Mateja Kežman

Mateja Kežman

Personal information
Full name	Mateja Kežman
Date of birth	12 April 1979 (1979-04-12)
Place of birth	Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Striker
Youth career
1986–1996	Zemun
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1996–1997	Radnički Pirot	17	(11)
1997–1998	Loznica	13	(5)
1998	Sartid Smederevo	14	(4)
1998–2000	Partizan	54	(33)
2000–2004	PSV Eindhoven	122	(105)
2004–2005	Chelsea	25	(4)
2005–2006	Atlético Madrid	30	(8)
2006–2009	Fenerbahçe	46	(20)
2008–2009	→ Paris Saint-Germain (loan)	21	(3)
2009–2010	Paris Saint-Germain	14	(2)
2009	→ Zenit Saint Petersburg (loan)	10	(2)
2011	South China	6	(2)
2011	BATE Borisov	6	(0)
2012	South China	0	(0)
National team
2000–2006	Serbia and Montenegro	49	(17)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 26 January 2012. † Appearances (Goals).

Mateja Kežman (Serbian Cyrillic: Матеја Кежман, pronounced [mǎtɛja kɛ̂ʒman]; born 12 April 1979 in Belgrade) is a retired Serbian football striker.

Kežman has played top-flight football in Yugoslavia, the Netherlands, England, Spain, Turkey, France, Russia, Hong Kong and Belarus and has won league championships in five of these countries.

Club career

Partizan

At the age of 19, Kežman signed for FK Partizan. For two seasons at the club, Kežman made a name for himself as a prolific goalscorer and became a favourite among the fans of the club. He scored a total of 33 league goals in 54 appearances and has also been the top goalscorer of the national championship in the 1999–00 season.

PSV Eindhoven

In the summer of 2000, Kežman completed his move to Dutch club PSV Eindhoven. In his debut season, he was the league's top scorer, achieving 24 goals in 33 games as PSV won the title. He also picked up the nickname 'Batman', because the famous theme song was played at Philips Stadion every time he scored. He formed a successful partnership with Arjen Robben, and they gained the epithet 'Batman and Robben', a pun on Batman and Robin.

Kežman went to score 81 goals over the following three seasons with PSV, achieving the record as the first player in Dutch championship to score more league goals than games in consecutive seasons. His best season in terms of both goals and appearances was 2002–03 when he played 33 out of 34 of PSV's matches and scored 35 goals to help them win the title.

Chelsea

Kežman spent the 2004–05 season at Chelsea and scored 7 goals in 40 appearances in all competitions. He was signed for the club on 13 July 2004 for £5.3m by José Mourinho. He wore the number 9 shirt left vacant by Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's transfer to Middlesbrough.

He played 24 league games and scored 4 goals. The first goal came on 4 December 2004 in a 4–0 victory over Newcastle United at home, with an injury time penalty after coming on as a substitute in the 61st minute. He did not score again until 11 March 2005 in a 3–1 away victory over Norwich City, who were relegated at the end of the season. Eight days later he scored twice at home against another team who would be relegated, Crystal Palace, as Chelsea won 4–1. At the end of the season Chelsea won their first league title since 1954–55.

His first ever goal for Chelsea was in Carling Cup third round at home to West Ham United on 27 October 2004. It was the only goal of the game. He scored a goal in extra time (112th minute) of the 2005 Carling Cup Final against Liverpool. Chelsea won 3–2 after it finished 1–1 after 90 minutes.

Kežman scored a goal in the 3rd round of that season's FA Cup against Scunthorpe United as Chelsea won 3–1 at home.

In 2011, Kežman revealed to Sky Sports that his time at Chelsea was the best he has ever had in football, despite falling to make an impact for the club: "Chelsea was the best thing in my career. That was the climax of my career, for sure. Living and playing in London was something that I will never forget. I don't know if I made a mistake because I moved away so quickly. Maybe I do and maybe I don't regret it, but I always believe in my decisions. But the transfer to Chelsea made my dreams come true. That was the best thing that ever happened to me. Maybe I could achieve more and I could have been more successful at Stamford Bridge, but I don't regret anything."

Atlético Madrid

Kežman left Chelsea for Atlético Madrid of Spain's Primera División on 29 June 2005 for £5.3m, the same price as he had joined Chelsea.

Atlético ended the season in 10th and were knocked out by Real Zaragoza in the Copa del Rey round of 16. Kežman scored 8 goals in 30 league matches, often partnering Fernando Torres.

Fenerbahçe

Kežman was transferred to Fenerbahçe on a four-year contract. He helped Fenerbahçe win the 2006–07 Süper Lig in their centennial year.

Paris Saint-Germain

On 19 August 2008, Kežman signed for Paris Saint-Germain, a one-year loan with a buyout clause. He appeared in 21 league matches, mostly as substitute, and scored three goals.

Loan to Zenit

On 30 August 2009, it was announced that Kežman would be joining Zenit Saint Petersburg from Paris Saint-Germain on a season-long loan, with a purchase option for an undisclosed fee. The next day, the transfer had been officially confirmed when the player passed medical examinations. He scored two goals for Zenit helping the team to finish 3rd in the Russian Premier League, but the Russian side decided not to retain his services, and he returned to Paris in January 2010.

Return to France and contract termination

On 3 November 2010, Kežman's contract with Paris Saint-Germain was terminated by mutual consent.

South China

On 20 January 2011, it was announced that Kežman had signed to play for South China for the rest of the 2010–11 Hong Kong First Division League. Kežman made his debut on 29 January 2011 versus NT Realty Wofoo Tai Po which lost 1–0; he was substituted by Leung Chun Pong in the 64th minute.

