Žarko Grabovač (born 16 June 1983) 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. Remarkably, he also played as a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

in the past, mainly during his stay with

Fortuna Sittard Fortuna Sittard (; li, Fortuna Zitterd ) is a football club in Sittard, Netherlands. The club currently plays its football in the 12,500 capacity Fortuna Sittard Stadion and features in the Eredivisie. The club was established through a merger ...

Early and personal life

Born in

Ruma Ruma (; hu, Árpatarló) is a town and municipality in the Srem District of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2011, the town has a population of 30,076, while the municipality has a population of 54,339. History Traces of orga ...

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 ...

, Grabovač came to the Netherlands at early age and also holds Dutch citizenship.Arbitration CAS Blackpool F.C. v. TOP Oss, 2006
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Career

Grabovač spent ten years with

JVC Cuijk JVC Cuijk is a Dutch association football club from Cuijk Cuijk (; dialect: ''Kuuk'') is a town in the northeastern part of the province of North Brabant, Netherlands. It is the successor of a Roman settlement on the west bank of the Meuse, 13& ...

, before later playing as an amateur for

TOP Oss TOP Oss (), is a professional association football club based in the town of Oss, North Brabant, Netherlands, that competes in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of the Dutch football league system. Founded in 1928 as T.O.P., a Dutch abbreviati ...

Ronse Ronse (; french: Renaix, ) is a Belgian city and a municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality only encompasses the city of Ronse proper. History Early settlements to 14th century The hills around Ronse show clu ...

and Geldrop/AEK, before moving to England to play for

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

in January 2005. Grabovač made three appearances 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 ...

for Blackpool, his only first-team appearances for the club, before being released at the end of the 2004–05 campaign. Grabovač returned to the Netherlands, signing with

for the 2005–06 season. In 2011, he moved to

Helmond Sport Helmond Sport is a professional association football club based in the city of Helmond, North Brabant, Netherlands, that competes in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of the Dutch football league system. The club was founded on 27 June 1967, as ...

Grabovac kiest voor 'zekerheid' bij Helmond
Voetbalprimeur.nl, 14 June 2011

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grabovac, Zarko 1983 births Living people Serbian footballers Dutch footballers Dutch people of Serbian descent TOP Oss players Blackpool F.C. players Fortuna Sittard players Helmond Sport players Willem II (football club) players Eerste Divisie players Challenger Pro League players English Football League players Expatriate footballers in Belgium Expatriate footballers in England People from Ruma Association football forwards