Srđan Baljak (; born 25 November 1978) is a

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 ...

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 ...

who played as a striker.

Career

Born in Sremska Mitrovica, Baljak made his senior debut at Teleoptik, before being promoted to

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 ...

. He recorded one league appearance with the ''Crno-beli'' during the 1999–2000 season. Baljak also appeared as a substitute in a 0–1 away loss to

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

in the second leg of the

1999–2000 UEFA Cup The 1999–2000 UEFA Cup season was the 29th edition of the UEFA Cup competition. The final took place at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen and was won by Galatasaray, who defeated Arsenal in the final. The game was scoreless through the first nin ...

first round. He was subsequently sent on a six-month loan to Radnički Kragujevac in the 2000 winter

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 ...

, but failed to make an impact. In June 2002, Baljak moved abroad for the first time and signed with Japanese club

Consadole Sapporo is a Japanese professional football club, which plays in the J1 League. The team is based in Sapporo, on the island of Hokkaido. The club name of "Consadole" is made from ''consado'', a reverse of the Japanese word and the Spanish express ...

. He made 13 league appearances and scored three goals in the remainder of the 2002 campaign, but failed to help them avoid relegation from the top flight. In the 2003 summer transfer window, Baljak returned to his homeland and rejoined Budućnost Banatski Dvor, after the club won promotion to the First League for the first time in its history. They eventually suffered relegation from the top flight in their debut season. Simultaneously, the club surprisingly reached the

Serbia and Montenegro 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 ...

final, thus securing a spot in the

2004–05 UEFA Cup The 2004–05 UEFA Cup was the 34th edition of the UEFA Cup. The format of the competition had changed from previous seasons, replacing that from the previous one after the abolition of the Cup Winners' Cup in 1999; an extra qualifying round was ...

. While playing for Banat Zrenjanin, Baljak became 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 ...

top scorer with 18 goals in the 2006–07 season, thus saving the club from relegation. He also helped the side reach the

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 f ...

semi-final that year, being eliminated by

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 ...

. In June 2007, Baljak moved to Germany and signed with

Mainz 05 1. Fußball- und Sportverein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05, Mainz 05 () or simply Mainz (), is a German sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. 1. FSV Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the top ...

on a three-year deal. He was their second-highest scorer in the 2008–09 2. Bundesliga with 11 goals, as they earned promotion to the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

. After making his debut in the top flight of German football, receiving limited playing time, Baljak was transferred to

MSV Duisburg Meidericher Spielverein 02 e. V. Duisburg, commonly known as simply MSV Duisburg (), is a German association football club based in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Nicknamed ''Die Zebras'' for their traditional striped jerseys, the club was on ...

in January 2010. He was named the team's captain ahead of the 2010–11 campaign, leading the side to the

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...

final that season. In July 2013, Baljak signed with

Wormatia Worms VfR Wormatia 08 Worms is a German association football club that plays in Worms, Rhineland-Palatinate. The club and its historical predecessors were regular participants in regional first-division football competition until the formation of the ...

on a free transfer. He left the club after only one season and joined Schott Mainz. In April 2017, it was revealed that Baljak would be retiring at the end of the season.

Statistics

Honours

Club

;Budućnost Banatski Dvor *

Second League of Serbia and Montenegro 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 ...

: 2004–05 *

: Runner-up 2003–04 ;MSV Duisburg *

: Runner-up

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. ...

;Schott Mainz * Oberliga Rheinland-Pfalz/Saar: 2016–17

Individual

Top Scorer: 2006–07

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baljak, Srdjan 1. FSV Mainz 05 players 2. Bundesliga players Men's association football forwards Shuvalan FK players Azerbaijan Premier League players Bundesliga players Expatriate footballers in Azerbaijan Expatriate footballers in Germany Expatriate footballers in Japan First League of Serbia and Montenegro players FK Banat Zrenjanin players FK Budućnost Banatski Dvor players FK Partizan players FK Radnički 1923 players FK Teleoptik players Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo players J1 League players MSV Duisburg players Sportspeople from Sremska Mitrovica Regionalliga players Serbia and Montenegro expatriate footballers Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Azerbaijan Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Japan Serbia and Montenegro footballers Serbian expatriate footballers Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Serbian footballers Serbian SuperLiga players Wormatia Worms players 1978 births Living people