Mladen Krstajić ( sr-cyr, Младен Крстајић, ; born 4 March 1974) is a Serbian professional

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 former

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 ...

who played as 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 represented

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 ...

at the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...

. From January 2015 until March 2020, Krstajić served the role of chairman of the board of Bosnian Premier League club Radnik Bijeljina. Krstajić coached

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 ...

at the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

and then became head coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv in December 2021. He was manager of the

Bulgaria national football team The Bulgaria national football team () represents Bulgaria in men's international Association football, football, and is administered by the Bulgarian Football Union, a member association of UEFA. Bulgaria's best achievements are reaching the ...

before being sacked in October 2023.

Club career

Early career

Krstajić was born and raised in

Zenica Zenica ( ; ) is a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and an administrative and economic center of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Zenica-Doboj Canton. It is located in the Bosna (river), Bosna river valley, about north of Sarajevo. The ...

SFR 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 ...

, present day

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

to a Bosnian Serb mother from

Bijeljina Bijeljina ( sr-cyrl, Бијељина) is a city and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the provincial center of Semberija, a geographic region in the country's northeast. As of 2013, it has a population of 107,715 ...

and a father from

Žabljak Žabljak (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Жабљак, ) is a small town in Montenegro in the Northern Montenegro, northern region. It has a population of 1,723. Žabljak is the seat of Žabljak Municipality (2011 population: 3,569). The town is in ...

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

. After playing in the youth teams of Čelik Zenica, Krstajić moved to

Kikinda Kikinda ( sr-Cyrl, Кикинда, ; ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the North Banat District in Serbia. The city's urban area has 32,084 inhabitants, while the city administrative area has 49,326 inhabit ...

FR Yugoslavia 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 ...

, present day

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 ...

in April 1992, following the breakout of the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...

. He started playing with

Senta Senta ( sr-cyrl, Сента, ; Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''Zenta'', ; Romanian language, Romanian: ''Zenta'') is a town and municipality located in Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the bank of the Tisza, Tisa river in the geographical ...

for six months. He then moved to OFK Kikinda, at that time a first league club. At some point of a successful career as a Serbian football player, there comes the time, to decide, whether one wants to play for Partizan or for

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 ...

, and Krstajić decided to take the move to Partizan in 1996. According to Krstajić himself, Red Star was interested in him, but as he comes from a family that cheers for Partizan, he decided to sign a contract with his favourite club. His four and a half years at Partizan were more than successful, winning the national championships three times (1996, 1997, 1999) and also the

national cup The English National Cup is an annual basketball knock-out competition held between professional, semi-professional and amateur teams from the various divisions of the National Basketball League (England), National Basketball League. For most of th ...

in 1998.

Werder Bremen and Schalke 04

In 2000, Krstajić joined German

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

club

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...

who paid a DM 1.8 million (about €950,000) transfer fee to Partizan. At Werder Bremen he was initially deployed at

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 ...

in his first season but became one of the best central defenders in the Bundesliga, winning the

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

of Bundesliga and

cup A cup is an open-top vessel (container) used to hold liquids for drinking, typically with a flattened hemispherical shape, and often with a capacity of about . Cups may be made of pottery (including porcelain), glass, metal, wood, stone, pol ...

with Werder in 2004. In 2004 he joined Schalke 04, where he was named the new captain on 17 March 2009.

Partizan

On 5 June 2009, Krstajić signed a two-year contract with his former club Partizan. In January 2010, after the departure of

Nenad Đorđević Nenad Đorđević ( sr-Cyrl, Ненад Ђорђевић; born 7 August 1979) is a Serbian professional association football, football coach and former player who played as a defender (association football), defender. He is the assistant coach of ...

, he was named the new Partizan captain. After two very successful seasons, Krstajić played his last professional match on 21 May 2011.

International career

Krstajić was a part of the Serbia and Montenegro national team "Famous Four" defence, which conceded just one goal during the qualifying for the

. The other members of the famous four were Ivica Dragutinović, Goran Gavrančić and Nemanja Vidić. Between 1999 and 2008 he made 59 international appearances scoring 2 goals. He represented three senior national sides:

(1992–2002; 23 appearances, 2 goals),

(2002–2006; 25 appearances), and

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 ...

