He is one of only five players to be awarded the "Star of the Red Star" and is widely considered to have never shown his true potential in Europe,[5] as injury prevented him from establishing himself at Marseille over the long term. Despite this, there is consensus among critics that he displayed an extraordinary ability throughout his career in spite of his chronic injuries, he is renowned to be the greatest in the Japanese football.[6]
In 2021, he was appointed as coach of the Serbia national team, leading them to qualification for both2022 FIFA World Cup andUEFA Euro 2024.
Playing in theFK Radnički Niš youth system, in summer 1979, fourteen-year-old Stojković's talent was already evident as he was attached to theVladica Kovačević-coachedFK Partizan under-16 team as a temporary addition to the squad for the duration of a tournament inQuimper,France.[10] Flown to Belgrade and then to France for the occasion, the trip marked a series of firsts for the youngster: his first time in the Yugoslav capitalBelgrade, first time travelling abroad, and his first time on an airplane.[10]
Upon returning to Radnički, Stojković was again attached to the FK Partizan youth squad the following summer, 1980, for youth tournaments in theItalianAdriatic coastal towns ofSenigallia andFalconara Marittima.[10]
A midfielder and occasionalforward, Stojković began his professional playing career withYugoslav First League and hometown sideRadnički Niš. His full squad debut took place at age seventeen under head coachDušan Nenković during the 1981-82 season in the form of a substituteleague appearance on 4 April 1982 away atFK Vardar. It was the young player's only full squad appearance of the season and it took place just a few days before Radnički's famousUEFA Cupsemi-final tie versusHamburger SV, the Niš club's greatest success.[11]
Over the following four seasons, Stojković appeared in 70 matches for Radnički, scoring eight goals.
Stojković in a 1987 photoshoot while with Red Star Belgrade.
In the summer of 1986, twenty-one-year-old Stojković moved to Red Star Belgrade where he would spend the next four seasons, scoring 54 times in 120 appearances.[citation needed]
By the 1989-90 season, Stojković became a transfer target for some of the biggest and richest European clubs of the day. Juventus representatives were the first to approach the player as well as Red Star. However, any possibility of a deal soon fell through due to Stojković's reported skepticism about his playing opportunities inTurin due to the UEFA-enforced three-foreigners matchday squad rule and thebianconeri already having three foreigners in theirDino Zoff-coachedteam—SovietsSergei Aleinikov andOleksandr Zavarov as well as PortugueseRui Barros.[12] Then, in late November 1989,Olympique de Marseille ownerBernard Tapie flew to Belgrade, reaching a preliminary agreement—with the Red Star management about a transfer fee amount as well as with the player about his wages—that was to be officially signed at the end of the season during the summer 1990 transfer window.[12] Right after agreeing a pre-contract with Marseille, Stojković was contacted byAC Milan'sAdriano Galliani, who was ultimately unsuccessful in persuading Tapie to give up on Stojković.[12]
One of his most famous goals was scored in the derby against Partizan from a corner kick.
In the summer of 1990, twenty-five-year-old Stojković made the much publicized move toOlympique de Marseille for a transfer fee of£5.5 million, joining the star-laden squad bankrolled by French businessman/politicianBernard Tapie. The expectations were sky-high with a team featuring world-class players such asJean-Pierre Papin,Eric Cantona,Chris Waddle,Carlos Mozer,Manuel Amoros,Didier Deschamps,Jean Tigana,Abédi Pelé, as well as newly arrived defenderBasile Boli and new head coachFranz Beckenbauer fresh off winning the 1990 FIFA World Cup with West Germany. Stojković had his own shining moments at the same World Cup, all of which contributed further to Marseille's interest.
Early into hisdebut season, Stojković sustained a knee injury for which he had to have surgery in Germany, forcing him to the sidelines for months. In fact, the entire 1990–91 league season was injury riddled for the Serb and he ended up making only eleven league appearances. Beckenbauer stepped down from the coaching post during the winter break, although he remained with the club in an adviser capacity. The new head coach to replace the famous German wasRaymond Goethals. In thefinal of the UEFA European Champions' Cup, Marseille played against Stojković's former team Red Star. Stojković, a penalty kick specialist, entered the game late during the extra-time as a substitute, but as the match eventually went to a penalty shootout, he informed head coach Goethals that he did not want to take a penalty shot against his former team. Red Star won the European Cup in the shootout.[13]
He subsequently transferred toHellas Verona in Italy in the summer of 1991, for ten billion lira. The team had won the scudetto just six years before, but after some financial problems had just been promoted back to serie A after one year in the Italian second league. Stojkovic had an unlucky season, plagued by injuries and disciplinary troubles, and was sold back toMarseille where he remained for two more seasons, which meant he finally won a Champions league winner medal in1992–93,.[13] However, he was unlucky to miss the final because of injury.
