Milko Djurovski (Macedonian:Милко Ѓуровски,romanized: Milko Gjurovski,Serbo-Croatian:Milko Đurovski /Милко Ђуровски; born 26 January 1963) is a Macedonian former professionalfootballer andmanager. He was regarded as one of the most talented Yugoslav players of his generation.

Milko Gjurovski

Personal information
Date of birth	(1963-01-26)26 January 1963 (age 62)
Place of birth	Tetovo,SR Macedonia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
	Teteks
1977–1979	Red Star Belgrade
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1979–1986	Red Star Belgrade	115	(54)
1979–1980	→Čukarički (loan)
1986–1990	Partizan	70	(38)
1990–1993	Groningen	71	(28)
1993	→Cambuur (loan)	7	(0)
1994	Maribor	19	(8)
1994	Nîmes	4	(0)
1995–1996	Železničar Maribor
1998	Kansas City Attack (indoor)	1	(0)
2001	Rogoza
2002	Bistrica	11	(16)
2002	Malečnik	1	(1)
2003	Rudar Prijedor
2003	Bistrica	3	(2)
2004	Ljubljana	2	(0)
2005	Malečnik
2005	Bežigrad
Total		304	(147)
International career
1984	Yugoslavia Olympic	2	(0)
1984–1985	Yugoslavia	6	(2)
1994	Macedonia	3	(0)
Managerial career
1998	Železničar Maribor
2003	Rudar Prijedor (player-manager)
2005	Malečnik (player-manager)
2005–2006	Drava Ptuj
2006–2007	Nafta Lendava
2007	Maribor
2008–2009	Vardar
2009	Belasica
2010	Drava Ptuj
2010–2011	Jedinstvo Brčko
2012	Pöllau
2015	Zlaté Moravce
2015	Zavrč
2016	Slavija Sarajevo
2019–2020	Veržej
Medal record Representing Yugoslavia Olympic Games 1984
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Djurovski started out atRed Star Belgrade, making his senior debut in 1979, aged 16. He spent a total of seven seasons in their first team, winning two national championships (1981 and1984) and two national cups (1982 and1985). In the summer of 1986, Djurovski made a surprising and controversial move to Red Star'sbitter rivalsPartizan.^[1] He stayed for four years atStadion JNA, including aninactive season because of his compulsory military service. Some of his most memorable performances with theCrno-beli include a1989–90 European Cup Winners' Cup tie againstGroningen, which eventually secured him a transfer to the Dutch club in 1990.^[2] In his later years, Djurovski went on to play for several Slovenian clubs.

Internationally, Djurovski represented bothYugoslavia andMacedonia.^[3] He earned six caps for Yugoslavia between 1984 and 1985, scoring two goals. After thedissolution of the former country, Djurovski briefly played for his native Macedonia, making three appearances in 1994. He had previously won the bronze medal for Yugoslavia at the1984 Summer Olympics.

His older brother isBoško Djurovski, while his younger son isMario Gjurovski.^[4]

Born inTetovo, Djurovski joined the youth categories of his hometown clubTeteks. He subsequently moved toRed Star Belgrade in 1977.^[5] Still a junior, Djurovski made his senior debut for the club on 11 April 1979, coming on as a substitute forDuško Lukić in the first leg of theUEFA Cup semi-final, a 1–0 win overHertha BSC. He spent the following 1979–80 season on loan atČukarički, becoming theSerbian League (Group North) top scorer with 15 goals.^[6] After returning from a loan spell, Djurovski helped Red Star win theYugoslav First League in the1980–81 campaign, scoring five goals in the process. He was an integral part of the team and a fan favorite in the following years, leading them to another league title in1984.

In the summer of 1986, Djurovski switched toPartizan in a move that caused much controversy among fans and the general public.^[7] He immediately established himself as the club's key player, being their top scorer in the 1986–87 season, as Partizan won the league title. Afterwards, Djurovski spent the following three seasons with theCrno-beli, including one year of his military service.

