Predrag Jokanović ( Serbian

Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...

: Пpeдpaг Јокановић; born 26 October 1968) is a

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 retired 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 is a

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 ...

. In his playing days, spent almost exclusively in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

– exactly ten years, nine of those in the

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

, where he amassed totals of 191 matches and 18 goals – he played mainly 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. ...

(although he could occasionally appear as a

central defender 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 ...

). After retiring in 2003, Jokanović took on a managerial career in the same country. His son Luka Jokanović is also a Portuguese-Serbian footballer

Playing career

Born in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

, Jokanović spent the vast majority of his professional playing career on the Portuguese island of

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

, appearing for each of the region's biggest clubs. He started at

C.F. União Clube de Futebol União, commonly known as União da Madeira, was a Portuguese association football, football club based in Funchal, Madeira, notable for its six season in the Portuguese top-flight Primeira Liga, between the 1989–90 Primeira D ...

in 1993 in the

and, when the team was relegated two years later, he transferred to neighbours C.S. Marítimo, enjoying six steady seasons in which he inclusively played in the 1998–99 edition 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 ...

, losing to

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

on penalties. In 2001, after helping his side to the final of the

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

, Jokanović was released, and promptly signed for C.D. Nacional who competed in the second division. After just one season at the club he helped it win promotion, and played there for one more year before retiring at almost 35 years of age.

Coaching career

After almost two years in charge of their under-19 team, Jokanović was appointed manager of Nacional midway through 2006–07, and left the club at the end of the following campaign. After two years as an assistant – he also acted as

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

and match observer – he was re-signed on 13 December 2009, replacing Manuel Machado who was recovering from surgery-related complications. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Jokanović definitely replaced Machado at Nacional's helm, profiting from the opportunity by signing several of his former compatriots (one Montenegrin, one Slovene and three

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

), as his teams rarely fielded more than two or three Portuguese players. On 13 March 2011, following a 1–1 home draw against Académica de Coimbra – who equalized in the 92nd minute – Jokanović was fired by Nacional. He remained connected with the team subsequently, in the scouting department. Jokanović returned to União da Madeira on 11 November 2011 (after 18 years), being appointed head coach at the second-level club. At the end of the 2012–13 campaign, he left. In 2014, Jokanović was appointed manager of Angolan

Girabola Girabola, or ''Campeonato Nacional de Futebol de Séniores Masculinos'', is the top division of Angolan association football, football. It is organized by the Angolan Football Federation. The term "Girabola" () is a creation of the nationalist, ...

club FC Bravos do Maquis, and was sacked before the last game of the season with his team in sixth place. On 30 December 2016 he returned to Nacional for a fourth spell, again replacing Machado.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jokanovic, Predrag 1968 births Living people Footballers from Belgrade Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Men's association football utility players Yugoslav men's footballers Serbia and Montenegro men's footballers FK Zemun players FK Spartak Subotica players OFK Kikinda players C.F. União players C.S. Marítimo players C.D. Nacional players Yugoslav First League players Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Segunda Divisão players Serbia and Montenegro expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Serbian football managers C.D. Nacional managers C.F. União managers Primeira Liga managers Liga Portugal 2 managers Serbian expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Portugal Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Expatriate football managers in Angola Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Angola