 Mijatović in 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1969-01-19)19 January 1969 (age 57) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Titograd,SR Montenegro, SFR Yugoslavia | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Striker | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kom | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| OFK Titograd | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Budućnost Titograd | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1987–1989 | Budućnost Titograd | 73 | (10) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1990–1993 | Partizan | 104 | (44) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1996 | Valencia | 104 | (56) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–1999 | Real Madrid | 90 | (29) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2002 | Fiorentina | 42 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | Levante | 21 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 434 | (146) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1989–2003 | Serbia and Montenegro[note 1] | 73 | (27) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Predrag Mijatović (Serbian Cyrillic:Предраг Мијатовић; born 19 January 1969) is a Montenegrinfootball administrator and former player who played as astriker. He currently serves as the Vice-President ofFK Partizan.
At club level, Mijatović played for six clubs:Budućnost,Partizan,Valencia,Real Madrid,Fiorentina andLevante. Internationally, he played forFR Yugoslavia at the1998 FIFA World Cup and at theUEFA Euro 2000. During his career at Real Madrid he was widely considered as one of the best strikers in the world.
Mijatović scored 28 goals in the1995–96 La Liga season forValencia, which prompted a move toReal Madrid, where he scored a goal in the1998 UEFA Champions League final which ensured Madrid's first European Cup in 32 years. In 1997, Mijatović was named runner-up for theBallon d'Or, behindRonaldo and ahead ofZinedine Zidane. After his playing career, he served asdirector of football for Real Madrid from 2006 to 2009.
From the1987–88 season, Mijatović became a regular atBudućnost under new head coachStanko Poklepović. In October 1987, he was a member of the Yugoslav youth squad which competed in and won the1987 FIFA World Youth Championship in Chile. Upon his return to Budućnost, Mijatović's spot on the squad was now cemented alongsideDejan Savićević,Dragoljub Brnović andBranko Brnović, who also represented Yugoslavia in Chile. Mijatović made 31 league appearances and contributed four goals as Budućnost finished the season in ninth position.[2]
During the winter of 1989–90, Mijatović nearly signed withHajduk Split after negotiating with Hajduk's sporting directorJurica Jerković, with even aDM50,000 pre-contract payment given to the player.[3] However,Partizan club presidentMirko Marjanović stepped in and convinced Mijatović to join theBelgrade-based club instead. In December 1989, Partizan ultimately paid a DM1 million transfer fee to Budućnost for Mijatović. This was at time the highest transfer within the Yugoslav league.[4]
In later interviews, Mijatović said a deteriorating political and security situation in Yugoslavia was a factor in his decision not to join the Croatian club Hajduk.[3]
Though he scored on his Partizan debut against his former club Budućnost, Mijatović's debut half season in the new club under head coachIvan Golac was mostly spent settling into the new surroundings. He failed to score in his following 14 league appearances until the end of the1989–90 league season.[2]
However, Mijatović continued improving, becoming the squad's undisputed leader during1991–92 season under head coachIvica Osim, and leading Partizan to the 1992 Yugoslav Cup title over reigningEuropean Cup championsRed Star Belgrade. He was also named Yugoslav Footballer of the Year award en route.[5]
At Partizan, Mijatović had been linked with various top European sides, which includedJuventus. He joinedValencia in the summer of 1993.[5]
Mijatović made his Valencia debut on 5 September 1993 againstReal Oviedo. He won the Spanish Footballer of the Year award in the1995–96 season, having scored 28 goals in 40La Liga matches.[5] As the second best goal-scorer in the league, he was the runner-up for thePichichi Trophy, second only toJuan Antonio Pizzi. Mijatović's contributions helped Valencia finish in second place behindAtlético Madrid that season.
On 13 February 1996, Mijatović signed an advanced contract withReal Madrid mandating that he join the club from Valencia in the summer of 1996. The deal was confirmed a month later when the club met hisbuyout clause with a transfer fee ofPts. 1.486 billion.[6] Former Yugoslavia teammateDavor Šuker, as well asClarence Seedorf andRoberto Carlos, also joined Real Madrid in the summer 1996 transfer window. CoachFabio Capello often deployed Mijatović in a strike tandem with Šuker, reviving their partnership from their time in Yugoslavia's youth team at the 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship.[7] Over the course of the1996–97 La Liga season, Mijatović scored a total of 14 goals; he scored one goal in Real Madrid's 2–0 victory overBarcelona theEl Clásico on 7 December 1996, escaping fromMiguel Ángel Nadal andLaurent Blanc before lifting the ball overVítor Baía to score.[7] By the end of the season, Real Madrid were first in La Liga and also claimed the1997 Supercopa de España overBarcelona.[8]
On 20 May 1998, Mijatović scored the winning goal in Real Madrid's 1–0 victory overJuventus in the1998 UEFA Champions League final.[5] This was Real Madrid's firstUEFA Champions League title after 32 years. Thefollowing season was Mijatović's final season withLos Blancos; at the end of the season, the 30-year-old Mijatović was sold to ItalianSerie A clubFiorentina.
