Marko Pantelić

Marko Pantelić (Serbian Cyrillic: Марко Пантелић, pronounced [mâːrko pǎnːtelitɕ]; born 15 September 1978) is a retired Serbian footballer who played as a striker. He represented Serbia at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Marko Pantelić
Pantelić in 2009
Personal information
Full name Marko Pantelić
Date of birth (1978-09-15) 15 September 1978
Place of birth Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
Red Star Belgrade
Iraklis Thessaloniki
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–1996 Iraklis Thessaloniki 8 (4)
1997–1999 Paris Saint-Germain 3 (0)
1998–1999 → Lausanne (loan) 21 (8)
1999–2000 Celta 0 (0)
1999 → Sturm Graz (loan) 3 (0)
2000 → Yverdon (loan) 3 (0)
2002–2003 Obilić 5 (0)
2003–2004 Sartid Smederevo 31 (13)
2004–2005 Red Star Belgrade 44 (26)
2005–2009 Hertha BSC 114 (45)
2009–2010 Ajax 25 (16)
2010–2013 Olympiacos 38 (20)
Total 295 (132)
National team
1996–1997 FR Yugoslavia U18 5 (4)
1996–1999 FR Yugoslavia U21 7 (2)
2003–2011 Serbia 43 (10)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Early years

As Pantelić was coming up through the Red Star Belgrade youth system, his father got a job in Thessaloniki and took the family to Greece. Pantelić was still only 16 years old when he signed a professional contract with Iraklis Thessaloniki.[1] At 18, he accepted an offer in France to play for Paris Saint-Germain and soon found himself training and playing alongside stars like Raí, Marco Simone and Leonardo. Finding playing time at PSG in short supply, he moved on to Lausanne for a season, scoring 8 goals in 21 Swiss league matches.

Next stop was an unsuccessful spell in Spain at Celta Vigo. During this time, he was sent out on loan to Sturm Graz in Austria.

Obilić, Smederevo and Red Star

In the summer of 2002, after a two-year absence from professional football, Pantelić returned home to Serbia, and signed with Obilić. Barely 24 years of age, he was essentially starting over as many were quick to write him off as yet another prospect whose career was derailed by going abroad too soon. In January 2003 he moved to Sartid Smederevo.

After settling in, he quickly established himself as the team's leader, spearheading them to the Serbia and Montenegro Cup title in 2003. Glowing performances in Smederevo did not go unnoticed by Red Star, and in January 2004, Pantelić became their biggest mid-season signing.

Hertha BSC
Pantelić with Hertha

After securing a loan move to Hertha for €250,000 on 31 August 2005, the last day of the transfer window, he went on to score 11 goals in 28 league matches during the 2005–06 season. In April 2006, he permanently moved to Hertha for an additional €1.5 million fee and soon established himself as one of the most formidable strikers in the Hertha squad.

Right after getting signed permanently, he responded with an even better season with 14 goals from 32 matches in the 2006–07 season. The 2007–08 season brought more steady play with 13 goals from 28 league matches. The next season, Pantelic was often benched in favor of Andriy Voronin as Hertha contended for the Bundesliga title. Hertha fell short, finishing in 4th place.

On 17 March 2009, Pantelić denied that he had held talks with any other clubs and coupled with his refusal to sign a new contract with the club,[2] he became a free agent during the summer 2009.[3]

Ajax

On 1 September 2009, after completing several medical tests, Pantelić signed a one-year contract with Dutch side Ajax, and was given the number 9 shirt.[4] During the season, Pantelić scored 16 goals and delivered 9 assists in 25 league matches. Following the season, Pantelić expressed his desire to sign a new contract with Ajax, preferably a multi-year deal, however Ajax has preferred a one-year deal. Pantelić did not accept the Ajax offer of a one-year deal with an option of another, because he wanted a sure future for his family.[5] Ajax signed Mounir El Hamdaoui as his successor.

Olympiacos

On 21 August 2010, Pantelić joined Olympiacos on a free transfer. He signed a two-year contract worth €1.6 million per year.[6] He scored his first goal against Panserraikos. On 11 December 2011, Pantelić managed to score four goals and to secure a victory against Kerkyra.

International career

Though he debuted for the national team in 2003, Pantelić started getting more frequent call-ups only in 2006 when he was almost 28 years of age. He represented Serbia at the 2010 FIFA World Cup and scored his first World Cup goal against Australia in a 2–1 loss. Pantelić also scored three goals in the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifiers. He has not featured for his country since the failed UEFA Euro 2012 campaign.

