Full name Srboljub Stamenkovic Role Football player Name Srboljub Stamenkovic | Years Team | |
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Date of birth (1956-01-31)January 31, 1956 Place of birth Titovo Uzice, FPR Yugoslavia Date of death January 28, 1996(1996-01-28) (aged 39) Died January 28, 1996, Uzice, Serbia | ||
Place of death Uzice, FR Yugoslavia | ||
Srboljub Stamenković (Serbian Cyrillic Србољуб Стаменковић) (January 31, 1956 in Titovo Užice, Serbia, FPR Yugoslavia – January 28, 1996 in Užice, Serbia, FR Yugoslavia) known professionally in the United States as Stan Stamenkovic was a Yugoslav football player. The most notable part of his career was spent in the United States playing indoor soccer for the Major Indoor Soccer League in Memphis and Baltimore.
Born in the town of Užice (then called Titovo Užice) in Serbia, he started playing for Red Star Belgrade in 1975 and stayed until 1981, when he was transferred to the Memphis Americans of the Major Indoor Soccer League. He played there for two seasons before going to the Baltimore Blast and stayed there until 1988, after helping the team win an MISL championship in 1984. He returned to Yugoslavia afterward to start his own business, a pizza parlor. He tried a comeback with the CISL's San Jose Grizzlies in 1994 but nagging injuries, which had prompted his earlier retirement, stopped this after 8 matches.
Stamenković scored 231 career goals and tallied 311 assists for a total of 542 career points. He is sometimes referred to as the greatest player in MISL history. In 1984 he led the league with 34 goals. His unique dribbling was perfect for the indoor game. At times he made the ball look like it was on a string. He could also find a streaking player, and thread the needle behind his back, as if he had eyes in the back of his head.
Stamenkovic died after injuring his head in a fall on a sidewalk in Užice, just three days before his fortieth birthday.
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