Simon Vukčević ( Montenegrin Cyrillic: Симон Вукчевић, ; born 29 January 1986) is a Montenegrin former

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 an

attacking 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. ...

. After starting his senior career at the age of 17 with Partizan, winning two national championships during his tenure, he went on to play professionally in Russia, Portugal – playing 135 competitive matches while scoring 28 goals for

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

and conquering the 2008 Taça de Portugal – England, Ukraine, Greece and Cyprus. Internationally, Vukčević represented both

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 ...

and

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 ...

Club career

Partizan

Born in

Titograd Podgorica ( cnr-Cyrl, Подгорица; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...

, Socialist Republic of Montenegro,

Socialist Federal Republic of 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 ...

, Vukčević started playing football at the FK Zabjelo youth academy, signing with

FK Partizan Fudbalski klub Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Партизан, ; ), often referred to in English as Partizan Belgrade, is a Serbian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Belgrade. It forms ...

at age 13. He was promoted to the first team of the latter ahead of the 2003–04 season. The 18-year-old Vukčević scored a career-best ten goals in the 2004–05 campaign, helping his team win the eighth First League of Serbia and Montenegro in their history and 19th overall. He was eventually awarded the number 1 shirt in recognition of his popularity among supporters but, during 2005–06, faced criticism over his excessive individual play and poor shot selection, as well as overall declining form.

Saturn

In January 2006, Vukčević joined FC Saturn Ramenskoye for a reported fee of €7 million. In late July, however, he was demoted to the reserve squad with coach Vladimír Weiss publicly blasting him in the press for displaying bad attitude in training and having a lack of manners. Subsequently, Vukčević expressed frustration at his manager playing him out of position. He also said that coming to the

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 ...

club was a mistake, and that he would have preferred a more ambitious project. Vukčević's fate did not change for the better even though Weiss was dismissed early into the 2007 season, being replaced by Gadzhi Gadzhiev,

Sporting

On 25 June 2007, Saturn reportedly agreed a €4 million transfer fee with

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

, but the deal stalled when the former also demanded 20% of any subsequent transfer fees involving Vukčević. Three days later, both clubs agreed a €2 million fee in addition to an agreement about splitting his future transfer fee 50–50. He made his

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 ...

debut on 17 August, playing 71 minutes in a 4–1 home win over Académica de Coimbra. Vukčević also found the net in home fixtures against

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, Order of Prince Henry, MHIH, Order of Merit (Portugal), OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional association footbal ...

(2–0) and S.L. Benfica (1–1) in his first year. He ranked second in the team in goals scored at seven, only behind Liédson. During the 2008 summer transfer window,

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

and

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

were at the top of the list of clubs reportedly interested in signing Vukčević; nonetheless, Sporting reiterated their desire to keep the player. Shortly after, he got involved in a controversial dispute with manager Paulo Bento over losing his place in the starting XI; after playing 45 minutes as a substitute in the 2–0 home defeat of

C.F. Os Belenenses Clube de Futebol Os Belenenses (), commonly known as Os Belenenses or simply Belenenses, is a Portuguese sports club best known for its football team. Founded in 1919, it is one of the oldest Portuguese sports clubs. It is based in the 19,856 ...

, he declared his intention to leave the ''

Estádio José Alvalade The Estádio José Alvalade (; ') is a Football (soccer), football stadium in Lisbon, Portugal, home of Sporting Clube de Portugal. It was built adjacent to the site of the Estádio José Alvalade (1956), older stadium. The stadium is named afte ...

''. On 21 November 2008, without any warning, Vukčević missed training to join his national team one day before expected, being fined €5,000 and placed on individual training until further notice. On 29 November, after holding a press conference stating his wish to remain in Sporting and apologising for his behaviour, he was allowed to train with the rest of the team. On 5 December, after coming on for Hélder Postiga in the 75th minute of the league game at C.F. Estrela da Amadora, he scored shortly after in a 3–1 victory. Sporting bought the remaining 50% rights on a future transfer from Saturn in January 2010, for another £2 million.

Blackburn Rovers

Vukčević agreed to a three-year contract with Blackburn Rovers on 26 August 2011, after a successful medical. His maiden

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

appearance took place on 17 September when he played 25 minutes in a 4–3 home win against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

Ewood Park Ewood Park () is a Association football, football stadium in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, and the home of Blackburn Rovers F.C., founding members of the English Football League, Football League and Premier League, who have played there since ...

, and he scored his first goal three days later in a 3–2 victory over Leyton Orient in the third round of the League Cup, also at home. His first league goal came on 11 December, in a 2–1 loss away to

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

; he made little impact during his first season, and his team was relegated. With the Rovers back in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

, Vukčević made his first start of the campaign on 28 August 2012, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–2 defeat against Milton Keynes Dons in the second round of the League Cup. It seemed likely that he would be allowed to leave on loan with a view to a permanent deal, but in the first match under new coach Henning Berg, on 3 November against Crystal Palace, he took the field after replacing

Marcus Olsson Marcus Jonas Munuhe Olsson (born 17 May 1988) is a Swedish professional association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder and a left-back for Halmstads BK, Halmstad. Club career Halmstads BK Born in Gävle, Sweden, Olsson started his c ...