On 28 June 1999, Mijatović signed a three-year contract withFiorentina[9] for 17 billionItalian lire. His earliest performances at Fiorentina were promising; despite Fiorentina's attacking depth with the likes ofGabriel Batistuta, coachGiovanni Trapattoni initially chose Mijatović as a starter. On 26 July 1999, Mijatović scored the opening goal in Fiorentina's 4–0 victory overAston Villa in the Gotham Cup finals inNew York City, a pre-season exhibition tournament.[10] He played at Fiorentina for two seasons, scoring four goals within the Serie A, and added aCoppa Italia title to his honours.[11] Additionally, he featured in Fiorentina's1999–2000 UEFA Champions League campaign, which resulted in a third-place finish inGroup B of the second group stage behindManchester United and former clubValencia.
Mijatović joinedLevante UD in the summer of 2002. He played there for one season, after which Levante finished in fourth place in theSegunda División 2002–03 season. He subsequently retired from professional football after struggling with lingering injuries.[12]
Mijatović was included in Yugoslavia's squad for the1987 FIFA World Youth Championship, winning the tournament.[13]
Mijatović made his senior debut forYugoslavia national football team in an August 1989friendly match againstFinland. He was also called by the main team toUEFA Euro 1992,[14] but the nation would be suspended due to theYugoslav Wars.
Mijatović was the top scorer for theFR Yugoslavia national football team during the1998 FIFA World Cup qualification. Seven of his 14 goals came in theplay-off tie againstHungary, as Yugoslavia won 12–1 on aggregate to qualify for the final tournament.
Mijatović was one of the key players for FR Yugoslavia in the1998 FIFA World Cup, appearing in all four of his team's games and scoring a goal in a 2–2 draw againstGermany in the group stage. He however missed a penalty in the match versus theNetherlands in the round of 16, eventually losing 2–1.[15]
Mijatović played for FR Yugoslavia atUEFA Euro 2000, appearing in all games as the team exited in the quarter-finals following a 6–1 loss to the Netherlands.[16]
Mijatović has earned a total of 73 international caps, scoring 27 goals. His final international game was a June 2003European Championship qualification match againstAzerbaijan.[17]
After retiring in 2004, Mijatović continued living in the city ofValencia and soon became a player agent.
In 2006, Mijatović became Real Madrid'sdirector of football, serving in the position for three seasons under the leadership ofRamón Calderón as club president.[18] During this time, Mijatovic signed important players in Real Madrid's history such asFabio Cannavaro,Ruud van Nistelrooy,Marcelo,Gonzalo Higuaín andPepe.[19]
Through his friendship withAnzhi Makhachkala general manager German Chistyakov, Mijatović was reportedly part of the three-man delegation (the other two were Anzhi's transfer man German Tkachenko and Serbian player agentVlado Lemić) the Russian club deployed toMilan on 9 August 2011 for initial negotiations withInternazionale (represented by sporting directorMarco Branca and vice-president Rinaldo Ghelfi) over the transfer of strikerSamuel Eto'o.[20]
In October 2024, Mijatović was appointed vice president ofFK Partizan under presidentRasim Ljajić.[21]
Born inTitograd (now Podgorica), Mijatović grew up in theMasline neighbourhood. He is married to Aneta Milićević.
