Aleksandar Janković (

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 ...

: Александар Јанковић; born 6 May 1972) is a

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

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 Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

and former player who was most recently the manager of the

China national football team The China national football team ( zh, s=中国国家足球队, t=中國國家足球隊, p=Zhōngguó guójiā zúqiú duì), recognised as China PR by FIFA, represents China in men's international association football and is governed by the Ch ...

Playing career

He played football professionally for his hometown club

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 ...

and

FK Napredak Kruševac Fudbalski klub Napredak Kruševac (), commonly known as Napredak Kruševac, is a Serbian professional football club based in the city of Kruševac. The word ''Napredak'' means "progress" in Serbian. The club's nickname is the Čarapani which ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, Bonnyrigg White Eagles Football Club (under the name of Sasha Jankovic) in Australia,

AS Cherbourg Football AS Cherbourg or the Association Sportive de Cherbourg Football is a French football team currently playing in Régional 3, the eighth tier of French football, after suffering expulsion from the national leagues in 2023. They are based in the city ...

and

Pau FC Pau Football Club, commonly referred to as Pau FC, is a professional football club based in Pau, capital of Béarn, France. Pau FC plays its home matches at the Nouste Camp and competes in Ligue 2, the second tier of French football. Nicknam ...

in France, before ending his playing career aged 28, due to a knee injury.

Coaching career

While playing at

, Janković met his compatriot, coach

Slavoljub Muslin Slavoljub Muslin ( sr-Cyrl, Славољуб Муслин, ; born 15 June 1953) is a Serbian football manager and former player. Muslin began his head coaching career in 1988 and has since had stints in France, Morocco, Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine ...

who would turn out to be an important figure for his eventual venture into coaching. Following the injury that forced him to end his playing career, Janković came into the Red Star organization (club coached by Muslin at the time) in an adviser-

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

role during the early 2000. At the end of the 2000–01 season that saw Red Star win another league title (after winning the league and cup double the previous season),

Ratko Dostanić Ratko Dostanić (; born 25 October 1959) is a Serbian football manager and former player. Playing career After coming through the youth system of Partizan, Dostanić went on to play for Timok and Rad in the Yugoslav Second League, before movi ...

, Muslin's assistant, took the head coaching job at

FK Obilić Fudbalski klub Obilić (Serbian Cyrillic: Фудбалски клуб Обилић) is a Serbian football club based in Vračar, a neighbourhood of Belgrade. It was named after medieval Serbs, Serbian hero Miloš Obilić, a legendary 14th-century ...

, and Muslin offered the vacated place to Janković who thus became Red Star's assistant coach on 5 July 2001 at the age of 29. However, Janković wouldn't get to stay at his new job for long as very early into the 2001–02 season Muslin abruptly resigned as head coach after the

2001–02 UEFA Champions League The 2001–02 UEFA Champions League was the 47th season of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA's premier club football tournament, and the 10th since its rebranding from the "European Champion Clubs' Cup" or "European Cup". The tournament was won by ...

qualifying first leg loss to Bayer Leverkusen and Janković left as well. In March 2002, Muslin resurfaced as head coach at

Levski Sofia PFC Levski Sofia () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which competes in the First League, the top division of the Bulgarian football league system. The club was founded on 24 May 1914 by a group of high sc ...

and Janković followed him there to be his assistant. In April 2003, Muslin got the sack and Janković left again as well. Couple of months later, during the summer 2003 offseason, the duo returned to their old stomping grounds at Red Star. After

Zoran Filipović Zoran Filipović ( sr-Cyrl, Зоран Филиповић, ; born 6 February 1953) is a Montenegrin former football coach and player, best known for his playing stints with Red Star Belgrade and S.L. Benfica. Club career Filipović, born 6 Fe ...

got sacked, Muslin got the head coaching job, and, Janković, by now his established second-in-command, was on his way to Belgrade as well. From there Janković followed Muslin to

Metalurh Donetsk Football Club Metalurh Donetsk (, ) was a Ukrainian professional football club based in Donetsk that went bankrupt in July 2015. History Club predecessor Football came to the Donetsk region in the time of the Russian Empire when the industr ...

Lokeren Lokeren () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of East Flanders, and belongs to the Waasland, also called ''Land van Waas'', of which it is the second ...

