Bojan Zajić
Bojan Zajić (Serbian Cyrillic: Бојан Зајић; born 17 June 1980) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
 Zajić with Vålerenga in 2009 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Bojan Zajić | ||
| Date of birth | 17 June 1980 | ||
| Place of birth | Kruševac, SFR Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Sandnes Ulf (assistant) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Napredak Kruševac | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998–2001 | Napredak Kruševac | 70 | (9) |
| 2001–2005 | Obilić | 110 | (10) |
| 2006 | BASK | 14 | (2) |
| 2006–2007 | Partizan | 25 | (3) |
| 2007–2013 | Vålerenga | 143 | (26) |
| 2014–2015 | Sarpsborg 08 | 56 | (12) |
| 2016–2017 | Sandnes Ulf | 40 | (2) |
| Total | 458 | (64) | |
| National team | |||
| 2004–2008 | Serbia | 2 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2017– | Sandnes Ulf (assistant) | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
Club career
Born in Kruševac, Zajić came through the youth system at his hometown club Napredak, making his first team debuts in 1998. He was transferred to Obilić in the summer of 2001. While with the Vitezovi, Zajić made 110 league appearances and scored 10 goals, before leaving due to the club's financial problems in the 2006 winter transfer window. He subsequently joined BASK, playing in the second tier until the end of the 2005–06 season.
On 7 July 2006, Zajić signed a four-year contract with Partizan.[1] He scored a brace in a 4–2 home victory over Groningen in the first leg of the UEFA Cup first round on 14 September 2006. In total, Zajić made 33 appearances and scored six goals in all competitions during the 2006–07 season.
In August 2007, Zajić moved to Norwegian club Vålerenga, on an initial three-month loan.[2] He made seven league appearances and scored once until the end of the season, before signing a permanent contract with the club. In the following years, Zajić became one of the team's most important players, making 170 competitive appearances and scoring 37 goals.
On 6 January 2014, Zajić signed a two-year contract with Sarpsborg 08.[3] He was the club's top scorer in the following two seasons (2014 and 2015). On 18 January 2016, Zajić signed a two-year contract with Sandnes Ulf.[4] He eventually retired from professional football in June 2017, becoming the team's assistant manager after Tomi Markovski.[5]
International career
Zajić played one match for the national team of Serbia and Montenegro at the 2004 Kirin Cup against Slovakia. He also made one appearance for the Serbia national team in a friendly match against Poland in December 2008.
Statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Napredak Kruševac | 2000–01 | 32 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 37 | 6 |
| Total | 32 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 37 | 6 | |
| Obilić | 2001–02 | 27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 33 | 0 |
| 2002–03 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 2 | |
| 2003–04 | 24 | 2 | — | 24 | 2 | ||||
| 2004–05 | 26 | 2 | — | 26 | 2 | ||||
| 2005–06 | 14 | 4 | — | 14 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 110 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 119 | 10 | |
| Partizan | 2006–07 | 25 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 33 | 6 |
| 2007–08 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 25 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 34 | 6 | |
| Vålerenga | 2007 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| 2008 | 21 | 3 | 6 | 4 | — | 27 | 7 | ||
| 2009 | 22 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 8 | |
| 2010 | 20 | 4 | 1 | 1 | — | 21 | 5 | ||
| 2011 | 28 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 34 | 9 | |
| 2012 | 26 | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | 29 | 2 | ||
| 2013 | 19 | 4 | 3 | 1 | — | 22 | 5 | ||
| Total | 143 | 26 | 21 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 170 | 37 | |
| Sarpsborg 08 | 2014 | 28 | 6 | 5 | 4 | — | 33 | 10 | |
| 2015 | 28 | 6 | 6 | 2 | — | 34 | 8 | ||
| Total | 56 | 12 | 11 | 6 | — | 67 | 18 | ||
| Sandnes Ulf | 2016 | 28 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | 31 | 2 | |
| 2017 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | ||
| Total | 40 | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | 45 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 406 | 59 | 42 | 17 | 24 | 3 | 472 | 79 | |
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serbia and Montenegro | 2004 | 1 | 0 |
| 2005 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 0 | 0 | |
| Serbia | 2006 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 2 | 0 | |
References
- "Potpisao Bojan Zajić" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 7 July 2006. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
- "Zajić u Valerengi na pozajmici!" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 23 August 2007. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
- "Bojan Zajic klar for Sarpsborg 08" (in Norwegian). sarpsborg08.no. 6 January 2014. Archived from the original on 2016-02-02. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
- "Her er Bojan Zajic i lyseblått for første gang" (in Norwegian). sandnesulf.no. 18 January 2016. Archived from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
- "Gammel VIF-helt legger opp og blir assistenttrener i Sandnes Ulf" (in Norwegian). dagbladet.no. 15 June 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bojan Zajić. |
- NIFS profile
- Altomfotball profile
- Bojan Zajić at Reprezentacija.rs (in Serbian)
- Bojan Zajić – UEFA competition record
- Bojan Zajić at National-Football-Teams.com