Nenad Bjeković
Serbian football administrator, manager and player
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Nenad Bjeković (Serbian Cyrillic: Ненад Бјековић, pronounced [něnad bjêːkoʋitɕ]; born 5 November 1947) is a Serbian football administrator, and former manager and player.
|
Bjeković in 2021 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nenad Bjeković | ||
| Date of birth | 5 November 1947 | ||
| Place of birth | Zrenjanin, PR Serbia, FPR Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Zadrugar Lazarevo | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1965–1969 | Proleter Zrenjanin | 103 | (27) |
| 1969–1976 | Partizan | 198 | (82) |
| 1976–1981 | Nice | 143 | (85) |
| Total | 444 | (194) | |
| International career | |||
| 1968–1976 | Yugoslavia | 22 | (4) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1982–1984 | Partizan (assistant) | ||
| 1984–1987 | Partizan | ||
| 1987–1989 | Nice | ||
| 1990 | Partizan | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
A forward, Bjeković enjoyed a successful career and scored over 200 competitive goals at club level, mostly for Partizan and Nice during the 1970s. He was also capped for Yugoslavia internationally.
Club career
Born in Lazarevo, a village near Zrenjanin, Bjeković started out at his local club Zadrugar Lazarevo, before switching to Proleter Zrenjanin. He stayed there for four years, making his Yugoslav First League debut in the 1967–68 season.
In July 1969, Bjeković was transferred to Partizan, penning a four-year contract. He spent seven seasons with the Crno-beli, netting 82 league goals in 198 appearances. In the 1975–76 season, Bjeković was the Yugoslav First League top scorer with 24 goals, helping Partizan win its seventh championship title.[1]
In 1976, Bjeković moved abroad to France and signed with Nice. He played five seasons with Les Aiglons, tallying 85 goals in 143 league appearances. In 2013, Bjeković was named the club's player of the century.[2]
International career
At international level, Bjeković played 22 matches for Yugoslavia and netted four goals. He scored on his debut for the national team in a friendly match against Brazil in Belo Horizonte on 19 December 1968. His last cap came on 24 February 1976 in a 2–1 away friendly win over Algeria in Algiers.[3]
Post-playing career
After hanging up his boots, Bjeković started his managerial career as an assistant to Miloš Milutinović at Partizan in the summer of 1982. He would replace Milutinović as manager at the start of the 1984–85 season. At the helm of Partizan, Bjeković won back-to-back championship titles in 1986 and 1987.
In 1987, Bjeković was appointed as manager of his former club Nice. He was released after two years in charge. In April 1990, Bjeković returned to Partizan as manager to replace Ivan Golac, holding the post until the end of the season.
In June 1990, Bjeković was appointed as sporting director of Partizan. He served in the role for nearly two decades, during the presidential reign of Ivan Ćurković, before resigning from the position in May 2007.[4]
In April 2018, Bjeković was elected as vice-president of the Serbian Football Association.[5] He was appointed as acting president in May 2021, controversially replacing Marko Pantelić.[6][7]
Personal life
Bjeković is the father of fellow footballer Nenad Bjeković.[8]
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Proleter Zrenjanin | 1965–66 | Yugoslav Second League | 21 | 7 | — | — | 21 | 7 | ||
| 1966–67[9] | Yugoslav Second League | 21 | 4 | — | 21 | 4 | ||||
| 1967–68 | Yugoslav First League | 28 | 10 | — | 28 | 10 | ||||
| 1968–69 | Yugoslav First League | 33 | 6 | — | 33 | 6 | ||||
| Total | 103 | 27 | — | 103 | 27 | |||||
| Partizan | 1969–70 | Yugoslav First League | 32 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 2[b] | 0 | 36 | 8 |
| 1970–71 | Yugoslav First League | 33 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 36 | 8 | |
| 1971–72 | Yugoslav First League | 33 | 14 | 2 | 1 | — | 35 | 15 | ||
| 1972–73 | Yugoslav First League | 33 | 13 | — | — | 33 | 13 | |||
| 1973–74 | Yugoslav First League | 32 | 14 | 2 | 2 | — | 34 | 16 | ||
| 1974–75 | Yugoslav First League | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | |
| 1975–76 | Yugoslav First League | 31 | 24 | 1 | 0 | — | 32 | 24 | ||
| Total | 198 | 82 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 210 | 86 | ||
| Nice | 1976–77 | French Division 1 | 32 | 19 | 7 | 12 | 2[c] | 2 | 41 | 33 |
| 1977–78 | French Division 1 | 35 | 29 | 10 | 6 | — | 45 | 35 | ||
| 1978–79 | French Division 1 | 28 | 17 | 4 | 2 | — | 32 | 19 | ||
| 1979–80 | French Division 1 | 35 | 15 | 4 | 1 | — | 39 | 16 | ||
| 1980–81 | French Division 1 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | 13 | 5 | ||
| Total | 143 | 85 | 25 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 170 | 108 | ||
| Career total | 444 | 194 | 33 | 25 | 6 | 2 | 483 | 221 | ||
- Includes Yugoslav Cup, Coupe de France
- Appearances in Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yugoslavia | 1968 | 1 | 1 |
| 1969 | 3 | 1 | |
| 1970 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1971 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1972 | 3 | 0 | |
| 1973 | 5 | 2 | |
| 1974 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1975 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1976 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 22 | 4 | |
- Yugoslavia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Bjeković goal
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 December 1968 | Belo Horizonte, Brazil |  Brazil | 2–0 | 2–3 | Friendly |
| 2 | 26 February 1969 | Split, Yugoslavia |  Sweden | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 3 | 13 May 1973 | Warsaw, Poland |  Poland | 2–1 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 4 | 26 September 1973 | Belgrade, Yugoslavia |  Hungary | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
Honours
Player
Proleter Zrenjanin
- Yugoslav Second League: 1966–67 (Group East)
Partizan
Individual
- Yugoslav First League top scorer: 1975–76
Manager
Partizan
