Srdjan Djekanovic (

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

: Срђан Ђекановић/Srđan Đekanović; born 8 January 1983) is a retired Canadian professional and Canadian National team

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player. Djekanovic is currently working as an Elementary School teacher and as the executive director of Port Moody Soccer Club.

Career

Early career in Europe

Srdjan Djekanovic was born in Belgrade, Serbia and moved to Canada with his family at age 12. Following his graduation from Burnaby South Secondary School, where Djekanovic had success playing soccer and basketball and leading the teams to Provincial Championships, Djekanovic decided to pursue professional soccer in Europe. His professional career in Europe included stops at

Zemun Zemun ( sr-cyrl, Земун, ; ) is a Subdivisions of Belgrade, municipality in the city of Belgrade, Serbia. Zemun was a separate town that was absorbed into Belgrade in 1934. It lies on the right bank of the Danube river, upstream from downtown ...

, Zmaj, Radnički Obrenovac, and Železničar Beograd in Serbia from 2001 to 2004.

North America

In 2004 Djekanovic decided to return to Canada and pursue his University Education while playing soccer in North America. He played two seasons of

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

for the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

, with whom he won the CIS National Championships in 2005. At the same time, he played for the

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The MLS ite ...

, with whom he also won the

USL First Division The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second ...

Championship in 2006. On 2 June 2007, Djekanovic made his first-ever MLS start in goal in a match versus the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...

. He recorded his first victory as his

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

won 2–1, and he earned his first clean sheet on 17 June 2007 in a 4–0 Toronto FC win over FC Dallas. Toronto FC finished the 2007 season with a team record of 6–17–7, while the team record with Djekanovic starting was 2–3–2, with 1.28 goals against average, both by far being the team's best. Djekanovic also played in 10 reserve team games during the 2007 season while with Toronto FC, not allowing a goal in his last 6 games played with the reserves. Following the 2007 MLS season, he returned to UBC (where he continued his University studies online while playing for Toronto in MLS) and backstopped them to yet another national championship. On 28 February 2008, Djekanovic was signed by his former team, the Vancouver Whitecaps FC. On 13 August 2008, following a disagreement with Head Coach Teitur Thoradson, Djekanovic was released by the Whitecaps. After leaving the Whitecaps, Djekanovic had been linked with a move to MLS Champions at the time

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

of the MLS. On 9 January 2009 he signed with Montreal Impact.Djekanovic signs for Montreal
He is the first player in Canadian soccer history to play for Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Montreal Impact, and Toronto FC.

International

Despite being born in Yugoslavia, Djekanovic is a naturalized Canadian citizen. He made three appearances for the Canadian U20 national team in 2003. He was called up to the senior side to face

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

on 31 January 2010 but remained on the bench, and participated in many Senior Team camps.

Post-Retirement Career and Education

Since retiring from professional soccer at the end of the 2010 season, Djekanovic has owned and operated his soccer academy, Primo Soccer. He also worked as a soccer agent, successfully facilitating the transfer of several players from North America to Europe. In 2011, he earned his Education degree from the University of British Columbia and has since taught in both public and private schools. He also holds a master's degree in educational leadership from Concordia University.

Honors

;Montreal Impact *

Championship:

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

;Vancouver Whitecaps *

Championship:

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

;UBC Thunderbirds * CIS

Canadian Interuniversity Sport U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body for universities in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country and four regional conferences: Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Résea ...

Championship: 2005, 2007

References

External links

Official site
(archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Djekanovic, Srdjan 1983 births Living people Footballers from Belgrade Naturalized citizens of Canada Serbian emigrants to Canada Canadian people of Serbian descent Men's association football goalkeepers Serbia and Montenegro men's footballers Serbian men's footballers Canadian men's soccer players Canada men's youth international soccer players FK Zemun players FK Radnički Obrenovac players FK Železničar Beograd players UBC Thunderbirds men's soccer players Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010) players Toronto FC players Montreal Impact (1992–2011) players Major League Soccer players USL First Division players USSF Division 2 Professional League players University of British Columbia alumni 21st-century Canadian sportsmen