Zoran Tošić ( sr-Cyrl, Зоран Тошић, ; born 28 April 1987) is a Serbian former 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 winger. He built a reputation as a free-kick specialist and a tricky dribbler. Tošić began his career with his local sides Radnički Zrenjanin and Proleter Zrenjanin, before making his senior debut with Mladost Lukićevo. He then joined Budućnost Banatski Dvor, who then merged with Proleter to form Banat Zrenjanin. A year later, he signed for Serbian giants Partizan, for whom he played for two years before a high-profile move to

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

of England. After he struggled to break into the ''Red Devils'' first-team, he was sent on a six-month loan to German side 1. FC Köln in January 2010, and was then transferred to

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...

of Russia that summer. A full international between 2007 and 2016, Tošić has earned 76 caps for Serbia. He was part of their teams at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

and the 2010 World Cup.

Club career

Early career

Born in

Zrenjanin Zrenjanin ( sr-Cyrl, Зрењанин, ; ; ; ; ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Central Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The city urban area has a population of 67,129 inh ...

SR Serbia The Socialist Republic of Serbia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Социјалистичка Република Србија, Socijalistička Republika Srbija), previously known as the People's Republic of Serbia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / " ...

SFR 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 ...

, Tošić made his first football steps at local clubs Radnički, where he gained his nickname "Bambi", and Proleter Zrenjanin, but left because he was thought to be "physically weak". He began his senior career with Mladost Lukićevo in early 2004. After he terminated a contract with the club, he stayed without a club to play for a six-month period. He also played

futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

with KMF SAS in the meantime. Later he moved to Budućnost Banatski Dvor, before the club merged with Proleter Zrenjanin to form Banat Zrenjanin. In 25 appearances for Banat in the

2006–07 Serbian SuperLiga The 2006–07 Serbian SuperLiga (known as the Meridian SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons) season started on 5 August 2006. The winners were Red Star Belgrade with their 25th title. FK Zemun and FK Voždovac were relegated to the 2nd league of S ...

campaign, Tošić scored two goals, and in doing so helped his team avoid relegation. Tošić's performances both on the domestic scene with Banat and on the international scene with

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 ...

earned him glances from many clubs across Europe. On 6 August 2007, Tošić signed a four-year professional contract with Partizan. He made his Partizan debut in a 1–0 league win against

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 ...

at Stadion Karađorđe on 11 August, coming on as a 15th-minute substitute for injured Almami Moreira.

Manchester United

Tošić was subject to a successful

work permit A work permit or work visa is the permission to take a job within a foreign country. The foreign country where someone seeks to obtain a work permit for is also known as the "country of work", as opposed to the "country of origin" where someone ho ...

application as the player had not played the required 75% of his team's matches in the previous year. On 28 November, there were reports that Tošić had been granted a work permit, with the transfer expected to go through at the start of the transfer window. Despite claims that negotiations had stalled over Tošić's personal terms, the transfer was finalised on 2 January 2009, with both Tošić and his Partizan teammate Adem Ljajić joining United. Tošić was given the number 14 shirt. Tošić received his first taste of first team football on 20 January 2009, when he was named on the bench for United's League Cup semi-final second leg at home to Derby County. He made his debut in an FA Cup Fourth round match against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

on 24 January 2009, when he came on as a 72nd-minute substitute for

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Saudi Pr ...

. Tošić's league debut came three days later, on 27 January 2009, when he came on as a 77th-minute substitute for his friend Dimitar Berbatov in United's 5–0 win over

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

. Although he did not make many first team appearances in his first season at Manchester United, Tošić became a regular in the club's reserve team, helping the team to a second-place finish in the Premier Reserve League before scoring the winning goal in the final of the 2009 Manchester Senior Cup against

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 ...

at the

Reebok Stadium The Toughsheet Community Stadium is a Association football, football stadium in Horwich near Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. It is the home ground of Bolton Wanderers F.C., Bolton Wanderers Football Club, with an all-seated capacity of 28, ...

. He scored his first senior goal for the club on 26 July 2009 in an 8–2 victory over Hangzhou Greentown during United's pre-season campaign in Asia. In a Scottish newspaper interview in September 2012, Tošić stated that he regretted walking out on United.

