Zoran Rajović (

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 ...

: Зоран Рајовић; born 28 October 1979) is a Serbian retired 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 ...

and coach.

Club career

Born in

Vinkovci Vinkovci () is a city in Slavonia, in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in eastern Croatia. The city's registered population was 28,247 in the 2021 census, the total population of the city was 31,057, making it the largest town of the county. Surrounde ...

SR Croatia The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), or SR Croatia, was a constituent republic and federated state of the Social ...

SFR 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 ...

, Rajović moved to

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 ...

at an early age. He was later sent on loan to Vrbas on two separate occasions. In the summer of 1999, Rajović moved to Bulgaria and joined

Beroe Stara Zagora Beroe ( bg, Берое) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Stara Zagora, that competes in the First League, the top division of the Bulgarian football league system. The club was founded in 1916 under the name ''Vere ...

. He scored four league goals in 19 appearances, as the club avoid relegation from the top flight. In 2001, he played in Asia with

Dalian Shide F.C. Dalian Shide was a professional Chinese football club based in Dalian, Liaoning province, China who played in China's football league system between 1955 and 2012. Their home stadiums were the 55,843 capacity Dalian People's Stadium and then late ...

in the

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 ...

. After a season in East Asia, he played in the

First League of FR Yugoslavia The First League of Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Прва савезна лига / Prva savezna liga) was the top football league of Serbia and Montenegro, before the country's dissolution in 2006. The league was formed following the breakup of Yu ...

with

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 2002, he played in the

Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina The m:tel Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( bs, m:tel Premijer liga Bosne i Hercegovine / м:тел Премијер лига Босне и Херцеговине), also known as Liga 12, is the top tier football league in Bosnia and Herz ...

and became best remembered for his time with Glasinac Sokolac and

Zrinjski Mostar Zrinjski Mostar is a sports association from the city of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was formed in 1905. Member clubs *Football: **HŠK Zrinjski Mostar *Basketball: **HKK Zrinjski Mostar (men's) **ŽKK Zrinjski Mostar (women's) *Han ...

(two spells), becoming the Premier League top scorer in the 2004–05 season with 17 goals. In 2005, he played in the

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...

with

F.C. Ashdod SC Ashdod ( he, מועדון ספורט אשדוד, ''Moadon Sport Ashdod'', lit. Sport Club Ashdod, mainly known in Israel by the semi-acronym name , ''Mem Samekh Ashdod'', lit. S.C. Ashdod) is an Israeli football club, playing in the port cit ...

and

Hapoel Kfar Saba F.C. Hapoel Kfar Saba F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל הפועל כפר סבא, ''Moadon Kaduregel Hapoel Kfar Saba'') is an Israeli football club based in Kfar Saba. The club competes in the Liga Leumit and plays home matches at Levita Stadiu ...

In 2006, he returned to Europe to play in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

with

Ethnikos Piraeus F.C. Ethnikos Piraeus 1923 Football Club ( el, Εθνικός Πειραιώς 1923) is a Greek football club based in Piraeus and its parent sports club is Ethnikos OFPF. The club was officially formed in 1923 as ''Keravnos'' ( en, Lightning), but ...

and returned to

in 2007. During his second tenure with Zrinjski, he featured in the

2007–08 UEFA Cup The 2007–08 UEFA Cup was the 37th edition of the UEFA Cup, UEFA's second-tier club football tournament. The final was played at the City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester, England on 14 May 2008 between Rangers of Scotland and Zenit Saint Pet ...

against

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 ...

, and

FK Rabotnički FK Rabotnichki ( mk, ФК Работнички) or more commonly Rabotnički (old transliteration) and Rabotnicki is a football club that plays at the Toshe Proeski Arena in Skopje, North Macedonia. They currently compete in the Macedonian First ...

. He spent time in the

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 ...

in 2008 with

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 ...

, and with Olimpik Sarajevo in 2009. He later had stints with

Diagoras F.C. PAE G.S. Diagoras 1905 ( el, ΠΑΕ Γ.Σ. Διαγόρας 1905) is a hellenic professional football club based in Rhodes city founded in 1905. Diagoras is named after the island's ancient athlete Diagoras. The team first played under Ott ...

FK Leotar FK Leotar ( sr-cyrl, ФК Леотар), commonly known as Leotar Trebinje or simply Leotar, is a professional football club based in the city of Trebinje that is situated in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina. Founded in 1925 and named after the mou ...

, and

FK Rudar Prijedor Fudbalski klub Rudar Prijedor (Serbian Cyrillic: Фудбалски клуб Pудаp Пpиjeдop) is a professional association football club from the city of Prijedor that is situated in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Rudar plays in the First League ...

. In 2011, he returned to Asia to play with

BEC Tero Sasana F.C. Police Tero Football Club ( th, สโมสรฟุตบอลโปลิศ-เทโร), formerly known as BEC Tero Sasana Football Club, is a Thai professional football club based in Bangkok. The club finished runners-up in the inaugural ...

in the

Thai Premier League The Thai League 1 ( th, ไทยลีก 1), often referred to as T1, is the top level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai League 2. Seasons run from August ...

, and in the

Myanmar National League The MPT Myanmar National League ( my, မြန်မာ နေရှင်နယ် လိဂ်; abbreviated MNL) is the premier national professional football league of Myanmar. In 2009, the league replaced the Myanmar Premier League, which co ...

with Yadanarbon F.C. In 2012, Rajović played in

Canadian Soccer League The Canadian Soccer League (CSL; french: Ligue canadienne de soccer — LCS) is a semi-professional league for Canadian soccer clubs primarily located in the province of Ontario, and claims the history of the Canadian National Soccer League (C ...

with

Serbian White Eagles Serbian White Eagles Football Club ( sr, Фудбалски клуб Српски бели орлови / ''Fudbalski klub Srpski beli orlovi'') is a Canadian soccer team. The team is a member of the Canadian Soccer League, an unsanctioned socce ...

, scoring 18 goals from 22 appearances. Before retiring from the game, Rajović played for

Modriča Modriča ( sr-cyrl, Модрича) is a town and municipality located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013 census, the town has a population of 10,137 inhabitants, while the municipality has a population of 25,72 ...

Orašje Orašje ( sr-cyrl, Орашје) is a city and the capital of Posavina Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the northern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the banks of river S ...

(twice), and Mladost Antin. In 2018, he returned to the Canadian Soccer League to become a

player-coach A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

for

Scarborough SC Scarborough SC is a Canadian soccer team founded in 2014. The team is currently a member of the Canadian Soccer League, a league that is not sanctioned by a FIFA recognized body. The team plays home games out of Birchmount Stadium in the district ...

International career

At the international level, Rajović was capped for FR Yugoslavia at under-18 level. He also featured in two unofficial matches for

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 ...

Managerial career

In 2018, he was appointed as a

for

in the

. In his debut season as a manager, he led Scarborough to the

CSL Championship The Canadian Soccer League championship final or CSL Championship is the post-season match of the Canadian Soccer League (CSL) and is the successor to the CNSL Championship. The winner is crowned champion in the same manner as in other North A ...

final but were defeated by

FC Vorkuta FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Pakis ...

in a penalty shootout. The following season the club finished as runners-up in the First Division and secured a postseason berth. In the playoffs, Rajović led the eastern Toronto team to the championship finals for the second consecutive season where they defeated

FC Ukraine United FC Ukraine United is a Canadian soccer club founded in 2006. The team is currently a member of the Canadian Soccer League a league that is not sanctioned by any FIFA recognized body. Their home venue is located at Centennial Park Stadium in Etob ...

. In 2020, he secured the First Division title, and reached the championship final against

, but were defeated by a score of 2-1. In 2021, Rajović became the assistant coach for the

, and shortly after was promoted to head coach. He held this position until April 2022.

Personal life

He holds

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 ...

, Croatian, and Bosnian-Herzegovinian passports. His father is former

Dinamo Vinkovci Hrvatski nogometni klub Cibalia, commonly known as Cibalia Vinkovci or simply Cibalia, is a Croatian football club from the town of Vinkovci in eastern Croatia. Cibalia currently play in the Prva NL, Croatia's second tier league. Their stadium ...

player

Milorad Rajović Milorad Rajović (; 13 May 1955 – 12 January 2016) was a Serbian footballer. Career Rajović began his career with his home town club FK Crvenka. He also played for NK Marsonia before becoming a professional with FK Dinamo Vinkovici in the Yu ...

. Rajović was the

agent Agent may refer to: Espionage, investigation, and law *, spies or intelligence officers * Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another ** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuranc ...

of footballer Stefan Mitrović.

Honours

Player

Zrinjski Mostar *

Bosnian Premier League The m:tel Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( bs, m:tel Premijer liga Bosne i Hercegovine / м:тел Премијер лига Босне и Херцеговине), also known as Liga 12, is the top tier football league in Bosnia and He ...

: 2004–05 *

Bosnian Cup The Bosnia and Herzegovina Football Cup ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kup Bosne i Hercegovine, Куп Босне и Херцеговине) is a knock-out football competition contested annually by clubs from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The winner ...

: 2007–08

Individual

Performance * Bosnian Premier League Top Goalscorer: 2004–05 (17 goals)

Manager

Scarborough SC *

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 ...

First Division:

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

References

External links