Žarko Dragaš (

Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...

: Жарко Драгаш; born 16 June 1971) is a retired Montenegrin football player.

Club career

Budućnost

Born in

Pljevlja Pljevlja (, ) is a town located in the Northern Montenegro, Northern Region of Montenegro, situated along Ćehotina, Ćehotina river. The town lies at an altitude of . In the Middle Ages, Pljevlja had been a crossroad of the important commercial ...

,Žarko Dragaš
on Playerhistory.com he begin his career in 1989 by playing with

FK Budućnost Podgorica Fudbalski Klub Budućnost Podgorica (Cyrillic: Будућност Подгорица, , ) is a Montenegro, Montenegrin professional association football, football club from Podgorica, Montenegro. It is competing in the Montenegrin First League. ...

, known until 1993 as FK Budućnost Titograd. The club was playing in the top national flight, known as the

Yugoslav First League The Yugoslav First League ( Bosnian: Prva savezna liga u fudbalu, sr-Cyrl-Latn, Прва савезна лига у фудбалу, Prva savezna liga u fudbalu, , , , , ) was the premier football league in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918–1941) ...

until 1992, then as

First League of FR Yugoslavia The First League of Serbia and Montenegro () was the top football league of Serbia and Montenegro, before the country's dissolution in 2006. The league was formed as the First League of FR Yugoslavia following the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1992, ef ...

until 1994. Budućnost usually finished in mid table, and the highlight of his spell with Budućnost was when the club finished runner-up in the

Balkans Cup The Balkans Cup was an international football competition for clubs from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. It was introduced in 1961 and was very popular in the 1960s (the 1967 final attracted 42,000 spectators), being ...

in 1991.

Rudar Pljevlja, Red Star and Degerfors

In summer 1994, he moved to another top league side,

FK Rudar Pljevlja FK Rudar Pljevlja, commonly known as Rudar Pljevlja or simply Rudar, is a football club based in Pljevlja, Montenegro. It currently plays in the Montenegrin Second League, the country's second tier. Rudar have played in the First League since it ...

, but stayed only until the following winter break when he moved to

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

. He played one and a half seasons with Red Star, but during that time he made only 8 league appearances and scored two goals. He was part of the team during a successful period, as in those two seasons Red Star won one national championship and two cups. In summer 1996, he made his first move abroad by signing with Swedish side

Degerfors IF Degerfors IF is a Swedish professional association football, football club located in Degerfors. The club, formed 13 January 1907, is currently playing in the highest tier in Swedish football, Allsvenskan. Background Degerfors IF first played ...

. He made 15 appearances and scored 3 goals in the

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; ), also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan (, ) is a professional association football league in Sweden and the highest level of the Swedish football league system. Founded in 1924, it operates on a system of promotion and relegatio ...

and Degerfors finished in 9th place that season.

Vojvodina

In summer 1997 he returned to

FR Yugoslavia The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...

and joined

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, Serbia, the second large ...

. They finished in 4th place in 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 ...

with Žarko Dragaš contributing with 7 appearances and one goal in the league. This would be his last season in FR Yugoslavia before he moved to Greece.

Greece

In summer 1998 he signed with newly promoted Greek top-flight side

Ethnikos Asteras Ethnikos Asteras F.C. (, the ''National Star'') was a football club based in Kaisariani, Athens, Greece. History The club, originally named ''Ethnikos Astir,'' was founded in 1927 from the merger of Ethnikos and Asteras Kaisariani. They particip ...

, and played with them in the

1998–99 Alpha Ethniki The 1998–99 Alpha Ethniki was the 63rd season of the highest football league of Greece. The season began on 22 August 1998 and ended on 30 May 1999. Olympiacos won their third consecutive and 28th Greek title. Teams Stadia and personnel * 1 ...

which they finished 11th, with Dragaš making a solid performance of 24 appearances and 5 goals in the season. Despite that, at the end of the season he left the club and joined

Beta Ethniki The Football League () was the second highest professional football league in Greece since its inception in 1962 as ''Beta Ethniki'' and until 2019. It then served as a third tier after the creation of the Super League 2 as the new second tier ...

side Larisa which was being coached by Serbian manager Nebojša Ličanin. Despite their ambitions, and Dragaš 21 appearances and 7 goals in the league,Foreign Players in Greece 1999/00-2001/02
at

RSSSF The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (''RSSSF'') is an international organisation dedicated to collecting statistics about association football. The foundation aims to build an exhaustive archive of football-related information from around ...

Larisa finished 6th and failed to achieve promotion to Alpha Ethniki. Coach Ličanin left, and so did Dragaš, the latter joining 3rd level Gama Ethniki (3rd tier) Greek club Patraikos Patra. In his first season in Patras, Dragaš had quite an impressive season for a midfielder by scoring 14 goals in 35 league appearances, thus helping Patraikos to earn a promotion to the 2001–02

. He retired at the end of the following season. While playing in Greece, his wife gave birth to a first born child, Jana.

Honors

;Budućnost Titograd *

runner-up: 1992 ;Red Star *

1994–95 First League of FR Yugoslavia Statistics of First League of FR Yugoslavia () for the 1994–95 season. Overview Just as the previous season, the league consisted of 2 groups, A and B, each containing 10 clubs. Both groups were played in league system. By winter break all clu ...

* FR Yugoslav Cup: 1995, 1996

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dragas, Zarko 1971 births Living people Footballers from Podgorica Men's association football midfielders Yugoslav men's footballers Montenegrin men's footballers Serbia and Montenegro men's footballers FK Budućnost Podgorica players FK Rudar Pljevlja players Red Star Belgrade footballers Degerfors IF players FK Vojvodina players Ethnikos Asteras F.C. players Athlitiki Enosi Larissa F.C. players Patraikos F.C. players Yugoslav First League players First League of Serbia and Montenegro players Allsvenskan players Super League Greece players Football League (Greece) players Serbia and Montenegro expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Greece