Armin Đerlek ( sr-Cyrl, Армин Ђерлек; born 15 July 2000) 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 ...

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 plays for

Niké liga The Slovak First Football League (), officially known as Niké liga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Slovakia and the highest level of the Slovak football league system. It was formed in 1993 following the ...

club

AS Trenčín AS Trenčín () is a Slovak sports club in the town of Trenčín, most known for its football department. The first team currently plays in the Slovak First Football League after winning the 2010–11 Slovak First League. The club plays its hom ...

Club career

Early years

Born in

Novi Pazar Novi Pazar ( sr-cyr, Нови Пазар) is a List of cities in Serbia, city located in the Raška District of southwestern Serbia. As of the 2022 census, the urban area has 71,462 inhabitants, while the city administrative area has 106,720 inha ...

, Đerlek started playing football with a local academy named "AS" at the age of 7. Four years later, he moved to Pazar Juniors. In an interview made in 2017, he remembered on 28 January 2011, when his grandfather took him to the first training. Playing for the club, he was affirmed as "the target man" in the academy since 2015 when he left the club as one of the top youth prospects in Serbia. He moved 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 summer 2015 at the age of 15, penning his first three-year professional contract with the club. He sued the club for unpaid wages and received a dispute over arbitration in March 2017, when he left

as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. Later, same month, it was announced about his moving to Partizan. Previously, he had been marked as a pick of the greatest rival,

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 ...

Partizan

On 28 April 2017, Đerlek signed a three-year contract with Partizan, when he was officially promoted by the club's

director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an senior management, executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many typ ...

Ivica Iliev Ivica Iliev (, ; born 27 October 1979) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Club career Partizan After starting out as a youngster at Rad, Iliev joined the youth system of Partizan in January 1996. He made his ...

. He passed summer pre-season with the first team, but failed to make any official appearances with the club for the rest of 2017. In February 2018, Đerlek joined the first squad under coach

Miroslav Đukić Miroslav Đukić ( sr-cyr, Мирослав Ђукић, ; born 19 February 1966) is a Serbian football manager and former player who played as a sweeper. He spent fourteen years of his professional career in Spain, notably at the service of De ...

, among a group of youth players who impressed during the winter-break, choosing to wear the number 44 jersey. He made his professional debut for Partizan in 23rd fixture match of the

2017–18 Serbian SuperLiga The 2017–18 Serbian SuperLiga was the twelfth season of the Serbian SuperLiga, Serbia's top football league. The season began on 21 July 2017 and ended on 19 May 2018. FK Partizan were the defending champions from the previous season. Teams T ...

campaign, having played 67 minutes in 2–1 away victory over Mladost Lučani on 18 February 2018. Đerlek noted his first Eternal Derby on 14 April 2018, having played 57 minutes of the match. Đerlek was replaced by

Zoran Tošić Zoran Tošić ( sr-Cyrl, Зоран Тошић, ; born 28 April 1987) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a winger. He built a reputation as a free-kick specialist and a tricky dribbler. Tošić began his career with his l ...

in second-half, while Partizan archived 2–1 defeat in the game. Đerlek won his first trophy with Partizan after 2–1 victory over Mladost Lučani in final match of the

2017–18 Serbian Cup The 2017–18 Serbian Cup season was the twelfth season of the Serbian national football cup competition. It started in September 2017, and ended on 23 May 2018. Partizan won the tournament for the sixth time, extending their record as the club ...

on 23 May 2018. In summer 2018, after

Gabriel Enache Gabriel Nicolae Enache (; born 18 August 1990) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a right back or a winger. Club career Mioveni Enache scored his first Mioveni goal in a 1–1 second division draw with FCM Târgoviște on 2 ...

joined the club and took the number 44 shirt, Đerlek converted his squad number to 8, which previously had been worn by Vladimir Đilas. Đerlek played his first continental match for Partizan in 3–0 victory over Rudar Pljevlja on 19 July 2018.

Sivasspor

On 5 August 2019, Đerlek signed a five-year contract with Turkish

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

club

Sivasspor Sivasspor Kulübü, known as Net Global Sivasspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish sports club based in Sivas. The primary department of the club is men's football. Formed in 1967, its football department has competed in Süper Lig since t ...

. After not making any appearances for Sivasspor in the 2022–23 season, Đerlek's contract was terminated by mutual consent on 31 August 2023.

International career

In 2014, Đerlek was invited into Serbian under-15 national team under coach Marko Mitrović. He scored a goal in a debut match for the team against Montenegro on 9 December 2014. He also scored against the Netherlands on 11 February 2015. Đerlek continued playing with Serbian under-16 selection between 2015 and 2016, scoring in matches against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

, and in a match against

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

on 10 June 2016, when he scored a

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mechan ...

. He also scored on his debut match for Serbian under-17 level against

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

on 8 December 2015. He played performed as a captain until summer 2017, helping the team to qualify for the

UEFA European Under-17 Championship The UEFA European Under-17 Championship, or simply the Euro Under-17, is an annual Association football, football competition contested by the men's under-17 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Spain national under-17 football team, ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

and

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

. In December 2017,

Perica Ognjenović Perica Ognjenović ( sr-cyr, Перица Огњеновић; born 24 February 1977) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Bosnian Premier League club Rudar Prijedor. He played as a forward or right ...

called Đerlek in Serbian under-18 national team for the tournament in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. He made his debut for the team as a captain in 1–0 defeat against home team on 11 December same year, and also played against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

next day.

Playing style

Standing at 5-foot-8-inches (1.73 m), Đerlek usually operates as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. He can use both legs equally well, which allows him to create a position for a shot from multiple angles. He is characterised as a creative playmaker with strong pace, likewise good ball control and game vision. He is also described as classic number 10 in 4-2-3-1 formation, with leadership and captaincy roles. Due to his playing style, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' compared him with

Eden Hazard Eden Michael Walter Hazard (born 7 January 1991) is a Belgian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Winger (association football), winger or attacking midfielder for Lille OSC, Lille, Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, Real ...

as also his compatriot

Adem Ljajić Adem Ljajić ( sr-Cyrl, Адем Љајић, ; born 29 September 1991) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Novi Pazar. Ljajić began his career with FK Jošanica, and later Partizan, with whom he made h ...

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Club

;Partizan *

Serbian Cup The Serbian Cup ( Serbian: Куп Србије / Kup Srbije), also known as Mozzart Serbian Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the national football cup of Serbia. The winner of the competition gets a spot in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round. ...

: 2017–18

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Derlek, Armin 2000 births Living people Footballers from Novi Pazar Bosniaks of Serbia Men's association football midfielders Serbian men's footballers Serbia men's youth international footballers Serbia men's under-21 international footballers FK Partizan players Sivasspor footballers NK Aluminij players AS Trenčín players Serbian SuperLiga players Süper Lig players Slovenian PrvaLiga players Slovak First Football League players Serbian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Slovenia Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Slovenia Expatriate men's footballers in Slovakia Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Slovakia