Nenad Bjeković

Nenad Bjeković (Serbian Cyrillic: Ненад Бјековић, pronounced [něnad bjêːkoʋitɕ]; born 5 November 1947) is a Serbian football administrator and former player and manager.

Nenad Bjeković

Bjeković in 2021
Personal information
Full name	Nenad Bjeković
Date of birth	(1947-11-05) 5 November 1947 (age 76)
Place of birth	Lazarevo, FPR Yugoslavia
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
	Zadrugar Lazarevo
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1965–1969	Proleter Zrenjanin	103	(27)
1969–1976	Partizan	198	(82)
1976–1981	Nice	143	(85)
Total		444	(194)
International career
1968–1976	Yugoslavia	22	(4)
Managerial career
1982–1984	Partizan (assistant)
1984–1987	Partizan
1987–1989	Nice
1990	Partizan
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Born in Lazarevo, a village near Zrenjanin, Bjeković started out at his local club Zadrugar Lazarevo, before switching to Proleter Zrenjanin. He stayed there for four years, making his Yugoslav First League debut in the 1967–68 season.

In 1969, Bjeković was transferred to Partizan. He spent seven seasons with the Crno-beli, netting 82 league goals in 198 appearances. In the 1975–76 season, Bjeković was the Yugoslav First League top scorer with 24 goals, helping Partizan win its seventh championship title.^[1]

In 1976, Bjeković moved abroad to France and signed with Nice. He played five seasons with Les Aiglons, scoring a total of 85 goals in 143 league appearances. In 2013, Bjeković was named the club's player of the century.^[2]

International career

At international level, Bjeković played 22 matches for Yugoslavia and netted four goals.^[3] He scored on his debut for the national team in a friendly match against Brazil in Belo Horizonte on 19 December 1968. His last cap came on 24 February 1976 in a 2–1 away friendly win over Algeria in Algiers.^[4]

Post-playing career

After hanging up his boots, Bjeković started his managerial career as an assistant to Miloš Milutinović at Partizan in 1982. He would replace Milutinović as manager at the start of the 1984–85 season. At the helm of Partizan, Bjeković won back-to-back championship titles in 1986 and 1987.

In 1987, Bjeković was appointed as manager of his former club Nice. He was released after two years in charge. In 1990, Bjeković returned to Partizan as manager, but stayed just two months.

After his managerial career, Bjeković served as sporting director of Partizan for almost two decades. He resigned from the position in May 2007.^[5]

On 17 April 2018, Bjeković was elected as vice-president of the Serbian Football Association.^[6]

Personal life

Bjeković is the father of fellow footballer Nenad Bjeković.^[7]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Proleter Zrenjanin	1965–66	Yugoslav Second League	21	7	—		21	7
	1966–67	Yugoslav Second League	21	4	—		21	4
	1967–68	Yugoslav First League	28	10	—		28	10
	1968–69	Yugoslav First League	33	6	—		33	6
	Total		103	27	—		103	27
Partizan	1969–70	Yugoslav First League	32	7	2	0	34	7
	1970–71	Yugoslav First League	33	8	2	0	35	8
	1971–72	Yugoslav First League	33	14	—		33	14
	1972–73	Yugoslav First League	33	13	—		33	13
	1973–74	Yugoslav First League	32	14	—		32	14
	1974–75	Yugoslav First League	4	2	0	0	4	2
	1975–76	Yugoslav First League	31	24	—		31	24
	Total		198	82	4	0	202	82
Nice	1976–77	French Division 1	32	19	2	2	34	21
	1977–78	French Division 1	35	29	—		35	29
	1978–79	French Division 1	28	17	—		28	17
	1979–80	French Division 1	35	15	—		35	15
	1980–81	French Division 1	13	5	—		13	5
	Total		143	85	2	2	145	87
Career total			444	194	6	2	450	196

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[8]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Yugoslavia	1968	1	1
	1969	3	1
	1970	0	0
	1971	7	0
	1972	3	0
	1973	5	2
	1974	1	0
	1975	0	0
	1976	2	0
Total		22	4

Yugoslavia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Bjeković goal

List of international goals scored by Nenad Bjeković

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	19 December 1968	Belo Horizonte, Brazil	Brazil	2–0	2–3	Friendly
2	26 February 1969	Split, Yugoslavia	Sweden	1–0	2–1	Friendly
3	13 May 1973	Warsaw, Poland	Poland	2–1	2–2	Friendly
4	26 September 1973	Belgrade, Yugoslavia	Hungary	1–0	1–1	Friendly

Honours

Player

Proleter Zrenjanin

• Yugoslav Second League: 1966–67

Partizan

• Yugoslav First League: 1975–76

Individual

• Yugoslav First League Top Scorer: 1975–76

Manager

Partizan

• Yugoslav First League: 1985–86, 1986–87

References

1. "Nenad Bjeković" (in Serbian). partizanopedia.rs. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
2. "Nenad Bjeković – igrač veka Nice (FOTO i VIDEO)" (in Serbian). mozzartsport.com. 13 September 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
3. "Yugoslavia (Serbia (and Montenegro)) - Record International Players". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
4. "Bjeković Nenad" (in Serbian). reprezentacija.rs. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
5. "Bjeković podneo ostavku" (in Serbian). blic.rs. 15 May 2007. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
6. "Nenad Bjeković izabran za potpredsednika Fudbalskog saveza Srbije" (in Serbian). b92.net. 17 April 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
7. "Sinovi (uvek) u senci očeva" (in Serbian). novosti.rs. 22 September 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
8. "Nenad Bjeković, international football player". eu-football.info. Retrieved 14 October 2021.

External links

• Nenad Bjeković at WorldFootball.net
• Nenad Bjeković at National-Football-Teams.com
• Nenad Bjeković at EU-Football.info