Miodrag "Grof" Božović (, ; born 22 June 1968) is a Montenegrin

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

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 ...

and former

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Playing career

Club

A tall central defender, Božović played alongside Yugoslav and Montenegrin legends Predrag Mijatović and

Dejan Savićević Dejan Savićević ( cyrl, Дејан Савићевић, ; born 15 September 1966) is a Montenegrin former professional association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Since 2001, he has been the president of the Football ...

at Budućnost Titograd and for fellow Yugoslav team

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 ...

, whom he left in 1994 during the civil war to play in Indonesia. He also played for Dutch clubs RKC Waalwijk and RBC Roosendaal, as well as in

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 ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. During his playing career Božović won

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 ...

with

International

He represented his U-21 national side once.

Managerial career

As a coach, he had a successful spell in Budućnost in the 2006–07 season, when his team was leading in

Montenegrin First League The Montenegrin First League (Montenegrin language, Montenegrin: ''Prva crnogorska fudbalska liga'' — ''Prva CFL'' — ''1. CFL''; ), referred to as the Meridianbet 1. CFL for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional Association football, ...

, but he resigned and joined Grbalj in February 2007, due to the disagreement with the board."Bozovic shock in Montenegro"
''uefa.com'' Božović also was successful in Borac Čačak, as he made a competitive team out of a humble club. Russian side

FC Amkar Perm FC Amkar Perm ( ) is a professional association football, football club. Originally founded in 1994, it is based in the city of Perm, Russia, Perm. It was a participant in second-tier football from 1995 and in the Russian Premier League from 2004 ...

qualified for the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

for the first time in club's history under his management. Next season, his new club FC Moscow was among the leaders in the

Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; , ''Rossiyskaya premyer-liga''; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is a professional association football league in Russia and the highest level of the Russian football league system. It was establis ...

for long stretches, before fading in the end of the season and falling out of European qualification. In early 2010, FC Moscow dropped out of the Premier League due to financial considerations, and Božović became a free agent. On 27 April 2010, Božović signed a three-year contract with

FC Dynamo Moscow FC Dynamo Moscow (''FC Dynamo Moskva'', , ) is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Moscow. Dynamo returned to the Russian Premier League for the 2017–18 season after one season in the second-tier Russian Footba ...

. After the game against his former club, Amkar, he was questioned in the flash interview, did he feel that he was playing against the team he had built himself. His answer was: "I feel I was playing against players who made me a coach.""Браво, Миодраг!"
''Express Yourself (russian)'' He resigned from Dynamo on 21 April 2011 after losing in a Russian Cup quarterfinal against

FC Rostov FC Rostov () is a Russian professionalism in association football, professional football club based in Rostov-on-Don. The club competes in the Russian Premier League, playing their home matches at the Rostov Arena. History Soviet era (1930-199 ...

(winning the Cup was the last hope for Dynamo to qualify for UEFA Europa League). In

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 ...

Božović was nicknamed Grof (the

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

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), because of his orderly and elegant appearance."Mysterious Count"
''Sovetsky Sport (russian)'' In June 2012 he became the manager of

. The next season Rostov won the

2013–14 Russian Cup The 2013–14 Russian Cup (football), Russian Cup, known as the 2013–14 Pirelli–Russian Football Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the 22nd season of the Russian Association football, football knockout tournament since the dissolution of Soviet ...

Red Star

2015-16

On 29 May 2015 it was announced that Božović would manage his former club

."Гроф Божовић нови тренер Црвене звезде"
"Moja Crvena zvezda: Grof Božović novi trener Crvene zvezde" (serbian) His start as Red Star manager was turbulent. Red Star was eliminated by Kairat in the first qualifying round for the Europa League and started off the regular season with a comeback win against

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 ...

and a draw against Metalac in

Gornji Milanovac Gornji Milanovac ( sr-Cyrl, Гoрњи Милановац, ) is a town and municipality located in the Moravica District of central Serbia. The population of the town is 23,109, while the population of the municipality is 38,985 (2022 census data). ...

in the first two rounds of the

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 ...

