Aleksandar Panajotović (; born 28 January 1952) is a former Yugoslav and

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 ...

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 ...

Club career

After growing up in

Kruševac Kruševac ( sr-Cyrl, Крушевац, ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Rasina District in central Serbia. It is located in the valley of West Morava, on Rasina (river), Rasina river. According to the 202 ...

, Panajotović moved to

Pirot Pirot ( sr-Cyrl, Пирот) is a city and the administrative center of the Pirot District in southeastern Serbia. According to 2022 census, the urban area of the city has a population of 34,942, while the population of the city administrative are ...

with his family when still a child. He initially played

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

but later switched to

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 ...

and joined the youth team of Radnički Pirot. Shortly after, Panajotović was promoted to the first team, helping them win promotion to the

Yugoslav Second League Yugoslav Second League ( Bosnian: ''Druga savezna liga,'' Croatian: ''Druga savezna liga'', Serbian: ''Друга савезна лига'', Slovenian: ''Druga zvezna liga'', Macedonian: ''Втора сојузна лига'', ''Vtora sojuzna l ...

in 1969. A year later, Panajotović was transferred to Yugoslav champions

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 ...

, signing a four-year contract in June 1970. In the second half of the 1976–77 season, Panajotović moved to fellow

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) ...

side Radnički Niš. He was a regular member of the team that reached the semi-finals of the

1981–82 UEFA Cup The 1981–82 UEFA Cup was the 11th edition of the UEFA Cup, the third-tier club football competition organised by UEFA. The final was played over two legs at Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden, and at the Volksparkstadion, Hamburg, Germany. The final w ...

, scoring three goals in the process. During the following season, Panajotović left the club and spent the final years of his career with Yumco Vranje and Napredak Aleksinac, playing in the lower leagues.

International career

Panajotović represented Yugoslavia at the 1971 Mediterranean Games, winning the gold medal. He scored four goals in the tournament. He also played for

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

during the

1974 UEFA European Under-23 Championship The 1974 UEFA European Under-23 Championship, which spanned two years (1972–74) had 21 entrants. Hungary U-23 won the competition. The 21 national teams were divided into eight groups (five groups of 3 + three group of 2). The group winners ...

Honours

;Red Star Belgrade *

1972–73 Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 197 for this y ...

Yugoslav Cup The Yugoslav Cup (; ; , ), officially known between 1923 and 1940 as the King Alexander Cup (; , and between 1947 and 1991 as the Marshal Tito Cup (; ; ; ), was one of two major association football, football competitions in Socialist Federal Re ...

: 1970–71

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Panajotovic, Aleksandar 1952 births Living people Footballers from Kruševac Men's association football defenders Men's association football forwards Yugoslav men's footballers Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Yugoslavia Mediterranean Games medalists in football Competitors at the 1971 Mediterranean Games FK Radnički Pirot players Red Star Belgrade footballers FK Radnički Niš players Yugoslav First League players