In the summer of 1990, Djurovski moved abroad and signed with Dutch clubGroningen. He was the club's top league scorer in hisdebut season atOosterpark with 14 goals, leading them to a third place, behindPSV andAjax. In the following 1991–92 season, Djurovski again helped the club to secure a spot in theUEFA Cup. He was then loaned to fellowEredivisie clubCambuur in1993. After returning to Groningen, Djurovski spent another few months at the club, before eventually leaving the country in the winter of 1994.

After leaving Groningen, Djurovski moved to the newly independent Slovenia and signed withMaribor in early 1994. He later moved to French sideNîmes, but left the club after only a few games in December 1994. Later on, Djurovski made a return to Slovenia and joinedSecond League clubŽelezničar Maribor in the summer of 1995. He then moved to the United States and briefly playedindoor soccer for theKansas City Attack in 1998, alongside his former Partizan teammateNebojša Vučićević.^[8]

In the early 2000s, Djurovski came out of retirement and went on to play forSlovenian Third League clubsRogoza,Bistrica (twice), andMalečnik. He then served as player-manager of Bosnian clubRudar Prijedor in 2003.^[9] Afterwards, Djurovski made two appearances forLjubljana in theFirst League, before the club dissolved at the end of the2004–05 season. He later served as player-manager of Malečnik,^[10][11] before joining newly formed Slovenian clubBežigrad in July 2005.^[12] Djurovski appeared in a couple of matches for the club, before definitely retiring from the game, aged 42.^[13]

Djurovski made his full international debut forYugoslavia on 31 March 1984, coming on as a substitute forMiloš Šestić and scoring the game's opener in a 2–1 friendly win overHungary. He subsequently represented the country at the1984 Summer Olympics, as the team won the bronze medal, defeatingItaly in the third place match.^[14] In 1985, Djurovski made five more appearances for the senior team and scored once.

In 1994, Djurovski accepted a call-up to represent the country of his birth. He made his senior debut forMacedonia in an October 1994European Championship qualification match againstSpain in Skopje and earned a total of 3 caps, scoring no goals. His final international was a December 1994 European Championship qualification match againstCyprus.^[15]

After his stint at Železničar Maribor as a player, Djurovski was appointed manager of the club ahead of the 1998–99 season. He was eventually unable to perform his function due to the problems with his license.^[16]

In October 2005, Djurovski was appointed manager ofDrava Ptuj.^[17] He left the club in July 2006.^[18] Shortly after, Djurovski was appointed manager ofNafta Lendava.^[19] He left them in August 2007.^[20] Two weeks later, Djurovski became manager of his former club Maribor, penning a two-year deal.^[21] He was released on 5 November 2007.^[22][23] In October 2008, Djurovski returned to his native country, being named manager ofVardar.^[24] He left the club in January 2009.^[25] Later that year, Djurovski served as manager of fellow Macedonian clubBelasica.^[26]

Subsequently, Djurovski returned to Slovenia and took charge at Drava Ptuj for the second time, before leaving the position in April 2010.^[27] He also served as manager of Austrian club Pöllau in 2012.^[28] In June 2015, Djurovski was appointed manager of Slovakian clubZlaté Moravce.^[29] He once again returned to Slovenia and took charge atZavrč in October 2015.^[30] In March 2016, Djurovski became manager of Bosnian clubSlavija Sarajevo. He left the club only two months later after failing to avoid relegation from the top flight.^[31]

Djurovski has two sons includingMario Djurovski, a professional footballer.^[32] He is also the younger brother ofBoško Djurovski. They played together at both club and international level.

Red Star Belgrade

• Yugoslav First League:1980–81,1983–84
• Yugoslav Cup:1981–82,1984–85

Partizan

• Yugoslav First League:1986–87
• Yugoslav Cup:1988–89
• Yugoslav Super Cup:1989

Yugoslavia

• Olympic Games: Bronze Medal1984

• Milko Đurovski atReprezentacija.rs(in Serbian)
• Milko Djurovski –FIFA competition record (archived)
• Milko Đurovski at National-Football-Teams.com
• Profile at MacedonianFootball.com(in English)
• Milko Djurovski at PrvaLiga