Bojan Djordjic (, ; ; born 6 February 1982) is a Swedish former professional

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 winger. Starting off his career with

IF Brommapojkarna Idrottsföreningen Brommapojkarna, more commonly known as Brommapojkarna (meaning ''the Bromma boys'') or simply BP, is a Swedish association football, football club based in the borough of Bromma, in the western parts of Stockholm municipality ...

in the late 1990s, Djordjic soon joined

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

, with which he was named the 1999–2000 Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year, and AIK, with which he won the

2009 Allsvenskan Allsvenskan 2009, part of the 2009 Swedish football season, was the 85th Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; ), also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan (, ) is a professional association football league in Sweden and the highest level of the Swedish foot ...

and 2009 Svenska Cupen. He represented clubs in Sweden, England, Denmark, Serbia, Scotland, Hungary and Belgium before finishing his career with Chennaiyin in the

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is a professional association football league in India and the highest level of the Indian football league system. Administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner Football Sport ...

in 2015. Although born in the former

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 ...

, Djordjic was a youth international for Sweden between 1998 and 2003, representing the Swedish U17s, U19s and U21s a combined total of 44 times, scoring three goals.

Club career

Early career and Manchester United

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 ...

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

to professional footballer

Ranko Đorđić Ranko Đorđić (Serbian Cyrillic: Ранко Ђорђић; born 1 January 1957) is a Bosnian-Herzegovinian football manager and former player. Club career After playing several years in Yugoslav First League clubs FK Željezničar Sarajevo and ...

, Bojan started his career at

before moving to

in 1999 as a youth player. Although considered a budding talent, having been awarded the club's Jimmy Murphy Player of the Year Award at the age of 18, he only made two competitive appearances for the club. He also scored with a chip in a 2–0 win against

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

in Tom Boyd's testimonial at

Celtic Park Celtic Park is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium and the home of Scottish Premiership team Celtic F.C., Celtic, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest List of football stadiums in Sco ...

on 15 May 2001, after coming on as a substitute for

Ryan Giggs Ryan Joseph Giggs (né Wilson; born 29 November 1973) is a Welsh football coach, former player and co-owner of Salford City. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, and one of the best wingers in the history of footba ...

. He was loaned to

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

Aarhus GF Aarhus Gymnastikforening (; commonly known as AGF ) is a professional sports club based in Aarhus, Jutland, Denmark. Founded in 1880, it is one of the oldest clubs in the country where gymnastics and fencing were featured as its main sports. How ...

and

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 ...

, where he scored his first senior goal against

Odense BK Odense Boldklub (; also known as Odense BK or the more commonly used OB) is a Danish professional football club based in the city of Odense, in southern Denmark. The club has won three Danish championships and five Danish Cup trophies. OB play ...

in the

2003–04 UEFA Cup The 2003–04 UEFA Cup was won by Valencia in the final against Marseille. It wrapped up a league and UEFA Cup double for Valencia. Porto could not defend their title as they automatically qualified for the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League and a ...

Rangers

He signed for

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

in Scotland in January 2005 on a free transfer. On 9 January 2005 he made his full debut against Celtic in the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Ibrox Stadium Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Scottish Premiership team Rangers, Ibrox is the third-largest football stadium in Scotland, with an all-seated ca ...

Plymouth Argyle

Djordjic moved to

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

on at the end of the 2004–05 season having made four league appearances during Rangers title winning campaign. Other club interested in the winger was Stockholm-based side AIK, the club that Djordjic supports. On 24 August 2006, after spending just over a season at Plymouth, Djordjic was placed on the transfer list by manager

Ian Holloway Ian Scott Holloway (born 12 March 1963) is an English professional football manager, former player, media personality and television pundit who is the manager of club Swindon Town. A midfielder, he notably played in the Premier League with ...

as a result of his sometimes lax attitude towards the team when playing and training. He was promised the opportunity to get back into the first team once his attitude improved. Djordjic finally returned to the starting lineup after he scored eight goals in five games for the reserves and after exactly a three-month absence, on 18 November 2006, scoring in the fifth minute in a 1–1 away draw at

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...

. He was removed from the transfer list the following week, and went on to score in the next two consecutive games (

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

and

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

AIK

On 19 October 2007, Djordjic's contract with Plymouth Argylewas terminated by mutual consent due to lack of first-team opportunities. On 13 November, it was officially announced he had signed a two-year deal with Swedish club AIK. His first season for the club has not been what he was hoping for with several

injuries Injury is physiological damage to the living tissue of any organism, whether in humans, in other animals, or in plants. Injuries can be caused in many ways, including mechanically with penetration by sharp objects such as teeth or with b ...

and on 13 September 2008 he was injured once again and missed the remaining eight matches of the season. His first match for AIK was against

Kalmar FF Kalmar Fotbollförening, more commonly known as Kalmar FF, is a Swedish professional football club based in Kalmar, Sweden. The club is affiliated to Smålands Fotbollförbund and play their home games at Guldfågeln Arena. Formed on 15 June 1 ...

on 30 March 2008 in the first game of the 2008 season. During the 2009 transfer season, Djordjic was approached by

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa () is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football, Basketball, Weightl ...

which offering him a contract, however Djordjic rejected saying that he wanted to stay with the club in his heart AIK. Scoring 1 goal and providing 6 assists in all competitions during the 2009 season, he helped AIK win the

. Due to the start of the season of 2010, AIK was underperforming as defending champions. This led that club was struggling to avoid relegation. The coach Mikael Stahre left for

Panionios GSS Panionios G.S.S. (Greek: Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis''), the ''Pan-Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'', is a Greek multi-sport club founded in 1890. Originally ...

and much criticism was aimed at the team's bad performances.

Videoton

On 28 June media reported that the Hungarian club Videoton had bought both Djordjic and Martin Mutumba. The director of the Hungarian club compared Djordjic with

Roberto Baggio Roberto Baggio (; born 18 February 1967) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a second striker, or as an attacking midfielder, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. He is the former pr ...

and Mutumba was compared with

Ronaldinho Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian former professional Association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or left winger. Widely reg ...

. The transfer led to many speculations in media, especially since AIK had appointed the Scottish manager

Alex Miller Alex Miller (born 4 July 1949) is a Scottish football manager and former player. As a player, he had a 15-year career with Rangers, winning several trophies. As a manager, he won the 1991–92 Scottish League Cup with Hibernian. He subsequen ...

only a couple of days before the transfer were made. The players claimed that it was Mr. Millers decision to let the players go, but the organization of AIK claimed that they got such a good offer that they could not refuse to sell. One year later, he terminated his contract that would have expired 2013.

Blackpool

Djordjic joined

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

on a two-year contract in June 2011, reuniting him with manager Holloway. "Ollie (Ian Holloway) is one of the few managers to get the best out of me and I always thought about that," he said. "It's a big step when you're 29 to come back to English football to a club that's just been relegated from the Premier League." His salary was believed to be a minimum of around £160,000 annually, before bonuses. He cancelled his contract with Blackpool by mutual consent on 9 January 2012.

Royal Antwerp

On 4 February 2012, he signed a short-term contract with the

Belgian Second Division The Belgian Second Division was the second-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Belgian Pro League. It was founded by the Royal Belgian Football Association in 1909 and folded in 2016, when it was replace ...

club

Royal Antwerp Royal Antwerp Football Club (commonly referred to as Royal Antwerp or simply Antwerp) is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Antwerp. They compete in the Belgian Pro League, the top flight of Belgian football. Founded in 1 ...

Return to Sweden

In June 2012, Djordjic returned to his boyhood club Brommapojkarna. in January 2014, he signed with the

Division 1 Norra Ettan Fotboll, or simply Ettan (), which also is its common name in everyday speech, is the third level in the Swedish football league system and consists of 32 Swedish football teams. It was formerly simply known as ''Division 1''. Division 1 ...

club

Vasalunds IF Vasalunds IF is a Swedish football club based in Solna, Stockholm. The club is affiliated with Stockholms Fotbollförbund. History Vasalund was formed in 1934 and play in the Swedish Third Division: Ettan Norra. In 2002 the club merged with Es ...

Chennaiyin

On 21 August 2014, Djordjic was a picked in the inaugural ISL International Draft, signing for

side Chennaiyin. Djordjic served as the

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

during his time at the club.

International career

Djordjic was a part of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

's squad at the

1999 UEFA European Under-16 Championship The 1999 UEFA European Under-16 Championship was the 17th edition of UEFA's UEFA European Under-17 Championship, European Under-16 Football Championship. Czech Republic hosted the championship, from 24 April to 7 May 1999. Players born on or after ...

. He played 9 games for the Sweden U21 team, but was often overlooked by the then-manager

Torbjörn Nilsson Torbjörn Anders Nilsson (born 9 July 1954) is a Swedish footballer and manager who played as a striker. Considered one of the best Swedish footballers of all time, he is best remembered for his time with IFK Göteborg with which he won two Sw ...