He spent seven seasons with Grampus Eight, retiring as a player in 2001. Stojković played 183 matches for the club, scoring 57 times. He was named J-League MVP for the 1995 season. Since then, he has gained huge popularity among Japanese supporters, most notably among Nagoya Grampus fans, due to his skillful display, which followed him even after his retirement.[14] Fans commemorated him by chanting "Ale Piksi" whenever he scored a goal.
At the 1990 World Cup, Stojković scored both goals in Yugoslavia's 2–1 round-of-16 defeat ofSpain inVerona. In the quarter-final, he was one of three Yugoslavs to miss in the 3–2penalty shootout defeat to finalistsArgentina.[17]
A highly skilfulmidfieldplaymaker, Stojković is considered to be one of the greatest players ever to come out of former Yugoslavia; he was also capable of playing as anattacking midfielder, as acentral midfielder, or as aforward, and was even used as atarget–man on occasion. A quick, opportunistic, and unpredictable player, he was known in particular for his vision, creativity, and passing ability, as well as his excellent technique anddribbling skills, which enabled him to beat several opponents, and earned him the nickname "theMaradona of theBalkans."[20][21][3] Despite his talent, however, his career was affected by several injuries, which hindered his potential.[22]
In July 2005, Stojković became the president of Red Star Belgrade. Similar to his FA appointment four years earlier, Stojković again became a successor to another tenured, larger than life figure in Serbian football,Dragan Džajić, who had occupied various leading posts within the club's management over the preceding 26 years. The transfer of power was full of controversy with plenty of lobbying behind the scenes and at times open feuding in the press.[citation needed]
One of Stojković's first orders of business ahead of the2005–06 season was firing the head coach he inherited,Ratko Dostanić, and bringingWalter Zenga who thus became the first foreigner ever tocoach Red Star. Calling on his Japan connections, Stojković also gotToyota Motor Corporation to invest in the club through a shirt sponsorship deal. Additionally, he also opened the club's doors to various prominent Serbian companies likeDelta Holding andTelekom Srbija thus creating a pool of sponsors.
On the player personnel front, Stojković initially more-or-less continued the existing "buy low sell high" policy that meant players were mostly recruited from Red Star's own youth system or smaller clubs throughout Serbia and Montenegro, and then sold abroad as soon as they gained some exposure on the European scene. Stojković's most prominent initial move was loaning out strikerMarko Pantelić toHertha Berlin for €250,000 on the last day of the summer 2005 transfer window (Pantelić would eventually be sold to Hertha for additional €1.5 million in April 2006). On the other hand, 20-year-old strikerMilan Purović and 22-year-old keeperVladimir Stojković were brought to the club fromBudućnost Podgorica andFK Zemun, respectively. Additionally, by bringing in Ghanaian midfielderHaminu Dramani, president Stojković indicated he was also interested in affordable foreign imports, which would soon become a staple of his transfer policy. All three new arrivals gelled well with the existing squad (featuring the likes ofNikola Žigić,Boško Janković,Milan Biševac,Dušan Basta,Nenad Kovačević,Aleksandar Luković, andMilan Dudić), as Red Star jumped out to a lead in theleague, including a 2–0 home win against thecross-town rivalsFK Partizan in mid-October 2005.
The squad was further strengthened during the 2005-06 winter transfer window, especially the spots upfront, with the arrivals of attacking midfielderIgor Burzanović from Budućnost Podgorica, Japanese forwardTakayuki Suzuki, midfielderNenad Milijaš from FK Zemun, and strikerDušan Đokić fromFK Voždovac. Red Star comfortably won the league-cup double, losing only two league matches during the season.
