Saša Drakulić (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet (, ), also known as the Serbian script, (, ), is a standardized variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language. It originated in medieval Serbia and was significantly reformed in the 19th cen ...

: Саша Дракулић; born 28 August 1972) 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

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 forward. He went to

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 ...

in 1995 and during his nine seasons in the

K League K League () is South Korea's professional football league. It includes the first division K League 1 and the second division K League 2. Clubs competing in the K League have won a record total of twelve AFC Champions League Elite, AFC Champions ...

made a name for himself as one of the most successful foreign players ever in the league.

Career

Drakulić joined

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 ...

in 1993.

In Asia

In 1995, he joined the Korean side Busan Daewoo Royals, scoring eight goals the first season. He played for the Busan Daewoo Royals until July 1998, when he made the switch to

Suwon Samsung Bluewings The Suwon Samsung Bluewings () are a South Korean Association football, football club based in Suwon that competes in the K League 2, the second tier of South Korean football. Founded in December 1995, they have won the K League on four occas ...

. With the Bluewings he won two consecutive K-League Championships in 1998 and 1999, before making an ill-fated switch to J. League Division 1 side Kashiwa Reysol. He spent a short unhappy period in

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 ...

before returning to Suwon in May 2000, He was returned

as loan trade with Hwang Sun-hong in May 2000. In 2001, he was on the move again, joining Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma. Drakulić won three Championship medals from 2001–2003 with the Chunma before departing the K-League and signing for Cypriot side

AEK Larnaca AEK Larnaca FC (, "Athletic Union Kition (ancient state), Kition of Larnaca") is a Cyprus, Cypriot professional association football, football club based in Larnaca. The club was formed in 1994 after a merger of two historical Larnaca clubs, EP ...

. During his nine seasons in

, Drakulić scored 104 goals in his 271 matches (Regular season and League Cup, at the time the second-highest scoring tally in the history of the league. He holds the record for the most shots on goal with 941 strikes.

Return

In 2005, he moved back to the First League of Serbia and Montenegro with

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...

, but subsequently moved on to second division side ČSK Čelarevo at the start of 2006. After ČSK, Drakulić joined Mladost Apatin in July 2006. After a successful year with Mladost, Drakulić moved back to Vojvodina in the summer of 2007, and made an appearance 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 ...

tie against Hibernians FC. His Vojvodina contract was cancelled in December 2007 after he picked up a cruciate knee injury whilst playing in an indoor football tournament without the permission of his club.

Honours

Busan Daewoo Royals *

: 1997 * League Cup: 1997-Adidas Cup, 1997-Prospecs Cup Suwon Samsung Bluewings *

: 1998, 1999 * League Cup: 1999-Adidas Cup, 1999-Daehan Fire Insurance Cup *

Super Cup A super cup is a competition, in association football, basketball, handball, volleyball and rugby union which often forms the 'curtain raiser' to a season, and typically involves only two teams who have qualified through success in other competi ...

: 1999 Seongnam Ilhaw Chunma *

: 2001, 2002, 2003 * League Cup: 2002-Adidas Cup Individual * K League Top Scorer: 1999 *

K League Best XI The K League Best XI is an award for the best eleven players in a K League season. K League 1 award (1983–present) Winners Players marked bold won the K League MVP Award, Most Valuable Player award in that respective year. Appearances by ...

: 1998, 1999

Club statistics

* Other competitive competitions, including the Korean Super Cup, Asian Super Cup,

A3 Champions Cup A3 Champions Cup (also known as East Asian Champions Cup) was an annual football (soccer) tournament jointly organized by the China PR, Japan and Korea Republic football Association. It began in 2003, involving the league champions of Chinese Supe ...

, Peace Cup.

References

External links

* at Srbijafudbal * {{DEFAULTSORT:Drakulic, Sasa 1972 births Living people Footballers from Vinkovci Serbs of Croatia Men's association football forwards Serbia and Montenegro men's footballers Serbian men's footballers Red Star Belgrade footballers FK Priština players FK Borac Čačak players FK Obilić players Busan IPark players Suwon Samsung Bluewings players Kashiwa Reysol players Seongnam FC players AEK Larnaca FC players FK Vojvodina players FK ČSK Čelarevo players FK Mladost Apatin players FK Proleter Novi Sad players FK Cement Beočin players FK Brodarac players Second League of Serbia and Montenegro players First League of Serbia and Montenegro players K League 1 players J1 League players Cypriot First Division players Serbian SuperLiga players Serbian First League players Serbia and Montenegro expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in South Korea Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in South Korea Expatriate men's footballers in Japan Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Japan Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus