Ivica Dragutinović (

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, t ...

: Ивица Драгутиновић, ; born 13 November 1975) 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 ...

. Mainly a

central defender 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 ...

, he could also operate as a defensive left back. After nearly one decade in Belgium, mainly with

Standard Liége Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

, he went to a part of the

Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

squads that won six major titles in the 2000s. The recipient of 49

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

, Dragutinović represented Serbia and Montenegro at the

2006 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 ...

Club career

Early years and Belgium

Born in

Prijepolje Prijepolje ( sr-cyr, Пријепоље, ) is a town and municipality located in the Zlatibor District of southwestern Serbia. As of 2011 census, the town has 13,330 inhabitants, while the municipality has 37,059 inhabitants. Etymology One possibl ...

, Dragutinović started playing football with hometown team

FK Polimlje FK Polimlje () is a football club based in Prijepolje, Serbia. They currently compete in the West Morava Zone League, the fourth tier of the national league system. History Founded in 1926, the club participated in the Second League of FR Yugos ...

. He joined

Second League of FR Yugoslavia The Second League of Serbia and Montenegro was the second tier of the football league system in Serbia and Montenegro, one level below the First League of Serbia and Montenegro. History Formed in 1992 after the breakup of Yugoslavia, it consisted ...

club

FK Bor FK Bor (Serbian Cyrillic: ФК Бор) is a football club based in Bor, Serbia. History Early Years (1920s to 1960s) The club was founded in 1919 as a Serbian-French sports society under the name Association Sportive Bor (ASB). The club was ...

in the summer of 1992. After one season, Dragutinović moved to fellow Second League club

FK Borac Čačak Fudbalski klub Borac Čačak (), or simply Borac Čačak, is a professional football club based in Čačak, Serbia. The home ground is Čačak Stadium, which has seating capacity of 8,000. As of 2019–20 season, the club competes in third tier S ...

, helping them win the league and promotion to 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 ...

. He made 56 appearances and scored three goals in the top flight (

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

– 1996), before heading 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 ...

in 1996 and spending the following nine years there with K.A.A. Gent and

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (; nl, Standard Luik ; german: Standard Lüttich ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most ...

, appearing in 219 First Division A games in the process. Dragutinović was an overwhelming success after his arrival in Liège, having played over 200 official matches for the club. He still started 2005–06 with Standard but, on the last day of the August

transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer wi ...

, signed with

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It plays in Spanish football's top flight, La Liga. Sevilla have won the UEFA E ...

on a 3+1 contract as an immediate replacement for Real Madrid-bound Sergio Ramos.

Sevilla

Dragutinović saw regular playing time during his first three seasons, appearing in the middle or the left flank of the back four and scoring once in every campaign as the team won, amongst other trophies, back-to-back UEFA Cups (he took part in a combined 18 matches in those conquests, including the 2007 final against

RCD Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league s ...

). He already held a

Belgian passport A Belgian passport is a travel document issued by Belgium to Belgian citizens to facilitate international travel. It grants the bearer international passage in accordance with visa requirements and serves as proof of citizenship. Types of pa ...

, thus not being included in the three non-EU player quota of

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

. On 2 August 2007, Spanish sports paper '' Marca'' claimed that Dragutinović had agreed to join Newcastle United of the

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 Fo ...

. On 5 November, however, he put pen to paper on a new four-year deal. Still in that month, on the 25th, he was first to rush to the aid of collapsed teammate

Antonio Puerta Antonio José Puerta Pérez (; 26 November 1984 – 28 August 2007) was a Spanish professional footballer who played solely for Sevilla. Mainly a left midfielder who could also operate as an attacking left-back, he died on 28 August 2007 affec ...

during the match against Getafe CF, due to a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

, arguably prolonging his life by keeping him from swallowing his tongue; Puerta eventually died in the hospital, three days later. On 24 November 2009, Dragutinović scored an

own goal An own goal, also called a self goal, is where a player performs actions that result in them or their team scoring a goal on themselves, often resulting in a point for the opposing team, such as when a football player kicks a ball into their own ...

during Sevilla's 0–1 defeat to

FC Unirea Urziceni Asociația Sportivă Fotbal Club Urziceni, commonly known as FC Urziceni (), is a Romanian professional football club based in Urziceni, Ialomița County which currently plays in fourth division, Ialomița County. Unirea became national champ ...

for the season's

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

. It was his second at

Stadionul Steaua Stadionul Steaua is the name of several football stadiums. It may refer to: * Stadionul Steaua (1974) Steaua Stadium ( ro, Stadionul Steaua), informally also known as Ghencea, was a football stadium in Bucharest, Romania, which served as the ...

