Dejan Stefanovic
Encyclopedia
Dejan Stefanović (born October 28, 1974 in Vranje
in Serbia
, is a Serbian football player who plays for Conference South
side Havant & Waterlooville He is a central defender who can also play at full back.
before being signed by Red Star Belgrade
. Whilst at the club
he made his international debut for FR Yugoslavia, aged 20, against Hong Kong in January 1995.
For the second part of the 1995/96 season, English club Sheffield Wednesday
signed both Stefanović and compatriot, striker Darko Kovačević
. Stefanović cost the English club £2 million. However, Stefanović struggled to break into the Wednesday side with Emerson Thome
and Des Walker
among those ahead of him in the pecking order.
In 1998/99, after playing 72 games for the club, Stefanović was released on a free transfer, signing for A.C. Perugia. However, the move did not work out and before long he returned to Serbia with OFK Belgrade.
Stefanović moved to his third club of the 1999/2000 season when transferring to Vitesse Arnhem
of the Netherlands
. He quickly became a first team regular, and spent four years at the club, becoming captain during that time. At Vitesse he played the six UEFA Cup
-matches on his resume.
At the start of the 2003/04 season, he returned to England with Premiership newcomers Portsmouth for £1.85million. He established himself as a first choice defender during the club's first season in the top-flight, and was a regular in the 2004/05 campaign, winning the fans' player of the season award. He was made Portsmouth captain by Alain Perrin in the 2005/2006 season, although a dip in form and a habit of speaking out to the press earned him the ire of some supporters. Indeed, he confessed to "not giving 100%" under Perrin due to disliking the French coach, comments criticised as highly unprofessional by some fans.
Stefanović's influence on chairman (and fellow Serbian) Milan Mandarić
is said to have been an important factor in the dismissal of Perrin and the re-appointment of Harry Redknapp
and he was an important member of the side that survived at Wigan in the penultimate game of the season.
Stefanović was converted to a left back at the start of 2006/07 and was a mainstay of the defence that performed so well for Portsmouth during the season. However, the arrivals of Hermann Hreiðarsson
and Sylvain Distin
during the summer of 2007 cast his position as a first team regular into doubt and he was replaced as captain by Sol Campbell
for the 2007/08 season.
In August 2007 Rangers
revealed an interest in signing Stefanović but he signed for Fulham
. Having spent less than a year at Craven Cottage
, he moved to Norwich City
on 18 July 2008, agreeing a two year deal.
After twelve starts for the Canaries in which he picked up one red card, Stefanović ruptured his cruciate knee ligaments and didn't play again for Norwich City
in the 2008/2009 season.
In August 2009, it was reported that Stefanović was in negotiations to leave Norwich, with the player wishing to return to the south of England. On 1 September 2009, his contract was terminated by mutual consent.
Stefanovic retired in late 2009 due to a knee injury but still lives in the Portsmouth
area and has admitted his dreams of managing Portsmouth Football Club
one day.
On 7 October 2010 Stefanovic joined Havant & Waterlooville as a player-coach.
|1992–93
||rowspan="3"|Red Star Belgrade
||rowspan="3"|First League
||2||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|1993–94
||14||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|1994–95
||30||9||||||||||||||||
|-
|1995–96
||rowspan="4"|Sheffield Wednesday
||rowspan="4"|Premier League||6||0||0||0||0||0||-||-||6||0
|-
|1996–97
||29||2||1||0||1||0||-||-||30||2
|-
|1997–98
||20||2||0||0||1||0||-||-||21||2
|-
|1998–99
||11||0||2||1||0||0||-||-||13||1
|-
|1999–00
||Perugia
||Serie A
||0||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|1999-00||OFK Beograd
||First League
||0||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|1999-00
||rowspan="4"|Vitesse||rowspan="4"|Eredivisie
||14||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||14||0
|-
|2000–01
||27||1||0||0||0||0||0||0||27||1
|-
|2001–02
||25||3||0||0||0||0||0||0||25||3
|-
|2002–03
||27||1||0||0||0||0||6||0||27||1
|-
|2003–04
||rowspan="4"|Portsmouth
||rowspan="4"|Premier League||32||3||3||0||2||0||-||-||37||3
|-
|2004–05
||32||0||2||0||2||0||-||-||36||0
|-
|2005–06
||28||0||2||0||1||0||-||-||31||0
|-
|2006–07
||20||0||0||0||0||0||-||-||20||0
|-
|2007–08||Fulham
||Premier League||13||0||2||0||0||0||-||-||15||0
|-
|2008–09
||Norwich City
||Championship
||12||0||||||||||||||||
46||9||||||||||||||||
191||7||12||1||7||0||0||0||210||8
0||0||||||||||||||||
94||4||||||||||||||||
331||20||||||||||||||||
international, earning his first call-up in 1995 (The country was then known as Yugoslavia, changing to Serbia and Montenegro in 2003). He has a total of 20 caps to his name. Stefanović retired from international football in 2004.