. Serbian media and journalist were not on his side and criticized him and his team's play. After a draw against Radnički Niš in front of 22.000 fans who started to chant against the club board, Božović offered his resignation. Fans were explicit in their desire that board members must leave the club right away, not him, and gave clear support to Božović. Several board members including the vice president and the general director left the club and Božović started a "little war" with the media. After the series of bad performances, Red Star dominated throughout the match and won after a comeback against Čukarički, considered the best match of the season. Following these incidents, Božović masterminded Red Star to 24 straight wins in the regular season, a new club record, and dominated the

with 32 points ahead of their rivals. With Božović at the helm

Red Star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. ...

made the best start in club history. Božović lead Red Star to the 27th club league title in history, and the first in his career. Božović stated that he is very happy like never before in his life.

2016-17

After clear and unambiguous support from Red Star fans, who were chanted his name and ask to stay, Grof Božović signed new two-year contract with Red Star to lead the club to the Champions League. Božović said that chants from the fans and whole stands of Marakana are the biggest thing which happened to him in his life, after birth of his sons. He record his first European victory, which is also Red Star first in three years and five matches in a row, against

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

in first match of second qualifying round for the Champions League in

Return to Russia

He signed with the

club

FC Arsenal Tula FC Arsenal Tula () is a Russian professional football club from Tula playing in the second-tier Russian First League. Originally founded in 1923, FC Arsenal Tula was promoted to the Russian Premier League in 2014 for the first time in its hi ...

before the 2017–18 season. He led the club to the 7th place in the

2017–18 Russian Premier League The 2017–18 Russian Premier League was the 26th season of the premier Association football, football competition in Russia since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the 16th under the current Russian Premier League name. FC Spartak Moscow, S ...

, the best position in club's history. He did not renew his Arsenal contract at the end of the season. On 5 October 2018, he signed a 2-year contract with FC Krylia Sovetov Samara. He left Krylia Sovetov by mutual consent on 28 June 2020, with the team in the last position in the table. On 3 September 2021, he returned to Arsenal Tula. Arsenal was relegated at the end of the 2021–22 Russian Premier League after taking last place.

Neftçi

On 24 December 2023, Božović was announced as the new Head Coach of

Azerbaijan Premier League The Azerbaijan Premier League (), also known as Misli Premyer Liqası for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Azerbaijan and the highest level of the Azerbaijani football league system. It is contested by twelve ...

club Neftçi following the departure of Adrian Mutu. On 26 May 2024, a day after their season finished, Neftçi announced that they would not be extending their contract with Božović.

Other information

*Speaks several languages. *As of 2023 – the record holder among foreign coaches in

in terms of the number of clubs led and seasons spent (7 and 11, respectively). *The players who worked under him repeatedly noted his use of sex jokes in the training process.

Managerial statistics

Club statistics

Honours

Player

;Red Star Belgrade *

FR Yugoslavia 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 ...

: 1992–93

Manager

;Rostov * Russian Cup: 2013–14 ;Red Star Belgrade *

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 ...

: 2015–16

References

External links

Miodrag Bozovic: Why Europe Should Be Out for the Count
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bozovic, Miodrag 1968 births Living people People from Mojkovac Men's association football defenders Yugoslav men's footballers Montenegrin men's footballers Yugoslavia men's under-21 international footballers Serbia and Montenegro men's footballers FK Budućnost Podgorica players Red Star Belgrade footballers Madura United F.C. players APOP Kinyras FC players RKC Waalwijk players Avispa Fukuoka players RBC Roosendaal players Yugoslav First League players First League of Serbia and Montenegro players Liga 1 (Indonesia) players Cypriot First Division players Eredivisie players J1 League players Eerste Divisie players Serbia and Montenegro expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Indonesia Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Indonesia Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in Japan Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Japan Serbia and Montenegro football managers Montenegrin football managers FK Borac Čačak managers FK Obilić managers AEP Paphos FC managers FK Budućnost Podgorica managers OFK Grbalj managers FC Amkar Perm managers FC Moscow managers FC Dynamo Moscow managers FC Rostov managers FC Lokomotiv Moscow managers Red Star Belgrade managers FC Arsenal Tula managers PFC Krylia Sovetov Samara managers Neftçi PFK managers Cypriot First Division managers Russian Premier League managers Azerbaijan Premier League managers Serbia and Montenegro expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Cyprus Montenegrin expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Serbia Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Serbia Expatriate football managers in Russia Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Russia Expatriate football managers in Azerbaijan Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Azerbaijan Persian Gulf Pro League managers Expatriate football managers in Iran