Loan to 1. FC Köln

On 27 January 2010, Tošić joined 1. FC Köln on loan until the end of the 2009–10 season. He made his debut three days later, coming on as a substitute for Taner Yalçın in the 54th minute of Köln's 2–1 win away to

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a German professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German footb ...

on 30 January. On 27 March 2010, Tošić scored his first two goals for Köln in his eighth appearance for them, in a 4–1 away win over

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years between 19 ...

. However, in his next league match a week later, he was sent off after two bookable offences in the space of 45 seconds, coming in a 3–0 home defeat at the hands of

Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC () or Hertha Berlin, is a German professional football club based in Berlin. Hertha BSC plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football league system, German footbal ...

. On 17 April 2010, after his one-game ban was over, Tošić returned to the squad and scored both goals in a 2–0 victory over

VfL Bochum Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as VfL Bochum (), is a Football in Germany, German professional association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. They currently play ...

. After five months with Köln, he returned to Manchester United in June 2010.

CSKA Moscow

On 15 June 2010, Tošić was signed on a five-year contract by

for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of £8 million. On 15 August 2010, he scored his first goal for CSKA in a home match against Anzhi Makhachkala in 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 ...

. Four days later, in his European debut for the Russian side, he scored two goals in a

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

match at home to

Anorthosis Famagusta Anorthosis Famagusta (), commonly known as Anorthosis in English or Anorthosi in Greek, is a Cypriot football club, part of the Famagusta multi-sport club founded in 1911 in Varosha, Famagusta.

of Cyprus, CSKA winning 4–0. On 12 December 2010, Tošić scored his first goal in a UEFA Europa League group stage game in a 5–1 victory over

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

. On 17 March 2011, Tošić scored one more goal in Europa League, in return leg of Round of 16, against

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

at Estádio do Dragão. The Serbian midfielder started CSKA's match on 22 May 2011, helping the club to a 2–1 win over Alania Vladikavkaz in the 2011 Russian Cup final, before being substituted in the 83rd minute for Lithuanian defender Deividas Šemberas. Three days later, he netted the final goal of a 3–0 victory over Krylia Sovetov Samara after Keisuke Honda had given the visitors a 2–0 lead. On 14 March 2012, Tošić scored a spectacular goal against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

at Santiago Bernabéu in 2nd leg of Round of 16 of

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

. Tošić opened the scoring against Spartak on 19 March 2012 as his side claimed a 2–1 victory thanks to a late

Seydou Doumbia Seydou Doumbia (; born 31 December 1987) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a forward. After beginning his career in the Ivory Coast and Japan, he arrived in Europe in 2008 to play for Swiss club Young Boys, where he wa ...

goal. He scored both goals on 28 April against city rivals Spartak Moscow, as CSKA again won 2–1 in front of 50,000 fans at the

Luzhniki Stadium The Grand Sports Arena of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex, commonly known as Luzhniki Stadium, is the national stadium of Russia, located in its capital city, Moscow. Its total seating capacity of 78,011 makes it the List of football stadiums in R ...

. He then scored two late goals against their other local rivals

Lokomotiv Moscow FC Lokomotiv Moscow (, ) is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Moscow. Lokomotiv have won the Russian Premier League on three occasions; the Soviet Cup twice; and the Russian Cup (football), Russian Cup a record ...

on 2 May, propelling CSKA to a 3–1 victory on the penultimate matchday of the Championship Group of the

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 ...

season. On 2 October 2013, Tošić scored a goal and made an assist in a 3–2 home victory over Viktoria Plzeň in

. On 23 October 2013, in next round of UCL, Tošić scored a goal against

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

. Four days later, Tošić scored a hat-trick in a 5–1 league victory for CSKA over

Krasnodar Krasnodar, formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern Russia, with a population of 1,154,885 residents, and up to 1.263 millio ...

. Tošić scored the game's only goal as CSKA defeated rivals Lokomotiv on 15 May 2014 to secure a second successive Russian Premier League title. On 23 July 2014, Tošić signed a new contract with CSKA until the end of the 2016–17 season, with Tošić leaving CSKA at the end of this contract on 5 July 2017.

