Zoran Njeguš

Zoran Njeguš (Serbian Cyrillic: Зоран Његуш; born 25 June 1973) is a Serbian retired professional football player and a former manager. Over the course of his career, he played for Sloboda Užice, Red Star Belgrade, Atlético Madrid, and Sevilla. He played for Yugoslavia's national football team seven times, although his last international appearance was after Yugoslavia's name was changed to Serbia and Montenegro.[1]

Zoran Njeguš
Personal information
Full name Zoran Njeguš
Date of birth (1973-06-25) 25 June 1973
Place of birth Titovo Užice, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Defender / Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Zlatibor
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–1995 Sloboda Užice 57 (8)
1995–1998 Red Star Belgrade 63 (7)
1998–2001 Atlético Madrid 52 (3)
2001–2004 Sevilla 57 (1)
Total 229 (19)
National team
1996–2003 Serbia and Montenegro[a] 7 (0 Zlatibor)
Teams managed
2009–2010 Sloboda Užice
2010–2011 Javor Ivanjica
2011–2012 Spartak Subotica
2012–2013 Borac Čačak
2013–2014 Novi Pazar
2020 Rad
2020- Zlatibor
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Red Star Belgrade

Njeguš joined Red Star Belgrade in the summer of 1995. Over the course of three seasons at Red Star, Njeguš played a total of 103 matches.[2] He played in every match of Red Star's 1996–97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup campaign up to their elimination against Barcelona in the second round.[2]

Atlético Madrid

On 8 May 1998, Njeguš joined Spanish club Atlético Madrid in a 7.5 million DM transfer from Red Star Belgrade.[3] He was coach Arrigo Sacchi's first pick of that year's summer transfer window.[4] He played for three seasons at Atlético Madrid, playing a total of 52 matches.[1]

Sevilla

On 30 July 2001, Sevilla officially announced the loaning of Njeguš from Atlético Madrid.[5] His loan to Sevilla was renewed for a season on 27 July 2002.[6] After almost three seasons with Sevilla, a bitter dispute occurred from a drastic punishment given to him after he returned late from the 2003-2004 winter break.[7] During court proceedings on settling the contract dispute between Sevilla and himself, a jurist stated that Njeguš was "depressed, eating compulsively, and gained 8 kilograms" as a result of Sevilla sanctioning him.[8] Njeguš subsequently retired.[1]

International career

Although Njeguš was not called up for a major international competition, he made his debut under for Yugoslavia's national football team under coach Slobodan Santrač on 28 December 1996 in a 3-2 away win against Argentina.[1] Santrač ultimately preferred Albert Nađ and Branko Brnović as his defensive midfield picks, with the latter being called up to the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Although Njeguš was not called up for that World Cup, he started under coach Milan "Bard" Živadinović in Yugoslavia's first post-World Cup friendly at the Castelão in front of approximately 70,000 people against Brazil on 23 September 1998, which Yugoslavia tied 1-1.[9]

Personal life

In March 2016, Njeguš was arrested for allegedly being involved in real estate fraud in the Zlatibor region.[10] He was released from custody 10 days later.[11]

Notes
  • ^
    Known as FR Yugoslavia until 4 February 2003.

    • References
    1. "Njeguš Zoran" (in Serbian). reprezentacija.rs. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
    2. "Na današnji dan: Rođen Zoran Njeguš". Moja Crvena Zvezda. 25 June 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
    3. "NJEGUŠ: Džajić i Zvezda mi ništa ne duguju". Danas (in Serbian). 21 March 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
    4. "Sacchi se estrena con Njegus". El País (in Spanish). 8 May 1998. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
    5. "Njegus: "Ya no pienso en Madrid"". Diario AS (in Spanish). 31 July 2001. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
    6. "Sevilla take Njegus again". UEFA. 27 July 2002. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
    7. "Njegus denuncia al Sevilla por despido nulo o improcedente". Diario AS (in Spanish). 13 February 2004. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
    8. La Nación: El defensa Njegus pasa mal momento tras desvincularse del Sevilla (in Spanish). 29 June 2004. Accessed 22 November 2019.
    9. 11v11.com: Brazil v Yugoslavia, 23 September 1998. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
    10. "Uhapšen bivši fudbaler Zvezde!" (in Serbian). mondo.rs. 18 March 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
    11. "Zoran Njeguš pušten na slobodu" (in Serbian). mondo.rs. 29 March 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
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