. Over the next few months, Vukčević made more first-team appearances and was even chosen by new manager

Michael Appleton Michael Antony Appleton (born 4 December 1975) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of EFL League Two club Shrewsbury Town. As a player, he operated as a midfielder, in a nine-year career that ...

. On 31 January 2013, however, his contract was terminated with immediate effect by mutual consent, with the player having played 21 games across all competitions. Shortly before this happened, there were reports he would move to

APOEL FC APOEL FC (; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") is a Cypriot professio ...

of the

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...

, but no deal was reached.

Karpaty Lviv

On 28 February 2013, Vukčević signed a contract with

Ukrainian Premier League The Ukrainian Premier League ( ) or UPL is a professional association football league in Ukraine and the highest level of the Ukrainian football league system. Originally known as the Vyshcha Liha ( , ) it was formed in 1991 during the 1992 in ...

club FC Karpaty Lviv until 30 June with the option to extend. His first appearance occurred three days later, when he played eight minutes in a 2–0 away win over SC Tavriya Simferopol. Vukčević left in April 2013 by mutual consent, citing personal reasons.

Later years

On 10 August 2013, Vukčević joined

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 ...

FK Vojvodina Fudbalski klub Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Војводина), commonly known as Vojvodina and colloquially as Voša ( sr-Cyrl, Воша), is a Serbian professional football club based in Novi Sad, Serbia, the second large ...

. In the following years he failed to settle at any club or country, representing Levadiakos FC (

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

Enosis Neon Paralimni FC Enosis Neon Paralimni Football Club (, ''Enosi Neon Paralimniou''; ), commonly referred to as ENP, is a Cyprus, Cypriot association football, football team from Paralimni. Currently playing in the Cypriot First Division, first division, it holds ...

(Cypriot top level) and G.D. Chaves (Portuguese top tier). On 30 March 2018, 32-year-old Vukčević announced his retirement.

International career

Youth

Vukčević was part of the FR Yugoslavia under-17 squad at the 2002 UEFA European Championship. At age 18, he was selected by head coach Vladimir Petrović to be part of the Serbia and Montenegro under-21 team at the 2004 European Championships, scoring for the eventual runners-up in a 1–2 group stage loss to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and also converting his

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

attempt in the semi-finals against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. He participated in the

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The 1896 Summer Olympics, inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, ...

also that year, and was subsequently honoured with the Golden Badge Award for the Best Young Athlete of the Year in Serbia and Montenegro by DSL Sport. Vukčević also played for the under-21 side in the 2006 European Championship. After a 0–1 defeat against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in the group phase opener, manager

Dragan Okuka Dragomir "Dragan" Okuka (; born 2 April 1954) is a Serbian professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player. As a player, he was predominantly associated with his time with FK Velež Mostar, Velež ...

dropped him from the first team.

Senior

Vukčević began earning call-ups to the Serbia and Montenegro senior team from

Ilija Petković Ilija Petković ( sr-Cyrl, Илија Петковић, ; 22 September 1945 – 27 June 2020) was a Serbian footballer and manager. Petković was capped 43 times for Yugoslavia, participating in the 1968 European Football Championship, and in ...

. His debut came on 11 July 2004 against

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

at the age of 18, when he replaced Saša Ilić late into the 2–0 win for the

Kirin Cup The is an association football tournament organised in Japan by the Kirin Brewery Company. The host, Japan national football team, Japan, is a participant in every edition. The tournament was founded in 1978 then known as Japan Cup (Internatio ...

. On 4 June 2005, Vukčević was given his competitive debut, when he came in for Ognjen Koroman for the last eight minutes of the 0–0 home draw to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

for 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 ...

qualifiers. His last appearance for Serbia and Montenegro occurred four days later, when he featured the entire 1–1 friendly draw with

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Rogers Centre Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a retractable roof stadium in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, it is home to t ...

. After Montenegro seceded from

in June 2006, Vukčević chose to represent the newly created nation. He won his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

on 24 March 2007, in a 2–1 friendly defeat of

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. He scored the first of two international goals on 20 August of the following year, helping to a 3–3 draw against the same opposition in another exhibition game. Vukčević played a total of 45 internationals.

Personal life

Vukčević's father, Ilija, worked as

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 ...

at FK Zeta.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

Honours

Partizan * First League of Serbia and Montenegro: 2002–03, 2004–05 Sporting *

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...

: 2007–08 Vojvodina *

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. ...

: 2013–14

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vukcevic, Simon 1986 births Living people Footballers from Podgorica Serbia and Montenegro men's footballers Montenegrin men's footballers Men's association football midfielders First League of Serbia and Montenegro players Serbian SuperLiga players FK Partizan players FK Vojvodina players Russian Premier League players FC Saturn Ramenskoye players Primeira Liga players Sporting CP footballers G.D. Chaves players Premier League players English Football League players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Ukrainian Premier League players FC Karpaty Lviv players Super League Greece players Levadiakos F.C. players Cypriot First Division players Enosis Neon Paralimni FC players FK Budućnost Podgorica players Serbia and Montenegro men's under-21 international footballers Serbia and Montenegro men's international footballers Montenegro men's international footballers Dual internationalists (men's football) Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Serbia and Montenegro Montenegrin expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Russia Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Ukraine Expatriate men's footballers in Serbia Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Russia Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in England Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Serbia Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Greece Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus