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Branko Ilić (born 6 February 1983) is a Slovenian 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 ...
. Usually a
right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...
, he also played as a
central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...
. In his country, he appeared for Olimpija Ljubljana (two spells), Grosuplje, and Domžale (two stints). He also competed professionally in Spain, Russia, Cyprus, Israel, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Japan and Denmark. A Slovenian international between 2004 and 2015, Ilić was part of the squad at the
2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...
.


Club career

Born in
Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...
,
Socialist Republic of Slovenia The Socialist Republic of Slovenia (, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Slovenija, Социјалистичка Република Словенија), commonly referred to as Socialist Slovenia or simply Slovenia, was one ...
,
Socialist Federal Republic of 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 ...
, Ilić started his career at local NK Olimpija, where he made his senior debut in 2003 against
FC Koper Football Club Koper, commonly referred to as FC Koper or simply Koper, is a Slovenian football club based in Koper that competes in the Slovenian First League, the top flight of Slovenian football. The club was founded in 1920. They won the Sl ...
. He joined
NK Domžale Nogometni klub Domžale (), commonly referred to as NK Domžale or simply Domžale, is a Slovenian professional Association football, football club based in the town of Domžale that competes in the Slovenian PrvaLiga, the top tier of Slovenian ...
in January 2005, after his former club went bankrupt. Ilić was loaned to
Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...
in January 2007, becoming the first Slovenian to play for them. His first official appearance came against city rivals
Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, that competes in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. The club was formed on 25 January ...
, in a
Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...
quarter-final clash. On 4 February he first appeared in
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...
, providing the assist for
Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...
's goal in a 2–1 away win at
Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...
. After a positive spell, the Andalusian side completed the transfer for €1.5 million in the summer of 2007, but Ilić eventually fell out of rotation in 2008–09 after the signing of S.L. Benfica's Nélson, in a relegation-ending season where he only featured in three matches. On 6 September 2009, FC Moscow signed Ilić on loan from Betis, for one year. In late January 2010, however, he was released by the latter, immediately joining another Moscow-based team, FC Lokomotiv. On 13 August 2010,
Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...
reported that Ilić was on trial in England with
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
's
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 ...
, but nothing came of it. On 5 June 2013, after one season in the
Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...
with
Anorthosis Famagusta FC Anorthosis Famagusta (), commonly known as Anorthosis in English or Anorthosi in Greek, is a Cypriot football club, part of the Famagusta multi-sport club founded in 1911 in Varosha, Famagusta.
, he and teammate Jürgen Colin signed two-year contracts with Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C. from Israel. Ilić agreed to a two-year deal with Serbian club
FK Partizan Fudbalski klub Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Партизан, ; ), often referred to in English as Partizan Belgrade, is a Serbian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Belgrade. It forms ...
on 10 July 2014. The following summer he moved teams and countries again, joining
Kazakhstan Premier League The Kazakhstan Professional Football League (, ''Qazaqstan Premier Ligasy''), commonly referred to as the Kazakh Premier League or simply the Premier League, is a professional association football league in Kazakhstan and the highest level of the ...
champions
FC Astana Astana Football Club () is a professional Association football, football club based in Astana. They play in the Kazakhstan Premier League, the highest level of Football in Kazakhstan, Kazakh football. The club's home ground is the 30,000-seat As ...
. On 6 January 2016, Ilić signed for
Urawa Red Diamonds The or simply Urawa Reds (浦和レッズ, ''Urawa Rezzu''), also known as Mitsubishi Urawa Football Club from April 1992 to January 1996, are a professional association football, football club in the city of Saitama (city), Saitama, part of t ...
from Japan. On 5 February of the following year he returned to his homeland, joining Olimpija Ljubljana. Ilić signed for
Vejle Boldklub Vejle Boldklub is a Danish professional football club based in Vejle in Jutland. Formed in 1891, the club is one of the most successful clubs in Danish football history, having won the Danish championship five times and the Danish cup title six ...
in Denmark on 15 January 2019. In July 2020, after a second spell with Domžale, the 36-year-old announced his retirement.


International career

Ilić represented
Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
at youth level, making his competitive debut for the under-19 team in October 2001 against
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
. He was also capped for the under-21s, playing nine matches in
UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
competitions. Ilić made his debut for the senior side on 18 August 2004 in a friendly with
Serbia and Montenegro The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...
. He was included in the squad for the
2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...
in South Africa, but did not leave the substitutes bench in an eventual group-stage exit. Overall, Ilić played 63 games for his country, scoring one goal against
San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...
in the
UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's association football, football ch ...
qualifiers (6–0 home victory).


Career statistics


Club


International

:''Score and result list Slovenia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after Ilić goal.''


Honours

Olimpija *
Slovenian Football Cup The Slovenian Football Cup (, ) is the top knockout tournament of Slovenian football and the second most important football competition in Slovenia after the Slovenian PrvaLiga championship. The cup was established in 1991 following the breakup o ...
: 2002–03 Domžale *
Slovenian PrvaLiga The Slovenian PrvaLiga (, ), currently named Prva liga Telemach due to sponsorship reasons, also known by the abbreviation 1. SNL, is the top level of the Slovenian football league system. Contested by ten clubs, it operates on a system of prom ...
: 2006–07 Partizan *
Serbian SuperLiga The Serbian Super League (), also known as Mozzart SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Serbia and the highest level of the Serbian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a sys ...
: 2014–15 Olimpija Ljubljana *
Slovenian PrvaLiga The Slovenian PrvaLiga (, ), currently named Prva liga Telemach due to sponsorship reasons, also known by the abbreviation 1. SNL, is the top level of the Slovenian football league system. Contested by ten clubs, it operates on a system of prom ...
: 2017–18 *
Slovenian Football Cup The Slovenian Football Cup (, ) is the top knockout tournament of Slovenian football and the second most important football competition in Slovenia after the Slovenian PrvaLiga championship. The cup was established in 1991 following the breakup o ...
: 2017–18


See also

* Slovenian international players


References


External links


Slovenian League stats
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ilic, Branko 1983 births Living people Slovenian people of Serbian descent Footballers from Ljubljana Slovenian men's footballers 21st-century Slovenian sportsmen Men's association football defenders Slovenian PrvaLiga players Slovenian Second League players NK Olimpija Ljubljana (1945–2005) players NK Domžale players NK Olimpija Ljubljana (2005) players La Liga players Real Betis players Russian Premier League players FC Moscow players FC Lokomotiv Moscow players Cypriot First Division players Anorthosis Famagusta FC players Israeli Premier League players Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C. players Serbian SuperLiga players FK Partizan players Kazakhstan Premier League players FC Astana players Urawa Red Diamonds players Danish Superliga players Vejle Boldklub players Slovenia men's youth international footballers Slovenia men's under-21 international footballers Slovenia men's international footballers 2010 FIFA World Cup players Slovenian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Russia Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Expatriate men's footballers in Israel Expatriate men's footballers in Serbia Expatriate men's footballers in Kazakhstan Expatriate men's footballers in Japan Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Slovenian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Slovenian expatriate sportspeople in Russia Slovenian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Slovenian expatriate sportspeople in Israel Slovenian expatriate sportspeople in Serbia Slovenian expatriate sportspeople in Japan Slovenian expatriate sportspeople in Denmark