Perica Ognjenović

Perica Ognjenović

Personal information
Full name	Perica Ognjenović
Date of birth	24 February 1977 (1977-02-24)
Place of birth	Smederevska Palanka, Yugoslavia
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current club	Free agent
Youth career
0000–1993	Mladost Goša
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1993–1994	Mladost Goša	28	(9)
1994–1998	Red Star	78	(19)
1999–2001	Real Madrid	12	(0)
2002	Kaiserslautern	2	(0)
2003	Dalian Shide	2	(0)
2003–2004	Dynamo Kyiv	2	(0)
2005	Angers	7	(0)
2006	Selangor
2006–2008	Ergotelis	26	(3)
2008–2009	Kallithea	9	(1)
2009–2011	Jagodina	43	(3)
National team
1995–1998	Yugoslavia	8	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 June 2011. † Appearances (Goals).

Perica Ognjenović (Serbian Cyrillic: Перица Огњеновић; born 24 February 1977 in Smederevska Palanka, Serbia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia), is a Serbian footballer who plays mainly as a forward.

At one point considered to be among Serbia's brightest footballing talents, he signed with European giants Real Madrid in his early 20's, but never settled there, going on to have an irregular career in six other countries.

Ognjenović represented Yugoslavia in the 1998 World Cup.

Club career

Early years

Ognjenović's first football steps were taken with modest hometown side Mladost Smederevska Palanka where he went through all age levels before breaking through to the senior squad just short of his 16th birthday, during 1992–93. At the time, Mladost competed in Srpska Liga (third level), and it soon became apparent the player's skill and talent far surpassed that level of competition.

Ognjenović caught the eye of country's powerhouse Red Star Belgrade, which signed the promising youngster in the 1994 summer.

Real Madrid

A series of glowing performances for Red Star earned Ognjenović a move to Real Madrid on 12 January 1999 for a transfer fee of DM5 million (€2.5 million), and a reported annual salary of DM1.2 million. The contract negotiations between Ognjenović's agent Zoran Vekić and Real president Lorenzo Sanz ran very long as the club had a surplus of forwards on its roster and had to offload 17-year-old Samuel Eto'o on a loan spell to RCD Espanyol before signing any new ones; everything was finally concluded just hours before the Spanish winter transfer window closed and the player joined compatriot Predrag Mijatović at his new club.

Ognjenović's time in the Spanish capital was not a happy one overall: only after manager Guus Hiddink was replaced by John Toshack late into the 1998–99 season did he make his official debut with the Merengues, appearing as a second-half substitute in the Copa del Rey semifinal clash against Valencia CF (2–1 home win after a 0–6 away loss). He spent two and 1/2 seasons with Real Madrid, amassing only around 30 appearances all competitions comprised, mostly from the bench, before being finally released during the summer of 2001; his only official goal came against Real Zaragoza in the 1999–2000 Copa del Rey (2–0 home win and on aggregate).

Journeyman years

For the following six months after leaving Real, Ognjenović had no club. He trained alone with a private coach until 1. FC Kaiserslautern arranged a tryout and brought him in for free on 17 January 2002, in a deal until the end of the season, with a two-year extension option. Kaiserslautern finished 7th in the Bundesliga and qualified for the UEFA Intertoto Cup, but the player only appeared twice.

After failing to settle in Germany, Ognjenović's next stop was China with Dalian Shide FC, where he was brought to in January 2003 by the club's coach Milorad Kosanović, who had already coached him at Red Star. He then moved on to FC Dynamo Kyiv in late November 2003, but could not earn playing time there either; the next stop was in France, as he signed in January 2005 with Angers SCO in Ligue 2.

In May 2006, Ognjenović joined Malaysian Super League side Selangor FA, from Shah Alam, signing a six-month contract. The club was sitting in last place at the time of his signing. His career settled relatively in 2006–08, as he played with Greece's Ergotelis FC, in the top flight, although he only appeared 26 times in the league combined; the following year was spent also in the country, with lowly Kallithea FC.

On 29 July 2009, Ognjenović joined FK Jagodina, returning to his homeland after more than a decade.

International career

Ognjenović made his debuts for the Yugoslavia national team at only 18, on 12 November 1995, in a friendly with El Salvador. The nation was suspended for the UEFA Euro 1996 qualifiers.

Subsequently, he was picked for the squad at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, appearing as a substitute in all three group stage matches as Yugoslavia exited in the round-of-16.

External links

• Stats at Utakmica (Serbian)
• BDFutbol profile
• Bundesliga stats at Fussballdaten (German)
• Perica Ognjenović French league stats at LFP.fr (French)
• National team data (Serbian)
• Perica Ognjenović at National-Football-Teams.com