Winning the double combined with some fine European outings during the previous season raised the fans' expectations considerably as they now wanted the existing Red Star squad kept intact (especially Nikola Žigić who had reportedly already become a transfer target for some high-profile English Premiership clubs) in order to make a serious run at qualifying for theUEFA Champions League group stage. However, the first move came as a complete shock—president Stojković sold goalkeeper Vladimir Stojković toFC Nantes, reportedly for €3 million. Trying to deal with the angry fan reaction, he attempted to explain the move as being necessitated by the club's accumulated debts that had reportedly grown to alarming levels following "years of mismanagement and unpaid commitments of some of the key sponsor pool members".[23] With head coach Zenga departing, Stojković hired celebrated coachDušan Bajević who thus returned to Serbian/ex-Yugoslav football after almost two decades of coaching in Greece with great success. The transfers out of the club continued with Milan Dudić sold toRed Bull Salzburg, Haminu Dramani toGençlerbirliği, and Aleksandar Luković toUdinese, however, their departures caused comparatively less angry fan reaction. Preparing for Champions League qualifying, players brought in by president Stojković were twenty-four-year-old Bulgarian international attacking midfielderBlagoy Georgiev, Brazilian forwardEly Thadeu, and Senegalese defenderIbrahima Gueye.
Red Star easily eliminated Irish champions Cork City at the start of Champions League qualifying, however, getting drawn againstCarlo Ancelotti's powerhouseAC Milan featuringKaká,Andrea Pirlo,Clarence Seedorf,Cafu,Gennaro Gattuso,Pippo Inzaghi,Alessandro Costacurta, etc. in the next qualifying round proved too difficult to overcome, as the Belgrade club lost 1–3 on aggregate. Failure to reach the Champions League group stage prompted another round of transfers out of the club with captain Nenad Kovačević sold toRC Lens, Boško Janković toRCD Mallorca, and finally the club's most prized asset Nikola Žigić toRacing Santander while Milan Biševac's future transfer to Lens effective 2006-07 winter transfer window was already agreed upon in advance.
On the other hand, Ecuadorian defensive midfielderSegundo Castillo joined the club towards the end of the transfer window. Finally, on the last day of the summer 2006 transfer window Stojković brought in the club's most prominent foreign acquisition to date and since, thirty-three-year-oldAílton who had been the Bundesliga top scorer only two years prior.
On 12 October 2007 Stojković announced that he was stepping down as the president of Red Star Belgrade.[24][25]
In April 2009, at a press conference announcing the club's current debt to be€22.3 million, Red Star Belgrade general secretary Saša Kozić (subordinate to club presidentDan Tana) accused the former club president Stojković of "running the club irresponsibly, to say the least".[26]
Kozić—who had much like the current president Tana been part of the club's managing board during Stojković's 2005-2007 club presidency—added that Red Star's operating expenses had increased significantly under Stojković to €1.5–2 million per month, including the salaries of club officials doubling during 2007 as well as promotional expenses (normally at €100,000) ballooning to €1.1 million over the two-year period.[26] He added that in total the club had spent almost €50 million during Stojković's two-year presidency; funds obtained either through bank loans or from player sales.[26] Responding to Kozić's accusations, Nagoya head coach Stojković "rejected them categorically", claiming his physical absence from Serbia is being used as "cover-up for Red Star's bad business results".[27] Despite his status as the club's playing legend as well as its officialfifth star, ever since his 2007 resignation from the post of Red Star president, Stojković has had a contentious relationship with a section of the club's ultras,Delije, who blame him for "jumping ship and leaving a financial mess behind".[28] The situation has flared up on several occasions over the years since. In January 2012, while having coffee at a Red Star Belgrade licensed and operated cafe within the club'sMarakana stadium, Nagoya head coach Stojković—in town for the funeral ofMiljan Miljanić—was forced to leave his old club's premises by a group of three Delije following an uncomfortable verbal exchange during which the club's former president was reportedly told he's "not welcome".[29][30] The incident led to club's current presidentVladan Lukić expressing "shock and dismay" and announcing personal intention of inviting Stojković for a cup of coffee in his office, stating "the club's doors are always open to him" while adding that "it's superfluous to explain what Dragan Stojković means to this club".[31][32]