On 3 June 2009, the official website of Real Madrid stated that Mijatović's son Andrej, aged 15, died after a long illness, and offered its "deepest sympathies on behalf of the entire club and its members".[22]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Budućnost Titograd | 1986–87 | Yugoslav First League | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 1987–88 | 31 | 4 | — | — | 31 | 4 | ||||||
| 1988–89 | 28 | 2 | — | — | 28 | 2 | ||||||
| 1989–90 | 13 | 4 | — | — | 13 | 4 | ||||||
| Total | 73 | 10 | — | — | 73 | 10 | ||||||
| Partizan | 1989–90 | Yugoslav First League | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 19 | 1 | |
| 1990–91 | 33 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 1 | — | 42 | 16 | |||
| 1991–92 | 25 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 33 | 14 | |||
| 1992–93 | 31 | 17 | 8 | 2 | — | — | 39 | 19 | ||||
| Total | 104 | 44 | 19 | 5 | 10 | 1 | — | 133 | 50 | |||
| Valencia | 1993–94 | La Liga | 35 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | — | 41 | 19 | |
| 1994–95 | 29 | 12 | 9 | 3 | — | — | 38 | 15 | ||||
| 1995–96 | 40 | 28 | 9 | 6 | — | — | 49 | 34 | ||||
| Total | 104 | 56 | 20 | 10 | 4 | 2 | — | 128 | 68 | |||
| Real Madrid | 1996–97 | La Liga | 38 | 14 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 43 | 15 | ||
| 1997–98 | 24 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 2[a] | 1 | 34 | 12 | ||
| 1998–99 | 28 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 2[b] | 0 | 41 | 9 | ||
| Total | 90 | 29 | 9 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 118 | 36 | ||
| Fiorentina | 1999–2000 | Serie A | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | — | 25 | 3 | |
| 2000–01 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | — | 19 | 5 | |||
| 2001–02 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 17 | 1 | |||
| Total | 42 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 15 | 3 | — | 61 | 9 | |||
| Levante | 2002–03 | Segunda División | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 434 | 146 | 52 | 20 | 44 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 534 | 176 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| SFR Yugoslavia | 1989 | 3 | 0 |
| 1990 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1991 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1992 | 1 | 0 | |
| FR Yugoslavia | 1993 | —[note 2] | |
| 1994 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1995 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1996 | 6 | 3 | |
| 1997 | 8 | 11 | |
| 1998 | 11 | 3 | |
| 1999 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2000 | 12 | 4 | |
| 2001 | 6 | 2 | |
| 2002 | 6 | 1 | |
| Serbia and Montenegro | 2003 | 5 | 1 |
| Total | 73 | 27 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 June 1996 | Red Star Stadium,Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia |  Malta | 2–0 | 6–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 6 October 1996 | Svangaskarð,Toftir, Faroes |  Faroe Islands | 3–1 | 8–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 10 November 1996 | Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia |  Czech Republic | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 2 April 1997 | Stadion Letná,Prague, Czech Republic | Czech Republic | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 5 | 30 April 1997 | Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia |  Spain | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 6 | 8 June 1997 | Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia |  Slovakia | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 7 | 11 October 1997 | National Stadium,Ta' Qali, Malta | Malta | 4–0 | 5–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 8 | 29 October 1997 | Üllői úti stadion,Budapest, Hungary |  Hungary | 4–0 | 7–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 9 | 6–0 | |||||
| 10 | 6–0 | |||||
| 11 | 15 November 1997 | Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia | Hungary | 2–0 | 5–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 12 | 3–0 | |||||
| 13 | 4–0 | |||||
| 14 | 5–0 | |||||
| 15 | 29 May 1998 | Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia |  Nigeria | 2–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 16 | 21 June 1998 | Stade Bollaert-Delelis,Lens, France |  Germany | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1998 FIFA World Cup |
| 17 | 18 November 1998 | Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia |  Republic of Ireland | 1–0 | 1–0 | UEFA Euro 2000 qualification |
| 18 | 8 June 1999 | Toumba Stadium,Thessaloniki, Greece | Malta | 1–1 | 4–1 | UEFA Euro 2000 qualification |
| 19 | 9 October 1999 | Stadion Maksimir,Zagreb, Croatia |  Croatia | 1–1 | 2–2 | UEFA Euro 2000 qualification |
| 20 | 23 February 2000 | City Stadium,Skopje, Macedonia |  Macedonia | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 21 | 2–0 | |||||
| 22 | 28 March 2000 | Partizan Stadium, Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia |  China | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 23 | 16 August 2000 | Windsor Park,Belfast, Northern Ireland |  Northern Ireland | 2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 24 | 2 June 2001 | Luzhniki Stadium,Moscow, Russia |  Russia | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 25 | 6 October 2001 | Partizan Stadium, Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia |  Luxembourg | 2–2 | 6–2 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 26 | 12 October 2002 | Stadio San Paolo,Napoli, Italy |  Italy | 1–0 | 1–1 | UEFA Euro 2004 qualification |
| 27 | 12 February 2003 | City Stadium,Podgorica |  Azerbaijan | 1–0 | 2–2 | UEFA Euro 2004 qualification |
Partizan[26]
Real Madrid[8]
Fiorentina[27]
Yugoslavia
Awards
FR Yugoslavia squads | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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