(2006–2008; 11 appearances).

Managerial career

Serbia

Krstajić began his managerial career as assistant coach of the Serbia national team for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. In October 2017 after head coach Slavoljub Muslin's dismissal, Krstajić succeeded him as head coach of the Serbia national team, initially as caretaker. Krstajić led the team on the Asian tour where Serbia defeated

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

(2–0) and drew with

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

(1–1). In December, it was announced he would take on the role permanently and at least until the end of the

. On 13 June 2019, Krstajić was sacked from the position after a dismal 5–0 loss in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier against

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

TSC

Krstajić became head coach of TSC in January 2021. He left the club in October.

Maccabi Tel Aviv

On 9 December 2021, Krstajić was appointed manager of

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League (, Ligat HaAl, ) is a professional association football league in Israel and the highest level of the Israeli football league system. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and rele ...

club Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Bulgaria

On 21 July 2022, Krstajić was named head coach of the Bulgaria national team until 2024. He was sacked from the position on 26 October 2023 due to bad results.

Administrative career

Immediately after retiring from playing, Krstajić was appointed as the new

director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an senior management, executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many typ ...

of FK Partizan on 1 June 2011. During the mid-season break, Krstajić attacked club president Dragan Đurić through the media, following Đurić's claim that Krstajić and head coach

Aleksandar Stanojević Aleksandar Stanojević ( sr-Cyrl, Александар Станојевић, ; born 28 October 1973) is a Serbian football manager and player. Playing career Stanojević started his playing career in Partizan youth squad. From 1992 until 1997 ...

were solely responsible for the unsuccessful campaign in UEFA competitions for the 2011–12 season. Krstajić stated that he and Stanojević did not have full control over the sale and acquisition of players during the summer transfer window, which affected the results on the field. On 26 December 2011, after less than six months as director of football, he was sacked. Before becoming a manager, Krstajić became the new chairman of the board of Bosnian Premier League club Radnik Bijeljina on 23 January 2015. During his time as club chairman, Radnik became a stable Bosnian Premier League club, finishing almost always in the top five or six. It won its first ever national and major trophy, the Bosnian Cup in the 2015–16 season and thus qualified for its first ever UEFA competition, the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League qualifying rounds. In the 2018–19 Bosnian Premier League season, Radnik finished in fifth place, but as fourth placed Željezničar did not get an UEFA license to compete in the following season's

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 ...

, Radnik was qualified by default to the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League qualifying rounds for a second time in its history. On 27 December 2019, Krstajić unexpectedly decided to leave Radnik, stating that it was time for someone new to lead the club. He officially left the club on 28 March 2020, with Predrag Perković succeeding him as chairman.

Career statistics

Club

International

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

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 ...

: 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 2009–10, 2010–11 *

Serbian Cup The Serbian Cup ( Serbian: Куп Србије / Kup Srbije), also known as Mozzart Serbian Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the national football cup of Serbia. The winner of the competition gets a spot in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round. ...

: 1997–98, 2010–11 Werder Bremen *

: 2003–04 *

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

: 2003–04 Schalke 04 *

DFB-Ligapokal The DFL-Ligapokal (, officially Premiere Ligapokal , previously DFB-Ligapokal ) or the ''German League Cup'' was a German association football, football competition that took place before the start of the Bundesliga season, featuring the top five t ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Notes

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Krstajic, Mladen 1974 births Living people Footballers from Zenica Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbian people of Montenegrin descent Men's association football central defenders Serbia and Montenegro men's footballers Serbia and Montenegro men's international footballers Serbian men's footballers Serbia men's international footballers 2006 FIFA World Cup players FK Senta players OFK Kikinda players FK Partizan players SV Werder Bremen players FC Schalke 04 players First League of Serbia and Montenegro players Second League of Serbia and Montenegro players Bundesliga players Serbian SuperLiga players Serbia and Montenegro expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Germany Serbian expatriate men's footballers Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Serbian football managers 2018 FIFA World Cup managers Serbia national football team managers FK TSC managers Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. managers Bulgaria national football team managers Israeli Premier League managers Serbian expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Israel Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Israel Expatriate football managers in Bulgaria Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Bulgaria FK Partizan non-playing staff Serbian football chairmen and investors