Lokomotiv Moscow FC Lokomotiv Moscow (, ) is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Moscow. Lokomotiv have won the Russian Premier League on three occasions; the Soviet Cup twice; and the Russian Cup (football), Russian Cup a record ...

, and back to Lokeren, respectively. From July 2007, he has been an advance scout in Red Star, and his duties mainly included scouting opponents' players and tactics.

Red Star Belgrade

After

Milorad Kosanović Milorad Kosanović ( sr-Cyrl, Милорад Косановић, ; born 4 January 1951) is a Serbian former football player and manager. During his playing career, Kosanović represented Proleter Zrenjanin, Vojvodina, Kikinda and Novi Sad, comp ...

's resignation on 9 November 2007, Janković was appointed as new head coach of Red Star. Yet, after failing to earn a title in the national championship or in the national cup, he was dismissed on 11 June 2008, to be replaced by

Zdeněk Zeman Zdeněk Zeman (; born 12 May 1947) is a Czech-Italian football manager. Known for his exciting, offensive footballing tactics and use of the 4–3–3 formation, Zeman has managed numerous teams over the years, mostly in Italian football. He ...

. Janković has since been appointed head of the

Football School.

Lokeren

On 6 April 2009 he was named the new SC Lokeren coach, the Serbian signed him until June 2010 and replaced

Georges Leekens Georges Leekens (born 18 May 1949) is a Belgian football manager and former player. During his managerial career, he was in charge of four national teams: the Belgian, Tunisian, Algerian and Hungarian national football teams. He also manage ...

. On 25 October 2009 Janković was fired after a series of bad results.

China

He was appointed coach of the China Olympic team on 2021, but China did not take any major competition save for the friendly Dubai Cup, where China won one and lost two other matches. He was named the U-23 team coach for the

2022 Asian Games The 2022 Asian Games (), officially the 19th Asian Games () and also known as Hangzhou 2022 ( zh, c=, s=杭州2022, labels=no), were a continental multi-sport event which was held from 23 September to 8 October 2023 in Hangzhou, China. The ...

. He was named interim coach of the China senior team for the

2022 EAFF E-1 Football Championship The 2022 EAFF E-1 Football Championship was an association football tournament organized by the East Asian Football Federation. It was the 9th edition of the EAFF E-1 Football Championship, the football championship of East Asia. The finals were ...

held in Japan. During the tournament, with most of the squad made up of just under-23 players, China only registered a win and a goal, both against

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

in a 1–0 win by Tan Long's. However, his China did gain an encouraging goalless draw against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

away, which was the first time in 12 years that China did not lose to Japan in Japanese soil. On 24 February 2023, he was appointed new head coach of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. At the

2023 AFC Asian Cup The 2023 AFC Asian Cup was the 18th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It involved 24 national teams after its expansion in 20 ...

, he led China to its worst ever performance in their history, failing to score a single goal and won only two points at the group stages. Following

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

's 1–0 win over

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, China were eliminated from the competition. Janković received significant criticism for his strategy, his choice in the selection, and his questionable options, which contributed to China's inability to score a single goal in the tournament and resulted in their eventual elimination. The same day, it was reported that he was fired from the position as coach of China, and had returned to his homeland for vacation, although the final decision remained to be seen. It was later confirmed that Janković's contract would not be extended following the failure in Qatar on 31 January 2024, and he was dismissed from the position.

Manager

Personal life

Aleksandar is married and has two children. His father is a notable Serbian sports journalist Dobrivoje "Bobi" Janković (1937–2022). He has been dubbed as "Serbian Mourinho" due to Dejan Andjus criticism about him.Serbian Mourinho

References

External links

An interview with Aleksandar Janković
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jankovic, Aleksandar 1972 births Living people Footballers from Belgrade Men's association football midfielders Serbia and Montenegro men's footballers Red Star Belgrade footballers Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC players AS Cherbourg Football players Pau FC players Serbia and Montenegro expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in Australia Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Australia Expatriate men's footballers in France Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in France Serbian football managers Red Star Belgrade managers K.S.C. Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen managers Serbia national under-21 football team managers K.V. Mechelen managers Standard Liège managers China national football team managers 2023 AFC Asian Cup managers Serbian expatriate football managers Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Bulgaria Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine Expatriate football managers in Belgium Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Russia Expatriate football managers in China Serbian expatriate sportspeople in China Red Star Belgrade non-playing staff