Milko Djurovski (, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Milko Đurovski, Милко Ђуровски; born 26 January 1963) is a Macedonian 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 ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. He was regarded as one of the most talented Yugoslav players of his generation. Djurovski started out at

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 ...

, making his senior debut in 1979, aged 16. He spent a total of seven seasons in their first team, winning two national championships (

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

) and two national cups (

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

and

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

). In the summer of 1986, Djurovski made a surprising and controversial move to Red Star's bitter rivals Partizan. He stayed for four years at Stadion JNA, including an inactive season because of his compulsory military service. Some of his most memorable performances with the ''Crno-beli'' include a

1989–90 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1989–90 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup was won for the only time by Sampdoria in the final against Anderlecht, 2–0 at Nya Ullevi in Gothenburg, on 9 May 1990. They went on to win 1990–91 Serie A, also being runners-up in the ...

tie against

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

, which eventually secured him a transfer to the Dutch club in 1990. In his later years, Djurovski went on to play for several Slovenian clubs. Internationally, Djurovski represented both

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 ...

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 ...

. He earned six caps for Yugoslavia between 1984 and 1985, scoring two goals. After the dissolution of the former country, Djurovski briefly played for his native Macedonia, making three appearances in 1994. He had previously won the bronze medal for Yugoslavia at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

. His older brother is Boško Djurovski, while his younger son is

Mario Gjurovski Mario Gjurovski (, ; born 11 December 1985) is a Macedonian football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Playing career Club Gjurovski played in the youth team of Čukarički, before moving to Red Star Belgrade. He spent the ...

Club career

Born in

Tetovo Tetovo (, ; , sq-definite, Tetova) is a city in the northwestern part of North Macedonia, built on the foothills of Šar Mountain and divided by the Pena (river), Pena River. The municipality of Tetovo covers an area of at above sea level, wit ...

, Djurovski joined the youth categories of his hometown club Teteks. He subsequently moved to

in 1977. Still a junior, Djurovski made his senior debut for the club on 11 April 1979, coming on as a substitute for Duško Lukić in the first leg of the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

semi-final, a 1–0 win over

Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC () or Hertha Berlin, is a German professional football club based in Berlin. Hertha BSC plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football league system, German footbal ...

. He spent the following 1979–80 season on loan at Čukarički, becoming the

Serbian League The Serbian League () is the third level football league in Serbia. It consists of four groups, namely Belgrade, East, Vojvodina, and West. The winner of each group earns promotion to the Serbian First League. History 1992–1995 In the summer o ...

(Group North) top scorer with 15 goals. After returning from a loan spell, Djurovski helped Red Star win the

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) ...

in the 1980–81 campaign, scoring five goals in the process. He was an integral part of the team and a fan favorite in the following years, leading them to another league title in

. In the summer of 1986, Djurovski switched to Partizan in a move that caused much controversy among fans and the general public. He immediately established himself as the club's key player, being their top scorer in the 1986–87 season, as Partizan won the league title. Afterwards, Djurovski spent the following three seasons with the ''Crno-beli'', including one year of his military service. In the summer of 1990, Djurovski moved abroad and signed with Dutch club

. He was the club's top league scorer in his debut season at Oosterpark with 14 goals, leading them to a third place, behind PSV and

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

. In the following 1991–92 season, Djurovski again helped the club to secure a spot in the

. He was then loaned to fellow

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

club Cambuur in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

. After returning to Groningen, Djurovski spent another few months at the club, before eventually leaving the country in the winter of 1994. After leaving Groningen, Djurovski moved to the newly independent Slovenia and signed with

Maribor Maribor ( , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is the seat of the ...

in early 1994. He later moved to French side

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...

, but left the club after only a few games in December 1994. Later on, Djurovski made a return to Slovenia and joined Second League club Železničar Maribor in the summer of 1995. He then moved to the United States and briefly played

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer is a form of five-a-side football, five-a-side or six-a-side version of minifootball. It is derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arenas. It differs from the FIFA, FIFA ...

for the Kansas City Attack in 1998, alongside his former Partizan teammate Nebojša Vučićević. In the early 2000s, Djurovski came out of retirement and went on to play for

Slovenian Third League The Slovenian Third Football League ( or commonly 3. SNL) is the third tier of the Football in Slovenia, Slovenian football system. Since 2019, the league consists of two regional groups (East and West). They are operated by the Intercommunal Foo ...

clubs Rogoza, Bistrica (twice), and Malečnik. He then served as player-manager of Bosnian club Rudar Prijedor in 2003. Afterwards, Djurovski made two appearances for

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

in the First League, before the club dissolved at the end of the 2004–05 season. He later served as player-manager of Malečnik, before joining newly formed Slovenian club Bežigrad in July 2005. Djurovski appeared in a couple of matches for the club, before definitely retiring from the game, aged 42.

International career

Djurovski made his full international debut for

on 31 March 1984, coming on as a substitute for Miloš Šestić and scoring the game's opener in a 2–1 friendly win over

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 ...

. He subsequently represented the country at the

, as the team won the bronze medal, defeating

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in the third place match. In 1985, Djurovski made five more appearances for the senior team and scored once. In 1994, Djurovski accepted a call-up to represent the country of his birth. He made his senior debut for

in an October 1994 European Championship qualification match against

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in Skopje and earned a total of 3 caps, scoring no goals. His final international was a December 1994 European Championship qualification match against

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

Managerial career

After his stint at Železničar Maribor as a player, Djurovski was appointed manager of the club ahead of the 1998–99 season. He was eventually unable to perform his function due to the problems with his license. In October 2005, Djurovski was appointed manager of Drava Ptuj. He left the club in July 2006. Shortly after, Djurovski was appointed manager of Nafta Lendava. He left them in August 2007. Two weeks later, Djurovski became manager of his former club Maribor, penning a two-year deal. He was released on 5 November 2007. In October 2008, Djurovski returned to his native country, being named manager of

Vardar The Vardar (; , , ) or Axios (, ) is the longest river in North Macedonia and a major river in Greece, where it reaches the Aegean Sea at Thessaloniki. It is long, out of which are in Greece, and drains an area of around . The maximum depth of ...

. He left the club in January 2009. Later that year, Djurovski served as manager of fellow Macedonian club

Belasica Belasica ( Macedonian and Bulgarian: , also translit. ''Belasitsa'' or ''Belasitza'', Ottoman Turkish: بلش Turkish: ''Beleş''), Belles (, ''Bélles'') or Kerkini (, ''Kerkíni'';), is a mountain range in the region of Macedonia in Southe ...

. Subsequently, Djurovski returned to Slovenia and took charge at Drava Ptuj for the second time, before leaving the position in April 2010. He also served as manager of Austrian club Pöllau in 2012. In June 2015, Djurovski was appointed manager of Slovakian club Zlaté Moravce. He once again returned to Slovenia and took charge at Zavrč in October 2015. In March 2016, Djurovski became manager of Bosnian club Slavija Sarajevo. He left the club only two months later after failing to avoid relegation from the top flight.

Personal life

Djurovski has two sons including Mario Djurovski, a professional footballer. He is also the younger brother of Boško Djurovski. They played together at both club and international level.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Player

Red Star Belgrade *

: 1980–81, 1983–84 *

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 ...

: 1981–82, 1984–85 Partizan *

: 1986–87 *

: 1988–89 * Yugoslav Super Cup:

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

Yugoslavia *

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

: Bronze Medal

References

External links