Full name Mladen Krstajic Years Team Weight 83 kg 1984–1992 Celik Zenica Height 1.91 m | Playing position Role Footballer Name Mladen Krstajic Position Defender | |
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Date of birth (1974-03-04) 4 March 1974 (age 41) | ||
Place of birth Zenica, SFR Yugoslavia | ||
Mladen krstajic izjava posle 140 vecitog derbija srbijaonline
Mladen Krstajić (Serbian Cyrillic: Младен Крстајић; born 4 March 1974) is a former Serbian footballer who played as a centre back. He was known for his composure, leadership and defensive ability. He represented Serbia and Montenegro at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
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Fudbalski grad 2015 poziv mladen krstajic
Early life
Mladen Krstajić was born in Zenica, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia to Bosnian Serb mother from Bijeljina and Montenegrin father from Žabljak, SR Montenegro. He grew up in Bosnia and Herzegovina and played in the youth squads of NK Čelik Zenica (1984–1992). Because of the Bosnian War he and his family moved to Serbia.
Early career
After playing in the youth system of NK Čelik, Krstajić moved to Kikinda in April 1992, following the breakout of the Bosnian war. He started playing with FK Senta for six months. He then moved on the OFK Kikinda, at that time a first league club. At some point of a successful career as a Serbian football player, there comes the time, to decide, whether one wants to play for Partizan or for Zvezda, and Krstajić decided to take the move to Partizan in 1996. According to Krstajić himself, also FK Crvena zvezda was interested in him, but as he comes from a "Partizan" family, he decided to sign a contract with his favourite club. His four and a half years at Partizan was more than successful, winning the national championships three times (1996, 1997, 1999) and also the national cup in 1998.
Werder Bremen and Schalke
The defender with the "winner mentality" (Jupp Heynckes) moved then to SV Werder Bremen, where he became one of the best defenders in the Bundesliga, winning the German Championship and Cup with Werder in 2004. Since 2004 he played for FC Schalke 04, where he was named the new captain on 17 March 2009.
Partizan
On 5 June 2009, Krstajić signed a two-year contract with his former club FK Partizan. In January 2010, after the departure of Nenad Đorđević, he was named a new Partizan captain. After two very successful seasons, he played his last professional match on 21 May 2011. Immediately after retiring he was appointed as the new director of football of the club. After less than 6 months as director of football, he was sacked due to a media war against club president Dragan Đurić. Aleksandar Stanojević resigned as head coach as a result. The day before he was released, Partizan fans Grobari chanted his name as a sign of support during a basketball match against arch rivals KK Crvena Zvezda.
International career
Krstajić has been a part of the Serbia and Montenegro national team "Famous Four" defence, which conceded just one goal during the qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The other members of the famous four are Ivica Dragutinović, Goran Gavrančić and Nemanja Vidić. He was capped 59 times for Serbia, and was undoubtedly the leading figure of the "Famous Four" due to his experience and age.