On 13 February 2011, in the League Cup semi-final against league leader Kitchee, Kežman scored his first goal for the club in the 32nd minute and his second goal seven minutes before the end. South China beat Kitchee by 4–2 and entered the finals.

On 13 April 2011, in the 2011 AFC Cup group H match against Kingfisher East Bengal, Kežman scored his first AFC Cup goal in the 69th minute with a header, assisted by Au Yeung Yiu Chung. His goal helped South China gain victory and moved up to 3rd position in the group, but he also received a yellow card in the match, his second yellow card in the tournament and he missed the away game to East Bengal.

In May 2011, after his team failed to progress into the 2011 AFC Cup knockout stage, following 4–2 loss from Indonesian outfit Persipura Jayapura, Kežman said to the media that the AFC Cup is a strange competition and kind of stupid. He blamed the hot weather and long travel to go to Jayapura as one of the factors why his team could not progress further.

In the final match of the 2010–11 Hong Kong FA Cup, Kežman managed to take advantage of opponent's defensive error and scored an outstanding goal in extra time to give his team a 2–1 win over NT Realty Wofoo Tai Po on 29 May 2011. The next day, Kežman finished his stint with South China after his four-month contract expired.

BATE

On 31 August 2011, Kežman joined Belarusian side BATE Borisov as a free agent until the end of the year. He was seen as a reinforcement for upcoming UEFA Champions League group stage games and as replacement for seriously injured striker Vitali Rodionov. Ultimately, Kežman played 6 games in Belarusian League and 5 games in Champions League without scored goals. He partied ways with BATE after the last Champions League game against Barcelona.

Return to Hong Kong and retirement

Kežman returned to South China to play at the Asian Challenge Cup. He retired after the end of the tournament on 26 January 2012. His last ever touch of football was in a penalty shoot-out against Guangzhou R&F where he shot the ball over the crossbar. Guangzhou R&F came 3rd in the competition while South China came 4th.

International career

Kežman marked his senior international debut for FR Yugoslavia during March 2000 with a goal against China in a friendly match as part of the preparations for UEFA Euro 2000. Head coach Vujadin Boškov included him in the final 23-man roster that he took to Belgium and the Netherlands. Despite being the fourth attacking option behind Predrag Mijatović, Savo Milošević and Darko Kovačević, 21-year-old Kežman got his chance as substitute late in the group match versus Norway. However, after being on the pitch for about 90 seconds, he was sent off following a rash tackle on Erik Mykland.

In February 2003, after embarrassing performances of the team during UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying, Kežman announced that he retired from the national jersey. However, Kežman returned to the team few months later, after Ilija Petković has appointed as a new coach.

Kežman led Serbia and Montenegro's scoring during the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifications with 5 goals, including the only goal in the final game against Bosnia and Herzegovina which in turn allowed Serbia and Montenegro to qualify directly, having come first in their group. During the competition, he was sent off in a group match against Argentina by referee Roberto Rosetti.

Since his sending off against Argentina at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Kežman has not been called up to any of Serbia's friendly or official games.

During his six-year tenure in the national team, Kežman has managed to score 17 goals in 49 matches.

Career statistics

As of 26 January 2012

Club

Club	Season	League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Partizan	1998–99	22	6	6	2	–		5	0	0	0	33	8
	1999–00	32	27	2	2	–		7	6	0	0	41	35
PSV Eindhoven	2000–01	33	24	4	3	–		11	4	1	0	49	31
	2001–02	27	15	2	1	–		11	3	1	1	41	20
	2002–03	33	35	3	4	–		6	0	1	1	43	40
	2003–04	29	31	1	0	–		12	6	1	1	43	38
Chelsea	2004–05	25	4	3	1	4	2	9	0	0	0	41	7
Atlético Madrid	2005–06	30	8	3	2	–		0	0	0	0	33	10
Fenerbahçe	2006–07	24	9	2	0	–		7	2	0	0	33	11
	2007–08	22	11	4	5	–		9	2	1	1	36	19
Paris Saint-Germain	2008–09	21	3	2	2	4	0	8	3	0	0	35	8
Zenit Saint Petersburg	2009	10	2	0	0	–		0	0	0	0	10	2
Paris Saint-Germain	2009–10	13	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	15	2
	2010–11	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	3	0
South China	2010–11	6	2	2	2	1	2	5	1	2	0	16	7
BATE Borisov	2011	6	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	0	11	0
South China	2011–12	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	0
Career total		334	179	36	24	9	4	96	27	10	4	485	238

International

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
FR Yugoslavia	2000	7	2
	2001	9	5
	2002	10	3
Serbia and Montenegro	2003	4	0
	2004	5	1
	2005	10	5
	2006	4	1
Total		49	17

Honours

Club

Partizan

• Yugoslav League (1): 1998–99

PSV Eindhoven

• Dutch League (2): 2000–01, 2002–03
• Dutch Super Cup (3): 2000, 2001, 2003

Chelsea

• English League (1): 2004–05
• English League Cup (1): 2004–05

Fenerbahçe

• Turkish League (1): 2006–07
• Turkish Super Cup (1): 2007

Paris Saint-Germain

• French Cup (1): 2009–10

South China

• Hong Kong FA Cup (1): 2010–11
• Hong Kong League Cup (1): 2010–11

BATE Borisov

• Belarusian League (1): 2011

Individual

• Yugoslav League Top Scorer (1): 1999–00
• Dutch League Top Scorer (3): 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04
• Dutch Footballer of the Year (1): 2002–03
• UEFA Cup Top Scorer (1): 2003–04 (shared with five other players)
• ESM Team of the Year (1): 2002–03

External links

• LFP.fr profile
• BDFutbol profile
• Mateja Kežman at reprezentacija.rs
• Mateja Kežman – FIFA competition record
• Mateja Kežman – UEFA competition record