Post-playing

Television personality

Viaplay

From the mid 2010s, Djordjic began working as a football pundit for

Viaplay Viaplay is a Swedish video streaming service owned by Viaplay Group. History Originally owned by Modern Times Group, it was launched in May 2007 as Viasat On Demand. It was rebranded as Viaplay in 2011. Viaplay released its first origina ...

sports channels in Sweden. In late March 2023, Djordjic's post-match interview with the Sweden national team head coach

Janne Andersson Jan Olof "Janne" Andersson (; born 29 September 1962) is a Swedish former professional football manager and player. From 2004 to 2009, Andersson coached Halmstads BK in the Swedish top tier league. In 2010, he managed Örgryte in the second tier ...

following a 5–0 Euro 2024 qualifier win by Sweden over

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

Solna Solna ( or , ), also known as Solna Municipality, is a municipality in central Stockholm County, Sweden, located just north of Stockholm City Centre. Its seat is located in the town of Solna, which is a part of the Stockholm urban area. Solna i ...

turned into a heated exchange that further devolved into Andersson belittling Djordjic's football expertise as well as appearing to question his loyalty to the country of Sweden. Annoyed over Djordjic's question about the lack of playing time given to the forward Jesper Karlsson (who hadn't seen any action several days earlier in Sweden's qualifier loss to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and who despite being brought on for only the last eight minutes of regulation versus Azerbaijan still managed to score a goal), Andersson retorted angrily about "being sick of this nonsense" before twice dismissing Djordjic's questions about Karlsson as "whining". Djordjic came back with an observation that the national side coach has a duty to publicly answer these kinds of questions without becoming defensive due to "representing 10 million people" prompting by now very agitated Andersson to angrily ask Djordjic "and what do you represent?", which Djordjic, as well as a number of other observers, took as a reference to Djordjic not being Swedish-born or of Swedish ethnicity. Several minutes later, at the official post-match press conference, Andersson was asked by reporters about his on-camera outburst at Djordjic; his answer was that Djordjic's ethnicity shouldn't be brought into this, adding "I may have expressed myself badly, but don't mix it up, than I'll be really pissed off" and "I can apologize if I said something bad". The next day, the Swedish Football Association called another press conference, specifically for Andersson to address his incident with Djordjic; Andersson stated: "My head stopped. Anyone who knows me knows that I hate all forms of racism. I apologize profusely if he interpreted it that way, but that's not who I am" before adding that he has reached out to Djordjic for a conversation. Djordjic's employer Viaplay issued a press release later the same day in which Djordjic stated that he stands by his line of questioning with Andersson as well as being willing to "forgive nderssonbut not forget"; Viaplay media company also expressed public support for their employee. Some Swedish journalists criticized Djordjic for the way he conducted the post-match interview.

MUTV

Djordjic is, as of 2021, a pundit on Manchester United's television station, MUTV.

Honours

Red Star Belgrade *

First League of Serbia and Montenegro The First League of Serbia and Montenegro () was the top Association football, football league of Serbia and Montenegro, before the country's dissolution in 2006. The league was formed as the First League of FR Yugoslavia following the breakup of ...

: 2003–04 *

Serbia and Montenegro Cup The Serbia and Montenegro Cup was an association football knockout cup tournament of Serbia and Montenegro played between 1992 and 2006, after which Serbia and Montenegro became separate nations. The competition was the continuation of the old ...

: 2003–04 Rangers *

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

: 2004–05 AIK *

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; ), also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan (, ) is a professional association football league in Sweden and the highest level of the Swedish football league system. Founded in 1924, it operates on a system of promotion and relegatio ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Svenska Cupen Svenska cupen (, ), also known as the Swedish Cup in English, is a knockout cup competition in Swedish football and the main Swedish football cup. ''Svenska cupen'' usually refers to the men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also ...

Svenska Supercupen Svenska Supercupen, ''Swedish Super Cup'', was a one-off fixture in Swedish football played between the Allsvenskan champions and the winners of Svenska Cupen. The fixture was played in November, after the Allsvenskan season. In the event of a ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Videoton *

Nemzeti Bajnokság I The Nemzeti Bajnokság (, ), also known as NB I or Fizz Liga after its title sponsor, OTP Bank's webshop subsidiary, is a professional association football league in Hungary and the highest level of the Hungarian football league system. Twelve ...

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

Individual * Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year: 1999–2000

References

External links