Full name Xhevat Prekazi Name Xhevat Prekazi Playing position Role Football manager | 1970–1975 Trepca K. Mitrovica Height 1.80 m Years Team Position Midfielder | |
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Date of birth (1957-08-18) 18 August 1957 (age 58) Place of birth Kosovska Mitrovica, Yugoslavia Nominations Milliyet Sports Award for Foreign Athlete of the Year | ||
Xhevat prekazi
Xhevat Prekazi (born 18 August 1957) is a football manager and former player of Kosovar Albanian descent. He holds both Serbian and Turkish citizenship.
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He is generally considered one of the best players to have worn the jersey of the Turkish club Galatasaray. Prekazi was instrumental in building up the Galatasaray team to a point where it became the strongest Turkish league team and a major force in European football. His typical "banana crossings" from left-line into the penalty box always created danger for opponent defence. He is renowned for his brilliant technique, dribbling, long shots and crosses.
He became a Turkish citizen as Cevad Prekazi in his late career. In Serbia, he is referred to as Dževad Prekazi. His older brother Luan also played for Partizan.
Yugoslavia
Xhevat Prekazi started playing at "Remont" football club in Kosovska Mitrovica, he also spent a short time at Trepča`s junior team before he started his professional career at Partizan Belgrade in 1976, where he was seen as a player with great potential. During this period, he won two Yugoslav Championships in the seasons 1977-78 and 1982-83. With Partizan he also won Mitropa cup (1978). Prekazi spent almost ten years in Partizan, and moved to Hajduk Split after a dispute with the management of the team. Prekazi was a part of Hajduk team that played in the semifinals of the UEFA Cup against Tottenham Hotspur.
After spending a year in Split, Prekazi moved to the United States where he played indoor soccer for six months under the name Jeff Prekazi with Baltimore Blast where other Serbian players such as Srboljub Stamenković and Rešad Kunovac already played.
Turkey
A Galatasaray board member noticed his talent on the pitch and arranged a transfer. Prekazi joined to Galatasaray in time for the 1985-1986 season.
He failed to sparkle initially, but eventually his skill rose to the surface. Xhevat Prekazi scored 40 goals in 174 league games for Galatasaray. He won 2 national league championships with Galatasaray and was an instrumental part of the side which reached the European Cup semi final in the 1988/89 season. Prekazi is one of the Galatasaray greats. His freekick goal from almost 40 meters against Monaco is often considered an exceptional and unforgettable memory for Turkish fans.
In 1991, he left Galatasaray and moved to Altay. At that year in the match between Galatasaray and Altay, Galatasaray fans showed their love and loyalty to him by singing a march titled "We cannot forget you". After this event Prekazi couldn't hide his tears and he left the pitch crying. He finished his career at Bakırköyspor.
In summer 1993 Prekazi returned to Yugoslavia and played with FK Trudbenik Beograd in the 1993–94 season.
Following a successful playing career, Prekazi had a few coaching stints, the most notable of which was his short time at the helm of Belgrade's FK Železnik during 2001/02 season.
Prekazi lives in Belgrade. He's currently coaching in the youth system of OFK Beograd.