Dragiša "Dragi" Gudelj (

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 ...

: Драгиша Гудељ; born 8 November 1997) is a Serbian retired

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 ...

. Mainly a

centre-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

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. Gudelj also holds

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

citizenship.

Club career

Born in

Breda Breda ( , , , ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. ...

, Gudelj began his career with hometown side

NAC Breda NAC Breda (), often simply known as NAC, is a Dutch professional football club, based in Breda, Netherlands. NAC Breda play in the Rat Verlegh Stadium, named after their most important player, Antoon 'Rat' Verlegh. They play in the Eredivisi ...

, but never played as a senior for the club. On 6 May 2015, it was announced that he signed his first professional contract with

Jong Ajax Jong Ajax (; ), also referred to as Ajax II or Ajax 2, is a Dutch association football team. It is based in Amsterdam and competes in the Dutch Eerste Divisie. Jong Ajax is the only reserve team to have won a title in Dutch professional foot ...

, moving to the club with his older brother Nemanja who signed a contract with Ajax's first team while their father Nebojša became a scout for the club. In July 2017, after failing to feature for Ajax, Gudelj moved to Swiss side

FC Wohlen FC Wohlen is a Swiss football club based in the town Wohlen in Canton Aargau. They play in the Swiss 1. Liga, the fourth tier of football in the country. The club was founded in May 1904 and holds the honour of being the oldest football club i ...

. He joined

Vitória de Guimarães Vitoria or Vitória may refer to: People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Sofia Vitória (bor ...

in the following year, but only played for their B-team. On 31 August 2020, Gudelj signed a two-year deal with

Cádiz CF Cádiz Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish professional football club based in Cádiz, Andalusia. Founded in 1910, the club competes in Segunda División, holding home games at Nuevo Mirandilla, with a seating capacity of 20,724. Salvadoran ...

, being assigned to the reserves in

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: second division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish ...

. On 12 January 2022, he moved to fellow Segunda División RFEF side

Córdoba CF Córdoba Club de Fútbol (), is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Córdoba, Andalusia, Córdoba, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1954 after the dissolution of RCD Córdoba. Currently it plays ...

on a short-term contract. On 25 March 2023, while playing a league match against

Racing de Ferrol Racing Club de Ferrol, commonly known as Racing de Ferrol, is a Spanish football team based in Ferrol, Province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia. Founded in 1919, the club currently plays in , holding home games at '' E ...

, Gudelj collapsed in the 11th minute. Urgent medical assistance arrived, and

cardiopulmonary resuscitation Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure used during Cardiac arrest, cardiac or Respiratory arrest, respiratory arrest that involves chest compressions, often combined with artificial ventilation, to preserve brain function ...

and was performed. It is said that two defibrillations were needed in order to stabilize the player. After 10 minutes, Gudelj had to be put in an ambulance and taken to Hospital Universitario Reina Sofía, in

Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, the second largest city in Argentina and the capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cord ...

. The match was suspended with both teams level at 1–1. Soon after the collapse, it was confirmed by the club that Gudelj had suffered a

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

, and that he was in stable condition and undergoing tests in an

intensive care unit An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensive care medicine. An inten ...

. Gudelj was fitted with an

implantable cardioverter-defibrillator An implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) or automated implantable cardioverter defibrillator (AICD) is a device implantable inside the body, able to perform defibrillation, and depending on the type, cardioversion and pacing of the h ...

on 30 March 2023, and subsequently returned to play. On 9 July, he renewed his link with Córdoba until 2025. Gudelj collapsed again on 3 December 2023, in the first half of a match against

UD Melilla Unión Deportiva Melilla is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in the autonomous city of Melilla. Founded in 1976, it currently plays in , holding home matches at ''Estadio Municipal Álvarez Claro'', with an 8,000 capac ...

; he went down in the 28th minute, before getting up shortly after and looking to the opposite side of the ball. He was later replaced, and the match ended 2–0 for Córdoba. On 16 January 2024, his club confirmed that he would remain sidelined under a medical release for the remainder of the season. On 24 July 2024, Córdoba announced Gudelj's retirement at the age of 26, due to his health issues.

Personal life

Gudelj is the son of former player

Nebojša Gudelj Nebojša Gudelj (Serbian Cyrillic: Небојша Гудељ; born 23 September 1968) is a Serbian football manager and former player. Playing career Born in Trebinje, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Gudelj started out at his hometown club Leotar, col ...

. His older brother Nemanja is also a footballer.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gudelj, Dragisa 1997 births Living people Footballers from Breda Dutch people of Serbian descent Dutch people of Bosnia and Herzegovina descent Men's association football central defenders Serbian men's footballers Serbia men's youth international footballers Jong Ajax players FC Wohlen players Vitória S.C. B players Cádiz CF Mirandilla players Córdoba CF players Swiss Challenge League players Liga Portugal 2 players Campeonato de Portugal (league) players Segunda División B players Segunda Federación players Serbian expatriate men's footballers Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland Expatriate men's footballers in Spain