Vranje
Vranje is a city and municipality located in southern Serbia. In 2011 the city has total population of 82,782, while the urban area has 54,456...
in Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, is a Serbian football player who plays for Conference South
Conference South
Conference South is one of the second divisions of the Football Conference in England, taking its place immediately below the Conference National...
side Havant & Waterlooville He is a central defender who can also play at full back.
Football career
Stefanović began his career in his home town with Dinamo VranjeFK Dinamo Vranje
FK Dinamo is a football club based in Vranje, Serbia.-Stadium:Dinamo is currently playing on Yumco stadium...
before being signed by Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is a part of the Red Star Sports Society.Red Star Belgrade is the most successful Serbian club, with a record of 25 national championships and 23 national cups in both Serbian and ex-Yugoslav competitions...
. Whilst at the club
he made his international debut for FR Yugoslavia, aged 20, against Hong Kong in January 1995.
For the second part of the 1995/96 season, English club Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
signed both Stefanović and compatriot, striker Darko Kovačević
Darko Kovacevic
Darko Kovačević is a former Serbian football player. He is known for his spells at Real Sociedad where his partnership with Nihat Kahveci was one of the best in Spain. His key attributes are his strength and aerial ability...
. Stefanović cost the English club £2 million. However, Stefanović struggled to break into the Wednesday side with Emerson Thome
Emerson Thome
Emerson Augusto Thome is a Brazilian former football player who last played for Vissel Kobe.He first came to England towards the end of the 1997-1998 season when moving to Sheffield Wednesday from Portuguese club S.L. Benfica, who signed him from Tirsense in 94/95, when the "jesuítas" stood one...
and Des Walker
Des Walker
Desmond Sinclair "Des" Walker is a former England international footballer who is best remembered for his spells with Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday...
among those ahead of him in the pecking order.
In 1998/99, after playing 72 games for the club, Stefanović was released on a free transfer, signing for A.C. Perugia. However, the move did not work out and before long he returned to Serbia with OFK Belgrade.
Stefanović moved to his third club of the 1999/2000 season when transferring to Vitesse Arnhem
Vitesse Arnhem
Stichting Betaald Voetbal Vitesse is a Dutch football club from Arnhem, which was founded on 14 May 1892. Vitesse has had considerable success in the Eredivisie, and featured in the UEFA Cup competition, but has never been considered a close competitor of the top three clubs of Netherlands...
of the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. He quickly became a first team regular, and spent four years at the club, becoming captain during that time. At Vitesse he played the six UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
-matches on his resume.
At the start of the 2003/04 season, he returned to England with Premiership newcomers Portsmouth for £1.85million. He established himself as a first choice defender during the club's first season in the top-flight, and was a regular in the 2004/05 campaign, winning the fans' player of the season award. He was made Portsmouth captain by Alain Perrin in the 2005/2006 season, although a dip in form and a habit of speaking out to the press earned him the ire of some supporters. Indeed, he confessed to "not giving 100%" under Perrin due to disliking the French coach, comments criticised as highly unprofessional by some fans.
Stefanović's influence on chairman (and fellow Serbian) Milan Mandarić
Milan Mandaric
Milan Mandarić is a Serbian-American business tycoon who has owned a string of successful businesses and football clubs including Portsmouth, Leicester City and Sheffield Wednesday. He currently is the chairman of Sheffield Wednesday...
is said to have been an important factor in the dismissal of Perrin and the re-appointment of Harry Redknapp
Harry Redknapp
Henry James "Harry" Redknapp is a former English footballer who has enjoyed a long career in football management starting in 1983 with Bournemouth. He is the current manager of Tottenham Hotspur....
and he was an important member of the side that survived at Wigan in the penultimate game of the season.