Stojković, for his part, mostly shrugged off the incident as "three young men, one of whom I recognized as the ultra fan group leader back from my [club presidential] tenure, walking up to me and telling me they're not permitting me to be there" while further dismissing their action as being motivated by "dislike of me because I had had a clear code of conduct that excluded them [club's ultra fans] from influencing club policy and prevented them from enjoying certain [financial] benefits".[30] Within days, Delije put out a press release asking Stojković for detailed explanation of club's finances during his presidential tenure, specifically posing a question to him "how's it possible to take over a club with debts of€5 million and then depart two years later, leaving the same club with €20 million in debts while simultaneously over the same period receiving €40 million worth of transfer fees for sold players".[33]
In November 2012—amidst Red Star's 2008-2009 club presidentDan Tana's announcement of writing-off the€600,000 that the entrepreneur had reportedly given the cash-strapped club out of his own pocket during his club presidency[34]—Stojković too announced he's willing to forget the €32,000 the club had reportedly owed him due to Stojković reportedly paying the amount out of his own pocket for the players' hotel stay during the club's away trip toMilan.[35][36] Stojković reportedly decided to forgive the club's debt to him after previously refusing to do so when asked to during Vladan Lukić's club presidency.[35]
The antagonism between Delije and Stojković reignited again in late May 2022, more than 10 years after the initial 2012 cafe incident, when Stojković—now Serbia national team head coach—came to the Marakana to watch theSerbian Cupfinal. Knowing he'll be at the match in person, some of the Delije unfurled a sizable banner calling Stojković out again over his 2005-2007 time as club president, claiming it set up a "decade-long calamity for the club".[37]
Stojković returned to Japan to take over as manager of his former club, Nagoya Grampus, on 22 January 2008. On 15 March 2008 the former J.League MVP won his first game as manager as Nagoya Grampus stunnedAFC Champions League 2007 ChampionsUrawa Reds 2–0 at Urawa's home, theSaitama Stadium. Despite his glorious playing career at Nagoya, some Nagoya fans were initially worried about his lack of experience as a coach; however, his team finished in 3rd place and he led the club toAFC Champions League for the first time in his debut season.
In a 2009 J.League match betweenYokohama F. Marinos and Nagoya Grampus, Stojković amazed everyone by scoring a goal from histechnical area. One of the players had just been injured, so the goalkeeperTetsuya Enomoto kicked the ball out of play to stop the game. Stojković got out of his seat in the dugout and volleyed the ball, which went high into the air before dipping into goal.[38] For this action he wassent off by thereferee.[39]
On 20 November 2010, Stojković led Grampus to the J. League title, the club's first. Stojković has stated that he had learnt a lot about football from former managerArsène Wenger, who had led the club to their previous best showing in 1995 when they finished runners-up and Emperor's Cup champions, and had kept regular contact with him, with Wenger giving him advice and congratulating him on the club's success. Stojković has been named by Wenger as the person he would like to take over Arsenal when he has gone[40] stating "Our ideas are the same and we both strive for perfect football."[41] After the successful 2010 season, Stojković was awarded theJ. League Manager of the Year.
Stojković was announced as manager ofChinese Super League sideGuangzhou R&F on 24 August 2015[42] on a contract that would expire in 2017.[43] On 8 September 2016, Guangzhou R&F confirmed that Stojković had signed a renewed contract with Guangzhou R&F until the end of the 2020.[44] Stojković saved the team from the threat of relegation in 2015. The rest of his time in charge was characterised by attacking football, with strikerEran Zahavi twice winning the CSL golden boot award.[45] Guangzhou R&F also made the semi-finals of theCFA Cup in 2016 and 2018, and just missed out on qualifying for the Asian Champions League in 2017.[46] The team finished 12th in the2019 Super League and had the league's worst defensive record, conceding 72 goals in 30 games.[47] After spending over four seasons at the club - making him Guangzhou R&F's longest ever serving manager - Stojkovic left the club in January 2020.[48]
In the 2022 World Cup, Serbia were inGroup G withBrazil,Cameroon, andSwitzerland. They earned one draw and two losses, finishing last in the group and were eliminated.[52] In theEuro 2024 qualifying, Serbia secured their first-ever finals berth as an independent nation after drawing 2–2 withBulgaria in their final group match, as they qualified as runners-up in theirGroup G.[53] AtEuro 2024, they finished last in their group with two draws and one loss.[54]
