Željko Ljubenović ( sr-Cyrl, Жељко Љубеновић; born 9 July 1981) is a Serbian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach and a former player who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

who is the current manager of

Vorskla Poltava FC Vorskla Poltava ( ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Poltava. The team set to compete in Ukrainian First League, the second tier of Football in Ukraine, Ukrainian football after relegation from Ukrainian Premier League in ...

. After playing almost exclusively for second-tier clubs in his homeland, Ljubenović spent most of his footballing career in Ukraine, representing four clubs and amassing over 250 appearances in the country's

top league Japan Rugby League One (), formerly known as the Top League (), is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by ...

Career

Born in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

, Ljubenović started out as a trainee at Partizan in 1990. He spent five years in the club's youth setup, before switching to

OFK Beograd OFK Beograd ( sr-Cyrl, ОФК Београд – Омладински фудбалски клуб Београд, English language, English: ''Belgrade Youth Football Club''), also known in English as OFK Belgrade and currently referred to as OFK ...

in 1995. After completing his formation, Ljubenović made his senior debuts with the ''Romantičari'' in the

2000–01 First League of FR Yugoslavia The 2000–01 First League of FR Yugoslavia was the ninth season of the FR Yugoslavia's top-level football league since its establishment. It was contested by 18 teams, and Red Star Belgrade won the championship. Incidents Eternal derby abandoned ...

. He subsequently played for Second League clubs

Mladenovac Mladenovac ( sr-Cyrl, Младеновац, ) is a municipality of the city of Belgrade. According to the 2024 census results, the municipality has a population of 56,389 inhabitants, while the urban area has 22,346 inhabitants. Name Its name stem ...

, Mladost Lukićevo, and Proleter Zrenjanin. In the summer of 2005, Ljubenović signed with top-flight side

Hajduk Kula FK Hajduk Kula (Serbian Cyrillic: ФК Хајдук Кула) was a Serbian football club based in Kula. The club was named after a Hajduk, a much celebrated hero figure in the Serbian epic poetry. On 30 July 2013, just eleven days before start ...

. He spent just half a season there, before transferring abroad. In the 2006 winter

transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...

, Ljubenović moved to Ukraine and signed with

Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih () is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kryvyi Rih. Until 2013 the club participated in professional competitions. In June 2013 the club went bankrupt and was expelled from the Ukrainian Premier League. Ther ...

. He switched clubs the following summer and joined fellow top-tier club

Tavriya Simferopol Sports Club Tavriya () was a Ukrainian football club from Simferopol. Tavriya was a member of the Ukrainian Premier League from its founding and won the first Ukrainian Premier League 1992, Ukrainian Premier League making them one of three team ...

. Over the next five and a half years, Ljubenović played regularly for the side and recorded near 200 appearances in all competitions. He left the club midway through the 2011–12 season, eventually joining another Premier League side,

Oleksandriya Oleksandriia (, ) is a city in Kirovohrad Oblast, central Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Oleksandriia Raion and . Oleksandriia is located within the Kryvyi Rih metropolitan area. In 2001, it had a population of 93,357, and ...

. In the summer of 2012, Ljubenović signed with

Zorya Luhansk FC Zorya Luhansk ( ) is a Ukrainian football team. Zorya Luhansk was based in the city of Luhansk, Ukraine. However, due to the Russo-Ukrainian War, the team currently plays its games at Slavutych-Arena in Zaporizhzhia. The modern club as a ...

. After 6 seasons in Zorya he retired in May 2018. In July 2018 Zorya's general director Serhiy Rafailov announced that Ljubenović will work in the club as scout in Balkan region. On 18 November 2023 Ljubenović returned to the

Ukrainian Premier League The Ukrainian Premier League ( ) or UPL is a professional association football league in Ukraine and the highest level of the Ukrainian football league system. Originally known as the Vyshcha Liha ( , ) it was formed in 1991 during the 1992 in ...

in role of football manager to help struggling

FC Mynai FC Mynai () is a Ukrainian professional association football, football club from Mynai, a suburb of Uzhhorod in Zakarpattia Oblast. History The club was founded in 2015 by former customs officials in one of the Uzhhorod suburbs Mynai and played ...

to remain in the league.

Honours

;Tavriya Simferopol *

Ukrainian Cup The Ukrainian Cup ( ) is an association football national knockout cup competition run by the Ukrainian Association of Football. The competition is conducted almost exclusively among professional clubs. Since the 2003–04 season, the Cup winner qu ...

: 2009–10 *

Ukrainian Super Cup The Ukrainian Super Cup () is an association football game of the Ukrainian Premier League in traditional super cup format that acts as the grand-opening for every new football (soccer), football competition season in Ukraine. Originally it was s ...

: Runner-up 2010 ;Zorya Luhansk *

: Runner-up 2015–16

References

External links

Official website

Tavriya profile
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ljubenovic, Zeljko 1981 births Living people Footballers from Belgrade Men's association football midfielders Serbia and Montenegro men's footballers Serbian men's footballers OFK Beograd players OFK Mladenovac players FK Proleter Zrenjanin players FK Hajduk Kula players FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih players SC Tavriya Simferopol players FC Oleksandriya players FC Zorya Luhansk players First League of Serbia and Montenegro players Second League of Serbia and Montenegro players Ukrainian Premier League players Serbian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Ukraine Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine Serbian football managers FC Mynai managers FC Vorskla Poltava managers Ukrainian Premier League managers Ukrainian First League managers Serbian expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Ukraine 21st-century Serbian sportsmen