Miodrag Ješić ( sr-Cyrl, Миодраг Јешић, ; 30 November 1958 – 8 December 2022) was a Serbian
football manager
''Football Manager'', also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008, is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game beg ...
and
player
Player may refer to:
Role or adjective
* Player (game), a participant in a game or sport
** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games
** Athlete, a player in sports
** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...
.
Playing career
Born in
Osečenica, Ješić played for
Partizan between 1974 and 1985, taking part in 342 matches and scoring 81 goals in all competitions.
Between 1985 and 1989 he represented
Altay SK, where he recorded 136 matches and 29 goals, and finished his career at
Trabzonspor
Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional sports club located in the city of Trabzon, located in Black Sea region, northeastern Turkey. Established in 1967 through the merger of several local clubs, Trabzonspor is one of the most prominent A ...
in 1989–90 with 37 matches and 9 goals in total.
Ješić was immensely disliked amongst the
Fenerbahçe supporters because they viewed him as responsible for an injury suffered by
Rıdvan Dilmen in 1990 during a league match between Fenerbahçe and Trabzonspor. Dilmen never fully recovered despite undergoing sixteen operations, and eventually had to retire in 1995 at Fenerbahçe after painful years of injuries. Ješić had also accumulated a record number of bookings in his tenure in
Süper Lig
The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...
. Opponents claimed that he also injured many players in Turkey and gave him the nickname of "Kasap Yeşiç", which means "Ješić the Butcher."
For the
Yugoslavia national team, he played in eight games and scored twice.
Coaching career
As a manager, Ješić began his career at
FK Obilić
Fudbalski klub Obilić (Serbian Cyrillic: Фудбалски клуб Обилић) is a Serbian football club based in Vračar, a neighbourhood of Belgrade. It was named after medieval Serbs, Serbian hero Miloš Obilić, a legendary 14th-century ...
in 1994, earning
promotion to the
First League of FR Yugoslavia
The First League of Serbia and Montenegro () was the top 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 Yugoslavia in 1992, ef ...
, and then managed several other Serbian teams, including
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 his native Partizan, that, during his period at the helm, scored 111 goals in a single season, a club record. He also recorded wins over Flora (6–0, 4–1) and Rijeka (3–1, 3–0) in UEFA Champions League qualifiers.
After coaching Tunisian side
CS Sfaxien in 2000–01 and winning the
Arab Champions League, he was at the helm of Turkish club Altay in 2002 and moved to Bulgaria in 2002 to manage
Slavia Sofia
PFC Slavia Sofia 1913 () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which currently competes in the top tier of the Bulgarian football league system, the First League. Slavia's home ground is the Stadion Aleksandar Sh ...
and then Iranian
Pegah Gilan, after which he became the manager of
CSKA Sofia
CSKA Sofia () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sports Club of the Army'' ...
. During this period he became a
Champion of Bulgaria and recorded a win over
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
in the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
qualifying phase, also eliminating
Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...
in 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 ...
. Voted coach no. 1 for season 2004–05 by Bulgarian sport newspaper.
In May 2006 he became the coach of Partizan for the second time in his coaching career. However, following a disappointing first half of the season, he left the club in January 2007. Since November 2007 he was coaching Litex Lovech. With him Litex won the Bulgarian Cup.
In June 2008, he signed with Romanian
Liga I
Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...
newcomers
CS Otopeni and following a series of defeats his agreement was terminated early on 18 August 2008.
In September 2008, he signed a one-year contract with
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, ...
team
FK Budućnost Podgorica
Fudbalski Klub Budućnost Podgorica (Cyrillic: Будућност Подгорица, , ) is a Montenegro, Montenegrin professional association football, football club from Podgorica, Montenegro. It is competing in the Montenegrin First League. ...
.
In July 2009, he signed a one-year contract with Libyan First League team
Al-Ittihad Tripoli
Al-Ittihad Sports Club () is a professional football (soccer), football club based in Bab Ben Gashier, Tripoli, Libya. They have won the Libyan Premier League 18 times, the Libyan Cup 7 times and the Libyan SuperCup 11 times. Al-ittihad reached t ...
. On 22 September 2009, Al Ittihad won the Libyan Super Cup, beating Tarsana 3–2.
On 16 June 2010, Ješić was appointed to the manager of
Changsha Ginde replacing
Hao Wei.
On 19 June 2011, he was named as
Shahrdari Tabriz F.C.'s new head coach replacing
Hamid Derakhshan but he was sacked by the club on 24 December 2011.
On 24 June 2012, he was named as
Saudi Professional League
The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...
side
Najran
Najran ( '), is a city in southwestern Saudi Arabia. It is the capital of Najran Province. Today, the city of Najran is one of the fastest-growing cities in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As of the 2022 census, the city population was 381,431, wi ...
's new head coach. On 7 January 2013, Ješić was reappointed
CSKA Sofia
CSKA Sofia () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sports Club of the Army'' ...
manager, replacing
Stoycho Mladenov
Stoycho Dimitrov Mladenov (; born 12 April 1957 in Ploski, Blagoevgrad Province) is a Bulgarian former football player and manager. He has 212 matches and 107 goals for CSKA. With the club he won the national title 6 times, 4 as a player and ...