Stefanović was converted to a left back at the start of 2006/07 and was a mainstay of the defence that performed so well for Portsmouth during the season. However, the arrivals of Hermann Hreiðarsson
Hermann Hreiðarsson
Hermann Hreiðarsson is an Icelandic football player who plays for Football League Championship club Portsmouth as a left back...
and Sylvain Distin
Sylvain Distin
Sylvain Distin is a French footballer who plays for English Premier League side Everton.-Early career:Born in Bagnolet, Distin started his career at French non-league side Joue-les-Tours before moving to Tours a year later, where he played 26 times and scored three goals. He then transferred to...
during the summer of 2007 cast his position as a first team regular into doubt and he was replaced as captain by Sol Campbell
Sol Campbell
Sulzeer Jeremiah "Sol" Campbell is an English footballer who is currently a free agent. A central defender, Campbell has played for Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Portsmouth, Notts County and Newcastle United, as well as the English national team.Born in East London to Jamaican parents, Campbell's...
for the 2007/08 season.
In August 2007 Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
revealed an interest in signing Stefanović but he signed for Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...
. Having spent less than a year at Craven Cottage
Craven Cottage
Craven Cottage is the name of a football stadium in the Hammersmith and Fulham area that has been the home ground of the association football team Fulham F.C. since 1896....
, he moved to Norwich City
Norwich City F.C.
Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...
on 18 July 2008, agreeing a two year deal.
After twelve starts for the Canaries in which he picked up one red card, Stefanović ruptured his cruciate knee ligaments and didn't play again for Norwich City
Norwich City F.C.
Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...
in the 2008/2009 season.
In August 2009, it was reported that Stefanović was in negotiations to leave Norwich, with the player wishing to return to the south of England. On 1 September 2009, his contract was terminated by mutual consent.
Stefanovic retired in late 2009 due to a knee injury but still lives in the Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
area and has admitted his dreams of managing Portsmouth Football Club
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
one day.
On 7 October 2010 Stefanovic joined Havant & Waterlooville as a player-coach.
Career statistics
|-|1992–93
First League of FR Yugoslavia 1992-93
The First League of FR Yugoslavia 1992–93 was the first football season in FR Yugoslavia which was composed of the republics of Serbia and Montenegro....
||rowspan="3"|Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is a part of the Red Star Sports Society.Red Star Belgrade is the most successful Serbian club, with a record of 25 national championships and 23 national cups in both Serbian and ex-Yugoslav competitions...
||rowspan="3"|First League
Serbian Superliga
Serbian SuperLiga is a Serbian professional league for football clubs. At the top of the Serbian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 16 clubs, operating a system of promotion and relegation with the Serbian First League...
||2||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|1993–94
First League of FR Yugoslavia 1993-94
-Overview:The league was divided into 2 groups, A and B, consisting each of 10 clubs. Both groups were played in league system. By winter break all clubs in each group meet each other twice, home and away, with the bottom four classifiyed from A group moving to the group B, and being replaced by...
||14||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|1994–95
First League of FR Yugoslavia 1994-95
-Overview:Just as the previous season, the league consisted of 2 groups, A and B, each containing 10 clubs. Both groups were played in league system. By winter break all clubs in each group had met each other twice, home and away, with the bottom four from A group moving to group B, and being...
||30||9||||||||||||||||
|-
|1995–96
FA Premier League 1995-96
-Promoted teams:Due to the decision to reduce the number of clubs in the Premier League from 22 to 20, only two clubs were promoted this season: Middlesbrough as Football League First Division champions, and Bolton Wanderers who won the 1994-95 playoff.-Transfers:...
||rowspan="4"|Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
||rowspan="4"|Premier League||6||0||0||0||0||0||-||-||6||0
|-
|1996–97
FA Premier League 1996-97
The 1996–97 FA Premier League season was the fifth season of the competition, since its formation in 1992. The majority of the season was contested by the reigning champions, Manchester United, along with Newcastle United, Arsenal and Liverpool...
||29||2||1||0||1||0||-||-||30||2
|-
|1997–98
FA Premier League 1997-98
The FA Premier League 1997-98 season saw Arsenal lift their first league title since 1991, and also become only the second team to win the 'double' of the FA Cup and league title twice...
||20||2||0||0||1||0||-||-||21||2
|-
|1998–99
FA Premier League 1998-99
The 1998–99 FA Premier League season was the seventh season of the Premier League, the top division of English football, since its establishment in 1992. The season will always be remembered as the one in which Manchester United won a unique treble of the league title, the FA Cup and the European Cup...
||11||0||2||1||0||0||-||-||13||1
|-
|1999–00
Serie A 1999-00
Lazio won the title on the final day of the season in controversial cirumstances. Juventus, the only other team left in contention on the day lost their match against Perugia in terrible conditions at a rain-sodden Stadio Renato Curi, many considering the pitch unplayable. Pierluigi Collina the...