Outside football
"Pantelić is a miracle of a man. He's the kind of legend that I would rarely ever meet."

Josip Šimunić, March 2013[7]

Pantelić is widely known in his home country for his alter ego "Pantela", which was created when an anonymous editor of Kurir allegedly began writing columns under the nickname "Pantela" to reflect the real Pantelić's wit and charisma.[8] The phenomenon became so popular that anonymous fans created profiles on Twitter and Facebook to mimic Pantelić's humorous personality.[9] Pantelić himself confirmed that he is not the owner of either profiles, but admitted to Kurir that he found his alter egos funny and claimed that he would even want to meet the people behind his social networking profiles.

On March 2020, Pantelić tested positive for COVID-19.[10]

Career statistics

Club

Source:[11][12]

Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Iraklis Thessaloniki 1995–96 Alpha Ethniki 8420—104
Paris Saint-Germain 1997–98 Division 1 301000—40
Lausanne 1998–99 Swiss Super League 21800—218
Sturm Graz 1999–2000 Austrian Bundesliga 3020—50
Yverdon 2000–01 Swiss Super League 3000—30
Obilić 2002–03 Serbian SuperLiga 501000—60
Sartid Smederevo 2002–03 Serbian SuperLiga 1652100—186
2003–04 Serbian SuperLiga 1582041—219
Total 31134141—3915
Red Star Belgrade 2003–04 Serbian SuperLiga 1253100—156
2004–05 Serbian SuperLiga 29215162—4024
2005–06 Serbian SuperLiga 300023—53
Total 44268285—6033
Hertha BSC 2005–06 Bundesliga 28112100—3012
2006–07 Bundesliga 32144062—4216
2007–08 Bundesliga 28131100—2914
2008–09 Bundesliga 2672294—3713
Total 1144594156—13855
Ajax 2009–10 Eredivisie 25167372—3921
Olympiacos 2010–11 Super League Greece 2094100—2410
2011–12 Super League Greece 12103630—1816
2012–13 Super League Greece 612010—91
Total 38209740—5127
Career Total 29513239174214—376163

International
National teamYearAppsGoals
Serbia and Montenegro 200310
200420
Serbia 200651
200770
200872
200961
201073
201183
Total4310

International goals
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
116 August 2006Městský fotbalový stadion Miroslava Valenty, Uherské Hradiště, Czech Republic Czech Republic1–21–3Friendly
224 May 2008Croke Park, Dublin, Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland0–11–1Friendly
328 May 2008Wacker Arena, Burghausen, Altötting, Germany Russia1–11–2Friendly
410 October 2009Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia Romania2–05–02010 FIFA World Cup qualifying
53 March 2010Stade 5 Juillet 1962, Algiers, Algeria Algeria0–10–3Friendly
65 June 2010Partizan Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia Cameroon4–24–3Friendly
723 June 2010Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit, South Africa Australia1–21–22010 FIFA World Cup
825 March 2011Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia Northern Ireland1–12–1UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
929 March 2011A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia Estonia0–11–1UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
102 September 2011Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland Northern Ireland0–10–1UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying

Honours

Club

Lausanne

Sartid Smederevo

Red Star Belgrade

Hertha BSC

Ajax

Olympiacos

Individual

References
  1. Poslednji kultni heroj: VICE u gostima kod Marka Pantelića
  2. "Pantelic yet to discuss future". skysports.com. 17 March 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2009.
  3. "Abschied von zwei alternden Stars" (in German). Welt Hertha Linke. 28 May 2009. Retrieved 28 May 2009.
  4. "Ajax contracteert Pantelic" (in Dutch). ajax.nl. 1 September 2009. Archived from the original on 4 September 2009. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  5. "Pantelic moet 'goodbye' zeggen tegen Ajax" (in Dutch). voetbalprimeur.nl. 3 June 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
  6. "Olympiakos snap up Pantelic". sportingreece.com. 20 August 2010. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
  7. "Šimunić: Marko Pantelić je čudo od čoveka" (in Serbian). Sportski Zurnal. 16 March 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  8. "Pantelić: Hoću da upoznam Pantelu!" (in Serbian). Kurir. 4 July 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  9. "FENOMEN GODINE: Brat Pantela" (in Serbian). Mozzart Sport. 1 January 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  10. "Marko Pantelić zaražen koronavirusom". b92.net. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  11. Marko Pantelić at WorldFootball.net
  12. Marko Pantelić at FootballDatabase.eu
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