, as he had already had the dubious honour in a match against ground owners

FC Steaua București FC Steaua București was a Romanian professional football club of which two current entities are claiming the records. The original ''FC Steaua București'' team was part of the namesake CSA Steaua București sports club and belonged to the Ministr ...

, in the UEFA Cup. Dragutinović appeared in 20 matches in the 2009–10 season, as Sevilla finished fourth. On 20 February 2010, he netted through an unstoppable curl in a 3–1 victory at RCD Mallorca, precisely the team they edged for the final Champions League berth. Following a severe injury, Dragutinović's first appearance in

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

only took place on 11 May 2011: he entered the pitch in the last ten minutes of an away fixture against

CA Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity El S ...

, with the

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...

ns leading 2–0 only to lose 2–3. On 26 May 2011, the 35-year-old – often referred to as just ''Drago'' during his stint – confirmed he was leaving the

Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium The Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium ( es, Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán; ) is a football stadium in Seville, Spain. It is the home stadium of Sevilla Fútbol Club, and is named after the club's former president, Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán (1 ...

International career

Dragutinović made his debut for the Yugoslavia national team on 13 December 2000, in a friendly against

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

that ended 1–1. During the country's successful

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 th ...

qualifying campaign he, alongside Goran Gavrančić,

Nemanja Vidić Nemanja Vidić ( sr-Cyrl, Немања Видић, ; born 21 October 1981) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is best known for his time at Manchester United, was part of the Serbia national team, and ...

and

Mladen Krstajić Mladen Krstajić ( sr-cyr, Младен Крстајић, ; born 4 March 1974) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player who played as a centre-back. He represented Serbia and Montenegro at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. From Janua ...

, formed the "Famous Four" defence that only allowed one goal (from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Raúl Raul, Raúl and Raül are the Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan forms of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph. They are cognates of the French Raoul. Raul, Raúl or Raül may re ...

); during the final stages he only appeared in the group stage 0–1 loss to

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, as the nation conceded ten and lost all matches in Germany. On 12 September 2007, in the dying minutes of a

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

qualifier In linguistics, a modifier is an optional element in phrase structure or clause structure which ''modifies'' the meaning of another element in the structure. For instance, the adjective "red" acts as a modifier in the noun phrase "red ball", provi ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, Dragutinović was involved in an altercation with opposing manager

Luiz Felipe Scolari Luiz Felipe Scolari (; born 9 November 1948), also known as Felipão ("Big Phil"), is a Brazilian football manager and former player. He is the current manager of Athletico Paranaense. Scolari was a defender during his playing days, and no ...

, whom eventually punched the defender. They were handed four and two-match bans, respectively, as Serbia finished third in their group and failed to qualify. Dragutinović was again called up for the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign, playing six out of ten matches and helping the newly reformed

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

to their first

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

. After an

achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus ( ...

injury sustained in training for Sevilla, however, he was ruled out of the finals in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

Career statistics

International

:Source:

Honours

Sevilla *

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

: 2006–07, 2009–10 * Supercopa de España: 2007 *

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

: 2005–06, 2006–07 *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...

: 2006; Runner-up 2007

References

External links

*
National team data
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dragutinovic, Ivica 1975 births Living people People from Prijepolje Serbian footballers Association football defenders Serbian SuperLiga players FK Bor players FK Borac Čačak players Belgian First Division A players K.A.A. Gent players Standard Liège players La Liga players Sevilla FC players UEFA Cup winning players Serbia and Montenegro international footballers Serbia international footballers 2006 FIFA World Cup players Serbian expatriate footballers Serbia and Montenegro expatriate footballers Serbia and Montenegro footballers Expatriate footballers in Belgium Expatriate footballers in Spain Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Spain Recipients of the Order of St. Sava