, but was surprisingly released from his duties on 11 March 2013, after just two games in charge of the team, one of which was won.
In late 2013, he was close to becoming the new
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The MLS ite ...
head coach.
On 31 March 2014 Ješić was appointed head coach of
Litex Lovech and was assisted by Darko Obradović.
On 14 June 2017, he was named as
Saudi Professional League
The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...
side
Al-Ettifaq's coach. He was fired on 10 December 2017.
On 31 August 2019, the Egyptian club
Ismaily SC appointed Ješić as the team's new head coach, succeeding Mahmoud Gaber.
On 7 July 2022, Saudi First Division League side
Al-Shoulla appointed Ješić as the team's new manager. On 29 September 2022, he was sacked after five matches.
Personal life and death
Ješić was married to Irena, with whom he had a daughter named Tara.
In 2001, while coaching
CS Sfaxien, his daughter Jelena died in a
traffic collision
A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. Tr ...
at the age of nineteen.
Ješić, aged 64, died on 8 December 2022 in a car accident near the town of
Ruma
Ruma (; ) is a town and municipality in the Srem District of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2022, the town has a population of 27,747, while the municipality has a population of 48,621.
History
Traces of organized human life ...
.
Career statistics
Managerial statistics
Honors
Player
Partizan
*
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) ...
: 1982–83
Manager
CS Sfaxien
*
Arab Champions League: 2000
CSKA Sofia
*
Bulgarian First League
The First Professional Football League (), commonly known as Parva Liga or Bulgarian First League (currently known as the efbet League for sponsorship reasons), is a professional association football league in Bulgaria and the highest level of t ...
: 2004–05
*
Bulgarian Cup
The Bulgarian Cup () is a Bulgarian annual football competition. It is the country's main cup competition and all officially registered Bulgarian football teams take part in it.
The tournament's format is ''single-elimination'', with all matche ...
: 2006
Litex Lovech
*
Bulgarian Cup
The Bulgarian Cup () is a Bulgarian annual football competition. It is the country's main cup competition and all officially registered Bulgarian football teams take part in it.
The tournament's format is ''single-elimination'', with all matche ...
: 2008
*
Bulgarian Supercup: 2007, 2008
Al-Ittihad Tripoli
*
Libyan Premier League:
2008–09,
2009–10
*
Libyan Cup: 2009
*
Libyan Super Cup: 2009, 2010
Yangon United
*
Myanmar National League
The Myanmar National League (abbreviated MNL) is the premier national professional football league of Myanmar. In 2009, the league replaced the Myanmar Premier League, which consisted only of 14 Yangon-based football clubs, with eight profession ...
: 2015
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jesic, Miodrag
1958 births
2022 deaths
People from Mionica
Sportspeople from Kolubara District
Men's association football defenders
Men's association football midfielders
Yugoslav men's footballers
Yugoslavia men's under-21 international footballers
Yugoslavia men's international footballers
Serbia and Montenegro men's footballers
FK Partizan players
Altay S.K. footballers
Trabzonspor footballers
Yugoslav First League players
Süper Lig players
Yugoslav expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey
Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Turkey
Serbia and Montenegro expatriate men's footballers
Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Turkey
Serbia and Montenegro football managers
FK Radnički Niš managers
OFK Beograd managers
FK Partizan managers
CS Sfaxien managers
Altay S.K. managers
PFC Slavia Sofia managers
PFC CSKA Sofia managers
Serbian football managers
Rahian Kermanshah F.C. managers
PFC Litex Lovech managers
CS Otopeni managers
FK Budućnost Podgorica managers
Al-Ittihad Tripoli managers
Guangzhou City F.C. managers
Najran SC managers
Yangon United F.C. managers
FK Sarajevo managers
Al-Arabi SC (Kuwait) managers
Al-Ettifaq FC managers
Ismaily SC managers
Al Ahly SCSC (Benghazi) managers
Al-Shoulla FC managers
First League of Serbia and Montenegro managers
Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 managers
Süper Lig managers
First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) managers
Persian Gulf Pro League managers
Serbian SuperLiga managers
Liga I managers
Chinese Super League managers
Saudi Pro League managers
Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina managers
Kuwait Premier League managers
UAE First Division League managers
Egyptian Premier League managers
Saudi First Division League managers
Serbia and Montenegro expatriate football managers
Expatriate football managers in Tunisia
Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Tunisia
Expatriate football managers in Turkey
Expatriate football managers in Bulgaria
Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Bulgaria
Expatriate football managers in Iran
Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Iran
Serbian expatriate football managers
Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Iran
Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Bulgaria
Expatriate football managers in Romania
Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Romania
Expatriate football managers in Montenegro
Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Montenegro
Expatriate football managers in Libya
Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Libya
Expatriate football managers in China
Serbian expatriate sportspeople in China
Expatriate football managers in Saudi Arabia
Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia
Expatriate football managers in Myanmar
Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Myanmar
Expatriate football managers in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Expatriate football managers in Kuwait
Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Kuwait
Expatriate football managers in the United Arab Emirates
Serbian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates
Expatriate football managers in Egypt
Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Egypt
Expatriate football managers in the Maldives
Serbian expatriate sportspeople in the Maldives
Road incident deaths in Serbia