Živko Lukić (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet (, ), also known as the Serbian script, (, ), is a standardized variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language. It originated in medieval Serbia and was significantly reformed in the 19th cen ...

: Живко Лукић; 5 July 1943 – 2015) was a Serbian

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 lea ...

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 ...

and defender. He is known for being the first foreign player in

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

history, making his way onto the team in a deceptive manner.

Career

Lukić was a youth player for Partizan from 1961 to 1963. He made one appearance for the reserve team of the club on 6 June 1963, coming off the bench in a friendly against German club SV Merbeck. From 1963 to 1965, he played youth football for

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

; he was the captain of the club's team that won the 1964

Kvarnerska Rivijera Kvarnerska Rivijera is one of the oldest youth football tournaments in the world, first played in 1953. The tournament is organised by HNK Rijeka, a Croatian football club, and attracts clubs from across Europe and other continents. It is held eac ...

without conceding a goal. In 1965, Lukić left for

Maribor Maribor ( , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is the seat of the ...

, where he would never play a first team match. By 1969, he was studying in

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

to become a

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental doctor, dental physician, dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry, the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. The dentist's supporting team aids in provi ...

. In 1970,

(PSG) was formed with the merging of

Paris FC Paris Football Club (French pronunciation: Help:IPA/French, aʁi futbol klœb, commonly referred to as Paris FC or simply PFC, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris, France. They will compete in Ligue ...

and

Stade Saint-Germain Stade Saint-Germain was a French football club founded on 21 June 1904. On 12 August 1970, it merged with Paris FC to form Paris Saint-Germain FC. It was based in the commune of Saint-Germain-en-Laye in the western suburbs of Paris Par ...

; Lukić took advantage of the ambitious but disorganized project in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to hoax his way into the team. He tricked the entire PSG staff into believing that he had been an important player for Partizan in the past, and that he was the brother of

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

player

Ilija Lukić Ilija Lukić (Serbian Cyrillic: Илија Лукић; 21 January 1942 – 13 June 2018) was a Yugoslav footballer who played as a forward. Playing career Lukić started playing in the youth teams of Belgrade's FK Železnik. In 1961, at age 19 ...

. Up to this point, Lukić's plan was succeeding; he even received a welcome from the well-known magazine ''

France Football ''France Football'' is a French monthly magazine containing football news from all over the world. It is considered to be one of the most reputable sports publications in Europe, mostly because of its photographic reports, in-depth and exclus ...

'' several days before his debut for PSG. On 14 August 1970, he played in a friendly for PSG against

Red Star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. ...

. On 29 August 1970, Lukić played in his first and only official game with Paris Saint-Germain, coming on as a substitute in a 3–2 Division 2 win over Quevilly. In his 1992 autobiography, then-PSG president Guy Crescent wrote: " ukić'smission was to neutralise our opponent's key player,

aniel Haniel (, ''Ḥannīʾēl'', "God is my grace"; ''Ananiēl''; , '), also known as Hananel, Anael, Hanael or Aniel, is an angel in Jewish lore and angelology, and he is often included in lists as being one of the seven archangels. Haniel is ge ...

Horlaville, whom we feared the most. And Lukić... he clung to him like an octopus to a rock! But Horlaville would quickly dribble past him once, then again, then make a pass, while my unfortunate Lukić would inevitably end up on his behind!" Lukić only played a total of 53 minutes for PSG, and his deception was revealed after his appearance in a match. Despite his identity hoax, he was able to obtain a medal at the end of the season, as the Parisian club gained promotion to the Division 1 in 1971.

Personal life and death

After his football days, Lukić lived the rest of his life running a dental clinic in

Železnik Železnik ( sr-cyr, Железник, ) is an List of Belgrade neighborhoods, urban neighborhood of Belgrade, Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Čukarica. Location Železnik is located in the central part of the Čukarica mun ...

. The clinic closed in 2012. He died in 2015. Lukić is survived by his son Marko, who also became a dentist. According to Marko, his father is indeed related to Ilija Lukić, although they are not brothers as it was reported in France.

Career statistics

Honours

Rijeka *

: 1964 Paris Saint-Germain * Division 2: 1970–71

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lukić, Živko 1944 births 2015 deaths Date of death unknown Footballers from Belgrade Men's association football midfielders Yugoslav men's footballers FK Partizan players HNK Rijeka players NK Maribor players Paris Saint-Germain FC players Ligue 2 players Yugoslav expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in France Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in France Serbian dentists 20th-century dentists Men's association football defenders 21st-century dentists