||Perugia
Perugia Calcio
Associazione Calcistica Perugia Calcio is an Italian association football club based in Perugia, Umbria, direct heir of the old Perugia Calcio and A.C. Perugia, excluded from Italian football because of financial troubles....
||Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
||0||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|1999-00||OFK Beograd
OFK Beograd
Omladinski fudbalski klub Beograd, commonly referred to as OFK Beograd , is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia, more precisely from the Karaburma urban neighborhood. It currently is the oldest team playing in the Serbian SuperLiga. The name means "Youth Football Club Belgrade" in Serbian...
||First League
Serbian Superliga
Serbian SuperLiga is a Serbian professional league for football clubs. At the top of the Serbian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 16 clubs, operating a system of promotion and relegation with the Serbian First League...
||0||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|1999-00
Eredivisie 1999-00
The Dutch Eredivisie in the 1999/2000 season was contested by 18 teams. PSV won the championship.-League standings:1 Winners KNVB Cup. 2 MVV and Cambuur both relegated after losing their promotion/relegation play-offs.-Promotion/relegation play-offs:...
||rowspan="4"|Vitesse||rowspan="4"|Eredivisie
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
||14||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||14||0
|-
|2000–01
Eredivisie 2000-01
The Dutch Eredivisie in the 2000/2001 season was contested by 18 teams. PSV won the championship.-League standings:1 Winners KNVB Cup. 2 Fortuna Sittard and Sparta both remained in the eredivisie after winning their promotion/relegation play-offs....
||27||1||0||0||0||0||0||0||27||1
|-
|2001–02
Eredivisie 2001-02
The Dutch Eredivisie in the 2001/2002 season was contested by 18 teams. Ajax won the championship.-League standings:1 Ajax alson won the KNVB Cup, thereby taking the double. They would participate in the Champions League, so finalists FC Utrecht could play in the UEFA Cup...
||25||3||0||0||0||0||0||0||25||3
|-
|2002–03
Eredivisie 2002-03
The Dutch Eredivisie in the 2002/2003 season was contested by 18 teams. PSV won the championship.-League standings:1 Winners KNVB Cup. 2 FC Zwolle remained in the eredivisie after winning their promotion/relegation play-offs...
||27||1||0||0||0||0||6||0||27||1
|-
|2003–04
FA Premier League 2003-04
The 2003–04 FA Premier League season was the twelfth season of the Premier League. In the end, Arsenal went through the season without a single defeat – only the second ever team to do so and were crowned champions once more, at the expense of Chelsea, who had spent heavily throughout the...
||rowspan="4"|Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
||rowspan="4"|Premier League||32||3||3||0||2||0||-||-||37||3
|-
|2004–05
FA Premier League 2004-05
The 2004–05 season of the FA Premier League began on 14 August 2004 and ended on 15 May 2005. Arsenal were the defending champions after going unbeaten the previous season....
||32||0||2||0||2||0||-||-||36||0
|-
|2005–06
FA Premier League 2005-06
The 2005–06 season of the FA Premier League began on 13 August 2005, and concluded on 7 May 2006. The season saw Chelsea F.C retain their title after defeating Manchester United 3–0 at Stamford Bridge towards the end of April...
||28||0||2||0||1||0||-||-||31||0
|-
|2006–07
FA Premier League 2006-07
The 2006–07 FA Premier League was the fifteenth season of the FA Premier League since its establishment in 1992. The season started on 19 August 2006 and concluded on 13 May 2007....
||20||0||0||0||0||0||-||-||20||0
|-
|2007–08||Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...
||Premier League||13||0||2||0||0||0||-||-||15||0
|-
|2008–09
The Football League 2008-09
The Football League 2008–09, titled the Coca-Cola Football League, was the 109th completed season of the Football League. It began in August 2008 and concluded in May 2009, with the promotion play-off finals....
||Norwich City
Norwich City F.C.
Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...
||Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
||12||0||||||||||||||||
46||9||||||||||||||||
191||7||12||1||7||0||0||0||210||8
0||0||||||||||||||||
94||4||||||||||||||||
331||20||||||||||||||||
International career
Stefanović is a full SerbianSerbia national football team
The Serbia national football team represents Serbia in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia, the governing body for football in Serbia. Serbia's home ground is Stadion Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade and their last head coach was Vladimir Petrović...
international, earning his first call-up in 1995 (The country was then known as Yugoslavia, changing to Serbia and Montenegro in 2003). He has a total of 20 caps to his name. Stefanović retired from international football in 2004.