Nebojša Jelenković
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Nebojša Jelenković ( sr-Cyrl, Небојша Јеленковић; born 26 May 1978) is a former
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 ...
n 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 ...
who played as a
defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...
. He has played more than 290 domestic games with Litex Lovech and holds the record for the second most domestic games played by a foreigner in the Bulgarian A Group. He is also the first foreigner to become a captain of a Bulgarian team. In 2004, he obtained a Bulgarian passport. His son, Veljko is also a footballer.


Career


In Serbia

Jelenković began his career at hometown club
Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...
. In the summer of 1998, he signed with FR Yugoslavia champions Obilić.


Litex Lovech

In 1999 Jelenković moved to Litex Lovech. He made his first appearance for Litex in a Champions League qualification match against
Widzew Łódź RTS Widzew Łódź () is a Polish football (soccer), football club based in Łódź. The club was founded in 1910. Its official colours are red and white, hence their nicknames ''Czerwona Armia'' (Red Army) and ''Czerwono-biało-czerwoni'' (Red-wh ...
, on 28 July 1999. His league debut came on 8 August, in a 1–0 loss against
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 ...
on the opening day of the 1999–00 season. On 20 November 1999, Nebojša scored his first goals, scoring twice in a 3–1 away win over Velbazhd Kyustendil. He scored his final goal of the season in a 6–0 win at home over Volov Shumen on 1 April 2000. On 29 August 2002, Jelenković scored his first-ever European goal in a 3–1 away win over Lithuanian Atlantas Klaipėda in their 2002–03 UEFA Cup qualifying round second leg tie. Three weeks later, he scored an own goal in a 1–0 home loss against Panathinaikos in the first round of the tournament. In 2006, Jelenković was on the radar of then Bulgarian manager
Hristo Stoichkov Hristo Stoichkov Stoichkov (; born 8 February 1966) is a Bulgarian former professional Association football, footballer and current football commentator for TUDN. A prolific Forward (association football), forward, he is widely regarded as the g ...
as a prospective candidate for the
national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...
, but eventually did not meet the eligibility criteria because of having appeared in matches for the FR Yugoslavia U-21. In the same year
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'' ...
attempted to secure the services of the Serbian midfielder. On 30 August 2007, Kuban Krasnodar confirmed Jelenković has joined on loan for three months. He spent most of his time with Kuban on the bench, making only three
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 ...
appearances. In December Jelenković returned to Litex and earned 12 appearances in the Bulgarian A PFG, scoring one goal to the end of the season.


Spartak Trnava

At the end of 2007–08 season his contract expired and Jelenković signed with
Spartak Trnava FC Spartak Trnava () is a professional football club based in Trnava, Slovakia. The club competes in Slovak First Football League, the top flight in the Slovak league system, having participated in more seasons than any other club. Founded in ...
on a one-year contract for the 2008–09 season. He earned 27 appearances playing in the Corgoň liga, scored one goal and the team finished in third place.


Return to Litex Lovech

On 12 June 2009, Jelenković again came back to Litex Lovech on a long-term contract. On 12 March 2011, he made his 250th appearance for Litex in the Bulgarian A PFG, in a 2–1 win over Pirin Blagoevgrad. Jelenković announced his retirement at the end of the 2012–13 season. He has featured on 293 occasions in the
A PFG 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 ...
and is currently second on the all-time appearance list among foreign players in the top flight of Bulgarian football (after Macedonian Vančo Trajanov).


Career statistics


Awards

;Litex Lovech ** Bulgarian A PFG 2009–10, 2010–11 *** Bulgarian Supercup 2010 **3 times
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 ...
winner: 2001, 2004 and 2008


References


External links


FK Obilić Team Profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jelenkovic, Nebojsa 1978 births Living people Footballers from Novi Sad Men's association football midfielders Serbia and Montenegro men's footballers Serbia and Montenegro men's under-21 international footballers Serbian men's footballers RFK Novi Sad 1921 players FK Obilić players FC Lovech players FC Kuban Krasnodar players FC Spartak Trnava players First League of Serbia and Montenegro players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players Russian Premier League players Slovak First Football League players Serbia and Montenegro expatriate men's footballers Serbian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Bulgaria Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Bulgaria Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Bulgaria Expatriate men's footballers in Russia Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Russia Expatriate men's footballers in Slovakia Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Slovakia