his first start of the campaign on 28 August 2012, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–2 defeat against

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...

in the second round of the League Cup. It seemed likely that he would be allowed to leave on loan with a view to a permanent deal, but in the first match under new coach

Henning Berg Henning Stille Berg (; born 1 September 1969) is a Norwegian football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Cypriot First Division club Pafos FC. His career lasted from 1988 to 2004, most notably in the Premier League where h ...

, on 3 November against

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 ...

, he took the field after replacing Marcus Olsson. Over the next few months, Vukčević made more first-team appearances and was even chosen by new manager

Michael Appleton Michael Antony Appleton (born 4 December 1975) is an English professional football manager and former player. He is currently the head coach of Blackpool. As a player, he operated as a midfielder, in a nine-year career that began in 1994 and e ...

. On 31 January 2013, however, his contract was terminated with immediate effect by mutual consent, with the player having played 21 games across all competitions. Shortly before this happened, there were reports he would move to

APOEL FC APOEL FC ( el, ΑΠΟΕΛ; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', literally "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") ...

of the

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus officially ...

, but no deal was reached.

Karpaty Lviv

On 28 February 2013, Vukčević signed a contract with

Ukrainian Premier League The Ukrainian Premier League ( uk, "Українська Прем'єр-ліга", ''Ukrayinska Premier Liha'') or UPL is the highest division of Ukrainian annual football championship. As the Vyshcha Liha ( uk, Вища ліга, ''Top League'') ...

club

FC Karpaty Lviv Football Club Karpaty Lviv ( ) is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club based in Lviv. History Early years (1963–68) The team of Karpaty was founded on 18 January, 1963 in association football, 1963. In 1961 Silmash Lvi ...

until 30 June with the option to extend. His first appearance occurred three days later, when he played eight minutes in a 2–0 away win over

SC Tavriya Simferopol Sports Club Tavriya ( uk, Спортивний клуб "Таврія") was a Ukrainian football club from Simferopol. Tavriya was a member of the Ukrainian Premier League from its founding and won the first Ukrainian Premier League making them ...

. Vukčević left in April 2013 by mutual consent, citing personal reasons.

Later years

On 10 August 2013, Vukčević joined

Serbian SuperLiga The Serbian Super League ( sr, Супер лига Србије / Super liga Srbije), referred to as the Mozzart Bet Super League ( sr, Моцарт Бет Супер лига / Mozzart Bet Super liga) for sponsorship reasons, is a Serbian profes ...

FK Vojvodina Fudbalski klub Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Војводина), commonly known as Vojvodina and colloquially as Voša ( sr-Cyrl, Воша), is a Serbian professional football club based in Novi Sad, Vojvodina, the second la ...

. In the following years he failed to settle at any club or country, representing

Levadiakos FC Levadiakos Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Λεβαδειακός) is a Greek professional football club that plays in the Super League Greece. Based in Livadeia, Greece, the club was promoted to the Alpha Ethniki, forerunner of the Super League, af ...

(

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

Enosis Neon Paralimni FC Enosis Neon Paralimni Football Club ( el, Ένωση Νέων Παραλιμνίου, ''Enosi Neon Paralimniou'', "Youth Union of Paralimni"), commonly referred to as ENP, is a Cypriot football team from Paralimni. Currently playing in the firs ...

(Cypriot top level) and

G.D. Chaves Grupo Desportivo de Chaves, commonly known as Chaves (), is a Portuguese association football, football football team, club from Chaves, Portugal, Chaves currently playing in the Primeira Liga. They were founded in 1949 and currently play at Está ...

(Portuguese top tier). On 30 March 2018, 32-year-old Vukčević announced his retirement.

International career

Youth

Vukčević was part of the FR Yugoslavia under-17 squad at the 2002 UEFA European Championship. At age 18, he was selected by head coach

Vladimir Petrović Vladimir Petrović ( sr-Cyrl, Владимир Петровић, ; born 1 July 1955) is a Serbian football manager and former player. He is widely known domestically by his nickname Pižon ( sr, Пижон), after the French for ''pigeon''. ...

to be part of the Serbia and Montenegro under-21 team at the 2004 European Championships, scoring for the eventual runners-up in a 1–2 group stage loss to

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 ...

and also converting his

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

attempt in the semi-finals against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. He participated in the

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

also that year, and was subsequently honoured with the Golden Badge Award for the Best Young Athlete of the Year in Serbia and Montenegro by

DSL Sport ''Sport'' ( sr-Cyrl, Спорт) was a Serbian daily sports newspaper. The first edition was published on 5 May 1945 under the name ''Fiskultura'' and the last edition went out on 17 September 2016. Since the mid-2000s it was billed as "Dnevni ...

. Vukčević also played for the under-21 side in the 2006 European Championship. After a 0–1 defeat against

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in the group phase opener, manager

Dragan Okuka Dragomir "Dragan" Okuka (; born 2 April 1954) is a Serbian football coach and former player. As a player, he was predominantly associated with his time with Velež Mostar where he won the 1981 Yugoslav Cup before joining Swedish club Örebro SK, ...

dropped him from the first team. Simon Vukčević free kick at Serbia and Montenegro vs

Senior

Vukčević began earning call-ups to the Serbia and Montenegro senior team from

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 ...

. His debut came on 11 July 2004 against

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

at the age of 18, when he replaced Saša Ilić late into the 2–0 win for the

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 national ...

. On 4 June 2005, Vukčević was given his competitive debut, when he came in for

Ognjen Koroman Ognjen Koroman (, ; born 19 September 1978) is a Serbian football manager and former professional player. As a player, he represented Serbia and Montenegro at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Club career After coming through the youth systems Željez ...

for the last eight minutes of the 0–0 home draw to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

for 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 ...

qualifiers. His last appearance for Serbia and Montenegro occurred four days later, when he featured the entire 1–1 friendly draw with

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Rogers Centre Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a multi-purpose retractable roof stadium in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, it ...

. After Montenegro seceded from

in June 2006, Vukčević chose to represent the newly created nation. He won his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

on 24 March 2007, in a 2–1 friendly defeat of

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. He scored the first of two international goals on 20 August of the following year, helping to a 3–3 draw against the same opposition in another exhibition game. Vukčević played a total of 45 internationals.

Personal life

Vukčević's father, Ilija, worked as

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 ...

FK Zeta FK Zeta is a football club from Golubovci, a suburb of Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro. It plays in the Montenegrin Second League. The club was the inaugural champion of the Montenegrin First League in 2006–07 season. History Period 19 ...

Career statistics

Club

International goals

Honours

Partizan *

: 2002–03, 2004–05 Sporting *

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; "Cup of Portugal") is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Placard since the 2015–16 seaso ...

: 2007–08 Vojvodina *

Serbian Cup The Serbian Cup ( Serbian: Куп Србије, Kup Srbije) is the national football cup of Serbia. The winner of the competition gets a spot in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round. From 2006 to 2010, the competition was known as the Lav Cup ...

: 2013–14

References

External links