Return to Partizan

On 28 August 2017, Tošić returned to Partizan on a three-year contract. On 9 September 2017, Tošić made his official re-debut for the club against Mladost Lučani. Eight days later, he scored the opener when his club beat Radnički Niš 3–1. On 20 October, he successfully converted the first penalty in his career, in 2–0 away victory over Radnik Surdulica. Nine days later, he missed the penalty in the 88th minute, but scored in the injury time from a free kick to give his team a 2–1 away victory over Borac Čačak. On 2 November, Tošić scored the opener from a free kick in a 2–0 home win over Skënderbeu Korçë in the fourth match of the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League group stage. On 1 August 2019, Tošić scored the opener in a 3–0 home win over Connah's Quay Nomads in the

qualifications. This was Partizan's 350th goal in Europe since the inaugural European Cup game in 1955. Tošić scored his first Eternal derby goal on 22 September 2019 in a 2–0 home win over rivals

Red Star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. ...

Tobol

On 16 April 2021, Tošić signed for

FC Tobol FC Tobol () is a Kazakhstan, Kazakh professional association football, football club based at the Kostanay Central Stadium, Central Stadium in Kostanay. They have been members of the Kazakhstan Premier League since its foundation in 1992. In 20 ...

on a contract until the end of the year. Tošić made his debut two weeks later, coming on in the 81st minute as a substitute for Azat Nurgaliyev in his side's 2–1 loss to Caspiy. Tošić's first goals came on 10 July in the first round of Group B of the 2021 Kazakhstan Cup in a 3–1 win over FC Taraz. On 17 January 2023, Tobol announced that Tošić had left the club after his contract had expired.

Lamia

On 26 January 2023, Tošić signed for

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 ...

side Lamia.

International career

Tošić made his debut for the Serbia under-21 team on 23 March 2007, against

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 ...

. Four days later, against

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 ...

, he scored his first international goal. He also took part in Serbia's

2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship 2007 were held from 10 to 23 June 2007. It was the 16th staging of UEFA's UEFA European Under-21 Championship, European Under-21 Championship. Summary For the first time, a host nation was chosen ahead of th ...

campaign, in which they reached the final before losing out to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. On 31 August 2007, Tošić received his first call-up to the senior

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 ...

squad for the Euro 2008 qualifier against

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and

by national team manager

Javier Clemente Javier Clemente Lázaro (; born 12 March 1950) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Forced to retire from playing in his early 20s through injury, he embarked on a coaching career with his first managerial ...

, and made his international debut in the Finland game. Tošić scored his first international goal on 12 August 2009 against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

. He scored twice in a 3–1 victory. In June 2010, he was selected in Serbia's squad for the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

, where he appeared in group stage match against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. On 11 October 2014, Tošić scored an added-time equaliser for a 1–1 draw away to

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

in UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Serbia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Tošić goal.''

Honours

Partizan *

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 ...

: 2007–08, 2008–09 *

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. ...

: 2007–08, 2017–18, 2018–19 CSKA Moscow *

: 2012–13, 2013–14, 2015–16 * Russian Cup: 2010–11, 2012–13 * Russian Super Cup:

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Tobol *

Kazakhstan Premier League The Kazakhstan Professional Football League (, ''Qazaqstan Premier Ligasy''), commonly referred to as the Kazakh Premier League or simply the Premier League, is a professional association football league in Kazakhstan and the highest level of the ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

* Kazakhstan Super Cup:

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Individual *List of 33 top players of the Russian league: 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15

References

External links

* *
Zoran Tošić
profile at CSKA website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tosic, Zoran 1987 births Living people Footballers from Zrenjanin Serbian men's footballers Serbia men's youth international footballers Serbia men's under-21 international footballers Serbia men's international footballers Men's association football wingers 2010 FIFA World Cup players Olympic footballers for Serbia Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics FK Budućnost Banatski Dvor players FK Banat Zrenjanin players FK Partizan players Manchester United F.C. players 1. FC Köln players PFC CSKA Moscow players Taizhou Yuanda F.C. players FC Tobol players PAS Lamia 1964 players Serbian SuperLiga players Premier League players Bundesliga players Russian Premier League players China League One players Kazakhstan Premier League players Super League Greece players Serbian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Russia Expatriate men's footballers in China Expatriate men's footballers in Kazakhstan Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Serbian expatriate sportspeople in England Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Russia Serbian expatriate sportspeople in China Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Kazakhstan Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Serbia and Montenegro men's footballers