Zoran Ranković (; born 17 December 1969) is a

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 ...

n 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.

Club career

After showing promising displays for

Dinamo Pančevo A dynamo is a magnetic device originally used as an electric generator. Dynamo or Dinamo may also refer to: Places * Dinamo (Moscow Metro), a station of the Moscow Metro, Moscow, Russia * Dinamo (Yekaterinburg Metro), a station of the Yekaterin ...

, Ranković gained more attention for his performances with

Obilić Obiliq, ) or Obilić ( sr-cyr, Обилић, ), also referred to as Kastriot ( sq-definite, Kastrioti, ) is a town and municipality in Kosovo. According to the Kosovo Agency of Statistics (KAS) estimate from the 2011 census, there were 21,549 peo ...

. He was the leading scorer of the team that won the

1997–98 First League of FR Yugoslavia The 1997–98 First League of FR Yugoslavia was the sixth season of the FR Yugoslavia's top-level football league since its establishment. Overview The league was divided into 2 groups, A and B, consisting each of 10 clubs. Both groups were play ...

. In March 2000, Ranković was transferred to

Chinese Jia-A League The National Football Jia A League (simplified Chinese, commonly known as Jia-A, was the highest tier of professional football in the People's Republic of China, during 1994 through 2003, operating under the auspices of the Chinese Football Associ ...

club

Shanghai Shenhua Shanghai Shenhua F.C. () is a Chinese professional football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under license from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The term ''shen hua'' literally translates as "the Flower of Shanghai" in ...

, alongside his teammate

Saša Viciknez Aleksandar “Saša” Viciknez (Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, Serbian Cyrillic: Александар Саша Вицикнез; born 30 May 1974) is a retired Serbian football (soccer), footballer who played mostly as a Midfielder#Winger, left winge ...

. He spent two seasons with the team, scoring 21 goals in 42 league appearances. After a brief spell with fellow Jia-A 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 ...

, Ranković returned to his homeland and rejoined his former club

. In late 2003, Ranković moved to China for the second time and played for Jia-B League club

Nanjing Yoyo Nanjing Yoyo Football Club () was a Chinese football club which played in the China Jia League from 2003 to 2010. Founded in 2002 as the Liaoning Xingguang F.C., it was based on the youth team of Liaoning FC. In 2003, they were bought by SVT Gro ...

. He later spent one season with newly promoted

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 ...

side Hajduk Beograd. In early 2006, Ranković joined Second League club Radnički Pirot led by manager

Marjan Živković Marjan Živković (Serbian Cyrillic: Марјан Живковић; born 21 May 1973) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Honours ;Obilić * First League of FR Yugoslavia: 1997–98 * FR Yugoslavia Cup Th ...

, his former Obilić teammate. He retired from the game after playing for

Kolubara The Kolubara ( sr-cyr, Колубара, ) is a long river in western Serbia; it is an eastern, right tributary to the Sava river. General overview Kolubara is formed by the two small rivers Obnica and Jablanica. ''Obnica'' is the river in W ...

in the

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 ...

International career

Ranković made his 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 ...

on 25 February 1998, playing 55 minutes in a 3–1 away friendly loss 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 ...

Honours

;Obilić *

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 ...

: 1997–98 *

FR Yugoslavia Cup The Serbia and Montenegro Cup was an association football knockout cup tournament of Serbia and Montenegro played between 1992 and 2006, after which Serbia and Montenegro became separate nations. The competition was the continuation of the old M ...

: Runner-up 1997–98

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rankovic, Zoran Men's association football forwards Beijing Guoan F.C. players Expatriate men's footballers in China First League of Serbia and Montenegro players FK Dinamo Pančevo players FK Hajduk Beograd players FK Kolubara players FK Obilić players FK Radnički Pirot players Footballers from Belgrade Nanjing Yoyo F.C. players Serbia and Montenegro expatriate men's footballers Serbia and Montenegro expatriates in China Serbia and Montenegro men's footballers Serbia and Montenegro men's international footballers Serbian men's footballers Shanghai Shenhua F.C. players 1969 births Living people